Tough Enough

Stanford tripped to the desert and tripped up the Sun Devils. Got to believe that Charli thought the tide had turned, but we had Candice and they didn't.

Southern Cal jumped up with two wins, and looked good. Washington lost two and had a woeful week.

1. Stanford: 11-0, 18-3

Played fair in the 2nd half of the victory over Arizona, but against ASU won in OT behind the fantastic display by Player of the Week, Candice Wiggins. Two game lead with 7 games to go and five of them at home.

Feb 1: @ Santa Barbara
Feb 4: Cal


2. ASU: 9-2, 19-3

Their lack of a go to player really did them in against Stanford. It's one thing to say great Stanford Defense, but Westerberg and Noe went 3 for 13 against Stanford, and that did them in as much as Candice. Charli expects to get revenge at the Pac 10 Tournament, and after the rumble in the desert
she could be right.

Feb 1: @ Washington
Feb 3: @ Washington State


3. Cal: 7-4, 16-5

Cal keeps winning the games they should. The loss of Gray-Lawson, which I thought would be a killer, hasn't been. Cal is still ranked # 21. Hampton scored 39 points and had 16 rebounds last week, Walker 36 points and 19 rebounds, in their split in Arizona.

Jan 31: UC Riverside
Feb 4: @ Stanford


3. USC: 7-4, 13-8

USC beat both Washington schools at home to keep alive their NCAA chances. I would say right now they are iffy, but the Trojans are hanging tough. Shea Murphy scored 43 points in the two wins, and Jamie Hagiya came out of her funk with 28 points, 11 assists, only 1 turnover and 11, Wow! steals.

Feb 1: Oregon State
Feb 3: Oregon


5. Washington: 6-5, 13-9

Washingon has now lost 4 of 5, their only win in three weeks over Washington State. Now ASU comes to town so it won't get any better for the Huskies. The bigger question is becoming, Is June done?

Feb 1: ASU
Feb 3: Arizona


5. UCLA: 6-5, 12-11

The Bruins won two close games at home against the Washington schools, beating WSU by only three, thanks to 4 three's in the game by back up Zaidi. Pluimer had a fine game against WSU with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Noelle Quinn had a normal week, for her, 29 points, 21 rebounds, and 9 assists.
Zaidi also hit 2 three's against Washington, 6 three's for the week.

Feb 1: @ Oregon
Feb 3: @ Oregon State


7. Oregon: 3-7, 11-9

The Ducks split with their in state rival the Beavers.

Feb 1: UCLA
Feb 3: USC



7. Oregon State: 3-7, 8-11

And the Beavers split with the Ducks

Feb 1: USC
Feb 3: UCLA

9. Arizona: 1=10, 7-16

Feb 1: @ WSU
Feb 3: @ Washington

9. Washington State: 1-10, 5-16

A close loss at UCLA was the highlight of the Cougars' week. Marisa Stotler scored 15 points against UCLA but only 2 points against USC.

Feb 1: Arizona
Feb 3: Arizona State

Showdown in the Land of the (Sun) Devils

Stanford and ASU, Sat at 11AM PST, on TV. What more could a fan ask for?
Oh, a more competitive Pac 10? Not going to be this year. Someone else to
rise up and beat either ASU or Stanford? Doesn't look likely. Cal to
finish 3rd? Maybe.

1. Stanford: 9-0, 16-3

We beat Oregon and Oregon State in games that raised our stress level, but in the end we did win. The Oregon game's first 15 minutes showed why we don't have young girls come watch. Not pretty at all. But the last 5 minutes of the first half, and the second half of the Oregon State game was all Stanford Basketball. Anyone else get a tournament feeling in the first 5 minutes of the Oregon State game 2nd Half?

The rumble in the desert. The meeting of spiked heels vs flat heels. the
teacher vs the pupil. The, ah no more, this Sat for all the marbles. A
must win for ASU, a "we better win" for Stanford. This is what sports is all
about.

Jan 25: @ Arizona
Jan 27: @ ASU (11AM PST, on FOX)

2. ASU: 8-1, 18-2

6,113 screaming young ladies saw ASU beat UCLA by 40 points. 40 points!
Kathy Olivier's Bruins intimidated by little girls and the hurly burly of
Charli's Sun Devils. USC had a chance to beat ASU Sunday, but came up
just short. Now the Sun Devils have the moment they have waited for,
Stanford at their house.

