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March 20, 2004
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford earned its 17th straight NCAA Tournament appearance after a comeback victory over Arizona 51-46 to win the Pac-10 Tournament two weeks ago in San Jose.Head Coach Tara VanDerveer earned her 600th career victory this evening. She entered the season ranked fourth among active coaches in career Division I winning percentage.Stanford has advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 15 of 18 appearances and boasts an all-time postseason record of 38-18.The Cardinal took advantage of second chance points and points off turnovers, outscoring Missouri 12-4 in both categories.44 points is the fewest points Stanford has allowed an opponent in an NCAA Tournament game since 1995-96 (Stanford 82, Grambling 42).
Missouri Tigers
The Tigers earned their spot in the 2004 NCAA Tournament with an at-large berth. Missouri is one of seven Big 12 Conference teams in this year's Big Dance.Missouri made its fifth straight post-season appearance and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.Senior forward Stretch James blocked five shots to become the school record holder for blocks in a single season (71).Tonight's loss to Stanford (Associated Press #12, Coaches' Poll #8) dropped Mizzou's record to 1-9 versus opponents ranked in the Top 25 this season.Missouri, who averaged 6.9 blocks per game, finished tonight's game blocking eight.
Both Teams
Today's game was the third meeting between Missouri and Stanford, all of which have been played on neutral floors. The teams last faced each other at the 1988 Roger L. White Tournament, hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Stanford defeated Missouri 75-60