Dec. 29, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Junior center Carolyn Moos (Wayzata, MN/Blake HS) posted a game-high 20 points and added a team-high six rebounds to lead Stanford (6-3) to a 57-48 victory at Utah (8-3) in a non-conference NCAA women's basketball game at the Huntsman Center. The victory extended Stanford's season-high winning streak to four games and snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Utes.
"This was a really big win for our team, especially on the road at a tough place to play like Utah," said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer following the contest. "Hopefully, this will give us lots of momentum going into Sunday's game versus Colorado. That's a really big game for us as well. We'll have to play well again to win."
Moos caught fire early in the second half of tonight's contest as she scored the Cardinal's first eight points after the break on a pair of three-pointers and two free throws, extending the Cardinal's four-point halftime margin to 30-22 after a trey at 17:09.
Stanford would hold off a series of Utah rallies for the remainder of the game but would never trail again. Utah tied the score for the first time in the second half at 35-35 on a three-pointer by Kristina Andersen with 10:49 remaining. After the Cardinal rebuilt its lead to four points on two more occasions, the Utes would again tie the score at 45-45 when Lindsay Sodja made one of two free throws with 4:20 to go.
The Cardinal then used a crucial 7-0 run to pull away from the Utes. Sophomore forward Bethany Donaphin (New York, NY/Horace Mann HS) began the run with a layup at 3:59 to put Stanford ahead for good. Senior guard Milena Flores (Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS) scored the next five points to put the Utes away. Moos and sophomore forward Lauren St. Clair (Philadelphia, PA/Mt. St. Joseph's Academy) each made a pair of free throws in the final 0:27 to keep the Utes from making a comeback.
"It was important not to get behind in the second half because you tend to have a lot more confidence when you're ahead," emphasized VanDerveer. "I really want to credit our defense for this victory because we had a hard time getting anything going for most of the game offensively."
Stanford's defensive effort held Utah to 48 points, which marked the lowest total by a Cardinal opponent this season.
Stanford held a 22-18 halftime margin after scoring the final nine points over the final 3:48 of the first half to erase an 18-13 Utah lead. Utah managed just three points over the final 9:00 of the first half. The first half was marred by a total of 25 turnovers as neither team shot better than .360 from the floor.
The Cardinal returns home for its final non-conference contest of the regular season this Sunday (1:00 p.m., PST). The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net.