The bad news, Dymond Simon was lost for the year with a knee injury.

Jan 25: Cal
Jan 27: STANFORD

3. Cal: 6-3, 15-4

Cal has really stood in there despite the pre-season losses of several
players and the loss of Alexis Gray-Lawson at the start of league play.
But they still play only 6 people and at some point that philosophy could
haunt them.

Jan 25: @ ASU
Jan 27: @ Arizona

4. Washington: 6-3, 13-7.

The Huskies bounced back from the Lost Weekend to defeat WSU. This week
they travel to LA, and must sweep to stay in the race.

Jan 26: @ UCLA
Jan 28: @ USC

5. USC: 5-4, 11-8

USC beat Arizona and gave ASU a good game, very close until about 5 minutes
left. They must have Shay Murphy on every game to win though, and she went
an horrendous 5 for 24 against ASU.

Jan 26: Washington State
Jan 28: Washington

6: UCLA: 4-5, 10-11

A very disappointing game agains ASU, losing by 40. Can they bounce back?
Well they did hold on to beat Arizona. My guess is they could well win two
this weekend.

Jan 26: Washington
Jan 28: WSU

7. Oregon: 2-6, 10-8

A double loss in the Bay Area puts Oregon one game out of last place. Their
10 wins are deceiving, having played a number of cupcakes. The Ducks play
in state rival Oregon State twice this weekend.

Jan 24: Oregon State
Jan 28: @ Oregon State

8. Oregon State: 2-6, 7-10

Oregon State really battled both Stanford and Cal but came up short. They
have some good players coming in next season, but lose the Pac 10's leading
scorer in Casey Nash. One thing for sure, they have a fine Coaching Staff.

Jan 24: @ Oregon
Jan 28: Oregon

9. Arizona: 1-8, 7-14

With Stanford and Cal coming to Tucson, it should be a long weekend for the
Wildcats.

Jan 25: Stanford
Jan 27: Cal

10: Washington State: 1-8, 5-14

The Cougars had five players in double figures and Washington, but lost by
20. The long season continues.

Jan 26: @ USC
Jan 28: @ UCLA

Pac-10 Review, Jan 14

The complete collapse of Washington has left the Pac-10 with a two team race, heading for the big showdown between Stanford and ASU in two weeks. Can anyone doubt that Brooke Smith will be the Pac-10 player of the week? Or even the national POW. Washington State will beat someone, and then have the confidence to do it again. And USC wins at UCLA, could that start a roll for them? And anyone notice the attendance at UCLA? Over 7,100.

1. Stanford: 7-0, 14-3.

Stanford has won 12 in a row now. Brooke Smith put up some awesome #'s for the week's three games with 52 points, 25 rebounds, 17 assists and 8 steals. Just skipping ahead a bit, the Stanford -ASU game will be on live TV, Saturday, Jan 27, 11AM.

Jan 18: Oregon
Jan 20: Oregon State


2. Arizona State: 6-1, 16-2

Two nice wins in Oregon by ASU could get them into the Top 10, staying right behind Stanford. Emily Westerberg scored 34 points in the two wins and Aubree Johnson added 26 points and 18 rebounds.

Jan 18: UCLA
Jan 21: USC


3. Washington: 5-3, 12-7

Fans of classic movie's might remember "The Lost Weekend" with Ray Milland. Well this Lost Weekend starred, sort of, the U of Washington's Women's Basketball team. They had a chance to really put themselves into league title contention, but it was not to be.

Jan 20: Washington State

4. Cal: 4-3, 13-4

Cal surprised to win 2 on the road. They continue to play 6 players, except for an injury, and a 7th player just a couple of minutes. While I wonder how they will survive the season without much substitution, Cal answers by remaining in the Top 25. Hampton and Walker continue to lead the Bears. Hampton had 39 points and 21 rebounds and Walker 32 points and 14 rebounds in the two games.

Jan 18: Oregon State
Jan 20: Oregon

4. USC: 4-3, 10-7

USC beat UCLA by 3 at Pauly before 7,134 fans. No one got 20 points, but the team play was excellent. With Jamie Funn back are the Trojans ready to play toward the dance?

Jan 18: @ Arizona
Jan 21: @ ASU


6. UCLA: 3-4, 9-10

Lost to USC in their only game, but before a huge turnout. Noelle Quinn lead UCLA again with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists.

