Nov. 24, 2001
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The seventh-ranked Stanford University women's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Panda Travel Rainbow Wahine Classic with a 71-60 win over host Hawaii on Saturday afternoon at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the win, Stanford (4-0) snapped Hawaii's 11-game home winning streak that dated back to January of last year.
"We started out very well," Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. "But I have to give credit to Hawaii, because they got right back in the game because we were a little impatient. In the second half, we started to rebound better and hit a couple of big 3-pointers."
Stanford will now play for the title of the eight-team event on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. against the winner of the other semifinal between Oklahoma State and Penn State.
Stanford pulled away from the hosts thanks to a 13-0 run midway through the second half. After the Rainbow Wahine tied the game for the final time at 50-50 with 9:21 remaining, Stanford reeled off the 13 straight points to take a commanding lead with 5:15 to play. Senior Lauren St. Clair (Philadelphia, PA/Mount St. Joseph Academy) started and ended the run with key 3-pointers, and scored all 12 of her points in the final 11 minutes.
"Lauren came in and stepped up big for us," VanDerveer said. "She also really helped us with her passing into the paint."
Hawaii came back to cut the lead to six at 65-59 with 2:02 remaining, but a steal and lay-up by St. Clair and four free throws by freshman Kelley Suminski (Chester, NJ/Mendham HS) sealed the win.
Despite playing just 25 minutes because of foul trouble, senior Lindsey Yamasaki (Oregon City, OR/Oregon City HS) led the Cardinal with a game-high 14 points. Senior Cori Enghusen (Bothell, WA/Inglemoor HS) pitched in 12 points and eight rebounds and sophomore Nicole Powell (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards.
Stanford shot a season-low 39.4 (28-of-71) percent from the floor but managed to hold Hawaii to 37.8 (17-of-45) percent. The Cardinal also out-rebounded the Rainbow Wahine by a 43-35 margin, including a 27-14 advantage in the second half. The Cardinal wasted little time in jumping out on top.
After the teams exchanged 3-pointers at the outset, Stanford reeled off 15 unanswered points to take an 18-3 lead just 4:09 into the contest. Yamasaki had seven points, including a 3-pointer, in the run while Enghusen added six.
But the Cardinal went cold just a few minutes later, missing 15 consecutive shots. Stanford did not score for 9:53, as Hawaii used a 21-0 run to turn a 28-9 deficit into a 30-28 advantage with 3:21 remaining before the half. The Cardinal later scored the final six points of the first half to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room.
After the fast start, Stanford finished the first half just 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) from the floor while Hawaii was 9-of-25 (36.0 percent). The Rainbow Wahine, however, out-rebounded the Cardinal 21-16 and held a 10-2 advantage from the free throw line. The Cardinal was also plagued by foul trouble early, as Powell picked up three quick personals and played just seven minutes in the first half.