Category: Stanford Cardinal

Beavers, Moreland too much for Cardinal

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By Daniel Dullum

The first stop on Stanford’s Pac-12 men’s basketball road swing through the State was a rough one Thursday, as the Cardinal were upended 81-72 by Oregon State at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.

Eric Moreland led the Beavers (9-6 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) with 17 points and 15 rebounds, with Roberto Nelson adding 21 points. Halice Cooke, making his first start for OSU, netted 16 points.

For Moreland, it was his third game back after serving a 12-game suspension for violation of team rules.

Chasson Randle scored a game-high 30 points to lead Stanford (9-5, 0-2 Pac-12), with Dwight Powell adding 13 points and 10 boards.

The lead see-sawed early, but after the Cardinal took a 13-12 lead, Angus Brandt’s dunk off a rebound sparked a 10-0 OSU run that put the Beavers up 27-18.

Oregon State built a 10-point lead in the second half, but the Cardinal closed to within two points three times, the last time at 2:59 on a layup by Randle, who was also fouled. Randle converted the free throw and pulled Stanford to within 68-66.

Cooke drained a 3-pointer on the next possession for OSU, and the Beavers cruised home.

Both teams were looking for their first conference win of the season. Oregon State opened Pac-12 play with losses at Colorado and Utah, while Stanford lost to California last Thursday.

The win snapped a four-game Beavers losing streak against Stanford, which had won seven of its last 10 games overall against Oregon State.

On Sunday, the Cardinal travel to Oregon for a 2 p.m. tipoff against the Ducks.

Michelle Richardson on the NCAA

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by Michelle Richardson

This is the first time that the Arizona Wild Cats (15-0) in the post Lute Olsen (the former head coach) era that the Wild Cats have their feet up there strong. Now that the team knows he’s not there now their going to give him his respect and there’s a new regime in charge as the Cats head coach Sean Miller are responding to that stability.

We’re still early in the season it’s January and the conference season is underway and expect Arizona to challenge a lot more as they hold the top rankings in the AP and USA Today polls. With UCLA Steve Holford he’s in his first year as head coach and he’s got something to prove the Pac 12 has always been a top basketball conference.

I’m not sure where the dark forces are coming from Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, but there might be a team that might pop up and you have to ask “hey where did you come from?” Maybe USC is going to be back in their game just wait and see. You can be assured UCLA, Washington, Oregon, they’ll all be in the mix.

Syracuse has always had a solid basketball program and its a shame that the Big East has woken up. The Big East’s loss is the ACC’s gain making the fact that the addition of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC conference more stronger. They get to go up against teams like the Duke, Florida State, North Carolina State, this is going to be a really good basketball program.

Its surprising that Syracuse(12-0) is ranked above North Carolina (9-3) but once you get into that conference schedule things can change. ACC basketball is going to be back and you can expect three to four teams out of the ACC to get to the tournament.

Syracuse is always a powerhouse when you go back to Xavier McDaniel, Derrick Coleman, and Shawn Douglas going back to those days its going to be very interesting to see how they play. The ACC plays very different basketball than what they do in the Big East.

This is going to be great television some of the fans will be getting their Direct TV packages and watch all the ACC basketball and its going to be fun and watching the conference breakdowns. The football bowl games effected basketball TV so were about ready to see how these conference realignments work out and its going to be very good for the ACC and its going to be very good for teams like the Big 12.

Michelle Richardson does commentary on the NCAA each week

Ogwumike Makes History in Stanford Win

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Stanford players celebrate after a score during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Stanford players celebrate after a score during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Stanford players celebrate after a score during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Stanford players celebrate after a score during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By: Joe Lami

Friday night marked the first game of the Pac-12 season for the Stanford Cardinal, and it was one to remember for Chiney Ogwumike.  Ogwumike became the all-time Stanford and Pac-12 rebound leader, as she surpassed Kayla Pederson with career rebound 1,267.

The Senior All-American was quite humble afterwards as she said “Records are great headlines, but I’m more excited about Bonnie (Samuelson) going 6 of 9 from three, Amber with eight assists and the contribution of the Freshman.” Samuelson added that it makes things a lot easier when you have the best player in the country on your team, and Ogwumike smirked and rolled her eyes in a joking sort of way.

