Author: Tom Taylor

Michael Liu (staff)/The Stanford Daily

Tonight, the Cardinal returns to Maples to tip off a four-game homestand against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

As the undisputed conference leader, No. 2 Stanford (17-1, 7-0 Pac-10) looks to build on the momentum gained last Sunday against an Arizona State team (4-3, 12-6) that is tied for fourth in the conference standings.

Both teams are on winning streaks, the Cardinal being 8-0 since the lone loss of the season to UConn, and ASU with a four-game run that has put its conference season back on track. They are also both coming off crucial wins last weekend, and confidence will be riding high in both camps.

Though establishing a better record in comparison to this time last year, the Card had struggled to regain its early season promise since Christmas. Saturday’s strong showing against the Ducks, the nation’s highest scoring team, looks to have blown away the cobwebs and could now launch them into the second half of the conference season.

Five of Stanford’s players scored in double figures, including a personal record of 30 set by sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike.

“I think the Oregon game was a good step forward for us,” said senior center Jayne Appel. “It kind of brought back the excitement. We played well, we came out and we did what we wanted to do. We had a lot of fun on the court – I think that was important for us.

“And I think it’s going to be a similar performance tomorrow,” she added. “We’re really excited and I feel like we’re moving out of that fug and moving back to where we’re headed.”

ASU’s away win last weekend against local rivals Arizona was no less significant. Both came into the game tied at 3-3 in the Pac-10, and were neck and neck at 44-44 before the Sun Devils could break free. With three players posting double figures in points and several achieving career highlights on hostile ground, it was an important step for a young team.

“They are a very aggressive team, they work very hard defensively and they have a young team this year, so it’s hard to know what to expect honestly,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, who should at the very least know about ASU’s head coach Charli Turner Thorne (’88), whom she coached here on The Farm.

On past statistics, Stanford has a considerable edge, leading 47-11 in the total record, and with a seven-game streak stretching back to 2006. In fact, VanDerveer has never witnessed a home loss to the Sun Devils at Maples, arriving here two years after the single blemish, in 1984.

Records, however, are there to be broken, and ASU is 25-5 on the road in the Pac-10 since the 2005-06 season. The difficult part of that statistic, however, is that three of those losses were at Maples.

One area that ASU may look to capitalize on is rebounding. It has out-rebounded its opponents in 13 of 18 games this season, and, though generally strong in this respect, the Card has given up a large number of rebounds to its opposition in recent games.

“We’re leading the Pac-10 in rebounding,” VanDerveer said, “but it is something that we really have to focus on and rebounding I think is always key for us. We depend on rebounding well.”

Injuries, especially to guards, have played a key role in the recent drop in form for Stanford. After registering 100 points on Saturday, and seeing the return of key players like guards junior Jeanette Pohlen and redshirt junior JJ Hones, the Card hopes to push on.

“You’re always excited when someone comes back,” Appel said. “All the pieces are getting put into place, so it’s a good thing.”

This period might even prove to be pivotal in any trophies the team can bring home this year, allowing several players to step up and assume greater roles.

“Every disappointment is a blessing,” VanDerveer said. “That’s kind of my saying for the year. I stole it from [Nnemkadi’s] dad, Peter Ogwumike.”

The Cardinal women’s basketball team starts its second conference road trip of the season tonight against Oregon State at the Gil Coliseum in Corvallis.

Michael Liu/The Stanford Daily

Stanford (15-1, 5-0 Pacific-10) comes into this match riding the heat of a six game winning streak, whereas the Beavers (9-6, 1-4 Pac-10) have dropped their last four, sinking to ninth in the conference after a very promising beginning to the season.

On its best start since the 2002-03 season, the No. 2 Cardinal has only lost one game — to No. 1 Connecticut, last year’s NCAA champions and the team that has kept Stanford off the top spot. Statistically, at least, it enters tonight’s contest as the favorite, but perhaps that is not always the best place to be.

Every team that faces the Card hopes that they will be the one to take the prized scalp of one of the best programs in the country and perhaps this pressure is starting to show. Since the second half of the Connecticut game, in which the Huskies overturned Stanford’s narrow lead with a crushing 30-6 run, the team seems to have struggled to play its best.

Injuries to key personnel are taking their toll on the Card, as guards junior Jeanette Pohlen and redshirt juniors J.J. Hones and Melanie Murphy have all been sidelined in some recent games.

“We count on Jeanette to push the ball for us, we count on Mel [Murphy] to come in for us and JJ, they are our three most experienced and up until now most productive guards,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer.

While there is a chance that Pohlen and Hones might be fit enough for tonight’s game, their absence could provide opportunities for other players to step up and play themselves into contention.

“We’ve got to have other people ready,” VanDerveer said. “Our plan is to be ready with [sophomore guard] Lindy [La Rocque] and [redshirt junior forward] Michelle [Harrison]. [Junior forward] Ashley [Cimino]’s been playing well, we’re just trying to move people around a little bit more.

