April 8, 2008
Tennessee 64, Stanford 48
April 8, 2008
NCAA Championship Game
Tampa, FL
Stanford was making its third national championship appearance in school history. The Cardinal is now 2-1 all-time in NCAA title games, defeating Auburn in 1990 and Western Kentucky in 1992. Stanford is 52-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinal is 5-5 all-time in the Final Four. Stanford's 35 victories are the most in school history. The Cardinal's previous best was a 34-2 campaign in 1996-97. Tonight's loss snapped Stanford's 23-game winning streak, matching the 2004-05 squad for the second-best span in school history. Prior to tonight, Stanford had not lost since Jan. 6, 2008 (73-72 at USC). Stanford committed a season-high 25 turnovers, with 14 of those coming in the first half. The Cardinal trailed at halftime for just the seventh time this year and first time since Jan. 20 at Arizona State (31-20). Candice Wiggins finishes her career as the school and Pac-10 record-holder in points (2629) and three-pointers (295). She is also Stanford's all-time leader in points per game (19.2), games played (137), three-pointers attempted (754), free throws made (563), free throws attempted (684) and steals (281). Candice Wiggins also established Stanford single-season records in the following categories: minutes played (1237), games played (39- shared with four others), games started (39- shared with two others), points scored (787), field goals made (258), field goals attempted (602), free throws made (184), free throws attempted (224) and three-pointers attempted (253). Candice Wiggins was named to the All-Tournament team, the fifth player in Stanford history to be honored. In three career games against Tennessee, Jayne Appel is 23-48 from the field (47.9-percent) and has averaged 19.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Jayne Appel established a Stanford single-season record with 84 blocked shots, giving her 145 for her career. The all-time leader is 201 by Val Whiting (1989-1993). Kayla Pedersen pulled down at least 10 rebounds for the 13th time this year. Pedersen was the Cardinal's leading rebounder on 17 different occasions. Tennessee was 17-25 from the charity stripe compared to Stanford's 7-14 clip. Stanford did not register a blocked shot in both of its final two games. Head coach Tara VanDerveer has chalked up a 724-188 (79.3-percent) record in 29 seasons. In 22 years on The Farm, she has registered a 572-137 (80.7-percent) ledger.