January 5th Report

1. Stanford 11-3, 2-0: A huge come from behind win in Tempe lead by Jillian Harmon’s 18 points and 10 rebounds. Then on to Tucson with a 70-61 win. Jeanette Pohlen with 5 three’s for 15 points and Nneka Ogwumike came off the bench for a double, double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The starting Guards, Ros Gold-Onwude and Pohlen played all but 7 minutes and combined for 12 assists to only 3 turnovers.

Next Games: Jan 8, Washington, Jan 10, Washington State.


1. Cal, 11-2, 2-0: Beat Arizona 56-46 in Tucson behind a great game by frosh Casey Morris who hit 5 of 6 three’s on her way to 18 points. Ashley Walker had her usual solid game with 23 points and wing Lauren Greif had 11 rebounds. Alexis Gray-Lawson, Greif and Natasha Vital went 0 for 8 from three, scored only 7 points, but had 14 assists.

Beat ASU on a last second shot by Ashley Walker to win 54-53. Natasha Vital led the scoring with 19 points, including making all 3 three pointers. Walker was held to 9 points and 6 rebounds. In addition to the great win for the Bears, Devanei Hampton played 36 minutes. Lauren Greif led the Bears in rebounding for the second straight game with 8.

Next Games: Jan 8, Washington State, Jan 11, Washington on TV.


1. USC, 7-5, 1-0: Beat Oregon 66-56 before 1,105 at the Galen Center. Nadia Parker had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Brynn Cameron had 13 points, sinking 3 three’s. Hailey Dunham had 10 rebounds.

Beat Oregon State before 827, 78-54. The Trojans out rebounded the Beavers by 14 and had 10 less turnovers. Brynn Cameron scored 20 points, making 4 of 6 from three. Heather Oliver scored 19 points and had 7 rebounds.

Next Games, Jan 11 at UCLA, TV


4. Washington, 5-6, 1-0: Beat Washington State 71-58 in Seattle before 3,378 for their 27th straight win over the Cougars. The Huskies had 10 players score, led by Sami Whitcomb with 17 points. While they had 27 turnovers, a very high number, the Huskies offset that by shooting 52% from the floor.

Next Games: Jan 8, at Stanford, Jan 11 at Cal, TV.



5. UCLA, 10-3, 1-1: Beat Oregon State 60-53 coming back from down 17 points. Only 801 were at Pauley to watch the first Pac 10 game for the Bruins. Nina Earl had 15 points on 7 of 12 from the floor. Earl also had 5 steals. Christina Nzekwe had 11 rebounds. Tierra Henderson is not active at this point.

Lost to Oregon in a big upset 73-56, before a grand total of 858 folks. Not much to talk about, Doreena Campbell with 12 points was the only player over 8.

Next Games: Jan 11, USC, TV


5. Oregon, 4-8, 1-1: Lost to USC 66-56. Micaela Cocks made 4 three’s and scored 18 points. Frosh Amanda Johnson scored 16 points and had 8 rebounds. 23 turnovers did in the Ducks.

Beat UCLA 73-56 at UCLA by shooting 55% from the floor, 50% from three (5 of 10) and 90%, (18 of 20) on their free throws. Taylor Lilly scored 21 points and Micaela Cocks 17 points. Ellie Manou returned from a knee injury to score 10 points and gather in 8 rebounds.

Next Games, Jan 8, Arizona, Jan 10 Arizona State.



7. Washington State, 7-5, 0-1: The Cougars shot only 30% vs the Huskies 52% and that told the story of this game. April Cook scored 17 points to lead the Cougars. The frosh scored 47 of their 58 points.

Next Games: Jan 8 at Cal, Jan 10 at Stanford.



8. Arizona, 7-6, 0-2: Lost to Cal 56-46 before 1,996 in Tucson. Ify Ibekwe was held to 6 points but did have 11 rebounds. Two backcourt players, Reiko Thomas and Courtney Clements lead the scoring with 16 and 12 points respectively but were only 10 for 34 from the floor.

Lost to Stanford 70-61, outscoring Stanford 21-5 at the end. The crowd was a season high, 2,020. Ify Ibekwe led the way for the Wildcats, as usual with a great 23 points and 12 rebounds. Reiko Thomas was 4 for 8 from three and had 15 points. Amina Njonkou scored 14 points and had 8 rebounds.

Next Games: Jan 8 at Oregon, Jan 10 at Oregon State


8. Oregon State, 9-3, 0-2: Lost to UCLA 60-53, after leading at one point by
17. Alex Mitchell had a career night with 24 points. Tiffany Ducker had 10 rebounds. The Beavers had 26 turnovers and only 7 assists.

Lost at USC 78-54. 7 Assists with 33 turnovers sums up the game for the Beavers. Alex Mitchell had 14 points and Talisa Rhea scored 17 points.

Next Games, Jan 8, Arizona State, Jan 10, Arizona



8. Arizona State, 8-6, 0-2: Lost to Stanford 64-61, losing a 12 win lead late in the game before 5,128. Briann January scored 21 points on 7 of 10 including 3 of 4 from three. She also had 4 assists and 3 steals. Sybil Dosty had 11 rebounds but could only score 3 points. Dymond Simon had 11 points but was only 4 for 13 from the floor and had 5 turnovers.

