Dec. 27, 2010

Game #10

No. 9/8 Stanford Cardinal (7-2)

- vs. -

No. 4/4 Xavier Musketeers (10-1)

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010 - 1 p.m. PT
Maples Pavilion (7,329) - Stanford, Calif.
Series History: Stanford leads 1-0
Last Meeting: March 29, 2010 - (Stanford 55, Xavier 53) - Sacramento, Calif.
TV: None
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Anurag Reddy)

Game Notes

STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 9/8 Stanford women return to action following the Christmas holiday with three games in six days, beginning with Tuesday's 1 p.m. matinee against No. 4/4 Xavier in a rematch of last season's Regional Final. Tuesday's contest will be carried live on 90.1 KZSU, with Anurag Reddy on the call.

Last Time Out
Stanford got back on the winning side of things and earned Tara VanDerveer her 800th career victory last Wednesday with a 100-45 victory at San Francisco. VanDerveer became just the fifth Division I women's basketball head coach, and the sixth overall, to reach the 800-win mark. Senior Kayla Pedersen played a large role in the winning effort as she went 7-for-9 from the field for 16 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds. Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Joslyn Tinkle and Sara James each scored 14 points to round out Stanford's double-digit scorers, while James also grabbed eight rebounds and Tinkle seven. Sophomore forward Mikaela Ruef added to the production with career highs of nine points and seven rebounds in the win.

Scouting Xavier
Xavier enters Tuesday's matinee following its first loss of the 2010-11 campaign, a 46-45 decision at No. 3/3 Duke. With head coach Kevin McGuff in his ninth year at the Xavier helm, the Musketeers are led by the play of twin towers Amber Harris (20.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 55.7 FG pct.) and Ta'Shia Phillips (14.0 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 56.5 FG pct.).

All-Time Against Xavier
Stanford won the only prior meeting between the two schools last year, in the NCAA Regional Final in Sacramento, Calif. The Cardinal's Jeanette Pohlen raced cross-court in 4.4 seconds in that contest and scored the game-winning layup as time expired to give Stanford the 55-53 victory.

A Look At The National Polls
As of Monday, Dec. 27, only the Associated Press Poll had been announced, in which Stanford dropped a spot to No. 9 following its 100-45 victory at San Francisco. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll will be announced Tuesday, Dec. 28. Stanford was ranked eighth in the Dec. 21 poll. Stanford's ranking in this week's AP Poll gives Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer 396 appearances in the poll, passing Judy Conradt for third all-time.

In The National Rankings
Through Dec. 19, Stanford ranks in the national Top 20 of the following statistical categories: field-goal percentage (46.5 - 13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.06 - 20th). Individually, Nnemkadi Ogwumike (58.1 percent) is 19th in the nation in field-goal percentage while Jeanette Pohlen is 14th with 3.0 three-pointers made per game.

In The Pac-10 Rankings
In the Pac-10 statistical rankings through Dec. 23, Stanford leads the conference in field-goal percentage (47.7), 3-point field-goal percentage (37.9), free-throw percentage (74.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.10), while ranking second in scoring margin (+15.9), field-goal percentage defense (35.5), rebounding defense (33.8 rpg) and defensive rebounding (28.6 rpg). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike and Nnemkadi Ogwumike are first and third in field-goal percentage with marks of 62.7 and 57.7, respectively, while Kayla Pedersen is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83) and free-throw percentage (81.5) and fourth in assists (4.13 apg). Nnemkadi Ogwumike is third in scoring (16.8 ppg). Jeanette Pohlen leads the loop with 2.9 three-pointers made per game and is third in 3-point field-goal percentage (45.6).

VanDerveer Joins Select Company With Win #800
Tara VanDerveer's 800th victory Wednesday night propelled her into the company of only five other collegiate women's basketball coaches who have attained that many victories: Tennessee's Pat Summitt, former Texas coach Judy Conradt, Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer, North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell, and Bentley's Barbara Stevens, who earned her 800th win just three days before VanDerveer. The 800th victory for VanDerveer is yet another milestone in a stellar coaching career which has included eight Final Four appearances, 18 Pac-10 titles, two national championships (1990 and `92) and an Olympic title (1996).

Boy, That Escalated Quickly
Last Wednesday at San Francisco, the Cardinal and Dons ran neck-and-neck over the game's opening 10 minutes, with San Francisco holding an 18-16 lead with 10:33 left in the first half. But a quick 7-0 spurt by Stanford put the Cardinal ahead 23-16, and launched the start of a 30-3 run that encompassed the final 10:33 of the half. During that run, Stanford was led by 10 points from sophomore forward Joslyn Tinkle and eight from both Nnemkadi Oguwmike and freshman guard Sara James. The Cardinal defense limited USF to just one field goal, a 3-pointer, during that run, and the Dons went another 2:52 to start the second half before hitting a 3-pointer for its first field goal in a span of 13:25. Overall, after USF had hit the 3-pointer that made it a 23-21 game in the first half, the Cardinal went on to score 31 straight points before the Dons got back on the board.

Crackin' The 3-Point Whip
Guard Jeanette Pohlen went 2-for-3 from behind the arc in Wednesday's 100-45 victory at San Francisco, continuing her recent hot streak from distance. Since going 0-for-4 on her 3-point attempts against Texas on Nov. 28, Pohlen has heated up to the tune of a 16-for-28 (.571) performance from behind the arc over the past four games. That stretch started with a 3-for-3 effort on Dec. 13 against Fresno State and included a 6-for-10 effort at Tennessee on Dec. 19. Pohlen's recent 3-point efforts have put her in the Pac-10 lead with 26 3-pointers made and third in the conference with a 45.6-percent rate.

Pedersen Goes For 20
Fellow senior Kayla Pedersen turned in a career-best effort on the boards in Wednesday's win at San Francisco, pulling down 20 rebounds. The total made Pedersen just the sixth player in Cardinal history to reach the 20-rebound mark in a single game, and was just three away from tying Nnemkadi Ogwumike's school single-game record of 23 set last Jan. 23 at Oregon. Pedersen's effort also raised her career rebounding haul to 1,050, leaving her 213 away from Jayne Appel's program record of 1,263.

Encouraging Outings
Wednesday night's game at San Francisco also allowed some members of the Cardinal rotation to see more minutes on the court and show what they are capable of, as key reserves Sara James, Toni Kokenis and Mikaela Ruef combined to score 32 points on 11-for-20 shooting (.550). James played a key role in Stanford's game-clinching 30-3 run to end the first half, scoring 10 of her 14 points in that stretch, and went 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the contest. Kokenis, over just 12 minutes of work, contributed nine points to the effort while Ruef went 3-for-4 from the field, scoring nine points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Answering The Call
Joslyn Tinkle made her seventh start of the season last Wednesday night, and responded with career bests of 14 points and six field goals in a 6-for-8 outing from the field. Having started seven of nine games so far this season, Tinkle has proven her versatility by averaging 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds a game while also stepping behind the arc and shooting 36.4 percent from that range.

Another Day At The Office
Junior forward and 2010 All-American Nnemkadi Ogwumike played just 18 minutes in Stanford's rout of San Francisco last Wednesday, but made that time count as she went 6-for-11 from the field, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Ogwumike, one of the keys to the Cardinal offense, is shooting 57.7 percent on the year, a figure that is third in the Pac-10, and once again leads the Cardinal in scoring, with 16.8 points per game.