Stanford Wins With an Assist From Powell

When someone pointed out to Nicole Powell she finished a rebound shy of a triple-double, she turned slightly to her left and smiled at her coach, Tara VanDerveer.

“I know,” Powell said with a chuckle. “But stats aren’t important.”

She already has six career triple-doubles anyway, the only player in Pacific 10 history with more than one.

Powell had 15 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and No. 8 Stanford beat Washington State for the 38th consecutive time, 91-67, Saturday at Palo Alto.

Susan Borchardt scored 14 points, making four of the Cardinal’s 15 three-point baskets, one shy of the school record. Krista Rappahahn came off the bench to make three from long range and T’Nae Thiel scored 13 for Stanford.

Stanford (17-3, 10-1), which has never lost to the Cougars (5-15, 1-10), won its 25th straight conference game at Maples Pavilion.

No. 4 Connecticut 82, St. John’s 49 -- Ann Strother scored a career-high 27 points and had 10 rebounds for the Huskies (16-2, 7-1 Big East), who overcome the loss of All-American Diana Taurasi at Storrs, Conn., to extend their winning streak over the Red Storm (8-11, 2-6) to 20 games.

Taurasi had only two points when she injured her back after blocking a shot with eight minutes left in the first half. She left the game with soreness in her back, but Coach Geno Auriemma said he held her out as a precaution.

No. 9 Louisiana Tech 75, Texas El Paso 58 -- Led by Amisha Carter, who scored 20 points and had 21 rebounds, the Lady Techsters (15-2, 8-1 Western Athletic) routed the Miners (10-8, 5-4) for their ninth victory in a row. It was also the 91st consecutive regular-season home win against a conference team and the 156th straight victory against an unranked opponent.

No. 11 Colorado 68, Missouri 66 -- Tera Bjorklund made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to give the Buffaloes (17-2, 6-1 Big 12) the victory at Columbia, Mo. Bjorklund scored 19 points, Kate Fagan had 15 and Randie Wirt 14 for the Buffaloes, who improved to 16-1 when at least three players score in double figures. The Tigers (11-7, 2-4) missed 18 of 27 shots in the second half.

No. 12 Kansas State 74, No. 20 Oklahoma 65 -- Nicole Ohlde had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Laurie Koehn 24 points to help the Wildcats (15-3, 6-1 Big 12) extend their home winning streak to 28.

Oklahoma (13-6, 3-5) came back from a six-point deficit in the second half to get to within two before Ohlde and Koehn took over. Ohlde made a layup and Koehn a long three-pointer for the Wildcats, who took a 63-54 lead with 4:44 left.

The Sooners never recovered and lost their fourth in a row.

Charlotte 74, No. 13 DePaul 70 -- Peaches Harris scored 18 points at Charlotte to help the 49ers (12-7, 5-1 Conference USA) beat the Blue Demons (18-2, 6-1) for their first win over a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 6 Alabama, 69-67, on Feb. 18, 1997.

No. 16 Baylor 67, No. 25 Nebraska 57 -- The Bears (17-4, 5-3 Big 12) used a late 12-2 run, capped by Jessika Stratton’s free throw that made it 63-51 with just under four minutes left at Waco, Texas. The Cornhuskers (14-5, 4-4) got to 65-57 with 1:41 left, but missed three shots in the final minute.

Rutgers 76, No. 17 Miami 69 -- Cappie Pondexter scored 25 points and the Scarlet Knights (12-7, 4-3 Big East) handed the Hurricanes (16-3, 5-3) their second home loss in four days. Miami, which lost, 59-50, to Notre Dame on Wednesday night, fell behind early and rarely led.

No. 21 Texas Christian 96, Alabama Birmingham 66 -- Sandora Irvin scored 27 points and had 11 rebounds at Birmingham, Ala., to lead the Horned Frogs (16-3, 5-1 Conference USA) over the Blazers (7-13, 1-6) to their third win in a row.

No. 23 Virginia Tech 75, Syracuse 60 -- Ieva Kublina scored 23 points, had 10 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead the Hokies (16-4, 5-4 Big East) past the Orangemen (6-12, 3-5) at Syracuse. The Orangemen trailed, 31-24, at halftime and scored only five points during an eight-minute span in the second half.