Even though that there was a major record that was broken on Friday, there was still a game of basketball that was played, and a great one as the Oregon Ducks came into town.  Oregon came into the contest with a record of 9-2, with losses to Sacramento State and number one Connecticut.  Oregon was riding a seven-game winning streak and was ranked number one in the country in points scored per game, averaging over 105.

Stanford had put a stop to this holding the Ducks to 66 points, in what head coach, Paul Westhead, called “a joke” in the 96-66 Stanford win.

Stanford played all-around great defense, as it was something that Tara VanDerveer praised about all of the game.  The key was holding, Chrisae Rowe, a freshman guard averaging nearly 25 points per game to only 11.  “They tagged Rowe really well, that’s one of Stanford’s strengths” said Westhead.

The Cardinal were of course led by Ogwumike who scored 33, and had 14 rebounds.  Bonnie Samuelson hit a career high 21 points, 18 of them came from beyond the arc, as she was lights out.  Production was great for the Cardinal, as all but three players that saw playing time scored.  Mikaela Ruef was strong once again, with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.  Freshman, Karlie Samuelson played 13 minutes, scoring three on a three-pointer and she had one assist that came on a three made by her sister.

Stanford was lights out from beyond the arc as well, as they shot 50%, 12 of 24, “something that I’d take any night” said VanDerveer.  The first half was even more impressive, as it seemed like they couldn’t miss going 9 of 16 from downtown.  With the three starting to fall for the Cardinal, it relieved pressure off of Ogwumike and allowed her to work inside.

Oregon was held to their lowest scoring total of the season with 66.  Leading the way for them was Jillian Alleyne, the second highest scorer on the team going into the night.  Alleyne scored 26, and “took the most over her opportunities, as she was open down low, after we guarded the 3-point line” said VanDerveer.  Alleyne also finished the double-double adding 13 rebounds.  Starters, Ariel Thompson and Rowe both had 11.

The Ducks fall to 9-3, with a 0-1 record in Pac-12 play.  Oregon next travels to Berkley, to take on the number 23 ranked Bears Sunday to finish off their first weekend of Pac-12 play. The Bears won their opening game on Friday as well, which should make traveling through the Bay Area a tough trip this season.

“It was a good first game for our team to start off Pac-12 play” said VanDerveer, as the Cardinal improve their record to 12-1 and their conference record to 1-0.  The other team from Oregon is up next for Stanford, as the Oregon State Beavers take on the Cardinal on Sunday at Maples.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

With No Bench Support, Cardinal Falls in Pac-12 Opener to Rival Cal

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By Matthew Harrington

The Stanford Cardinal’s greatest strength proved to be its greatest weakness in a Thursday evening 69-62 loss to rivals University of California Berkeley. Stanford’s starters, who produce one of the best totals in the nation of 66.9 points per game, provided all of the scoring for the Cardinal (9-4) in the defeat to open up Pac-12 play with a loss to their cross-bay foes Cal (10-4).

The Cardinal starting five once against consisted of Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown at the guard positions and Josh Huestis, Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic in the frontcourt, the 13th straight time coach Johnny Dawkins penciled in this starting unit. Powell, the only player in white to make more than half of the baskets he attempted, paced the Cardinal with 16 points before fouling out in the second half. Randle (15) and Brown (14) finished right behind the forward in points on a night where the bench provided no support.

Golden Bears guard Tyrone Wallace dropped a game-high 20 points on 6 of 13 from the field, including four three-pointers, while forward Richard Solomon (14) and Justin Cobb (18) also cracked double-digits for the victors. Cal made 42.1 percent of field goals to Stanford’s 41.4, with Berkeley narrowly out-rebounding the Cardinal 37-35.

The Cardinal raced out to an early eight-point, 12-4 lead on a pair of Anthony Brown free throws 3:45 in but the Golden Bears clawed back, outscoring Stanford 17-6 over the next four minutes. Cal ultimately took the lead after Richard Solomon nailed two free throws to give the visitors a 19-18 lead 7:45 into play. They would go on to outscore Stanford 18-13 for the remainder of the first half to boast a 37-31 lead at the half.

