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Dec. 8, 1997
Women's Basketball Weekly Release
Next Game: 12/14 @ Illinois
Looking Ahead: Stanford (1-3) leaves for an extended road trip this week to face two top-five teams in seven days. Stanford will first meet No. 5 Illinois in Champaign-Urbana on Sunday, December 14 at 2:00 pm (CST) and then travel to Orlando to play No. 3 Connecticut on Sunday, December 21 at 4:30 pm (EST).
Stanford in the Rankings: Stanford is ranked 18th in the Associated Press Top 25, falling from 14th last week. The Cardinal has been ranked in the AP Top 25 every week since the beginning of the 1987-88 season. In the Pac-10 Conference, the media has tabbed Stanford to capture the 1997-98 conference race.
TV & Radio: Stanford games air live on KBPA 1220 AM and KZSU 90.1 FM. Dave Flemming will handle the play-by-play duties, while Ray Salloom will provide the color. This season is the first year Stanford Women's Basketball is being heard on a commercial station (KBPA). Additionally, all Cardinal radio broadcasts can be heard on the world wide web via AudioNet. The Stanford-UConn game will air live nationally on ESPN. Robin Roberts and Ann Meyers will handle the broadcast.
Head Coach Tara VanDerveer: Head Coach Tara VanDerveer returns to The Farm for a 12th season after leading the 1996-97 team to a third consecutive Final Four appearance. At Stanford, VanDerveer owns a 286-67 (.813) overall record and a 152-21 (.879) Pac-10 mark. In her 18 years of collegiate coaching, VanDerveer has accumulated an impressive 438-118 (.789) record. Three times each VanDerveer has collected National Coach of the Year and District Coach of the Year honors. VanDerveer was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the fourth time in her career last season.
Injury Report: The Cardinal is still without Naomi Mulitauaopele. She had off-season surgery on her right knee and is still in rehab. Currently, she is listed week-to-week.
Scouting Report - Illinois: The Fighting Illini enter this week with a 4-1 overall record. Prior to facing Stanford, Illinois plays at Southwest Missouri State on Wednesday, December 10 and at the Big Ten-SEC Challenge against No. 1 Tennessee on Friday, December 12. This season, Illinois is led by junior Alicia Sheeler with 17.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg. Senior All-America candidate Ashley Berggren is averaging 17.2 ppg and 6.6 rpg. All total, the Fighting Illini have five players averaging in doubles figures, including sophomore Tauja Catchings, sister of Tennessee's Tamkia Catchings. Last season, Illinois finished with a 24-8 overall record, capturing the Big Ten Championship and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Theresa Grentz returns to Illinois for her second season with the Fighting Illini, but is in her 24th season as a head coach. She is the seventh winningest active women's basketball coach, compiling a 502-179 career record. Grentz served as the head coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team, guiding that team to the bronze medal. This is the first meeting in history between the two teams.
On the Horizon: After facing Illinois, the Cardinal will travel to Orlando to face No. 3 Connecticut in the Honda Elite 4 Holiday Classic. The game is scheduled for Sunday, December 21 at 4:30 pm (EST) on ESPN. The Stanford-UConn game will be followed by Iowa vs. Vanderbilt on ESPN2. Currently, UConn is 8-0 on the season with only one game, at Massachusetts on December 11, between now and the meeting with Stanford. The Huskies are led by All-America candidate Nykesha Sales,who is averaging 17.9 ppg. Earlier this season, UConn won the Preseason Women's NIT with a 71-61 victory over Nebraska. Head Coach Geno Auriemma is in his 13th season with the Huskies, leading teams to nine NCAA postseason appearances and one National Championship in 1994-95.
Outside Shooter: Senior co-captain Vanessa Nygaard continues to be one of the Cardinal's best outside shooters, while contributing inside as well. After the four games, Nygaard leads the team with 18.5 ppg and is second on the team with 7.5 rpg. Overall, Nygaard is shooting .463 (25-54) from the field. Currently, she is fifth on Stanford's all-time 3-Pt. FG Made list (152), just three behind Christy Hedgpeth in fourth (155). Against Tennessee, Nygaard posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, going 9-9 from the free-throw line. From the line, Nygaard is shooting .933, leading the team and the conference. Last season, Nygaard shot .367 (58-158) from 3-point land, averaging 11.6 ppg and 6.9 rpg.
