January 27, 2008

The Pac 10, Half Way Home

Stanford’s huge win at home against Cal has tightened up the Pac 10 race, and a big weekend in the Bay Area is coming up, once again. USC and UCLA visit Cal with Stanford trailing Cal by 2 games in the Pac 10 race and trailing Stanford by 1 game.

1. Cal (17-3, 8-1) Despite a 20 point loss to Stanford, Cal remains atop the Pac 10 race, in the leader’s position and waiting to bounce back against the SoCal schools.

Thursday, UCLA, Saturday, USC


2. Stanford (17-3, 7-2) Basking in the spotlight after beating Cal by 20, it’s time to meet their SoCal rivals who each beat the Cardinal in LA. My pick for Player of the Week, Candice Wiggins scored 28 points against Cal. Jayne Appel had 9 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists, and JJ Hones had a career high 4 three pointers.

Thursday, USC, Saturday, UCLA


2. Arizona State (13-7, 7-2) ASU remains just a game back of Cal and tied with Stanford. The Sun Devils had a close win in Seattle and an easy win in Pullman. For the second straight week they will play second division teams so should stay close to Cal in the Pac 10 race. Lauren Lacey led ASU with 31 points and 12 rebounds in their two wins.

Thursday Oregon State, Saturday Oregon

4. USC (13-7, 6-3) Beat both the Oregon schools to stay in the Pac 10 race and in the process unleashed Frosh Kari LaPlante. Kari scored 23 points in the 2 games. Bryn Cameron made 3 three’s against Oregon State and none against Oregon. The Trojans made only one three pointer against Oregon in their 4 point 46-42 win. Nadia Parker had 9 points and 10 rebounds against Oregon State, but only played 10 minutes against Oregon.

Thursday @ Stanford, Saturday @ Cal


4. UCLA (11-9, 6-3) The Bruins trailed Oregon and Oregon State by 14 and 15 points in their games this weekend and still pulled out very close victories in LA. Lindsey Pluimer again was the UCLA leader with 37 points in the two games. Darxia Morris is back playing for UCLA and had 10 points against Oregon State. A note, after their attendance of 8,000+ last week against USC, the Bruins drew 800 against Oregon State.

Thursday @ Cal, Saturday @ Stanford

6. Oregon (10-10, 4-5) Lost two close games in LA. Kaela Chapdelaine continued her fine play with 23 points and 22 rebounds for the 5-10 player in the two games. Taylor Lilley scored 13 in each game and had 3 three’s in each game to boot.

Thursday @ Arizona, Saturday @ ASU

7. Oregon State (10-10, 3-6) Lost a pair in LA, losing a large lead in one of the games. Brittany Davis had 30 points in the two games. Talisa Rhea had 25 for the weekend, hitting 5 of 6 three’s against UCLA.

Thursday @ ASU, Saturday @ Arizona

8. Washington (8-13, 3-6) Split with the Arizona schools in Seattle. Andrea Plouffe scored 31 points in the two games and Frosh Jess McCormack returned from an injury to score 15 and grab 8 rebounds against Arizona.

Sunday, Washington State, TV


9. Arizona (7-13, 1-8) Won their first league game of the season in Pullman against WSU. Amina Njonkou was the top scorer in the league for the week with 40 points and also grabbed 13 rebounds. Ashley Whisonant continued her fine scoring with 35 points in the two games.

Thursday, Oregon, Saturday, Oregon State

10. WSU (3-17, 0-9) Lost a pair to remain winless in league play. Consistent Katie Appleton led the Cougars again with 37 points in the two games.

Sunday @ Washington, TV

A note on the Post Season. Stanford hosts a Regional, which will once again bring 8 teams to Stanford. There will be 4 games, Saturday, March 22, in two pods. Then the following Monday there will be 2 games with the winners advancing to the Sweet 16Keep your calendar clear for this fantastic weekend of basketball.

January 20, 2008

Pac 10, Week 4

It’ll be the showdown at Maples Saturday afternoon as the top two teams in the Pac 10collide. Two games drew 8500 people this week, UCLA at USC and Stanford at ASU. I know big promotions and all that, but great for Women’s Basketball on the West Coast.

