Stanford, UConn women triumph

Monday, Nov. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Stanford and Connecticut should start thinking about booking flights right now -- and Alabama's players shouldn't make too many vacation plans for late March, either.

Olympia Scott scored 18 points and Naomi Mulitauaopele added 14 as the top-ranked Stanford women celebrated coach Tara VanDerveer's return by defeating No. 2 Alabama 74-65 in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.

In the second game, No. 5 Connecticut raced to a 17-2 lead in the opening 10 minutes of a 74-56 win over No. 9 Western Kentucky.

Though Stanford opened an 11-point halftime lead and had a margin of at least four points throughout the second half, Alabama showed its strength on the boards -- especially at the offensive end.

Stanford held Alabama to 29 percent shooting while hitting 52 percent of its shots. Stanford now has won 34 straight at home, where it drew 6,950 fans for Sunday's game at 7,391-seat Maples Pavilion.

VanDerveer, who led the Cardinal to NCAA titles in 1990 and 1992, took a leave of absence last season to coach the U.S. Olympic team to a 60-0 record and a gold medal at the Atlanta Games.