Beavers Take On Stanford In Pac-10 Semifinal Game
March 3, 2002
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) Even without its leading scorer, Stanford had no problems in its first-round game in the Pac-10 tournament. The second-ranked Cardinal will look to repeat that performance when they meet Oregon State in the second round on Sunday in Eugene, Ore.
Playing without senior Lindsey Yamasaki, the Cardinal (29-1) crushed UCLA 96-61 on Saturday. Yamasaki, an All-Pac 10 forward who averages 17.4 points, had an appendectomy on Tuesday and will miss the entire conference tournament. She did travel with the team to Eugene and is expected to play in the NCAA tournament.
"They recognize that there is a void without Lindsey on the floor," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "It's great people could fill in and make great shots."
Freshman reserve Azella Perryman led the Cardinal with 17 points. Forward Nicole Powell, who on Thursday became the second sophomore to ever be named Pac-10 player of the year, had 15.
"On an individual basis, I knew I needed to be more vocal," Powell said of playing without Yamasaki. "I think everybody felt that we needed to step up, we all contributed and worked well."
Also helping to make up for Yamasaki's absence was freshman guard Sebnem Kimyacioglu, who tied her season high with 14 points and hit four 3-pointers. Kimyacioglu averaged just 6.2 points during the regular season.
"Everyone is encouraging me to shoot," Kimyacioglu said. "I could feel the shot and I was getting really good looks."
The Cardinal have now won 21 straight games, with their only defeat this season a 68-62 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 16. Even if Stanford does not win the conference tourney, it will likely receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Oregon State (16-13) edged Southern California 69-68 in its first-round game Saturday.
The Cardinal have had little trouble with the Beavers this season, beating them 91-54 on Jan. 10 and 89-67 on Feb. 9.
Senior guard Felicia Ragland, who earned first-team All-Pac 10 honors, led the Beavers with 29 points in the win over Southern California, shooting 8-of-19 from the field and 11-of-13 from the line.
The Beavers are on a three-game winning streak.