Cal continued distancing itself from the Cardinal, allowing consecutive Stanford baskets only once in the opening ten minutes of the second frame for a 51-45 lead. Stanford responded with a 10-3 run for its first lead in over 26:34 of game time when Randle nailed a jumper with just under six minutes to play. Dwight Powell chipped in a free throw with 5:17 remaining to give Stanford its biggest lead of the half 56-54.

With Stanford’s Nastic and Powell watching from the bench after each fouling out in the closing minutes, the Golden Bears outscored their hosts 13-6, including an unanswered eight points just after Stanford wrestled the Cal lead away. A Justin Cobb jumper, 2 of the guard’s 11 second-half points, iced the game 67-62 with 25 seconds left. Randle lost the handle on a dribble while taking the ball down court on the next play, turning the ball over to the Golden Bears with 22 seconds on the clock. Cobb then added a pair from the charity stripe to close out the game.

For Stanford, the loss against Cal at Maples Pavilion is its first since March of 2010. The Cardinal entered play amidst a stretch that saw it dominate Berkeley at home with 18 wins in the previous 20 contests in Palo Alto. Stanford  will have a chance to bounce back in Pac-12 when they square off against Oregon State in Corvallis on January 9th before a trip to Eugene to face no. 10 Oregon January 12.

Nastic’s Career Day, 79-62 Win Over Cal Poly Wrap Up Cardinal Non-Conference Play

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By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – Away from the lights of the Barclays Center, removed from name-brand universities Michigan, Pittsburgh or Connecticut on the opposite side of the marquee, the Stanford Cardinal quietly tuned up for conference play with a 79-62 win over Cal Poly (4-8) at Maples Pavilion Sunday afternoon. Stefan Nastic set a career-high with 20 points for Stanford (9-3) on the eve of Pac-12 play and a showdown with rival Cal.

“I was really happy with the win,” said Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. “I thought it was against a quality team, a team that’s going to do well in league play. We’ll benefit from having that type of challenge as we go forward.”

Cal Poly forward Chris Eversley netted a game-high 25 points in defeat, while Nastic ended the night a flawless seven for seven from the field and six of six from the free throw line in 26 minutes of play to top his previous personal high of 14 points.

“We wanted to get the ball inside,” said Dawkins. “Stefan’s really done a good job of getting inside and anchoring our post position. We want to go inside to him when we can. He did a good job of really producing for us.”

Senior center John Gage, coming off the bench to rest Nastic, dropped a tidy eight points on Cal Poly on a pair of threes and a field goal in ten minutes of play. He was also perfect from the field.

“John is a really good counter to Stefan,” said Dawkins. “He’s a total opposite to Stefan at that position. One guy is really more a face-up guy who can shoot jumpers, the other guy is a dominant low post scorer, so I really do think they play off each other nicely.”

“It’s always good to have a player like John,” added Dawkins. “He’s a terrific teammate. He’s a senior. He’s battled a lot of injuries early in the season. He pretty much wore a cast the first seven, eight games this season. He took that off during the break we had before finals and he’s really found his stroke again. He’s starting to blossom. He’s playing with confidence.”

Nastic, Gage and Dwight Powell (all listed at over six foot ten inches tall in the media guide) used their height advantage to pick apart the Mustangs, whose tallest player Zach Gordon is a six-foot-eight forward. Powell came a pair of rebounds shy of a double-double and, with three blocks in the game, passed Brook Lopez for seventh all-time in school history with 103 rejections.

The Cardinal frontcourt trio man-handled their undersized opponents in the post, drawing the focus off guard Chasson Randle. Randle struggled in the first half, with only one field goal in four tries and six points before igniting in the second half to tie Nastic for the team-lead with 20 points.

Stanford never trailed in the contest, leading by as much as 16 points in the first half before Cal Poly guard Kyle Odister nailed a trey with less than ten seconds till the hallway point for a 33-20 Cardinal lead. Stanford held the visitors to nine baskets on 35 attempts, including limiting Eversley to only seven points.

The Cardinal continued to put the game out of reach after the intermission, picking up its largest lead of the night with a 24 point edge on an Anthony Brown free throw with 5:45 left to play. Cal Poly would chip away at the margin, forcing Dawkins to put some of his starters back on the court late to ensure the win.

“You have to play for forty minutes,” said Dawkins. “We subbed out late. We subbed out with six minutes to go. Those kids kept fighting and playing. We ended up subbing our guys back in, some of our starters. That says a lot about their group.”

