Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Monday, November 12, 2007

Just one day into the season and we've already got our first controversy over referees. With one-tenth of a second remaining in the Stanford-Rutgers matchup, and the score tied, Epiphanny Prince's arm made some contact with Candice Wiggins as Wiggins tried to bring the ball out of Stanford's backcourt: a foul was called, and Wiggins' free throws gave the visiting Cardinal the win.

Coach Stringer smells conspiracy: "It is what it is... It was ironic that it was the same opportunity that the girl from Duke had." (It looked like a foul to us, but what do we know?)

Before that last second, the game looked alternatingly exciting (because close), fascinating (because of the contrast in styles) and infuriating (because, well, that's Rutgers): the Scarlet Knights' superb press made it hard for Stanford to score, but the Cardinal's young posts Appel and Pederson kept grabbing the rebounds, the home team kept missing from outside, and both teams shot below 35% after the break.

Prince led all scorers, not that that's much consolation; Wiggins, stifled till late in the game, had 19, including a stunning desperation jump shot that brought Stanford back from behind.