It's hard to accept that "It's not fair" doesn't count. The only thing that counts is who plays the better game and tonight that was the Aggies — never letting up on their tenacious defense, a bit more focussed, a bit more determined.
No, other things do count, and there were several fine performances from the Cardinal tonight. They don't make the loss any easier to accept, but I hope that Nneka, Mel, Mikaela, Kayla and Jeanette will take pride in how they played.
The Aggies had no answer for Nneka's strength and skill in the paint. Even without Chiney to back her up most of the time, she made 68% of her field goal attempts and scored 31 points — exactly half of Stanford's total.
Mel ended her career in a blaze of glory. She came off the bench and played a season-high 27 minutes. She finished with eight points, four assists and three steals.
Mikaela played 20 minutes of top-notch basketball, getting rebounds, taking care of the ball against the Aggies' tenacious defense, and scoring four points.
Kayla kept us in the game with ten rebounds and set a new Stanford and Pac-10 career rebounding record, exceeding Jayne's previous record by three.
Jeanette was the only Cardinal besides Nneka who scored in double figures. She made three of her four attempted 3-pointers.
There was another thing this evening to warm the hearts of saddened Stanford fans. Notre Dame soundly defeated Connecticut, ending Maya Moore's career a game early. Many red-shirted fans remained for the second game and shared in the unbridled glee of the celebrating green-clad Notre Dame fans.
Here are game reports:
- NCAA Tourney Dance Ends In 63-62 Final Four Loss To Texas A&M by Michael Marot, Associated Press
- Stanford Has Win in Hand, Until It Doesn’t by Jere Longman, New York Times
- Texas A&M stuns Stanford women by Elliott Almond, Mercury News, includes gallery of photos by Nhat V. Meyer
- Texas A&M stuns Stanford in nip-and-tuck affair by Tom FitzPatrick, San Francisco Chronicle
- Rapid Reaction: Texas A&M-Stanford by Charlie Creme, ESPN
- Stanford's Seniors Say Reluctant Goodbye Sunday by Michelle Smith, Stanford Athletics
- Title drought continues for Stanford, coach VanDerveer by Christine Brennan, USA Today
- Texas A&M hands Stanford yet another Final Four disappointment by Ann Killion, SI.com
- Stunned by the unthinkable by FBC traveller Wally Mersereau
A gallery of photos by Don Feria, Stanford Photo
The press conference video with Tara, Kayla, Mel and Nneka
1 comment:
So sad for the players and for Tara, but grateful to be a Stanford Women's BBall fan!
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