Back Court Update: Milena Flores and Melody Peterson have started all four games this season. Peterson is third on the team in points per game with a 12.5 per game average, while Flores is fifth with 9.8 ppg. These two are seeing the majoirty of the playing time, with Christina Batastini and Sarah Dimson seeing time off the bench. The back court is a young group, with four sophomores and one freshman making up the core group.
"O"ffense: Senior co-captain Olympia Scott posted her second double-double of the season against USF, scoring a career-high 31 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Against Tennessee, she posted a team-leading 18 points and nine rebounds. On the season, Scott is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.8 per game and she is second in points with a 16.3 ppg average. Scott is a top-ten preseason Naismith candidate, as well as a preseason All-American by Street & Smith's and Athlon. Last season, Scott was an AP All-America Honorable Mention and a First-Team All-Pac-10 player.
On the Road Again: Stanford has played a tough road schedule this season and it is not looking any easier. The Caridnal has played just one game at Maples Pavilion, and one at the San Jose Arena, not Stanford's usual Maples Pavilion. Since the 1993-94 season, the Cardinal has had a 53-13 road or neutral game record, including the two early season losses this year.
Home Sweet Home: Maples Pavilion has been a kind home to the Cardinal. Stanford owns a 49-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion. Three of the four seniors (Owen, Scott, Mulitauaopele) have never lost a game in Maples. The last home lost for Stanford was on March 26, 1994, when Purdue topped the Cardinal, 82-65, in the West Regional Final game at Maples. The Cardinal's 49 consecutive games was the longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's basketball, until the streak was halted with the 88-70 loss to Tennessee at the San Jose Arena. The 49 games rank ninth on the NCAA's all-time list.
The Last Time: Stanford has not opened the season 1-3 since the 1981-82. That year, the Cardinal finished 19-8 overall and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Under VanDerveer, Stanford's worst starts have come in 1985-86 and 1993-94 when the teams started 2-2. In 1993-94 the team finished with a 25-6 record and reached the NCAA Reginal Finals.
Stanford Tentative Starters
PPG RPG APG
G #20 Milena Flores 9.8 2.5 5.3
G #4 Melody Peterson 12.5 2.8 4.0
F #13 Vanessa Nygaard 18.5 7.5 4.0
F #0 Olympia Scott 16.3 7.8 1.3
C #44 Heather Owen 12.0 5.5 0.5
Pac-10 Conference Standings (12/8/97)
Conference Overall
W L Pct. W L Pct.
Washington - - - 5 0 1.000
Arizona - - - 3 0 1.000
WSU - - - 4 1 .800
OSU - - - 3 2 .600
Oregon - - - 2 2 .500
California - - - 3 4 .428
ASU - - - 2 3 .400
USC - - - 1 2 .333
Stanford - - - 1 3 .250
UCLA - - - 1 3 .250
Associated Press Poll (12/7/97)
Rnk. School Pvs. 1. Tennessee (38) 1 2. Old Dominion 2 3. Connecticut 3 4. Louisiana Tech 4 5. Illinois 6 6. North Carolina 7 7. Texas Tech 8 8. Arizona 11 9. Vanderbilt 5 10. Florida 13 11. Duke 15 12. Virginia 9 13. Nebraska 12 14. W. Kentucky 17 15. Georgia 10 16. Auburn 18 17. Wisconsin 19 18. Stanford 14 19. Washington 24 20. Tulane 22 21. Colorado 16 22. N. Carolina State 25 23. Alabama 21 24. Arkansas 20 25. Stephen F. Austin 23
USA Today/ESPN Poll (11/24/97)
Rnk. School Pvs. 1. Tennessee (60) 1 2. Connecticut 6 3. Louisiana Tech 2 4. Old Dominion 4 5. Florida 8 6. Texas Tech 9 7. Vanderbilt 11 8. Illinois 7 9. North Carolina 5 10. Stanford 3 11. Georgia 14 12. Virginia 13 13. Arizona 15 14. Alabama 10 15. Nebraska NR 16. Duke 19 17. Colorado 16 18. Iowa 12 19. W. Kentucky 17 20. Auburn 20 21. Tulane 22 22. Stephen F. Austin 18 23. Wisconsin NR 24. Purdue NR 25. Arkansas NR