Publication Date: Friday, December 02, 2005
Stanford women looking forward to hoops showdown with Tennessee
Stanford women looking forward to hoops showdown with Tennessee
(December 02, 2005) by Rick Eymer
For about two hours on Thursday night, 12th-ranked Stanford had its collective mind focused on beating host Pacific.
The other thousands of hours, give or take a hundred here or there, since the end of last season has probably been spent thinking about what could be on Sunday when second-ranked Tennessee comes to Maples Pavilion to renew one of the top nonconference rivalries this side of the Tennessee River at 12:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net. The place will be sold out and rocking.
Granted, it's been more of one-sided rivalry in favor of the Lady Vols. Tennessee has won the last nine meetings and 17 of 21 overall. Stanford has been getting closer in recent years though, losing its last three meetings by a combined nine points.
In Tennessee's past three visits to Maples, Stanford has lost by four points in overtime, six and six.
The Cardinal has been good enough to make the NCAA regional finals in each of the past two years. The next step is returning to the Final Four (it's in Boston this year) for the first time since 1997, the year the Lady Vols began their latest domination of Stanford.
Tennessee provides a standard by which the Cardinal can measure itself against the nation's best. A loss would not destroy the season but a victory would measurably enhance it.
"We want to come into Sunday's game with great momentum and people playing well, being excited and coming off success," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "There definitely is a lot of focus this week in playing Tennessee."
There's no reason to hold anything back against the Lady Vols either. It's Stanford's last game for two weeks.
"It's always a great game between the two teams," freshman forward Jillian Harmon said. "It's the one we circle on our calendars every year, and it's one of the reasons I came here. We got to play in front of 8,000 people at Minnesota and 10,000 people at Texas Tech. This is what I've been waiting for."
Stanford began scheduling Tennessee in 1988 as a way for then junior point guard Jennifer Azzi, a native of Oak Ridge, Tenn., to play in front of her hometown fans. The teams have met every year since.
Stanford's first NCAA title came in 1990, the season in which the Cardinal first beat Tennessee - at Maples.
Men
Stanford heads to Montana to begin its first road trip of the young season, and the Cardinal would do well to take a page from its first three opponents.
"We're struggling in situations early in the game," Stanford coach Trent Johnson said following his team's 82-58 victory over visiting Cal Poly on Monday night "The reality is teams are coming in here and outplaying us. They are coming into our place with no fear and shooting the ball with confidence. We have to establish a different tone, and that's defense first and foremost. If we don't get that handled it's going to be a long year."
The Cardinal (2-1) has rallied to win two straight following its upset loss to UC Irvine in the season-opener. Both San Francisco and Cal Poly held leads in the first half as well, but Stanford was able to recover from its poor starts.
Stanford hopes to correct its situation in tonight's 7 p.m. contest against the Grizzlies (3-1), who participated in the NCAA tournament last year after winning the Big Sky Conference tournament under first-year coach Larry Krystkowiak, a former NBA player.
"We're trying to build toward a consistent 40-minute effort, especially on defense," Stanford senior center Matt Haryasz said. "It's tough to work out some of the kinks early in the season but defense is definitely something we can work on."
Cal Poly was the latest team to take advance of Stanford's sluggish start. The Mustangs shot 56 percent in the first half, including 67 percent from three-point range. That enabled Cal Poly to stay within striking distance of the Cardinal.
"They were getting easy 3s, and uncontested shots," Haryasz said. "They were shooting a high percentage and we were at home. We didn't play well enough on defense. But for a 10 to 12 minute span in the second half we had a good enough defensive effort which fueled the offense."
Cal Poly was limited to 29 percent shooting (36 percent from 3-point) in the second half while the Cardinal maintained its significant rebounding advantage. The Mustangs also continued to turn the ball over and send Stanford to the foul line.
Haryasz turned in his second straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore forward Taj Finger also continued to show he belongs in the starting lineup, contributing 13 points and eight rebounds.
Finger has scored 28 points in his two starts and proven an effective complement to Haryasz down low.
What makes Stanford tick, though, is senior guard Chris Hernandez. He scored 22 points (10-of-13 from the foul line), grabbed six rebounds and recorded four assists. His biggest contribution, though, transcends statistics.
"Chris is always aggressive on defense," Johnson said. "His level of excellence in terms of effort is always there. He understands what it takes for us to win and it's not points."
Dan Grunfeld, who added 11 points, four assists and four steals, said that Hernandez sets the tone for the rest of the team.
"He's aggressive on both ends of the court and that's what you need from your point guard," he said. "He sets the example and provides leadership."
Added Haryasz: "Chris does what he needs to do for the team to win. He's very valuable to our team. In the last couple of games he was doing things to set up his teammates."
Johnson hopes Hernandez's effort infects the rest of the team from the beginning of the game.
"It's hard to me to find positives when we're not defending," he said. "I want to see that at the start because from here on out it gets tough."
Stanford returns to play at UC Davis on Sunday at 4 p.m. before taking a two-week break. The Cardinal has one home game scheduled for December - Monday the 19th against Denver - and six road games, though one of those is Dec. 21 against Princeton at the Oakland Coliseum as part of the Pete Newell Challenge.
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