1. Cal (17-2, 8-0) A big, big week for Cal as they won two on the road, again. But the big win was beating ASU in Tempe. Devanie Hampton had a huge night against ASU with 28 points and 9 rebounds. Grey-Lawson and Vital had big three point nights as Cal defeated Arizona. The twosome went 8 for 10 from three. Ashley Walker had a solid 23 points and 13 rebounds for the two games.

Saturday at Stanford

2. Stanford (16-3, 6-2) Stanford remained in the chase with a huge come from behind win in Tempe, after defeating the Arizona Wildcats. In the two games, Candice with 37 points; Jayne with 32 points and 19 rebounds on 16 for 23 shooting. JJ had 11 Assists and Zero, Nada (again) Turnovers. Kayla returned home for 34 points and 17 rebounds. But a big hats off to the blue color work of rebounding and defense to Jeanette and Jillian. And those two Free Throws by Jeanette.

Saturday, Cal

3. Arizona State (11-7, 5-2) Lost two at home for the first time in 5 years. Briann January had an outstanding week with 36 points, 8 assists and only 3 turnovers. ASU played tough though, very hard on Defense. But the situation for them is now a hard road back with 4 tough road games to go in the State of California.

Thursday @ Washington, Saturday @ Washington State

4. USC (11-7, 4-3) It got very rough at the end of the USC-UCLA game but when the smoke and bodies were cleared USC had a big win. Heather Oliver led the Trojans with 15 points and Nadia Parker had 13 point and 10 rebounds.

Thursday, Oregon, Saturday, Oregon

4. UCLA (9-9, 4-3) Lost a tough one at the end to USC. Lindsey Pluimer led the Bruins with 15 points.

Thursday, Oregon, Saturday, Oregon State

4. Oregon (10-8, 4-3) The Ducks swept the Washington schools. Against Oregon State, Nicole Canepa had 12 points and Taylor Lilley led the Ducks against Washington with 20 points, hitting 4 three’s.

Thursday @ UCLA, Saturday @ USC

7. Oregon State (10-8, 3-4) Two huge wins for the Beavers at home against the Washington schools. Brittany Davis scored 35 points in the two games. My pick for Player of the Week, Talisa Rhea, had 18 points in the win over Washington, and followed that up by hitting a school record 8 three’s and 24 points against Washington State. In the two games Rhea hit 12 three’s.

Thursday @ USC, Saturday @ UCLA

8. Washington (7-12, 2-5) Visited the Oregon schools and came up empty. Losing two close games, by a total of 6 points, is a heartbreaker for the young Huskies. The big news was USD transfer Michelle Augustavo who scored 18 points against Oregon hitting 6 of 10 three point attempts. Michelle hit 9 three pointers on the weekend.

Thursday, ASU, Saturday, Arizona


9. Arizona (6-12, 0-7) lost twice this past week. Amina Njonkou and Ashley Whisonant continue to play well with 23 and 27 points for the two games, respectively.

Thursday @ Washington State, Saturday @ Washington

9. WSU (3-15, 0-7) They are just overwhelmed right now. A fine recruiting class, so wait for next year.

Thursday, Arizona, Saturday, ASU

January 15, 2008

Pac 10 Review, Week 3

The cream is rising to the top, as Cal, ASU and Stanford are now the top three teams, all ranked 26 or higher. This week the league looks to Arizona, where Cal plays ASU on Thursday and Stanford plays ASU on Sunday, on TV. An early must win for Stanford.


1. Cal (15-2, 6-0) Cal didn’t play well this week, but still handled Oregon and Oregon State to remain undefeated in league play. Ashley Walker was the leader for Cal with 42 points and 15 rebounds for the weekend. Ashley is the Pac 10 Player of the Week. Hampton had a poor game against Oregon, but a fine game against Oregon State.

Thursday @ ASU, Sat @ Arizona


2. Arizona State (11-5, 5-0) The Sun Devils beat down state rival Arizona to remain unbeaten in league play. Briann January was 7 for 7 from the floor, 3 for 3 from three and Jill Noe had 7 Assists to lead ASU. It’s a huge weekend for ASU with both Stanford and Cal coming to Tempe.

Thursday, Cal, Sunday, Stanford (TV)

3. Stanford (14-3, 4-2) Stanford easily defeated the Oregon Schools. One day it was Jayne, 12 for 13 and 25 points against ASU, the next game it was Candice with 20 against Oregon. Jillian Harmon’s 15 points and 9 rebounds were huge for Stanford against Oregon.

