Feb. 4, 2001
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The Stanford University women's basketball team (12-7 overall, 6-3 Pac-10) raced to a 26-point halftime lead, and never looked back in an 89-75 victory over USC (8-11, 3-6) on Sunday afternoon at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Stanford has now won five in a row, and completed its first Pac-10 weekend road sweep since Feb. 12 and 14 of 1999, also at USC and UCLA.
The Cardinal built the 55-29 halftime lead by shooting a blistering 72.7 (24-of-33) percent from the field in the first half. Senior Sarah Dimson (Norman, OK/Norman HS) was 6-of-6 to lead the charge, while junior Enjoli Izidor (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) was 5-of-6. Stanford's starters made 12 of their 14 shots in the first 20 minutes, while USC, which shot 29.4 (10-of-34) percent in the first half, received just two baskets in 16 attempts from its starting five.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the opening 4:12 of the contest, and built on the advantage throughout the first 20 minutes. Stanford then used a 9-2 run over the final 2:00 of the half to extend the lead to 55-29 at the break.
"The first half was beautiful to watch," Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. "The first half really set the tone for the game. This was a big trip for us, and a lot of people stepped up big."
Stanford continued to build the lead with an 8-2 run at the start of the second half for what would be its biggest lead of the game at 63-31 with 17:15 remaining. USC scored the next 11 points, however, to get within 63-42 with 13:56 remaining. The Cardinal stayed in control the rest of the way, however, letting the hosts get no closer than 12 points (82-70 @ 3:09).
Junior Lindsey Yamasaki (Oregon City, OR/Oregon City HS) had a game-high 28 points for the Cardinal, including 8-of-13 from the field and eight rebounds. Freshman Nicole Powell (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) added 18 points, six asssists and five rebounds, while Dimson added 15, Izidor 13 and junior Bethany Donaphin (New York, NY/Horace Mann HS) 10. Stanford shot 56.9 (33-of-58) for the contest, while holding USC to just 31.2 (24-of-77) percent.
Stanford now returns home for the consecutive games, beginning on Thursday, February 8 against the University of Oregon at 7:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The homestand also includes game against Oregon State (February 10 @ 7:30 p.m.) and California (February 16 @ 7:30 p.m.).