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TAKING OFF: Led by Powell (below
right) and fueled by Suminski’s last-second
game winner (above), the Cardinal exceeded expectations.
L.M. Otero/AP World Wide |
They may have bristled
at being seeded sixth in the Midwest region of the NCAA
tournament, but they were all business on the court.
And on their journey to the regional final, the Cardinal
players left no doubt that they belonged.
Led by senior and three-time All-American Nicole Powell,
the women’s basketball team (27-7) came within
two points of a Final Four appearance, falling to No.
1 seed Tennessee, 62-60, on March 30. After winning
the Pac-10 championship, the team rolled over Missouri
68-55 in the first round of the NCAA tournament and
knocked off third-seeded Oklahoma 68-43 in the second
round. “Stanford was terrific in the second half,”
said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale after the game. “They
were as good as any team in the country, if not better.
If they play two halves like that, there’s no
reason they can’t win a national championship.”
In the Sweet Sixteen, against No. 2 seed Vanderbilt,
the Cardinal trailed 55-54 with 11.2 seconds remaining.
Powell took the inbounds pass, dribbled up court and
found herself double-teamed. She spun and confidently
passed the ball back to junior Kelley Suminski, who
fired a three-pointer from the top of the arc with 0.3
seconds left.
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Paul Sakuma/AP World Wide
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“I’m so excited, I don’t know whether
to cry or celebrate,” Suminski said afterward,
then promptly burst into tears. The win brought Stanford
its first Elite Eight appearance in seven years.
But Powell & Co., as they were dubbed by the media,
could not quite overcome Tennessee. Stanford had lost
seven straight to the Lady Vols, including a 70-66 December
home game in overtime. The NCAA matchup, a back-and-forth
battle to a 60-60 standoff, looked like a potential
Cinderella Cardinal story. But Tennessee’s Tasha
Butts hit a layup to squeak ahead by two points with
1.7 seconds remaining.
It was all up to Powell, who had scored more than half
of Stanford’s points. She snagged a Hail Mary
pass from junior T’Nae Thiel, shook off two Tennessee
defenders, got a good look at the basket and released
a graceful, arcing three-point attempt. The ball bounced
off the rim, and the storybook journey ended.
“She gave it all she had,” head coach Tara
VanDerveer said after the game. “Nicole had a
great game and showed great poise. I don’t think
there’s any debate about her talent. She had a
fabulous senior year.”
Within minutes of the loss, Powell was on TV, reflecting
on her college career in a previously taped interview
with ESPN. “I hope people enjoy watching me play,”
she said. “I hope people take some kind of joy
from that.”
The effervescent 6-foot-2 forward from Phoenix tallied
her 2,000th career point in the Oklahoma win, and averaged
21.8 points per game in NCAA tournament action, ahead
of Suminski’s 11 and redshirt junior Susan Borchardt’s
10. The only Cardinal team member to score in double
figures in the Tennessee game—she had 31 points,
plus 10 rebounds for good measure—Powell was named
most outstanding player of the Midwest regional. In
Stanford’s record books, she ranks first in career
rebounds per game (9.6), second in points per game (17.3)
and second in free-throw percentage (82.9). She has
recorded six triple-doubles and 51 double-doubles in
119 career games, and the stats go on and on. “I
don’t really keep up with them,” she says.
“That’s what moms and fans are for.”
Powell’s parents, Ruth and Lawrence, surprised
her by driving out from Arizona for her first game on
the Farm, and they have been fixtures in Maples Pavilion
for much of the past four years. “I’m an
only child—their baby,” Powell explains.
“I tease my mom because she’s always, like,
‘Get up, we’re watching [game] film.’
She’s hard-core, but it’s all good.”
As a freshman, Powell stepped into the point-guard
slot when Borchardt was sidelined with a knee injury,
and she has been a versatile, go-to player who can play
either forward position, scoring from the inside or
outside. At press time, Powell was expected to be the
third player chosen in the WNBA draft, and to start
playing in the league this summer. She’ll return
to Stanford next fall to finish her final quarter.
There is little question Powell will be difficult to
replace. “If we hadn’t defended her the
way we did, I think she might have had 61 points,”
said Tennessee coach Pat Summit after the regional final.
Wrote San Jose Mercury News columnist Ann Killion
the next day, “Stanford may never have another
player like her again.”
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