What's so hard about winning on the road?

Plenty! It was a hard-won game, but the Cardinal did win 72-59.

It wasn't a pretty game — lots of fouls, lots of turnovers, lots of missed opportunities on both sides.

Credit for the victory goes to:

• Chiney, who got into early foul trouble and sat out much of the first half, but came back in the second to score a double-double — the team-high 16 points and 14 rebounds, 10 of them O-boards.


• Amber, who ran the point for 25 minutes. Her ball control wasn't great today, but she drove to the basket for four layups and made all six of her free throws for a total of 14 points. She also grabbed six rebounds and had three steals.


• Toni, who played the most minutes (34). She had the most assists (four) with just one turnover. She scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers. (There were just five 3s in all tonight; Taylor, Lindy and the Longhorn's Chassidy Fussell each made one.)


• Taylor, who started again tonight and played an all-around good steady game. She scored nine points and stole the ball three times.


• Joslyn, Sarah and Mikaela, who kept the Longhorn bigs under control and also contributed much to the offense — 14 points from Joslyn and six from Sarah. Mikaela didn't score, but provided some much-needed relief for Joslyn and Sarah when they got into foul trouble.


• Lindy, who didn't put up much on the scoreboard, but who provided valuable senior leadership on the court.

All eight players showed great hustle and intense, effective defense all evening.

Bonnie, Erica, Sara and Jasmine came off the bench too, but for less than five minutes apiece. The Cardinal weren't able to hold a double-digit lead until the last five minutes of the game, and there was little opportunity to call in anyone who wasn't currently being effective.

It would have been a lot easier with Nneka, but she did not play because she has suffered an unspecified upper-body injury. She participated in the warmup and didn't appear to be in pain. The coaches are optimistic that she'll be able to play on Sunday against Gonzaga.

Here are game reports:

• No. 5 Stanford Downs No. 24 Texas 72-59 in Season Opener from the Associated Press
• Stanford women cruise past No. 24 Texas without Nneka Ogwumike by Jake Curtis (Editorial comment, "It was definitely not a cruise!")
• No. 5 Stanford schools Longhorns in opener by Suzanne Halliburton (Austin Statesman)
• No. 5 Stanford edges Women's Basketball, 72-59, in season opener from Texas Athletics
• 11s no jinx in Texas by FBC traveller, Wally Mersereau

The box score and play-by-play

A gallery of photos from Texas Athletics

And a few more photos from the Associated Press:

Amber scrambles Sarah goes for a loose ball Amber and Joslyn defend against Cokie Reed Thus far and no farther