With non-conference play wrapped up and the Cardinal looking at a 9-3 record including an upset over no. 10 Connecticut on the road, Dawkins and co. have an idea what to expect from their squad when they take on Cal January 2nd for Pac-12 play at Maples Pavilion.

“I think the teams we played have really helped us prepare for conference play,” said Dawkins. “Our conference, from top to bottom, is one of the best conferences in the nation. I think it’s been proven by how preseason has gone for all of our teams. I think the way we scheduled is reflective of what we thought our conference schedule would be like.”

Stanford Pummels Bulldogs On The Road

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By Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal returned to action after their holiday break on Saturday with a successful trip to Fresno.  The number four-ranked Cardinal were victorious by the score of 86-54.

Fresno State came into the matchup with a record of 6-4, with three wins in the last four.  Saturday marks the second straight loss for the Bulldogs, as they were defeated last weekend by the Dons of San Francisco 76-47.

Fresno State kept it close in the first half and actually held the lead at two different points in the game.  The Bulldogs kept within two baskets with the score being 22-18 until around the nine-minute mark, and that’s when the Cardinal were able to take over.  Stanford started a two-minute 11-0 run with eight to go.  Fresno State would eventually stop it with 5:42 to go in the first half, but not before the Stanford lead would be stretched to 33-20.  Baskets were then being traded back and forth before the half would end with the Cardinal leading 43-31.

The second half would see the Cardinal scoring 43 points as well.  This time, however, they were able to hold the Bulldogs to only 23 points.  Stanford had an incredible start to the second half, as they were able to outscore the Bulldogs 16-2 to give them the big 69-33 lead.  The Cardinal would not look back as they would coast for the win.

Chiney Ogwumike had yet another outstanding performance as she led the Cardinal in scoring, with 20 points.  The All-American Senior added ten rebounds to record the double-double.  Taylor Greenfield was right behind Ogwumike, scoring 18, a season high and tying her career high.  Amber Orrange had 15 for the Cardinal and added six assists.  Mikaela Ruef had an outstanding game, as she contributed in everyway, recording eight assists, seven rebounds, five points and adding a block and a steal.

Alex Sheedy, who recorded the double-double, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, led the Bulldogs.  Guard, Taylor Thompson also saw double digits in scoring with 14 of her own.

Fresno State ends their non-conference play with loss, as their record drops to 6-5.  The Bulldogs are scheduled to start up Mountain West action on New Year’s Day, where they will travel to Las Vegas to take on the 3-9 Rebels.

With the win the Stanford Cardinal up their record to 11-1, as they end non-conference play.  They will return to action after the New Year to start conference play, as they will host the Oregon Ducks on January 3.

Stanford Upsets Tennessee in a Tight One

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By: Joe Lami

Saturday marked the second time that two top ten teams matched up against each other this week, as number one Connecticut defeated number two Duke earlier in the week.  On Saturday it would be number six Stanford defeating number three Tennessee 76-70.

“It was a great environment” losing coach, Holly Warlick stated, as 6,044 were on to see two great rivals match-up once again.

Tennessee started the game on a 4-0 run with buckets from Isabelle Harrison and Bashaaara Graves.  Stanford would answer back with a run of their own, scoring 13 straight, eight of which came from Chiney Ogwumike.  The other five points from freshman, Lili Thompson.

“We dug ourselves a big hole early, and it was tough to get out of” said a Warlick after the game.

Stanford would hold the lead for the rest of the game, with their biggest lead getting to 12 points multiple times.  The game would tighten up towards the end as Tennessee made a really strong push, cutting the lead to two with only a minute to go.  However, Junior Guard, Amber Orrange would come up huge for the Cardinal getting a lay-up and a foul shot to extend the lead to five and really put the game away.

Stanford was led by Ogwumike who registered 32 points for the second straight contest, this time however she did it while playing all 40 minutes.  Ogwumike also had 20 rebounds, with 11 of them coming on the offensive side of the glass.

“She doesn’t take a possession off, we had trouble with her all night” said Warlick on the play of Ogwumike.

Stanford had a strong performance as well from Freshman Guard, Thompson, who scored 14 points, while bringing down two rebounds in the 35 minutes that she played.

