Redhawks' obstacle: Southeast faces certified first-round challenge in Stanford

As far as historically strong women's basketball programs go, Stanford can match up with just about anybody.

And the 2005-06 Cardinal have lived up to Stanford's glorious past entering Saturday's NCAA tournament game against upstart Southeast Missouri State.

The 14th-seeded Redhawks (22-8) will make their first NCAA Division I tournament appearance when they take on the third-seeded Cardinal (23-7) at about 9:30 p.m. at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. The contest will be televised by ESPN2.

"They're one of the premier programs in the country over the last 20 years," Southeast coach B.J. Smith said. "Their accomplishments speak for themselves."

Stanford will be making its 19th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and the 18th straight under coach Tara VanDerveer, already a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

VanDerveer, 657-178 in 26 years as a collegiate head coach, is 505-127 in her 20th season at Stanford. She has led the Cardinal to nine Elite Eight appearances, five Final Four appearances and two national championships, in 1989-90 and 1991-92.

Stanford recently captured its sixth consecutive Pac-10 regular-season title under VanDerveer, a three-time national coach of the year who entered this season with the third-highest career winning percentage among active Division I coaches.

"What she has done there is phenomenal," Smith said.

The current Cardinal squad, ranked 13th, features one of the country's premier players in 5-foot-11 sophomore point guard Candice Wiggins, who is 10th nationally in scoring at 21.2 points per game.

Wiggins also ranks 11th nationally in 3-point shooting at 43.9 percent, to go along with 82.2 percent free throw shooting and a team-high 107 assists. She leads the Pac-10 in scoring, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

Wiggins is just the sixth person to receive two Pac-10 player of the year awards, and the fifth to receive the honor in consecutive seasons. She is one of 12 finalists for the Wade Trophy as college basketball's top player.

As a freshman, Wiggins averaged 17.5 points per game to make second-team All-American and become the first freshman to win Pac-10 player of the year.

"She's a great player," Smith said. "Some people think she's the best player in the country."

Stanford has another two-time first-team all-Pac-10 performer in 6-3 junior center Brooke Smith, who is averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting 57.3 percent from the field, which places her 18th nationally.

The Cardinal also feature a 6-5 center in junior Kristen Newlin (8.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and another sharp outside shooter in 6-foot senior guard Krista Rappahahn (9.2 ppg), tied with Wiggins at 11th nationally in 3-point accuracy at 43.9 percent.

As a team, Stanford is fifth nationally in scoring (78.8 ppg), 11th in field-goal percentage (.468) and third in 3-point percentage (.400).

"They're not the most athletic team, but they're big everywhere, and they can really score. They're going to be a tough matchup for us," Smith said. "I'm sure they think they have a chance to win the national championship."

But Smith doesn't expect the Redhawks to be awed by Stanford's tradition and current credentials.

"I know Stanford has a great reputation, but I don't think our players really care about that. They're not intimidated," Smith said. "We're going to come up with a game plan and give it a shot."