Publication Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2004
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Stanford is
Stanford is
(January 14, 2004)near-flawless
in big victory
by Rick Eymer
Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer may never again experience what she did on Saturday during the first half of the Cardinal's 84-62 victory over visiting Arizona on Saturday.
That doesn't mean she'll stop trying though.
"Vanessa Nygaard (who played at Stanford between 1995-98) once said I'm a coach in search of perfection," VanDerveer said. "But that first half was almost flawless. What we need is to figure out how we did it and keep it going."
The first chance comes Friday when Stanford travels to Berkeley for a 7 p.m. game against California.
An even bigger game from Stanford's point of view occurs on Thursday when USC (4-1, 7-6) visits Arizona (4-1, 12-4). The Women of Troy are coming off a 20-point win over Washington and a 30-point win over Washington State and have one of the most talented rosters in the Pac-10. An Arizona victory would put some room between Stanford and USC before the teams meet in Los Angeles on Jan. 25.
Against Arizona, the seventh-ranked Cardinal (6-0, 13-2) held a 32-point lead at halftime after shooting nearly 61 percent from the field and holding Arizona (4-1, 12-4) to less than 21 percent. It was the fewest points (12) Stanford allowed in a half this season, and it came against the second-best offensive team in the Pac-10.
What could VanDerveer tell her team at halftime?
"It's good for me to go into the locker room thinking about things to work on," she said. "It was important for us to stay focused at the beginning of the second half."
Stanford opened the weekend with a sluggish 60-46 victory over Arizona State on Thursday, in which Nicole Powell scored 11 straight points in the final eight minutes after the Sun Devils drew within 40-39.
Powell played in her 100th game on Saturday against Arizona and netted her 37th career double-double (in addition to six career triple-doubles) with 15 points and 12 rebounds. She also had seven assists.
"I was mad at myself for the turnovers (she had five in the game) and I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the big lead and said 'oh my gosh, that's awesome!' " she said of a 69-22 advantage with 12:14 remaining. "We wanted to keep playing intense. The second half was hard when you have such a big lead. It's hard to keep it."
Powell earned her second Pac-10 Player of the Week award this season, and the seventh of her career.
One Cardinal who couldn't join in the fun was junior center Chelsea Trotter, who sat out both games for Stanford with knee problems. After 10 surgeries, and taking a year off from basketball, getting any playing time from Trotter is an advantage. Her status is constantly evaluated.
"It can be wearing on a person when you know you're never going to be 100 percent," said VanDerveer. "She's doing pretty well but we're going to have to manage her injuries the best we can."
Stanford didn't need Trotter last weekend. The Cardinal came at the Wildcats with their most balanced attack ever with Powell in the lineup. Krista Rappahahn led the Cardinal with 16 points, one off her career high, as she made 6-of-9 shots, including 4-of-6 from long range.
Rappahahn is quietly enjoying a breakout season. She's made more baskets (31) in fewer attempts (53) than she made all of last year, when she was 25-of-75.
"I know I'm supposed to shoot it when I'm open," she said.
So far this year, Rappahahn has made over 58 percent of her shots, and she's even better from three-point range, from where she's been successful nearly 62 percent (21-of-34) of the time. She made nine 3-pointers in 42 tries last year.
"If you can shoot it like that, do it," said VanDerveer.
T'Nae Thiel and Kelley Suminski each added 11 points as Stanford took the inside track toward a fourth Pac-10 title. Arizona looked like Stanford's biggest challenge for the crown.
"Stanford is more seasoned, a year older and more experienced," said Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini. "They lose Trotter but someone else steps up. They have good depth and they're confident."
Stanford made 15 three-pointers in the game, one off its school record.
"Playing defense got us going," said Powell. "We were able to get some turnovers and Susan (Borchardt) did a good job on Dee-Dee (Wheeler, who scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half). When you knock down open shots like that, it makes it easier and a whole lot of fun."
Powell seized the moment against Arizona State, which threatened to snatch victory from Stanford's hands after drawing within one point.
Suminski made two free throws to spark a 15-3 run that all but belonged to Powell, who scored 11 of her game-high 29 points during the five-minute run. Pinewood grad Sebnem Kimyacioglu gave Stanford a 55-42 lead with 3:09 that sealed the Sun Devils' fate.
"Tennessee was a really good lesson for me," said Powell. "In crunch time, you have to make sure everyone's involved."
Against Tennessee, her teammates began relying too heavily on Powell, who missed 10 straight shots in that game as the Cardinal lost their lead, composure and then the game.
That wasn't the case against Arizona State. When the Sun Devils made their run, Powell wasn't about to hide. She bolted out of the corner and took her teammates with her.
Borchardt, who has blossomed in the past several games, added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
"It was a defensive battle," VanDerveer said. "I thought we responded to the challenge of their aggressiveness. I liken it to a prize fighter who has to get a bloody nose before he starts throwing some punches."
Powell made back-to-back 3-pointers to give Stanford a 48-42 lead with 5:49 left to play. Arizona State's Kylan Loney made a 3 on the other end after Powell hit her first from long range, then Powell came up big again with another 3. She converted two free throws with 4:30 left and a three-point play 46 seconds later. She received a standing ovation when she left the game with 13.2 seconds left.
"Nicole made some huge shots," said Borchardt.
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