NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Stanford First-Round Report

By Kecia Bailey: SPM CA Writer
Posted Sunday, March 23, 2008

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Washington, California, Stanford and UT-El Paso Advance

Game 1 – Colonials Tame Tigers In Opening Round

The 2008 NCAA Women’s basketball tournament got underway on the west coast with a late-morning tilt pitting the #6 seed George Washington Colonials against the #11 seed Auburn Tigers.

Local Auburn alumnae and retired Sacramento Monarch Ruthie Bolton arrived at Maples decked out in school colors to take in what would be a rematch between the two schools. George Washington and Auburn faced each other in January, and the Colonials edged the Tigers 68-66 on a last second three-point shot by junior guard Lisa Steele. Opening three-point salvos by junior forward DeWanna Bonner and junior guard/forward Antelia Parrish set the tone for what would be an evenly matched battle between the two teams for much of the game. The Colonials eventually pulled away to victory 66-56.

Behind hot shooting from junior guard/forward Parrish, the Colonials pushed to a six-point lead in the first half. Parrish opened the game hitting three of her first four shots, all from three-point range. Auburn charged back, keeping the game close and ultimately getting to a 22-22 tie with 7:08 remaining in the first. In the final five and a half minutes of the half, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to take a 29-24 lead. The Colonials would have the final word before intermission with senior guard Kimberly Beck’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap 31-29. Bonner and Parrish both led at the half with 12 points and three rebounds.

After intermission, George Washington’s junior center Jessica Adair took control, scoring 11 of her game-high 17 points and grabbing 10 of her game-high 13 rebounds in the second half for her second double-double of the season. The Colonials' 6-2 run, capped by 3-pointers from Parrish and Adair, erased Auburn’s lead and gave GW a five-point lead with 5:20 to go in the half.

Parrish also scored in double-figures for the Colonials with 15, along with senior forward Whitney Allen (11) and senior guard Sarah-Jo Lawrence (11).

Bonner led Auburn’s scoring with 16. She was joined in double figures by freshman guard Alli Smalley, junior guard Sherell Hobbs and junior forward Trevesha Jackson, who scored 10 points apiece.

With the win the Colonials improve to 26-6 and advance to the second round to face the third-seeded California Golden Bears Monday, March 24th. Auburn concludes its season with a 20-11 record.

Game 2 - Golden Bears Use Hot Start to Beat Toreros

In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, the third-seeded California Golden Bears faced off with the West Coast Conference champion 14th seeded San Diego Toreros. Cal dominated from start and finished with the win, 77-60.

California looked to take advantage of its inside game and that meant a steady diet of junior forwards Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton. With a 10-point outburst of her own in the game’s first six minutes, Walker helped Cal to a 18-7 advantage. The Golden Bear lead would swell to 20 points after a 3 from freshman forward Kelsey Adrian with 1:20 remaining in the half. A 5-0 San Diego run to close the first half sent them into the locker room down 42-27.

At the half, Walker had a double-double, scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds (eight offensive). Her post mate Hampton chipped in 11 points.

After intermission, the two teams played more evenly, with San Diego shooting 50 percent from the floor to Cal’s 42 percent, and the two teams battled to a 35-33 second half. The difference in the game was Cal’s dominance in both the paint (48-20) and in second-chance points (20-6). San Diego committed 24 turnovers in the game which lead to 24 Cal points.

Cal’s post duo finished with a combined 43 points. Hampton led all scorers with 22, while Walker added 21 and a game-high 12 rebounds.

San Diego had four players score in double figures for the game. Led by freshman guard Sam Child’s 14 points, the Toreros had 13 from sophomore forward Morgan Henderson, 11 from junior forward Kiva Herman and 12 off the bench from Brianna Estell. In her final game, senior point guard Amanda Rego finished with two points and tied for the game-high with eight assists.

With 9:53 remaining in the second half, sophomore forward Rama N’diaye chased a loose ball and slammed hard into the scorers table. She will have X-rays after the game and is scheduled for an MRI on Monday. Her status is uncertain.

The win improved Cal’s record to 27-6 and sends them into the second round to meet sixth-seeded George Washington on Monday. San Diego concludes its season with a 19-13 record.

Game 3 – Appel’s Career Night Too Much For Cleveland State

The contrast could not have been greater. The second-seeded Stanford Cardinal were making their 21st consecutive (22nd overall) appearance in the NCAA tournament while the Horizon League champion and fifteenth-seeded Cleveland State Vikings were making their first tournament appearance in school history. When the final horn sounded, the Cardinal walked off the court with an 85-47 victory and a ticket to the second round.