Stanford head coach, Tara VanDerveer had nothing but praise for Thompson’s play “Lili isn’t a freshman for us, and this isn’t the type of game for freshman, you can’t make freshman mistakes.”

Mikaela Ruef had eight points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal.  Coming off of the bench huge for Stanford was Taylor Greenfield scoring 11 points, with nine of them coming from beyond the arc.  The junior also brought down a single rebound.

“Taylor’s threes were huge for us today, it seemed like they were always falling at the right time” VanDerveer commented on Greenfield ‘s play.

On the other side of the ball, Tennessee was led by Ariel Massengale with 17 points.  Meighan Simmons was right behind her with 15 points, and Graves scored 14.  Harrison was on the only Lady Vol to record a double-double as she scored ten points, and added 13 rebounds.

The biggest stat of the night would have to be that of the rebound, as Stanford out-rebounded Tennessee 43-40.  VanDerveer praised the teams rebounding performance as she said to the team before the game, “If you win the battle on the boards, you will win this game.”  Though Stanford did give up 21 offensive rebounds to the Lady Vols that led to 24 second chance points, the head coach was still thrilled about the performance.  She also said that rebounding and boxing out needs to be constantly worked on throughout the season, as Cal will be a very similar team to Tennessee.

With the win, Stanford has beaten the Lady Volunteers in three consecutive contests for the first time in series history.  Stanford also defends Maples Pavilion, as Tennessee has been unsuccessful there since the 2005-06 season.

Tennessee is handed their first loss of the season and moves to 10-1.  They will go on a holiday break and return to the floor on December 29th for the last time of 2013, as they host Lipscomb.  After the New Year, they will then start SEC conference play with their first game against LSU.

Stanford keeps their winning streak alive and moves it up to nine games, and ups their record to 10-1.  The Cardinal will also go on holiday break and return to action December 28th against the Fresno St. Bulldogs in Fresno.  After the New Year, Stanford will also start their conference play with their next home game against the Oregon Ducks on January 3rd.

Michigan holds off late Cardinal surge

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By Daniel Dullum

Thanks to some clutch free throw shooting by Nik Stauskas, Michigan held off Stanford 68-65 Saturday in a non-conference men’s basketball contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Cardinal (8-3) had won seven of their last eight games going in, including a notable road win over No. 10 Connecticut on Wednesday. But they came up short in their bid for back-to-back road victories on the East Coast.

Stauskas, who led the Wolverines with 19 points, sank two crucial free throws with nine seconds remaining in the second half. Glenn Robinson III added 17 points for Michigan (7-4), which turned the ball over only eight times. Wolverines reserve Zak Irvin added 12 points.

Stefan Nastic equaled his season-high of 14 points for the Cardinal, but he fouled out with 5:24 to play. Chasson Randle, meanwhile, led Stanford with 18 points.

Stanford pulled to within one point in the second half, but could never get ahead of the Wolverines, who surged ahead at the 14:42 mark of the first half and never trailed for the remainder of the game.

Michigan’s Caris LeVert missed a pair of foul shots with 45 seconds remaining in the second half, which left the door open for a Cardinal comeback. After Grant Verhoeven made 1 of 2 free throws for Stanford with :44 showing, the Cardinal chose not to foul and Robinson’s layup put Michigan up 66-62 with 14 seconds left.

Chasson Randle’s 3-pointer cut the Cardinal deficit to 66-65 before Stauskas hit his two foul shots that gave Michigan some breathing room. Randle’s last-second 3-point attempt was short as time expired.

It was Michigan’s first game since dropping a 72-70 home decision to No. 1-Arizona on Dec. 14.

After a holiday break, the Cardinal return home on Sunday, Dec. 29, for a non-conference game against Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

Morris Phillips on the NCAA: Former Raider Tuiasosopo to coach Hunger Bowl for Washington

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by Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–The Kraft Hunger Bowl is back and kick off is scheduled for Sat December 28th at AT&T Park between BYU and Washington University. Friday night I was in downtown S.F. and ran into the BYU advance crew. The Cougars don’t arrive in the City until Sunday. The Cougars former head coach Lavelle Edwards was in town on Friday night.