Lost to Cal in the last second 54-53. Charlie Turner-Thorne was livid after the game on a non call with just seconds left on a possible Cal travel. Dymond Simon scored 17 points and was 3 for 5 from three. But she was the only Sun Devil with more than 10 in the game played before 3,540.

Next Games, Jan 8 at Oregon State, Jan 10 at Oregon.


Predicting the Final Pac 10 standings and who might advance to the Post Season “Dance”. Reprinted from Jan 1st

1. Stanford, 9-3. With Stanford’s post skill and depth they are the highest rated team in the Coaches Poll. Must establish a Point Guard with JJ Hones’ injury and improve their 3 point shooting.

2. Cal, 9-2. Ashley Walker leads the conference in scoring with 22.5 points per game. Ashley is also averaging 8.3 rebounds per game. Devanei Hampton is coming back slowly from another knee operation but started the last game. Cal has a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio and is shooting 36% from Three. The Bears has proven to be a Top 10 team while Hampton recovers and she will only get better as she gets healthier. Rama’s return remains a question.

3. Arizona State, 8-4, always plays hard and comes at you in hordes. This season they have 11 players averaging at least 11 minutes per game. Briann January is the leader, scoring 13.3, and shooting 45% from Three. Briann’s assist to turnover ratio is 2.3:1 and she averages 3 steals per game. ASU plays a 3 Guard offense and the other two Guards, Dymond Simon is averaging 12.8 points per game while Danielle Orsillo is averaging 8.1 points per game. Center Sybil Dosty is averaging 10.1 points per game and is averaging 7.9 rebounds per game. As a team ASU is shooting 41.8% from Three and has a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio.

4. UCLA, 9-2, is off to their best start in years. While Doreena Campbell is the only player in double figures scoring wise, at 12 per game, 6 other players are averaging between 7.3 and 9.1 points per game. The Bruins have averaged an outstanding 12 steals per game. This offsets their 1:1.4 assist to turnover ratio. The Bruins don’t rely on the Three, making only 3 per game. However they really rebound at 46 per game a plus 14.5 over their opponents, # 2 in the nation.

5. USC, 6-5, the team no one can understand. Terrible injuries to Jackie Gemelos and Stephanie Gilbreath, again, but they are left with some outstanding players. They often seem better than there record. They are balanced with 4 players scoring almost the same. Brianna Gilbreath leads the team at 11.9 points per game, then Nadia parker and Camille LeNoir both at 11.0 and Ashley Corral at 10.5. The Trojans out rebound their opponents by 6.5, but their assist to turnover ratio is a poor 1:1.3. They do shot a lot of Three’s make almost 7 per game at 32.6%.

6. Oregon State, 9-1, is the most improved team in the league. While their schedule has been slight, their only loss is by 4 points to # 2 North Carolina on a neutral court, Talisa Rhea leads the Beavers in scoring with 15.5 per game, hitting 39% from Three. Two others, Alex Mitchell, 12.9 and Brittany Davis 12.8, are scoring in double figures. Oregon State is averaging 75 points per game and hitting 35% of their Three’s. Their assist to turnover ratio is 1.1:1. Tiffany Ducker at 6.4 per game leads the team in rebounding.

7. Washington State, 7-4, is a scrappy, very young, vastly improved team. They have 5 players averaging in double figures, 3 of them frosh. Jasmine Perkins leads at 14.9 then April Cook at 13.9 points per game. After the two frosh are Katie Appleton, 11.3, frosh Rosie Tarnowski, 10.2, and the leading 2nd leading rebounder at 6.5. The leading rebounder at 7.0 is Heather Molzen who is averaging 10.0 points per game. As a team they are only shooting 38.3%.

8. Arizona, 7-4 is greatly improved and playing hard for new Coach Niya Butts. Ify Ibekwe is averaging 15.5 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. She is also leading the team in steals. Guard Reiko Thomas is averaging 11.7 points per game and Forward Amina Njonkou is averaging 10.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The Wildcats don’t shot Three’s well, 21% and 2 per game. They also have a 1:2 assist to turnover ratio. Jhakia McDonald and Tasha Dickey are out for the season with injuries.

9. Washington, 4-6, is a young, inexperienced team after losing 4 transfers and 3 graduates after the past season. Their assist to turnover ratio is 1:1.6, worst in the Pac 10, and they are only averaging 12.4 assists per game. The return of Liz Lay will really help, as she regains her playing form. The top 3 scorers are Laura McClellan at 11.6, Sami Whitcomb at 10.4 and Kristi Kingma at 9.0. Michelle Augustavo has almost half the Three’s on the team as is successful 35.5% of the time.

10. Oregon, 3-7, is really having trouble scoring points, averaging only 57 points per game. Micaela Cocks is their leading scorer at 15.4 points per game, but she is the only player averaging in double figures. The Ducks assist to turnover ratio is a very poor 1:2. They are shooting only 36% this season.