Dec 18, 2003
HOUSTON (AP) - Nicolle Powell and the Stanford Cardinal needed a little time to get warmed up against Rice.
Powell scored all 16 of her points in the second half and had 13 rebounds to help No. 7 Stanford rally for a 72-62 victory over Rice on Thursday night.
"I decided to try to come back slowly," Powell said. "In the first half I was handling the ball a lot and they were putting a lot of pressure on me."
Powell was 0-for-6 in the first half and 6-for-15 overall.
"I never worry about her not showing up. She will always show up and she can carry us," teammate Chelsea Trotter said.
After trailing by as many as 10 early in the second half, Stanford (7-1) outscored Rice 15-5 to take a 51-49 lead with 8:34 left. Powell had six of the 15 points.
"They were the best team in the first half. They came out running and we were a step slow," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "We have been a fast-starting team all year. I don't know why we weren't tonight."
Trotter and Sebnem Kimyacioglu had 13 points each, and Susan Borchardt added 10 for the Cardinal.
Rosyland Jeffries led Rice (2-5) with 12 points, Michelle Woods had 11 and Anne Peck 10.
"We quit moving the ball in the second half and we missed some good shots when they made that run," Rice coach Christy McKinney said. "Also, defensively we weren't quite as aggressive in the second half. ... They came out in the second half and stepped it up a notch. We have to learn to match that."