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		Michelle Touson on the NCAA By Michelle Touson January 4, 2009

	Sportstalk: Cal won the opener against it's first Pac 10 opponent Arizona 69-55. Cal star Patrick Christopher had 23 points and had four assists. It was a low scoring game and coach Mike Montgomery who emphasized defense got what he was looking for in shutting down some of the Wild Cats top scorers. Michelle: That's what Mike Montgomery was good at at Stanford that's why he flourished in the college game and didn't flourish in the NBA. With Cal basically you have to focus on defense and it doesn't matter what the team without that defense you don't have offense and Montgomery his whole career has been about slowing down the game and playing at the pace of his team. Arizona has a lot of run and gunners so you slow that down and they've got to think about they're moves and everything and the next move and how they're going to get the ball to the person in the paint. It takes them out of their rhythm with Cal they have learned how to play a more steady methodical kind of game. Hopefully they're combining that with some run and gun spurts to throw people off balance to know that they could go both ways and they're not just one dimensional style playing team. If Cal keeps this up though they have a chance to definitely make it to the dance and wear that Cinderella slipper this year. Sportstalk: Stanford 12-1 (0-1) dropped it's first game in their first meeting with a Pac Ten school against Arizona State 90-60. ASU's Jeff Pendergraph scored 31 points and 21 of those on dunks and lay ups. Pendergraph said that without the Lopez twins in there it makes a big difference. Now that the Cardinal are into the Pac 10 schedule do you see Stanford with its hands full for the rest of the schedule? Michelle: A loss doesn't make a season but yes they're hands will be full in the Pac-Ten Schedule the Pac-Ten unlike football they come loaded in basketball you have two Arizona schools, you have to be weary of UCLA, Washington and Oregon all those schools and Cal so that's half of the Pac Ten right there that you have to keep an eye on. The Lopez twins of course that's different, they were a formidable force in the paint. They altered shots, they made people think about what they were doing and made people pay and coming in the paint may not be a good idea. So Stanford will have to reestablish that paint and take charge of it and nobody knows who Pendergraph is so they're not afraid of him and they're going to continue to take it to him until he proves to them that this is my space and if you come in you come in at your own risk. So the Cardinal will have to come up with another one two punch, so one game doesn't mean the end of the season but Johnny Dawkins is definitely looking at that and adjusting his offense and defense to get the most out of them. Sportstalk: Finally on the other hand Stanford Women 10-3 (1-0) ranked 11th defeated Arizona State in a tight game 64-61 with Jillian Harmon going 8-11 with 18 points, Kayla Pederson with 17 points in the game hit a free throw with six seconds left for and missed the second free throw. The Sun Devils Dymond Simon attempted a three point shot that would have tied it but missed which led to Stanford's win. Michelle just wanted to get your impression of this year's Cardinal team thus far? Michelle: The Cardinal Women are good but you can definitely see the hole that Candice Wiggins left in that offense and that defense and also Wiggins people knew she was a scorer but she was more than a scorer. She was a motivator on that team, she was that team's engine all last season and that's why they got to the finals. Now you have to find that engine, that person who can motivate that team. Stanford Women's basketball has always been tremendous they know the x's and o's, they know they're defense and they know they're offense. They always make it to the dance, but you've got to find that for you to be the top dog you got to find that thing that moves you that person that one torch two people on the team who no matter what that's the person that's going to make you do more and be more than you ever thought you could be on that court. This first win, that's great. They already have a loss against Tennessee but your going to have to understand your going to have to play the Tennessees, the Baylors, and Cal and Cal's Women's program is coming back strong in the Pac Ten and you have to go up against the Rutgers and all the other big time programs. Stanford right now is good, their always good but is this going to be good enough to get you to the elite eight. We know that Stanford is going to get to the dance. If Stanford doesn't get to the dance in the round of 64 I would be so, so very surprised. It's about getting out of that first round and getting into the third round and the sweet 16 and the elite eight teams and there are some teams like "wow I didn't expect them to be there". They're going to find that head coach Tara Van Der Veer she's going to have them ready and they're always going to be ready to play. It's just that they can play at the level they want to play at. That's going to be the call for Stanford. When you've been so high to go the NCAA finals and loose it's hard to bounce back from something like that but if any team can do it I know Stanford can.