Nov 23, 2003
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Preseason All-American Nicole Powell and her teammates more than made up for the absence of two regulars in its home opener.
Powell had 20 points and nine rebounds and No. 6 Stanford won its fifth-straight home opener, 79-53 over Fordham on Sunday.
Freshman Kristen Newlin added 16 points for the Cardinal (2-0), who have won 34 of their last 36 home games. Susan Borchardt had 11.
Veterans T'Nae Thiel and Azella Perryman both missed the game with foot injuries.
"I think that bodes well for how good we could be without those two, who are basically starters," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "We want to go to a bigger rotation but it's hard to rest Nicole and the others."
Stacey Price had 10 points and 11 rebounds for her second career double-double as Fordham (1-1) split its only two games west of Chicago on its season-opening road trip. Fordham won at Cal State Fullerton on Friday night. Beth Ann Dickinson scored 13 points.
"When you shoot as poorly as we do, you put yourself in a precarious position against a talented team like Stanford," said Fordham coach Jim Lewis. "I'm very impressed with Tara's team. They are extremely talented and have one of the great players in college basketball in Nicole Powell."
Stanford had a 28-game home winning streak stopped in a loss to Minnesota in the second round of the NCAA tournament last year. Powell scored 20 or more for the second straight game.
Krista Rappahahn, who had 10 points, hit a 3-pointer with 14:32 remaining to give the Cardinal a 52-29 advantage. The Rams were never able to get any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
The Rams, who last visited California during the 1996-97 season, had mixed results as they switched defenses. A match-up zone work for a while, but that also gave Stanford open looks from 3-point range. The Cardinal were 11-of-26 from beyond the arc.
"That kind of defense can take you out of rhythm a little bit but we got big games from Nicole and Kristen," said VanDerveer. "I think defense led the way."
After missing five of their first six shots, the Cardinal connected on 11 of 17 and went on a 15-2 run midway through the first half.
Powell shot 5-for-7 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, in the first half.
"This is my senior year so I'm just going to enjoy every game," said Powell.
Fordham committed 13 turnovers in the first half, and Stanford capitalized, taking a 39-25 lead at the break.