March 14, 2010

Undefeated Pac-10 Champion!

Perfect tournament record (18-0) and conference championship – for the first time ever. Well done, Cardinal!

The Cardinal put the icing on the cake today with a 70-46 victory over the UCLA Bruins.

The Cardinal was not fazed by the Bruins' pressure, broke through their defense to get to the basket and made shots from the perimeter. They steadily built up the lead to 17 points in the first half. The Bruins kept it at about that for most of the second half, but were never able to overcome the deficit.

This game was definitely a team effort – these were the individual contributions:

Nneka had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. She was named the Tournament MVP.

Kayla had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Jayne appeared to be fully recovered from her ankle sprain. She played 38 minutes today and had 15 points, five rebounds and a steal. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Mel had 10 points, a rebound and two assists.

Jeanette had eight points, two rebounds, five assists and a block.

Ros had seven points, five rebounds and three assists.

Joslyn had two points and an assist.

The game was going so well that it seemed as if we hit a lot of 3-pointers, but in fact there were just four of them – one each from Kayla, Ros, Jeanette ... and Mel! Mel's was the seventh of her career, and it brought the cheering Cardinal fans to their feet.

Here are the game reports:

The box score and play-by-play,

Video of press conference with Tara, Jayne, Ros and Nneka,

Video of postgame celebration,

Video of postgame interview with Mel,

And some photos:

Jayne gets inside Markel Walker for a shot Nneka shoots past Moniquee Alexander Kayla looks for a way out of a double-team Jayne finds her way through a double-team Kayla avoids stepping on Jayne Nneka congratulates Mel on a great play Jayne displays the championship trophy Ros displays the championship trophy Nneka and her MVP award Ros cuts down the net

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