Thursday @ Arizona, Sunday @ ASU (TV)

3. UCLA (9-8, 4-2) The Bruins traveled to Washington and left with two wins. Lindsey Pluimer had 31 points for the weekend; Nina Earl had 18 against WSU.

Saturday @ USC

5. USC (10-7, 3-3) After beating WSU up north, USC fell apart, scoring only 45 points in their loss to Washington. Nadia Parker and Heather Oliver both had 27points on the weekend. USC lost to Washington despite the return of Camille Lenoir, who missed the WSU game. Against Washington, USC attempted 34 three’s making only 7 and shooting 26% overall.

Saturday, UCLA

6. Oregon (8-8, 2-3) The Ducks lost to both Stanford and Cal. Against Cal, Taylor Lilley, their leading scorer on the year, scored 15, including 3 of 4 from three. Against Stanford Lilley couldn’t get a shot off.

Thursday, WSU, Saturday, Washington

6. Washington (7-10, 2-3) After losing to UCLA, the Huskies trounced USC in Tia Jackson’s first big conference win. Frosh Katelan Redmon was 13 for 22 from the floor and 28 points for the weekend. Sami Whitcomb had 17 against UCLA and followed that up with 12 rebounds against USC. Sami is 5-10.

Thursday, @ Oregon State, Saturday @ Oregon


8. Oregon State (8-8, 1-4) Lost to the Bay Area schools. The Pac 10’s leading scorer, Ashley Allen, had 20 points in the two games, 22 below her average. Talisa Rhea scored 26 points in the two games.

Thursday, Washington, Saturday, WSU

9. Arizona (6-10, 0-5). The Wildcats lost to ASU but put up a fight. Amina Njonkou scored 25 and Ashley Whisonant 20 against ASU.

Thursday, Stanford, Saturday, Cal

9. WSU (3-13, 0-5) The Cougars lost two games to the LA schools

Thursday@ Oregon, Saturday @ Oregon State

January 10, 2008

The Pac 10, Week 2

Wow, the league turned topsy turvy in just one week. With Stanford losing two in SoCal and Cal winning both, the Bears join ASU in the # 1 spot in the Pac 10.

1. Cal (13-2, 4-0) While Stanford lost two in the Southland, Cal swept the two LA schools. Devanei Hampton was the Pac 10 Player of the Week, with 37 points and 21 rebounds in the two games. Ashley Walker also had a big weekend, 28 points and 23 rebounds. Cal beat USC by 5 with 25 turnovers, then beat UCLA in overtime and only had 10 turnovers.

Thursday, Oregon; Saturday, Oregon State


2. Arizona State (10-5, 4-0) ASU traveled to Oregon and swept the Beavers and Ducks.
ASU beat Oregon by 13, but only beat Oregon State by 9 as the Beavers outrebounded the Sun Devils by 11. Lauren Lacey lead the scoring on the weekend with 36, followed by Dymond Simon with 31 points.

Saturday at Arizona

3. Oregon (8-6, 2-1) Now it gets tough as the Ducks come to the Bay Area. They lost to ASU and beat Arizona by only 6. Taylor Lilley scored 32 points in the two games.

Thursday @ Cal, Saturday @ Stanford

4. Stanford (12-3, 2-2). The disaster in the Southland for the Cards. ‘Nuff said other than Candice led the Card with 46 points and 14 rebounds. Jayne Appel had 39 points and 19 rebounds. In the one point loss Jayne led the two USC Centers to ONE rebound in 26 minutes.

Thursday, Oregon State, Saturday, Oregon

4. USC (9-6, 2-2). A close loss to Cal and a close win over Stanford. A fine week for SC. Camille LeNoir scored 21 against Stanford on 5 of 7 from three point land.

Thursday @ WSU, Sunday @ Washington

4. UCLA (7-8, 2-2). An Overtime loss to Cal after a nice win over Stanford. Darxia Morris, my pick for Player of the Week, scored 34 points in the two games. Sadly she couldn’t finish the Cal game with a knee injury. The extent of her injury is not yet known but she will not play this weekend. Lindsey Pluimer had 29 points and 15 rebounds in the two games.

Thursday @ Washington, Saturday @ WSU

7. Oregon State (7-6, 2-1). The Beavers loss to ASU and beat Arizona in the now infamous double overtime win as the Wildcats worked their way down to 2 players finishing the game. Ashley Allen again led the Beavers with 52 points on the weekend. Brittany Davis was close behind with 41. Tiffany Drucker had 16 rebounds in the Arizona game.

