Women’s Basketball : Stanford Hands Trojans Their Worst Pac-10 Loss

The USC women’s basketball team, playing without star senior center Cherie Nelson, was handed its worst-ever Pacific 10 defeat by 8th-ranked Stanford, 89-57, before a crowd of 2,500 at Loyola Marymount Friday night.

Nelson, the country’s third-leading scorer with a 27.8 average, was suspended from the team for disciplinary reasons by Coach Linda Sharp last Monday.

Nelson, who was not in attendance and is scheduled to meet with Sharp on Monday, said after the game:

“Everything is just a misunderstanding between Coach Sharp and I. I am really hurt now, and I wish that I could have played.”

Sharp, who suffered her worst lost as USC coach, refused to comment on Nelson’s suspension nor her effect on the game’s outcome.

“We played very inconsistently tonight,” said Sharp, whose Trojans are 0-1 in the Pac-10. “We went through dry shooting periods and had lapses defending the low-post area.”

USC shot 32% from the field. Stanford shot 48%. The Trojans did not reach 28 points until 16:52 in the second half when junior Tammy Hammond made two free throws to close Stanford’s lead to 43-29.

Trojan guard Karon Howell said USC was not able to overcome Nelson’s absence.

“It was the coach’s decision to suspend Cherie, and the team has to back the coach,” Howell said. “Everyone was determined to play together as a team but we just fell apart in the second half.”

Nelson’s replacement, Rosalind Hodge, had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Stanford (9-2) showed its depth against the Trojans, 12 Cardinal players who scored. Stanford, mostly using its reserves, outscored USC (4-6) in the second half, 56-25.

Guard Jennifer Azzi led Stanford with 21 points (3 of 4 with three-pointers), and backup center Julie Zeilstra scored 15.

Nelson scored 41 points against Stanford in last season’s game at USC.

--LONNIE WHITE

Without freshmen Molly Tideback, DeDe Mosman and Elaine Youngs, out of the lineup because of disciplinary actions, UCLA defeated Cal in its Pacific 10 opener, 72-57, in the Wooden Center.

Sandra VanEmbricqs, a 6-foot 3-inch junior forward who only played in the second half, scored 19 points to help the Bruins end a 4-game losing streak. Rachelle Ropulier had 16 for UCLA (4-6).

Coach Billie Moore would not comment on why the players were disciplined nor whether they would return for tonight’s 7 o’clock game against Stanford.