Jan 18: @ ASU
Jan 20: @ Arizona

7. Oregon: 2-4, 10-6

Oregon split with the Arizona schools, playing ASU tough before losing near the end. Taylor Lilly led the Ducks this past weekend with 33 points while hitting 6 of 9 three's. She is a frosh who had been injured earlier this season. The ASU game "featured" 52 fouls in the game, played before a season high 3,353.

Jan 18: @ Stanford
Jan 20: @ Cal

7. Oregon State: 2-4, 7-8

The Beavers also split with the Arizona schools, beating Arizona and losing to ASU. They had career games against Arizona in their win from Casey Nash and 27 points , and from Mercedes Fox-Griffin with an amazing 15 assists.

Jan 18: @ Cal
Jan 20: @ Stanford

9. Arizona: 1-6, 7-12

Arizona lost both their games in Oregon. Things don't get better this week although they will be on their home count. However visiting USC and UCLA should prove to be too much for the Wildcats.

Jan 18: USC
Jan 20: UCLA

10. Washington State: 1-7, 5-13

A very tough week for the Cougars who lost two single digits games to Stanford and Cal. They are in a pretty good position to beat Cal.


Jan 20: @ Washington

Pac-10 Review, January 9th

Pac-10 Play, Jan 9th:

Stanford remains in first place, but hits the road to play Washington on Thursday. ASU and Washington threaten to make it a three team race.

1. Stanford: 5-0, 11-3

Stanford played two great games last week, beating Fresno State and Cal handily on the road. Couldn't ask for more than that. Now off to Washington for a showdown between certainly two of the top three teams. Candice is really back, hitting 6 three's against Cal and high rebounding and assist numbers in both games. Jayne has been a scoring machine, now a real threat to score a point a minute in any game. Last night Stanford held South Carolina to under 30% and Brooke with her Hook scored 28 points.

Jan 11: @ Washington
Jan 13: @ WSU


2. Washington: 5-1, 12-5

The Huskies just missed staying undefeated in league play, falling to ASU in Tempe by five. An easy win over Arizona puts Washington into the Championship picture, and they can move into first by beating Stanford. Washington is really playing like a team, Hicks wasn't even the high scorer against ASU, although she did get 18. Clark had 21 against ASU. Hicks did have 8 turnovers in that game.

Jan 11: Stanford
Jan 13: Cal


3. ASU: 4-1, 14-2

ASU is right behind the 10th ranked Cardinal in the #11 spot in the first pool out this week. They are 3rd in the conference only because they have played one less game than Washington. Frosh Dymond Simon was big this week, adding to the scoring from their other Guards. Simon scored 40 points in the two games last week including 4 of 5 from 3. ASU visits the Oregon schools this week, and should take two while the Huskies and Cards fight it out.

Jan: 11 @ OSU
Jan: 13 @ Oregon


4. UCLA: 3-3, 9-9

UCLA lost in the biggest upset thus far in league play, to Oregon State in Pauley. Only 621 people present to support the Bruins. Amanda Livingston had a career game against Oregon with 18 points in the UCLA win.

Jan 13: USC


4. USC: 3-3, 9-7

USC surprised me by winning both their games. Granted Oregon and Oregon State are second division teams, but I thought Oregon would beat USC, and Oregon State had just shocked the Bruins. Jamie Funn returned to really help out USC. Shay Murphy had 26 points against Oregon and Funn 10 points and 8 rebounds against Oregon State.

Jan 13: @ UCLA


6. Cal: 2-3, 11-5

Cal beat Rhode Island on Monday then got rolled by the Cardinal on Saturday. Coach Boyle warned her team that if they played against Stanford like they did in the 2nd Half against Rhode Island they would get overwhelmed. They did and they did.

Jan 11: @ WSU
Jan 13: @ Washington


7. Oregon: 1-3, 9-5

Oregon surprised me by losing two in LA. They lost in double overtime to USC, then a close game to UCLA. Oregon hit 22 of 50 three's and lost twice.

Jan 11: Arizona
Jan 13: ASU


7. Oregon State: 1-3, 6-7

The Beavers split in LA with a huge win over UCLA. Judie Lomax had 29 points and 16 rebounds in the two games, while Casey Nash had 26 points.

Jan 11: ASU
Jan 13: Arizona


9. Arizona: 1-4, 7-10

The Wildcats got their first win, beating Washington State in Tucson. Joy Hollingsworth stepped up with 18 points in the game. They were soundly beaten by Washington in their other game, but Hollingsworth scored 31 to keep it respectable.