Despite the disparity of tournament experience, the difference maker in the game was the size and skill of Cardinal sophomore center Jayne Appel. Stanford’s game plan had been to establish Appel early against the smaller Cleveland State lineup. The tallest player in the starting lineup for the Vikings was Appel’s counterpart, senior forward Robyn Hoying at 6-0.

After an opening basket by Appel, the Vikings took their first and only lead of the night behind a three-point make by sophomore guard Angel Roque. Appel’s teammates then started executing their game plan to perfection, finding her early and often in the first half – Appel scored 12 points of a Cardinal 13-0 run with 15:37 remaining to open the flood gates early. And once she got started, she would be hard to stop Saturday night.

While Appel was unleashing a torrent of points with an impressive display of post moves, the Cardinal defense was stymieing Vikings offensively, holding them scoreless over a nearly six-minute span until junior guard Natalie Miller drained a jumper to get Cleveland State to double figures 30-10. The half came to a close with the score 45-22. At intermission, Appel alone had outscored Cleveland State with a half-high 29 points and nine rebounds.

Stanford outscored Cleveland State 40-25 in the second half, with the scoring load spread among nine of the 11 players logging minutes in the second half.

Defensively, the Cardinal continued to apply the pressure, dominating the boards 57-31 and holding the Vikings under 30 percent shooting for the game.

Appel ended the night with career highs in field goals (14) and points (33) and her 10th double-double of the season. Appel and freshman forward Kayla Pedersen each grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior guard Candice Wiggins joined Appel in double-figures with 13.

Cleveland State was led by sophomore guard Kailey Klein’s 16 points. Hoying added 10 points.

With the win, the Cardinal improved to 31-3 and advanced to Monday night’s second round to face the University of Texas-El Paso Miners at approximately 7:30pm. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Game 4 – University of Texas El Paso Makes Statement, Romps In Second-Half

Bulletin board material, long a staple for motivation for sports team, may have served to heat up the first ever meeting between the UTEP Miners and the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers in Saturday night’s finale from Stanford University’s Maples Pavilion. UTEP defeated Western Kentucky 92-60 to advance to Monday’s second round.

Coming into the game on Saturday, quotes by Western Kentucky’s senior center Crystal Kelly stoked the fire of a UTEP team making the schools first NCAA tournament appearance. The Miners -- who grinded out a 23-game winning streak (which was snapped in the championship game of the Conference USA’s postseason tournament) -- made their presence felt.

The Lady Toppers opened the scoring in the first half with a quick basket by Kelly, but UTEP would answer and go on to eventually build a seven-point lead, its largest of the first half. Senior guard Kasia Krezel led the Miners' attack, chipping in seven early points in the game’s first 10 minutes. Western Kentucky worked its way back to a 25-25 tie after freshman forward Arnika Brown converted a steal into layup with 4:41 remaining. The Miners later used a 9-2 run to close the half with a 38-31 lead.

UTEP senior guard Natasha Lacy led all scorers at the half with 11 points. Western Kentucky’s junior guard Dominique Duck paced the Lady Toppers with 10.

Western Kentucky struck first in the second half, with shots by Brown and Duck, to close the UTEP lead, but that was as close as the Lady Toppers would get in the game. Constant defensive pressure coupled with hot shooting helped the Miners take control. With 16:17 remaining in the second half, the Miners exploded. Using a 13-0 run, which eventually extended to a 21-4 run, the Miners build a commanding 64-42 lead with less than 11 minutes to go in the game.

UTEP would tack on another 28 points to score a total 92 points, their highest output of the season. The 54 points UTEP scored in the second half against one of the nation’s top defensive teams, were more points than the Lady Toppers had allowed opponents in an entire game this season. The Miners shot a blistering 53 percent in the second half, converting 16-36 shots and 7-11 3-pointers.

The Miners' pressure forced Western Kentucky into 22 turnovers, which UTEP opportunistically converted into 30 points. The Miners relentlessly attacked the glass, outrebounding the Lady Toppers by seven. The defensive pressure also held Western Kentucky to 33 percent shooting from the field in the second half.

Lacy’s game-highs in points (19) and steals (7) led the Miners. Sophomore guard Jareica Hughes added 17 points and a game-high eight assists. Krezel finished with 15 points.

Western Kentucky was led Duck’s 18 points. Crystal Kelly finished her Lady Topper career with 17 points and seven rebounds. Western Kentucky concluded its season with a 26-8 record.

With the win, UTEP improves its record to 28-3 and advances to Monday’s second round to face the Stanford Cardinal at approximately 7:30pm. The game will be televised by ESPN.