(Editor's note: Stanford junior center/forward Carolyn Moos will share a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more on the Cardinal, visit Stanford's official athletic site.)

Feb. 22, 2000

It was a good team win over Cal. Once we established momentum, we played well. The team's play was good, but there are definitely a lot of areas to improve, including rebounding! That is something I am really focusing on, as well as the team.

	Moos

Our team spirit also felt good throughout and that is great to see and feel. Different combinations of people got to play together. My play was decent, although I could have finished on a few more plays, shots that should have been made, but I concentrated on getting in deeper in the post and that really helped in getting the shots that I did. Again, rebounding and defense our the key to our ultimate success.

We have yet to get the second-round scouting report on the Washington schools, but that is our first focus. Everyone comes ready to play; we need to approach each game as if it is for a Pac-10 championship because in reality IT IS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP. We do not like to look ahead, but revenge is very sweet and we were not happy with the way we played against Washington the first time around. We need to take care of those feelings.

Self report card
As far as my play this year, I have been happy with my defense. We have adopted a new philosophy this year which took some time to adjust to, and we are still getting better. I have done a better job at being more internally positive with myself. I talk when I can and think positive things most of the time.

I do need to improve my rebounding at this point. It has been fairly strong; I just need to be aggressive and get back the mentality of going for every ball. I think I can score and be even more assertive on the low block; getting in deep helps with working on that aspect. If I get in deep and get the ball, then more fouls can be drawn -- and we like that.

Whereas I used to tense up, I am comfortable with my outside shot this year and I feel more relaxed about that part of my game. If I revert back to those tense times, then I remind myself that it is something that I practice and execute daily. I need to play really aggressive and be a big presence- - that is the largest focus for the next few games.

Are you tough enough?
There are different types of "tough" players. Players that are super athletic -- that like to jump and get up and down -- you must box out. I like to run with people and get people running. When I play great leapers I really have to concentrate on boxing out and using my strength.

Then, there are the physical players who may not be as quick but use their bodies to be aggressive. The key there is to tire those players out and use running ability and play hard for 40 minutes. I actually enjoy aggressive players, too, because it is fun to battle.

The only type of players I don't appreciate are cheap players. There really aren't too many in the Pac-10, but they are the ones who bow, or use some other tactics to make up for lack of position or foot movement.

There are some good players in the Pac-10 and the posts that are the "toughest" display different types of talents. The best thing is to know what makes your opponent tough and then approach the game in a way that attacks their way of playing.

The Cardinal routine
On a typical weekday (normal practice routine), we watch video to see what we need to work on as well as what we are doing well. The whole process is really quite beneficial. Then we warm up -- ball handling, passing, cutting drills, position work -- then stretch.

Then it's on to team drills (full-court lay-ups), 3-2-2-1, etc ... position work offense/defense, rebounding drills, wings/posts type work. Then we get into halfcourt and fullcourt play with defense, which is really fun. Sometimes we get some guys to play against us.

We shoot free throws in between all this, and finish with some type of drill where we try to beat our goals (ie. in a fullcourt shooting drill, we have a set goal, say a number of baskets we need to make in a certain amount of time) or by making a string of free throws.

We do our lifting and workout in the morning two times a week for maintenance in season, which is a good change from doing it after practice in the past. That way you are up and into the workout, and you have some time in between until practice (most of which is spent in the classroom).

The practices the day before a game are a bit different, with scouting reports and play geared more toward playing the specific team.