PALO ALTO, Calif.--"Here come the giant killers." Those were the words of a Stanford Event Staff Member as the Harvard women's basketball team quietly entered Maples Pavilion last night through the players' entrance. Harvard (23-5, 12-2 Ivy) was getting ready to battle ninth-seeded Arkansas in a second-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament with the winner earning a trip to the famed Sweet Sixteen.

But all the Stanford employee could see was the team that had pulled off the biggest upset in the history of college basketball just two nights earlier.

"There they are--the giant killers," the man repeated. "Welcome back." "Thanks," responded Harvard sophomore Laela Sturdy. "It's nice to be back." The Crimson was back because it outplayed the Cardinal--a team that had made 10 consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances between 1988 and 1997--on Saturday night. The Stanford Event Staff member knew that; unfortunately, it appears the rest of the West Coast does not.

Since its stunning victory over fifth-ranked Stanford, Harvard has had to read in numerous California newspapers that it was not the Crimson's ability, but rather the Cardinal's poor play that led to the first upset of a number one seed by a 16 seed in the history of the men's or women's Tournaments.

Numerous columnists have written that without the services of All-American forwards Kristin Folkl and Vanessa Nygaard, Stanford was doomed before the start of the game. Harvard just happened to be in the right place at the right time--how else could one explain Stanford losing to "Harvard and little Suzie Miller" as one writer put it?

How about because Harvard outplayed Stanford, plain and simple? Maybe, Harvard came out victorious because it had an All-American named Allison Feaster who managed to score 35 points, pull down 13 rebounds, nab a few steals and dazzle a national television audience. Feaster's performance even had Rebecca Lobo and the rest of the ESPN studio anchors wondering why she did not receive higher All-America honors.

The answer, Rebecca, is that too many reporters failed to recognize Feaster's talent in the same way that they are now blind to Harvard's. Following Arkansas' 82-64 victory last night, Lady Razorbacks' Coach Gary Blair and their three-time All-American Christy Smith recognized Feaster's awesome ability after she dropped 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in another outstanding display.

"Watching her play the other nigh, I was petrified of her," Smith said in the post-game press conference. "I don't think I've seen a player take over a game like that. She is just unbelievable. I think she's definitely underrated."

"[Feaster] reminds me of a smaller version of Natalie Williams who's the best player in the ABL," Blair added. "She's very, very special, and before she hits Wall Street I hope she hits the pro leagues for a few years because we need quality people like that."

Those comments were volunteered by a victorious SEC coach and one of the best point guards in the nation. They have seen the very best in action, and they know talent when they see it. But they extended their praise to Harvard's team, as well, something others have been unwilling to do.

Maybe, just maybe, the Crimson downed the Cardinal because Harvard Coach Kathy Delaney-Smith had the perfect defensive game plan--double and triple team Stanford All-American forward Olympia Scott and force the Cardinal guards to beat you with the outside shot.

Delaney-Smith did what excellent coaches do--she identified her opponent's weakness and then preyed on it. And Harvard's players executed the game plan, offensively and defensively, nearly to perfection.

Maybe, just maybe, Harvard became the first unranked team to defeat Stanford on its home floor since 1988 because the Crimson received excellent performances from Miller, fellow junior Sarah Russell and senior Alison Seanor.

"Little" Suzie Miller hit the game's two biggest shots within the last 1:32 of action. She scored 12 in that game, added eight last night and hauled in six rebounds in each contest.

Russell contributed 11 points and four rebounds to the winning cause versus Stanford and added seven points last night while presenting a major low-post threat in both contests. Seanor made her presence felt all over the court in the Tournament, registering combined totals of nine points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals.