April 14, 2004
STANFORD SEASON WRAP UP:
* - No. 7/7 Stanford ended a successful 2003-04 season with a 27-7 overall record, an appearance in the Elite Eight and a Pacific-10 Conference and Tournament title.
* - Senior F Nicole Powell was selected the Most Outstanding Player for the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region.
* - The NCAA Midwest Region First-Round win over Missouri (68-44) marked head coach Tara VanDerveer's 600th career win.
* - Powell tallied her 2,000th career point in NCAA Midwest Region Second-Round win over Oklahoma (68-43) ... she finished her Stanford career ranked third in the Cardinal recordbooks with 2,062 points in 119 games.
* - The Cardinal wrapped up 2003-04 ranked No. 1 among NCAA Divison I schools in free-throw percentage (80.8; 476-589), No. 6 in 3-point field goals per game (7.5), No. 10 in 3-point field goal percentage (37.7), No. 15 in won-lost percentage (79.4) and No. 25 in turnovers per game (14.7).
* - Stanford finished the season ranked first in the conference in scoring defense (58.4), scoring margin (+11.9), free throw percentage (80.8; 476-589), field goal percentage (37.7; 742-1966), 3-point field goal percentage (37.7; 256-679), defensive rebounds (888) and 3-point field goals made (256).
* - Stanford was crowned Pacific-10 Conference co-champion with Arizona after both teams tallied a 14-4 league record this season ... the Cardinal earned a share of its fourth-straight conference title and won its second-straight Pac-10 Tournament Championship ... the Cardinal downed Arizona in the championship game to claim the tournament title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season ... Stanford leads the conference with 13 all-time Pac-10 titles and two tournament titles.
* - Powell was named the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year for the second time in her career ... Earned Pac-10 Conference Tournament MVP honors for the third-straight season.
* - Freshman C Kristen Newlin was named a member of the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team ... redshirt junior G Susan Borchardt and junior G Kelley Suminski earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 honors ... Suminski was also named to the Pac-10 All-Tournament Team.
* - Powell led the Cardinal with 627 points and 346 rebounds ... she averaged 20.2 ppg and 11.2 rpg.
* - Other scoring leaders included Suminski (340), Borchardt (289) and junior G Sebnem Kimyacioglu (229).
* - Powell led Stanford in 3-pointers made (58), followed closely by Kimyacioglu (57), Borchardt (55) and Suminski (53).
* - Junior F T'Nae Thiel led Stanford in field goal percentage (.527; 87-165).
* - Sophomore G Krista Rappahahn led the Cardinal in 3-point field goal percentage (.509; 28-55).
STANFORD'S NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY:
* - Stanford owns an all-time postseason record of 40-19 (.678), including a 40-16 (.714) record in NCAA Tournament competition ... This year was the Cardinal's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance and 17th in a row.
* - The Cardinal have advanced to at least the regional final game in 8-of-18 NCAA Tournament appearances.
* - Stanford won NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1992, and also made Final Four appearances in 1991, 1995, 1996 and 1997 ... The Cardinal captured the 1990 NCAA Championship by defeating Auburn 88-81 in Knoxville, Tenn. ... Stanford then won the 1992 crown by knocking off Western Kentucky 78-62 in the championship game in Los Angeles, Calif.
NCAA MIDWEST REGION WRAP-UP:
* - Final (Tennessee 62, Stanford 60): Tasha Butts scored in the lane with 1.7 seconds left and the Lady Vols beat Stanford 62-60 ... Butts, guarded on the left block by All-American Nicole Powell, spun to her right and threw up a right-hander, which banked off the glass and fell through ... Powell caught a long inbounds pass on the right wing and heaved a 3-point attempt toward the basket, but it banged off the rim and out ... Powell led Stanford with 31 points and 10 rebounds, but was the only Cardinal player in double figures ... Powell was selected the Most Outstanding Player for the Midwest Regional games in Norman ... She had 47 points, 27 rebounds and 11 assists combined in Stanford's two games ... Her right-hander in the lane tied the game at 60 with 44.6 seconds ... Butts missed a layup on the other end, but Tennessee kept possession after Stanford's Chelsea Trotter knocked the rebound out of bounds under the basket with 21.7 seconds left ... Butts ran the clock down to 8.4 seconds before Summitt signaled for a timeout to set up the final play ... Butts charged to the left of the basket and turned her back to Powell ... Butts led Tennessee with 14 points, Ely scored 12 and LaToya Davis had 10 ... The Cardinal took a 26-18 lead when Powell hit a jumper from the free throw line with 8:26 left in the first half ... Powell scored 10 of the Cardinal's first 26 points as Stanford hit 13 of its first 20 shots ... But Tennessee charged back, holding Stanford scoreless for the next 5:38 as it scored 11 straight points and took the lead on a 3-pointer by Sidney Spencer with 3:13 to play before halftime ... VanDerveer called timeout to regroup, and Stanford scored the final five points of the half for a 31-29 lead ... Stanford tried only three free throws and made just one, and it didn't get any scoring from its bench.
* - Semifinal (Stanford 57, Vanderbilt 55): Kelley Suminski hit a 3-pointer with 0.3 left on the clock to give Stanford a 57-55 victory over Vanderbilt ... Nicole Powell had 16 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, including a drive and dish that set up Suminski's game-winner ... Powell took the inbounds with 11.2 seconds left, dribbled up the court and into the lane before turning around and passing to Suminski, whose open shot rattled in ... Dee Davis couldn't get a full-court desperation heave off for Vandy before the final buzzer and Stanford players mobbed the court ... Suminski finished with 11 points, and T'Nae Thiel added 10 for the sixth-seeded Cardinal ... Hillary Hager had 13 points to lead second-seeded Vanderbilt ... Earley added 12, Jenni Benningfield scored 11 and Davis had 10 ... Powell couldn't find her range in the second half, going scoreless for the first 19 minutes ... After her first of two consecutive airballs late in the second half, the 6-foot-2 forward turned to VanDerveer with a look of frustration a some boos coming down from the crowd ... Powell had 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the opening half ... She started struggling after Earley returned from the bench after sitting out the final 14 minutes of the first half with two fouls ... Vanderbilt capitalized on Powell's ineffectiveness to overcome a 12-point first-half deficit ... The Commodores came out of halftime on an 11-2 run to tie it at 37 on Benningfield's putback of Earley's miss ... The Commodores finally took their first lead with a 10-2 run late in the second half. Davis hit two free throws to give the Commodores a 55-52 lead, but Stanford held Vanderbilt scoreless the rest of the way ... Powell was fouled by Hager and hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one, then the Cardinal kept Vanderbilt from getting off a shot before the shot clock expired on the ensuing possession.
* - Second Round (Stanford 68, Oklahoma 43): Stanford, the No. 6 seed in the Midwest but ranked 10th nationally, used a 22-0 second-half run to rout Oklahoma 68-43 in the second round of the Midwest Regional ... Nicole Powell had 23 points and Kelley Suminski added 19 for the Cardinal (26-6) ... Oklahoma (24-9), the Big 12 tournament champion, was the No. 3 seed but 11th in the national rankings ... The Sooners had won five in a row, and trailed only 23-22 at halftime ... Stanford outscored Oklahoma 45-21 in the second half, shooting 58 percent (15-for-26), including 4-for-7 from 3-point range ... Powell also had 11 rebounds, seven assists and no turnovers - giving her one turnover in two games in Tempe ... Suminski was 7-for-10 shooting, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers. Susan Borchardt scored all nine of her points in the second half on 3-of-4 shooting on 3s ... Chelsea Trotter added 10 points, all in the second half ... Dionnah Jackson was the only Oklahoma player in double figures with 15 points ... The Sooners shot just 30 percent (15-for-50), 28 percent in the second half ... The Cardinal opened the second half with a 16-4 outburst to go up 39-26 on Suminski's 3-pointer with 15 minutes to play ... Caton Hill's 3-pointer cut the lead to 41-34 with 12:24 to go, but the Sooners went the next 6:44 without a score ... Trotter scored eight in Stanford's big run, sparking it with an inside basket and ending it with a putback that put Stanford up 63-34 with 5:57 remaining ... Borchardt had two 3-pointers during the run, and Suminski scored eight ... Hill finally ended the Oklahoma drought with an inside basket with 5:40 remaining ... Powell scored 10 of Stanford's last 16 points in the first half ... Neither team shot well in the first 20 minutes, Stanford 33 percent (8-for-24) and Oklahoma 32 percent (8-for-25) ... Stanford missed its first six shots and Oklahoma went more than five minutes without a point as the Sooners took a 13-5 lead on Beky Preston's layup on a pass from Maria Villarroel ... But Powell scored seven in a 12-2 run and the Cardinal took a 17-15 lead after Suminski's 3-pointer with 6:23 left in the half ... Jackson, who scored nine in the first half, made one of two free throws to tie it at 22 with 47.2 seconds to go in the half ... Powell made one of two at the line with 5.6 seconds remaining to put Stanford up by one at halftime.
* - First Round (Stanford 68, Missouri 44): Nicole Powell had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Cardinal beat Missouri 68-55 ... Powell, who grew up in nearby Phoenix, scored 14 in the first half and took just one shot in the second, using a crossover move to create a 3-pointer that put Stanford up 64-37 with 6:35 to play ... Powell was 3-for-5 from 3-point range with three steals and only one turnover despite handling the ball on virtually every Stanford possession ... Three other Stanford players reached double figures ... T'Nae Thiel scored 14 points, and Susan Borchardt had 13, shooting 3-of-5 on 3-pointers ... Suminski added 10 points ... Stretch James scored 20 to lead the Tigers, the No. 11 seed ... Two-time all-Big 12 player Evan Unrau scored 10, eight below her season average. Both were playing their final game for Missouri ... The Tigers shot just 31 percent overall, 27 percent in the second half ... Powell dominated play in the first half as Stanford took a 35-22 lead at the break, but she didn't score as the Cardinal opened the second half with a 14-2 run to go up 49-26 on Chelsea Trotter's second rebound basket in a row with 14:20 to play ... Kristen Newlin's two free throws gave Stanford its biggest lead - 68-39 with 4:07 left ... Powell had a steal and layup, then got an assist on Borchardt's 3-pointer in a 10-2 run that put Stanford up 26-17 on Azella Perryman's two free throws with 8:05 to play in the half ... The Tigers - one of seven Big 12 teams in the tournament - twice cut it to six, the last time at 28-22 on EeTisha Riddle's layup with 4:28 to go until halftime ... Powell sank a 3-pointer and a 10-footer from the baseline in a 7-0 spurt that gave Stanford its biggest lead of the half, 35-22, with 1:27 to play ... In the first half, Powell had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
* - Stanford owns an all-time record of 332-75 (.816) at Maples Pavilion, including a 15-1 mark last season and a 14-1 record this year.
* - VanDerveer's teams have compiled a 247-28 (.898) home record during her tenure, and have posted six perfect seasons at Maples Pavilion.
* - The Cardinal has won 45 of its last 48 games at Maples Pavilion.
* - Stanford has lost two home games or less in 15 of the last 17 seasons (including this year).
* - The Cardinal currently hold a 28-game winning streak against Pac-10 opponents at home.
HEAD COACH Tara VanDerveer TALLIES 600:
* - With Stanford's Midwest Region First Round win over Missouri, VanDerveer tallied her 600th career win ... her 25-year record now stands at 602-168 (.782).
* - During her 25-year career, she spent two years at Idaho (42-14; .750), five years at Ohio State (110-37; .748) and has completed her 18th season at Stanford 450-117 (.794).
* - 2002-03 Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a finalist for Naismith National Coach of the Year honors ... Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in April of 2002 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
* - She entered the 2003-04 season ranked fourth among active coaches in career Division I winning percentage.
* - The 2002-03 Pac-10 Coach of the Year honor is the sixth of VanDerveer's career ... VanDerveer is the only coach to have won the award more than twice.
* - She picked up her 450th win at Stanford on March 28, 2004, against Vanderbilt at the NCAA Tournament ... She also owns an impressive Pac-10 record of 256-50 (.837) ... In the 1990's alone, she compiled an overall record of 241-49 (.831).
* - VanDerveer has led Stanford to two NCAA Championships (1989-90 & 1991-92), five NCAA Final Four appearances and 12 Pacific-10 Conference titles (including this year) ... She is also a three-time NCAA Coach of the Year and was a Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist in 2002-03.
* - VanDerveer served as head coach of the 1996 United States Olympic Women's Basketball Team that won the gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia ... She guided the Olympic Team to a perfect 60-0 record from 1995-96 and owns an all-time international head coaching record of 88-8 (.917).
* - Named the third women's basketball coach in Stanford history on May 7, 1985, after head coaching stints at Idaho (1978-80) and Ohio State (1980-85).
ALL-AMERICAN Nicole Powell:
* - Senior forward Nicole Powell was a finalist for the Naismith Award (third time as a finalist), the State Farm Wade Trophy and the inaugural Wooden Award.
* - Named an Associated Press First-Team All-American.
* - Earned Kodak First-Team All-America honors in her last three seasons, to become the only three-time Kodak All-American in school history.
* - Named 2003-04 and 2001-02 Pac-10 Player of the Year, and was a four-time First-Team All-Pac-10 selection and three-time Pac-10 Tournament Most Valuable Player.
* - Selected as the Most Outstanding Player for the Midwest Region.
* - Powell tallied her 2,000th career point against Oklahoma in the second round game of the NCAA Midwest Regional ... she finished her career with 2,062 points in 119 games.
* - Finished her career ranked first in Stanford history in career rebounds (1,143), first in rebounds per game (9.6), second in points per game (17.3), second in free throw percentage (82.9; 457-of-551), second in free throws made (457), second in free throws attempted (551), second in 3-pointers attempted (518), second in 3-pointers made (201), third in total points (2,062) and fifth in assists (577).
* - Ended senior season ranked No. 9 among NCAA Division I schools in rebounds per game (11.2), No. 15 in points per game (20.2) and No. 21 in free throw percentage (85.6; 161-188).
* - She is listed 18 times in 10 different categories in Stanford's single-season record book ... Holds single season (346; 2003-04) and single game (21 vs. Oregon, Jan. 13, 2002) rebounding records.
* - Owns six of the 12 triple-doubles in Pac-10 history, and six of the eight in Stanford history.
* - The only Pac-10 player to have ever recorded more than one career triple-double.
* - In 119 career games, has recorded the six triple-doubles and 51 double-doubles ... This season, Powell tallied 22 double-double games.
* - She has scored in double figures 102 times and pulled down 10 or more rebounds 59 times.
* - Has spent three of the last four summers playing for USA Basketball ... She helped the U.S. to the silver medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, the bronze medal at the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championships in the Czech Republic and the gold medal at the Women's Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament in Argentina.