Jan 11: @ Oregon
Jan 13: @ Oregon State


10. Washington State: 1-5, 5-11

The Cougars lost a pair in Arizona, losing by only two to Arizona. Kate Benz, playing with a bad back, had 20 rebounds in the pair of losses. Katie Appleton had 22 points against Arizona.

Jan 11: Cal
Jan 13: Stanford

A Happy New Year for the Pac-10

Except for the Oregon schools, teams have now played at home and away and we can see a trend developing in the Pac-10. We are very good, winning a tremendously hard fought game against the Sun Thugs. Washington is showing they have a strong team. And the Satan Devils of Charli Turner Thorne might only have the single loss to us when we travel to the Valley of the Sun.

1. Stanford, 4-0 & 9-3

We play two games this week, traveling to Fresno on Tuesday and then to Cal on Saturday. Cal will have its biggest crowd of the season waiting for us. Candice has been named Pac-10 Player of the Week, bouncing back from her injury. We are playing very well right now.

Jan 2: @ Fresno State
Jan 6: @ Cal

1. Washington, 4-0 & 11-4

Cameo Hicks continues to lead the Huskies, 4-0 after their first 2 weeks. Emily Florence and Andrea Plouffe are also playing well. Against UCLA, Jill Bell came off the bench for 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Erica Schelly came off the deep end of the bench to score 11 against USC.

However things now get very tough for Washington as they play at ASU on Sunday, then host Stanford the following Thursday.

Jan 4: @ Arizona
Jan 7: @ ASU -- on FSN

3. ASU, 2-1, 12-2

Beat Cal on the road and came close to beating us at Maples, but no cigar. Kristin Thompson had a big game against us, with 17 points, and could provide a big boost to their one weakness, post play -- not that they have a huge weakness. ASU showed this past week that they are an outstanding team, and could go through their remaining Pac-10 schedule without a loss.

Jan 4: WSU
Jan 7: Washington

4. UCLA, 2-2, 8-8

UCLA split in Washington this past week. Trailing Washington by 11 with 1:49 left, they scored 7 points in 61 seconds to almost pull out the win. That comeback shows that UCLA will be a player in the race, capable of beating anyone, and probably a top 5 team in the conference. Noelle Quinn had 43 points, 16 assists and 14 rebounds in the two games.

Jan 5: Oregon State
Jan 7: Oregon

4. Cal, 2-2, 10-3

The loss of Alexis Gray-Lawson for the season will continue to haunt the Bears. But despite many turnovers against Arizona, their frosh guards helped Cal to the victory. Also, in the Arizona game, the Bears sank 9 of 14 3-point attempts. With their outstanding posts, Cal will be a treat to win any game. The Chronicle and Mercury said Hampton and Walker were often double- and triple-teamed this past week. If both were triple-teamed, does that mean Joan B played some defense? :)

Jan 2: Rhode Island (they are 2-11, 'nuff said)
Jan 6: Stanford

6. Oregon, 1-1, 9-3

Oregon beat BYU at home before 3,100, and beat them at the free throw line. Oregon canned 26 of 31 to 9 of 15 by BYU in the 9-point win. Big 6-7 center Jessie Shetters continued her very strong rebounding with 13 Boards.

Jan 5: @ USC
Jan 7: @ UCLA

7. USC, 1-3, 7-7

Now missing four players, the Trojans are just too short-handed for the Pac-10. Shay Murphy had another big week with 28 points and 18 rebounds in the two games. Chloe Kerr was the difference against WSU in USC's 6-point win, with 19 points.

Jan 5: Oregon
Jan 7: Oregon State

7. Washington State, 1-3, 5-9

Washington State lost two close games in Pullman this past week. A 3-point loss to UCLA was followed by a 6-point loss to USC. Two winnable games that could have changed their whole season.

Jan 4: @ ASU
Jan 6: @ Arizona

9. Oregon State, 0-2, 5-6

The Beavers lost to Texas by only one and beat Holy Cross at a tournament in San Diego. Casey Nash had 25 points against the now 10-3 Texas Longhorns, ranked # 27 in the country. In the Holy Cross game, 4 of the 5 starters played all 40 minutes for OSU.

Jan 5: @ UCLA
Jan 7: @ USC

10. Arizona, 0-3, 6-9

It won't get any better. Not much to say.

Jan 4: Washington
Jan 6: WSU