Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer awoke Tuesday morning with images of her team’s emotionally uplifting Elite Eight victory spinning in her head.
Then it hit her: “We’ve been given a second basketball life,” she recounted Wednesday.
As second-ranked Stanford (35-1) leaves today for the Final Four in San Antonio, where it will face Oklahoma on Sunday, players and coaches remained excited after their buzzer-beating 55-53 victory over Xavier.
“We saw our season pass before our eyes,” VanDerveer said. “It was over. We’re just so thankful to be playing, and I know our team will make the absolute most of it.”
The Cardinal reached its third consecutive Final Four — ninth in school history — after Xavier’s Dee Dee Jernigan missed two uncontested layups underneath the basket in the last 15 seconds.
“The second the girl missed those two layups, I knew that we were going to win the game,” said senior center Jayne Appel, who had fouled out three minutes earlier.
It ended when junior guard Jeanette Pohlen dribbled the length of the court and banked in a winning layup as time ran out. Players said the result would carry over this weekend at the Alamodome when they continue their quest to win Stanford’s first NCAA title since 1992.
“We have a newfound trust for each other,” junior Kayla Pedersen said.
The Cardinal might need everyone in sync against No. 12 Oklahoma, a team that wasn’t expected to return to the Final Four this season after All-American Courtney Paris and twin sister Ashley graduated. Then Whitney Hand, the reigning Big 12 freshman of the year, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee Nov. 27.
But the Sooners’ guards have led their team to San Antonio, where Oklahoma and Stanford last met in 2006 in a Sweet 16 victory for the Cardinal.
VanDerveer said she expects Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale to seek advice from Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma, a close friend, on how to play Stanford. As a result, VanDerveer has been watching video of her team’s 80-68 loss to UConn on Dec. 23 to prepare for a defensive game plan similar to the top-ranked Huskies’.
Oklahoma (27-10) runs a triangle offense like Stanford, anchored by 6-foot-4 center Abi Olajuwon, daughter of basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon. The Sooners also have solid forwards and two game-changing guards — Danielle Robinson of San Jose and Nyeshia Stevenson.
Robinson, a former Archbishop Mitty star, leads the offense, scoring 16.6 points per game. Stevenson (14.5 points) scored 31 as the Sooners rolled over Kentucky in the Elite Eight.
“If we want to win a national championship, a team like this is something great to prove to ourselves we can do that,” Stanford guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude said.
VanDerveer wishes she had another defender like Gold-Onwude, the Pacific-10 Conference’s co-defensive player of the year.
“I need two of Ros — one for Robinson, one for Stevenson,” she said.
Stanford also needs improved post play from Nneka Ogwumike and Appel, who Wednesday were named finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as women’s college basketball player of the year. (Connecticut’s Maya Moore and Tina Charles and Kelsey Griffin of Nebraska were the others).
Appel wore a boot on her right ankle as she continues to nurse a sprain that has hampered her in the postseason. The 6-4 center still isn’t practicing with the team. VanDerveer expects Appel to be fine but says it will take more than any one player to win.
“It doesn’t have to be all about what Jayne does,” she said.
Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865.
