Nov. 25, 1997

Stanford Tips Off Home Season

11/26 vs. San Francisco
11/29 vs. #1 Tennessee

Stanford Probable Starters
G - #20 Milena Flores (5-6, So., Snohomish, WA)
G - #4 Melody Peterson (5-9, So., Orange, CA)
F - #13 Vanessa Nygaard (6-1, RSr., Carlsbad, CA)
F - #0 Olympia Scott (6-2, Sr., Los Angeles, CA)
C - #44 Heather Owen (6-4, Sr., Moscow, ID)

This Week: Stanford (0-2) returns to Maples Pavilion to open the 1997-98 home season. The Cardinal hosts Bay Area opponent USF on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 pm. On Saturday, Stanford will move its home to the San Jose Arena to host defending national champion and current No. 1 Tennessee in the Bravo Card Classic. The San Jose Arena is the site for the 1999 Women's Final Four, hosted by Stanford. The Bravo Card Classic will be at 12:30 pm.

Stanford in the Rankings: Stanford is ranked fourth in the opening AP Poll and third in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25. The Cardinal has been ranked in the AP Top 20 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: The Bravo Card Classic, featuring Stanford and Tennessee, will be braodcast live nationally on the Fox Sports Network. Bill MacDonald and Ann Meyers will handle the broadcast. In the Bay Area, the game can be seen on Bay TV. Wednesday's game can be heard on KZSU 90.1 FM and Saturday's game will be aired on both KBPA 1220 AM and 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.

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 285-66 (.812) overall record and a 152-21 (.879) Pac-10 mark. In her 18 years of collegiate coaching, VanDerveer has accumulated an impressive 437-117 (.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.

Scouting Report - USF: The Lady Dons bring a 2-0 record into Wednesday's game. USF defeated Nevada in their season opener, 72-60, and then beat Valparaiso, 79-67. In the two games, Sarah Wanless and Denise Woods each had double-doubles. The Lady Dons are without Brittany Lindhe, who averaged 14.7 ppg last year and was named to the All-WCC Team. Stanford holds a 11-9 series advantage, including last season's 61-46 victory in San Francisco. USF is 4-6 at Maples Pavilion.

Scouting Report - Tennessee: Tennessee is 3-0 on the season prior to a game against Vermont on Tuesday. The defending national champions are ranked first in both the AP and USA Today polls. The Lady Vols return SEC Player of the Year Chamique Holdsclaw, who is also a leading candidate for the Boost/Naismith Award this season. Head Coach Pat Summitt is in her 23rd season at the helm of the Tennessee program, bringing a 625-143 record into the 1997-98 season. Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Cardinal, 8-4, despite last season's 82-65 loss in Knoxville.

Review Session: Prior to Friday's loss at Wisconsin, the last opening day loss for the Cardinal came in 1995-96 at Massachusetts, 65-56. In 1995-96, the Cardinal went on to post a 29-3 record and reach a second consecutive Final Four. That season, current Associate Head Coach Amy Tucker was at the helm of the program, while Tara VanDerveer was coaching the U.S. National Team. Under VanDerveer, Stanford had never opened the season with back-to-back losses. The last time that occurred was in 1984-85, when Stanford lost to California and Santa Clara to open the season. Additionally, the last time Stanford suffered back-to-back losses was in 1993-94 when the Cardinal dropped games at UCLA and USC.

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.

Outside Shooter: Vanessa Nygaard continues to be one of the Cardinal's best outside shooters, while contributing inside as well. After the two games, Nygaard leads the team with 23.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg. She is shooting .445 (8-18) from behind the arc. Overall, Nygaard is shooting .500 (17-34) from the field, including a 9-18 performance at Purdue. Currently, she is fifth on Stanford's all-time 3-Pt. FG Made list (150), just five behind Christy Hedgpeth in fourth (155). Last season, Nygaard shot .367 (58-158) from 3-point land, averaging 11.6 ppg and 6.9 rpg.

Backing It Up: What appeared to be the Cardinal's biggest question this season, was a bright spot last weekend. Milena Flores and Melody Peterson started both games last weekend and posted 18-points each against Wisconsin. Against Purdue, the two totaled 17 points. Sophomore Christina Batastini and freshman Sarah Dimson also saw action at guard in both games.

Freshmen Focus: Three of the freshmen saw their first collegiate action last weekend. Carolyn Moos saw the most playing time, including 22 minutes at Purdue, primarily filling in because of foul trouble. In the two games, Moos contributed nine points and five rebounds. Sarah Dimson and Karesa Granderson also saw time.

Posting Up: Senior co-captain Olympia Scott posted her first double-double of the season at Wisconsin, when she scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 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.

Home Sweet Home: Maples Pavilion has been a kind home to the Cardinal. Stanford owns a 48-game home court winning streak, the longest in Division I women's basketball, currently. Three of the four senior (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 Streaks: The Cardinal extended a Pac-10 record for consecutive conference victories to 45 (home or away) in 1996-97. The last time the Cardinal lost a Pac-10 game was at Oregon State, 78-73, on February 4, 1995. Stanford also posted its 56th consecutive home conference victory, dating back to the 1990-91 season. Additionally, Stanford still holds the longest active home court winning streak on Division I women's basketball with 48 games. Stanford is currently ninth in the all-time home court win streaks for NCAA Division I basketball and the Cardinal has the only active streak on the list.

News & Notes: Tickets for the Bravo Card Classic, pitting Stanford against Tennessee, went on sale on November 3rd and can be purchased at all Bass Ticket Outlets or by calling 1-800-BEATCAL ... Good seats are still available ... Several local companies have purchased tickets and will donate them to charity groups in the Bay Area ... The Cardinal is among one of the winningest programs in the 1990s (beginning with the 1989-90 season) ... Stanford tops the winning percentage list with a 232-30 (.886) record. The Cardinal is second in total wins, behind Tennessee.

Associated Press Poll
(11/24/97)
Rnk.  School           Pvs.
 1. Tennessee (39)       1
 2. Old Dominion         3
 3. Connecticut          6
 4. Louisiana Tech       2
 5. Florida              9
 6. Texas Tech           8
 7. Vanderbilt          10
 8. Illinois             7
 9. North Carolina       5
10. Virginia            12
11. Stanford             4
12. Arizona             14
13. Georgia             13
14. Nebraska            21
15. Duke                19
16. Colorado            18
17. Alabama             15
18. Auburn              20
19. Stephen F. Austin   17
20. Iowa                11
21. Tulane              22
22. W. Kentucky         16
23. Wisconsin           NR
24. Arkansas            NR
25. Purdue              NR

USA Today/ESPN Poll
(Preseason)
Rnk.  School        Pvs.
 1. Tennessee (51)       1
 2. Louisiana Tech (9)   8
 3. Stanford             3
 4. Old Dominion         2
 5. North Carolina       9
 6. Connecticut          4
 7. Illinois            13
 8. Florida              6
 9. Texas Tech          19
10. Alabama             11
11. Vanderbilt          17
12. Iowa                NR
13. Virginia            14
14. Georgia              7
15. Arizona             NR
16. Colorado            15
17. W. Kentucky         NR
18. Stephen F. Austin   22
19. Duke                NR
20. Auburn              20
21. George Washington   10
22. Tulane              24
23. Kansas              16
24. Texas               18
25. LSU                 12

Stanford University Women's Basketball