Stanford's Tara VanDerveer beats former star Azzi in NCAAs

STANFORD, Calif. -- Tara VanDerveer and Jennifer Azzi held their embrace a bit longer than a typical pregame greeting between coaches, then the Hall of Fame Stanford coach guided the fourth-seeded Cardinal into the second round of the NCAA tournament by beating her former star player and Azzi's No. 13 seed San Francisco team 85-58 on Saturday night.

Lili Thompson scored 17 points, Erica McCall had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Stanford (25-7) advanced on its home floor in Maples Pavilion to Monday night's matchup against No. 12 South Dakota State (27-6), a 74-71 upset winner against fifth-seeded Miami earlier Saturday. A berth in the Lexington Regional is at stake.

Rachel Howard came off the bench to score 14 points in USF's first NCAA berth since 1997 under sixth-year coach Azzi.