“It is a challenge for our team. I’m hoping that, obviously we want to get Jeanette, Mel and J.J. back in some capacity and I really think and hope that this is something that will help us in the long run, but is painful in the short run.”

If all goes to according plan and the Cardinal get another shot at Connecticut in March, then the current difficulties could turn out to be crucial in developing a good rotation of players that will be robust enough to handle the odd injury or off game. But before any of that can happen there are a lot of minutes to be played on court, a lot of points to be scored, rebounds to be caught and games to be won.

The good news for Stanford in tonight’s game is that four members of the usual starting lineup should be ready. Sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike leads the Pac-10 in both points per game and field goal percentage, with 19.3 percent and 64.1 percent respectively and is second on rebounds with 10.0 per game. Closely behind her in the stats comes junior forward Kayla Pedersen, third in points per game and fifth in rebounds per game and senior center Jayne Appel, fourth in both points per game and rebounds per game.

In comparison, the highest Oregon State players in the rankings are junior forward El Sara Greer, first in offensive rebounds and junior guard Talisa Rhea, fourth in points per game. Greer’s ability to pick up rebounds could prove crucial tonight, given the fact that the Cardinal has conceded so many in its last two games.

Having started every game this year, redshirt senior Rosalyn Gold-Onwude is also turning into a crucial piece of the Stanford jigsaw. Gold-Onwude has scored in double figures in the last three contests, perhaps justifying remaining in her place on the starting lineup even if and when the other guards return.

“Ros is doing what we always wanted and hoped that Ros would do,” VanDerveer said. “Today in practice she was running our offense, our zone offense, talking and she is playing great. Maybe this is something really good to come out of our guard problem — she is playing great.”

“One thing that she has to do is eliminate turnovers,” VanDerveer added. “If she can eliminate those turnovers, then we’re talking about being a championship-type guard.”

Stanford looks to extend its 19-game winning streak against Oregon State tonight at 7 p.m.

Huskies dominate early, pull away from Stanford

After last weekend’s home victories against the Southern California schools, Stanford headed north to face Washington last night with momentum on its side.

The Huskies (11-5, 2-3 Pac-10) sat dead last in the Pac-10 Conference before the matchup, with three straight losses tarnishing their opening day win; and even with a good overall season record, they needed a positive result to stop the bleeding.

Washington led by as many as 41 points and cruised to an easy victory while resting its starters near the end. (CHRIS SEEWALD/The Stanford Daily)

The Cardinal (8-8, 2-2 Pac-10), despite beginning the day in a three-way tie for the top spot in the conference, had its own problems to overcome, and the Huskies exposed many of them. Stanford is now 1-6 away from Maples Pavilion so far this season, with the solitary win coming against Virginia in Mexico.

The game was back and forth at the start, with Stanford trailing 7-6 after three minutes. Washington then took charge, scoring the next 15 points and holding the Cardinal scoreless for nine minutes.

The Huskies had their way on the glass, leading 6-1 in offensive rebounds at one point, while Stanford made 13 turnovers to Washington’s eight in the first half. Perhaps worse was the fact the Huskies were much better at capitalizing on these exchanges, taking 13 points from these turnovers to the Cardinal’s lowly two.

Once Stanford finally broke the run and started scoring again, the teams began to trade blows more equally, but the Cardinal could not close the gap, trailing 41-22 at halftime.

Stanford’s top scorer, and second in the Pac-10, senior Landry Fields seemed to be having a good game, scoring over half of the team’s points in the first half, more than any of the Huskies individually, and leading his teammates in most other statistics. But without his fellow players making an impact, it was going to be a long night.

Early in the second half, Stanford began to trim the lead, getting it down to 16 points, but this momentum did not last as senior Quincy Pondexter began take control for the Huskies. In the first six and a half minutes of the second half, he added 14 points to his haul, looking like he would certainly be the man of the match.

When freshman forward Tyreese Breshers committed his fourth foul, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for the Card, as Washington had a number of players in foul trouble.

As several of the Cardinal’s players had started to register on the score board, it seemed that maybe there would still be time for them to make the final result look respectable, even if the chance of fully getting back into this game looked increasingly remote. But at the same time, Fields had been neutralized and did not score again for seven minutes, removing Stanford’s main threat.

Credit, though, has to go to Fields for being the lone Cardinal player ranked alongside a trio of Huskies — Pontdexter, sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas and junior guard Venoy Overton — as the top performers in the match.

In the last few minutes, it was pretty clear the game was settled, and both coaches were probably already looking ahead to Saturday, resting key personnel while sending players out from the bench to gain experience in a conference game.

The road trip continues tomorrow afternoon, with a 2 p.m. tip off at Washington State.