Nov 30, 2003
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - The three-point shooting of Stanford's Kelley Suminski and Susan Borchardt put Georgia coach Andy Landers in a quandary.
"We were torn defensively," Landers said after No. 6 Stanford survived a late run to beat No. 10 Georgia 61-59 on Sunday. "We had difficulty matching up with them. Did they hit a lot of 3's? Yes, but it's still 61 points. I thought it would take 75 points to win here on the road so overall I'm pleased with our defense."
Suminski and Borchardt, the wife of Utah Jazz center and former Stanford star Curtis Borchardt, combined to make eight of 13 long range shots and the Cardinal (5-0) hmade 10 total to spark the victory.
"It was basically what they were giving us," said Suminski. "We just took what was open."
Nicole Powell had 21 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double and third overall as the Cardinal won for the 30th time in 31 home games.
Suminski scored 14 points, including three key 3-pointers in the second half, and Borchardt added 12 as Stanford improved to 6-2 against Georgia, including a 3-0 mark at home.
"This is a huge win for our team and program," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "Our defense won the game for us and staying out of foul trouble the whole game was huge."
Kara Braxton scored 14 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs (3-1). Christi Thomas and Janese Hardrick each had 12.
Stanford survived a frantic rush by Georgia in the final minute. Forcing several critical turnovers, the Lady Bulldogs pulled to 59-57 with 25 seconds left on a short jumper from Braxton.
Georgia also forced the Cardinal into spending several timeouts with its trapping defense in the late going.
"We felt we were in the game the whole time," said Thomas. "We never felt it was too far out of reach."
Powell gave Stanford a 59-51 lead with a pair of free throws with 1:43 left before Georgia began its final run.
The Lady Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining but missed a short jumper.
"An eight or nine point lead against Georgia is nothing," said Powell. "They can knock down shots. We had to keep playing hard and smart."
Chelsea Trotter, who finished with 10 points, then hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
"We didn't play well enough to be on the other side of the scoreboard," said Landers. "In the first half it seemed like we were awfully fragmented offensively and couldn't get anything going. The second half was much better for us."
The game featured two of the more successful programs in the nation. Landers and VanDerveer have a combined 1,250 victories and a winning percentage of over 77 percent.
This was the first time either team faced a ranked opponent.
Georgia defeated the Cardinal 83-64 in their last meeting four years ago in the second round of the NCAA tournament.