Stanford: VanDerveer's team tries to avoid '98 repeat

Stanford will enter the NCAA Tournament as a top seed and will host first- and second-round games at Maples Pavilion. So the Cardinal should ride to the regional in Sacramento in the express lane, right?

Not so fast.

The last time they were a top seed was 1998, when they also were a first-round host. A most gracious host, in fact. They were shocked by Harvard 71-67, the only time a top seed has lost to a 16 seed in the tournament's history.

When the tournament seedings were announced Monday, coach Tara VanDerveer said she'll mention that upset to her players today when they begin preparations for Saturday's game against 16th-seed UC Riverside (17-15). Iowa plays Rutgers in a 5 p.m. game, and the winners play at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Stanford could play four tournament games without leaving Northern California because Sacramento's Arco Arena is the site of the regional.

"There's nothing guaranteed because you're a one seed," VanDerveer said. "We all know what happened the last time we were a one seed, and obviously we don't want that repeated."

The Cardinal (31-1) are ranked second in the nation. The only team that has beaten them in their last 53 games has been Connecticut. The Huskies whipped them 83-64 in last year's national semifinals and beat them again 80-68 this season.

Stanford would get its chance at a rematch only if both teams reach the final April 6 in San Antonio. The top-ranked Huskies have won 72 straight games.

UCLA coach Nikki Caldwell isn't counting out Stanford if that matchup materializes. "I think Connecticut is in a league of its own," she said after her Bruins lost to the Cardinal in Sunday's Pac-10 tournament final. "But I know when Stanford played them earlier this year, it was a great battle in the first half. If Stanford could keep that type of intensity going for two halves, Stanford's got a great shot at upsetting them."

UC Riverside survived a rocky start to the season, losing 12 of its first 15 games, and won 14 of its last 17. It has four players averaging in double figures, led by Alyssa Morris at 13.4 points per game.

UCLA was the only other Pac-10 school to make the 64-team draw. VanDerveer said she was surprised the conference didn't get a third entry. "I thought USC had as good an argument as anyone, beating (No. 17) Texas and playing such a competitive schedule," she said.