Stanford's better, but better Monday?

STANFORD, Calif. - The Iowa Hawkeyes concede it: Stanford is the better team.

"We may play them 10 times and they may beat us nine times," said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. "But that one time might be tomorrow night."

The Hawkeyes (20-13) face a serious uphill climb when they tangle with the second-ranked Cardinal (32-1) in a second-round game of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Tipoff is 8:30 (Iowa time) at Maples Pavilion.

"It doesn't have to be the best team overall, it's whoever is the best team on that night," said Iowa's Kachine Alexander. "That's the greatness of the NCAA tournament."

Iowa is up against a lot in its quest to advance to Sacramento, where they would reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996.

Stanford has won 23 consecutive games, 18 straight by double digits. The Cardinal has won 45 in a row at Maples - ironically, the last defeat here came in the second round of the 2007 NCAA tournament, to Florida State.

"Iowa has its story, and we have ours," said Stanford's Rosalyn Gold-Onwude. "As a fifth-year senior, this is my last game at Maples. It's an amazing rush."

A Final Four participant in each of the last two seasons, Stanford is fraught with height and talent. Eight of the 15 players on the Cardinal roster are 6-foot-2 or taller.

That includes leading scorer Nnemkadi Ogwumike (6-2, soph., 18.3 ppg), Kayla Pedersen (6-4, junior, 16.1 ppg) and Jayne Appel (6-4, senior, 13.6 ppg).

Appel dropped a school-record 46-point bomb on Iowa State in a regional-final rout last year.

"I respect her so much," said Iowa freshman Morgan Johnson, who will tangle with Appel in the paint tonight. "We always play better as an underdog. It's a great situation for us to be in.

"Our goal is to outhustle them."

That worked against Rutgers, to the tune of a 39-29 rebounding advantage. Will it be enough tonight?

"We have nothing to lose here," Bluder said. "Let's just go in here, play our guts out and see what happens."

Stanford is not looking past the Hawkeyes.

"Not when you know it could be your last game," Pedersen said. "We know Iowa is a well-rounded team - offense, defense and on the boards."

The Hawkeyes, who sat 8-10 in mid-January, have won 12 of their last 15.

"We've had a Cinderella season. Everyone knows that," Bluder said. "But to make it a classic (season), we have to win tomorrow night."