There’s a lot of excitment downtown it’s BYU’s first appearance in the Kraft Bowl and it’s Washington’s also. It should be a great football game. BYU is having a great season. The Cougars lost games during the regular season to Wisconsin and Notre Dame. BYU is a good football team and they run the football.

Washington runs the football just as well with their running back Bishop Sankey and the Huskies are 8-12 for the regular season in the Pac 12. Then there was the coaching change for Washington as Steve Sarkisian who left for USC is replaced by Chris Peterson. Sarkisian will not be involved in this game.

Peterson left Boise State to coach the Huskies and with the Hunger Bowl in the last couple years there have been coaching changes for this game. It will not affect the product on the field it should be an exciting game. Former Raider quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo the Huskies interim coach knows the system going into this bowl game. It’s all hands on deck with Sarkisian gone and the team has to rally around the new coach for this game.

The players have to be more attentive and the assistants have to assume the responsibilty it’s not going to affect them on the field. They’ve got plenty of time to prepare and they might be able to do well without Sarkisian for this game. What happened two years ago with Illinois they came into the bowl to play UCLA with their new coach and last year a coaching change happened when Boston College came town and they also had a new coach.

That’s just the kind of timing they have in football and particuarily with this bowl game coaches are taking new jobs at this time of the year and obviously athletic directors are not interested in having somebody around whose accepted a new job who can not even coach the last few games. They get the guy out and he doesn’t coach the final bowl games and they just move on.

It shouldn’t effect Washington at all with this change and again Peterson will take over at the beginning of next season and coach the Huskies 2014 season. Peterson maybe attending this game as an observer. He might be there as a consultant but Peterson left Boise State and it’s great for Washington he was an excellent coach while he was with the Buffaloes and made a couple of BCS appearences.

Morris Phillips is filling in for Michelle Richardson this week for NCAA commentary

A Night of Records as Stanford Stomps Lobos

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By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal hosted the New Mexico Lobos on Monday in their final tune-up before the big matchup this Saturday, where the number six-ranked team hosts the third ranked Lady Vols.  They defeated the Lobos by the final score of 75-41, to move their record to 9-1.  The team has also won the last 8 in a row.  For the Lobos, they saw their two-game winning streak snapped and their record falls to 4-5 in the process.

The night for Stanford started great for Chiney Ogwumike, who recorded her 2,000th career point just minutes into a first half that she will never forget.  The Stanford All-American Senior recorded 24 of the team’s 40 first half points.

“She’s such an anchor for us” raved VanDerveer on Ogwumike’s performance.

Ogwumike eventually would slow down the production as she finished off her night with eight in the second half ending with 32 points, only four shy of tying her career high, which is set earlier this season against Cal Poly.

The team production was something to be impressed about, as eight different players got on the scoreboard.  The bench scored 32 points of their own. Bonnie Samuelson and Taylor Greenfield led the bench with eight each.  Alex Green and Erica McCall were right behind them with six.  McCall also added eight rebounds, tying her career high, which she set against Purdue in November.  Though Mikaela Ruef only scored two points, she was outstanding on the boards, leading the team with ten.

“Mikaela got it done on the boards”praised VanDerveer on Ruef on her performance.

New Mexico was led by Guard, Bryce Owens, who scored 12 points.  She was the only Lobo to get into double-digits.  Brooke Allemand came off of the bench to add eight points. She was also great on the defensive side of the ball, with her only steal being a memorable one as she anticipated a pass, jumped in front of it and it led to a lay-up.

Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez stated “it was an opportunity for us to go and play a great team” in her chance to go up against the sixth-ranked team.

The only down side for the Cardinal was that they once again gave up way too many offensive rebounds, with 20.  “We have to do a lot better job of keeping teams off of the glass offensively, but that will give us something to work on between now and when we play Tennessee” said VanDerveer.  The Lobos, who are ranked second in the Mountain West in rebound differential, did a great job against the Cardinal as they were out-rebounded by only two.  The Cardinal won the rebound battle 43-41, however lost the offensive rebound battle 20-12.

The win for the Cardinal also marks the 750th win for VanDerveer as Stanford’s head coach.

The Stanford Cardinal have the rest of the week to prepare for what will be their toughest challenge at home yet, in number three ranked Tennessee.  New Mexico will take a break for Christmas holiday and will return to the court on December 28th.