The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-1
Stanford
5-0
No. 3 Stanford hands No. 16 Women's Basketball first loss, 93-78
11.28.2010 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Kayla Pedersen had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and No. 3 Stanford held off 16th-ranked Texas 93-78 on Sunday in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
Nnemkadi Ogwumike added 22 points and seven rebounds and her freshman sister, Chiney, scored 14 for the Cardinal, who moved VanDerveer (798-195) within two victories of joining the elite 800 club. She is trying to become the fifth women's coach to do it. VanDerveer is 646-144 in her 25th year at Stanford.
"I honestly don't think about it at all. I'm really focused on the moment, this team, this game, looking at what combinations need to be out there," VanDerveer said. "I'm enjoying coaching this team. Maybe I've got another 800."
Stanford took a 2-0 lead before tipoff of the nationally televised game because Texas received a technical for failing to get its lineup turned in to the scorer's table on time.
Chassidy Fussell scored 17 points, Kathleen Nash 14 and Ashleigh Fontenette 11 for Texas (4-1).
Sarah Boothe had 14 points and six rebounds as a reserve for Stanford (5-0), playing its second straight in Maples Pavilion.
The Cardinal shot 57.4 percent and converted 11 of 12 free throws on a day former Stanford stars Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel sat together courtside. The fifth-ranked Cardinal football team was recognized during a timeout late in the first half. Players held up the Axe they won by whipping rival California 48-14 in the Big Game on Nov. 20.
"I think we're doing a lot better than we were two weeks ago. Today you saw a toughness out of us and a will to persevere," Pedersen said. "I think people are just learning their roles and learning how they can play with each other and we're a lot more confident right now."
After a slow start, Texas scrapped its way back into the game. This was the first road game of the season for the Longhorns, who have a tough stretch with three out of four games against Top-25 teams - including a home date with No. 4 Tennessee on Dec. 12. The Lady Vols then host Stanford in Knoxville on Dec. 19.
Fontenette, the Longhorns' second-leading scorer, went down with 12:38 left grabbing at her leg, but returned. She said afterward she twisted her right ankle but didn't expect to miss any time.
Stanford made 14 of its first 22 shots and used a 28-9 run midway through the first half to take a 34-18 lead. VanDerveer has one of her deepest teams yet at Stanford and regularly switched players in and out to keep them fresh - getting balanced contributions from throughout the lineup.
"We are a very deep team and we have a lot of talent, and it does take pressure off our big three," Boothe said.
Stanford's stingy man-to-man defense caused Texas trouble and made it difficult to penetrate against the taller, more athletic Cardinal. The Longhorns shot 9 for 17 from 3-point range, though.
Stanford held a 39-32 rebounding edge but committed 17 turnovers.
Texas ended the first half with a 15-7 spurt to pull within 49-39 at the break, then scored the first four points of the second half.
"We've pushed the ball on everybody else but nobody's pushed it back on us," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. "That was new for us for somebody to attack us the way we've been attacking other people."
Stanford has won the last four meetings between the schools and leads the series 4-2 overall. But this was the teams' first meeting since Dec. 30, 1995, when the Cardinal won 72-68 in Austin, and the first visit by Texas to Maples since Jan. 5, 1993.
Texas senior Nash extended her streak with at least one 3-pointer to 17 straight games, connecting with 1:58 remaining after missing her first two attempts from long range.
POST GAME NOTES
-Despite being outrebounded for the first time this season (39-32), Texas owned an 18-16 advantage on offensive boards.
-Texas trailed at halftime for the first time in 2010-11.
-The Horns scored a season-low 78 points ... they are averaging 91.2 ppg through five contests.
-Tallied 11 points (4-of-15 FG, 2-of-2 3FG, 2-of-4 FT) for her third double-digit scoring effort of the year and 27th of her career.
-Recorded second-straight double-digit scoring effort, fourth of the season and 28th of the career.
-Posted five steals, marking her fifth-straight game with four or more steals.
-Recorded fifth-straight double-digit scoring effort of the season with 17 points (5-of-12 FG, 2-of-5 3FG, 5-of-6 FT)
-One of three players to post double-digits in all five games this season
-Tie career-high with three steals
-Led the Longhorns with eight rebounds
- Tallied 12 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-3 3FG, 2-of-2 FT) for her fifth-straight double-digit scoring effort of the season
- Has recorded 10 or more points in 11 career games.
- Recorded team-high five assists
- One of three players to post double-digits in all five games this season
- Recorded her third-straight double-digit scoring effort with 14 points (4-of-7 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 5-of-6 FT)
- Has scored 10 or more points in all five games this season and 58 times in her career
- Made at least one three-point basket for the 17th straight game dating back to Feb. 3, 2010 when she did not make one.
- One of three players to post double-digits in all five games this season