Thursday @ Stanford, Saturday @ Cal

8. Washington (6-9, 1-2) The Huskies beat cross state rival WSU is a close game. Jess McCormack had 16 points and 9 rebounds, while sparkplug Emily Florence had 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Thursday, UCLA, Sunday, USC

9. Washington State (3-11, 0-3), a close loss this past week to Washington. Katie Appleton had 16 points on 4 of 5 from 3.

Thursday, USC, Saturday, UCLA

10. Arizona (6-9, 0-4). Playing with 6 players and finishing with 2 is tough as the Wildcats lost two in Oregon. Ashley Whisonat scored 51 points in a highlight effort, draining 7 three’s in 13 attempts in the two games.

Saturday, ASU

January 2, 2008

Pac 10, Week One

Conference play opened this past weekend with few surprises. Maybe ASU hanging on the win two close games is a bit of a surprise, and that they were so close a bit of a surprise.

1. Stanford (12-1, 2-0) # 2 Stanford stands atop the standings with ASU and Cal at 2-0. They certainly had an easy time with the Washington Schools. Frosh Jeanette Pohlen led the team in scoring with 34 points in the two games. Fellow Frosh Kayla Pederson had 30 points and 20 rebounds. Candice had 26 points.

The Trip to SoCal will be telling for the Cardinal, as they will have a huge # 2 in the Country target on them.

Friday @ UCLA, Sunday @ USC

1. Cal (11-2, 2-0), Cal is now top 10 in the US, maybe their first top 10 ranking ever as they stand at # 10. Like Stanford they had an easy time with the Washington schools. They welcomed back 2006-07 Player of the Year Devanei Hampton, who had 25 points and 13 rebounds in 37 minutes in the two games. Ashley Walker had 25 points and 18 rebounds. Lauren Greif had maybe her best weekend with 6 of 9 three pointers and 25 points. Alexis Gray-Lawson was 5 for 9 from three, and was the leading scorer with 31 points,

Friday @ USC, Sunday @ USC, 12:30 on FSBA


1. ASU (8-5, 2-0), after a very disappointing pre-season, the Sun Devils won very close games against USC and UCLA at home. They did it with great post play from their new transfers. Lauren Lacey had 35 points and 18 rebounds while Sybil Dosty had 34 points and 18 boards in the two games.

Thursday @ Oregon, Saturday at Oregon State


4. Oregon (7-5, 1-0). The Ducks opened with Civil War rival Oregon State and prevailed by 4. Taylor Lilley led Oregon with 21 points.

Thursday, ASU, Saturday, Arizona


5. UCLA (7-6, 1-1). The Brubabes (OK that’s what they used to call the frosh men’s teams in the day), opened with a split in the desert. The Bruins beat Arizona but lost a 3 point game to ASU. Lindsey Pluimer had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the two games. But the weekend star was Frosh Nina Earl with a breakout 23 point game and 31 points with 13 rebounds for the two games.

Friday, Stanford, Sunday at 12:30 on FSBA, Cal


5. USC (8-5, 1-1). SC led ASU by 11 at the half and lost a close game to the Sun Devils, after beating Arizona. The Trojans were led by Nadia Parker’s 22 against ASU and 30 points with 15 rebounds for the weekend. Morgan Medlock had her career game against Arizona with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She only scored 4 against ASU. In the up and down realm of USC Basketball, they hit 13 three’s against Arizona, a school record, but only 3 against ASU.

Friday, Cal, Sunday, Stanford


7. Oregon State (6-5, 0-1). The Beavers lost their only game this week to arch rival Oregon. Brittany Davis led them with 23 points.

Thursday, Arizona, Saturday, ASU


8. Arizona (6-7, 0-2). The Wildcats lost to the two SoCal schools. Amina Njonkou continues to be their go to player with 34 points and 24 rebounds for the week.

Thursday, Oregon State, Saturday, Oregon


8. Washington (5-9, 0-2). The Huskies were not competitive against the Bay Area schools. Kali Bennett’s 11 points and 11 boards against Stanford was the highlight.

Friday @ WSU


8. WSU (3-10, 0-2). Two 50+ point losses for the Cougs. Alexa Price did hit 7 three’s in the two games.

Friday, Washington