Tulane-Stanford Preview
Mar 18, 2002 | Women's Basketball
March 18, 2002
From the Associated Press
GAME: No. 10 Tulane (24-10) vs. No. 2 Stanford (31-2).
REGIONAL: West, Second Round.
TIME: Monday, 11:06 p.m. EST.
SITE: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, Calif.
With their top-scorer back in the line-up, Stanford continues its run for its first national championship in a decade when the Cardinal face Tulane in a second round game.
Lindsey Yamasaki, averaging 17.1, missed the Pac-10 tournament after she had an emergency appendectomy, but the senior forward returned to action in second-seeded Stanford's 76-51 win over Weber State in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional on Saturday.
Yamasaki played just 18 minutes, scoring nine points, but her low numbers didn't matter thanks to Nicole Powell, who had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Cardinal.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said she expects her team to continue to take up the slack while Yamaski tries to 100 percent.
"She has been doing really well in practice and I tried to keep her fresh as much as possible," VanDerveer said. "I thought she did very well. She wants to help our team and it's just going to take some time and our team has to buy her some time."
The win came on the heels of the Cardinal's 70-63 loss to Arizona State in the Pac-10 tournament final, which ended Stanford's 22-game winning streak. A win Monday will advance the Cardinal past the second round for their first time since 1997.
Falling behind 12-3 early Saturday's win, VanDerveer said her team will need to come out stronger against 10th-seeded Tulane.
"We need to be in sync a little bit more offensively," VanDerveer said. "We didn't finish on some shots that I think are good shots for us and I thought we turned it over too much. I think that we are a better percentage shooting team and defensively, we are going to have to work a lot harder than we did tonight."
Stanford is in its 15th consecutive tournament. The Cardinal advanced to the Final Four six times, and won NCAA Championships in 1990 and 1992.
Tulane, meanwhile, topped seventh-seeded Colorado St. 73-69 to advance to the second round.
Gwen Slaughter had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Green Wave, which nearly wasted a 27 point lead in the second half.
The victory was Tulane's first NCAA Tournament win since the 2000 season, when the Green Wave posted a victory over Vermont.
"Sometimes when you get a big lead, it's hard not have a big letdown," Tulane coach Lisa Stockton said. "It was a shame how we finished it but I was very happy with most of that game. I think that we played very well and I couldn't be happier with the way that our players came together this tournament."
The winner of the game will play either third-seeded Colorado or sixth-seeded LSU on Saturday.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Tulane - F Gwen Slaughter (10.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg), F Delacey Joseph (8.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg), C Teana McKiver (16.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg), G Sarah Goree (6.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg), G Kelly Nadeau (6.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg). Stanford - F Yamasaki (17.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg), F Bethany Donaphin (8.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg), C T'Nae Thiel (6.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg), G Kelley Suminski (7.6 ppg), G Powell (16.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 6.2 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Tulane - At-large bid, Conference USA, defeated Colorado State 73-69, first round. Stanford - At-large bid, Pac-10 Conference, defeated Weber State 76-51, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Tulane - 3-7, 9 years. Stanford - 35-16, 17 years.
