Feb 8, 2003
By JANIE McCAULEY
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. - Tara VanDerveer has placed herself on a deadline. The Stanford coach has six conference games to correct everything she believes would keep the Cardinal from going deep into the NCAA tournament.
This weekend was a start.
Nicole Powell had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and No. 6 Stanford won its 23rd straight home game, defeating Oregon State 71-46 on Saturday.
Kelley Suminski added 20 points and five assists for the Cardinal (19-2, 11-1 Pac-10), who improved to 12-0 in Maples Pavilion this season and has won 32 of 33 conference games.
They beat the Oregon schools by a combined 56 points, including an 85-54 win over the Ducks on Thursday - and they did it without starting point guard Susan King.
King missed both games with a broken little toe on her left foot. She had been playing with the injury and could return for Stanford's game at Washington on Thursday.
"Without Susan, a lot of people got valuable experience," VanDerveer said. "This weekend was important for us."
She wants to improve the little things, such as not committing silly turnovers, doing a better job on the offensive boards and getting more in sync offensively.
The Cardinal are using a more structured, simpler offense to keep everybody active and involved on the court.
"I think we're very confident with this new setup," said guard Sebnem Kimyacioglu, who added 11 points.
Leilani Estavan was the lone Oregon State player in double figures with 12 points. The Beavers (12-10, 6-7) missed too many easy shots and didn't take care of the ball as they dropped to 0-17 at Stanford.
Stanford's home winning streak, which dates to Dec. 28, 2001, is second in Division I behind Connecticut, which has 57 straight home victories. The Cardinal played their 400th home game, and have won 81 percent of those.
Stanford leads the Pac-10 by 2? games over No. 20 Washington, which lost at Arizona and Arizona State this weekend, including a 62-56 loss to the Sun Devils on Saturday.
The Cardinal built their lead to 56-34 on a three-point play by Chelsea Trotter with 9:54 left. Until Trotter scored, Stanford's starters had accounted for all of the team's 53 points. Suminski followed with a three-point play and Krista Rappahahn stole an inbound pass to score for a 61-34 lead. Suminski hit a 3-pointer to give Stanford its biggest lead of 30 points.
The Cardinal hit three of their first four 3-pointers and started 8-for-12 from the field on the way to their sixth straight victory over Oregon State, and 17th in 18.
The Beavers struggled to establish their offense against Stanford's swarming, pressure defense and had 17 first-half turnovers and a season-high 30 total.
Oregon State managed only one shot in the first three minutes of the second half, committing four quick turnovers. The Cardinal had 15 steals.
Powell scored 14 of her points in the first half when Stanford shot 52 percent to take a 35-22 halftime lead despite being outrebounded 17-11.