The Stanford women's basketball team went into its two-week break for finals as the No. 1 squad in the nation. The Cardinal will head back into action this weekend still sitting atop The Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

Thanks to a light schedule during this time of the season, due to finals, the Top 25 has remained pretty much the same over the past few weeks.

Stanford (8-0) will put its national-best 81-game home winning streak on the line against visiting Pacific on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. The Cardinal is holding a narrow lead over No. 2-ranked Connecticut (8-0). The Cardinal has 22 first-place votes to the Huskies' 16.

Defending national champ Baylor (7-1), whose only loss is to Stanford, remains No. 3 with two votes.

Stanford had the week off for exams, while the Huskies beat Maryland and Penn State by 15 points each. The Lady Bears topped Notre Dame by 12 in a rematch of last season's NCAA championship game.

Duke and Notre Dame remain fourth and fifth this week. The Irish are followed by Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville and Maryland. California and Penn State changed places. Texas A&M, South Carolina and West Virginia entered the poll in the final three spots.

Nebraska, Florida State and Iowa State all dropped out.

Men's basketball
Palo Alto High grad Joseph Lin had four assists for Hamilton College in a 69-54 win over Vassar College in a nonconference game Saturday in Clinton, N.Y. The Continentals (4-4 overall) have won 10 straight games against the Brewers and lead the all-time series, 24-2.

Men's soccer
Santa Clara University goalie Larry Jackson, a resident of East Palo Alto, has been named to the All-Far West Region Team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Jackson was named to the third team while SCU teammate Erik Hurtado named the first team.

Indoor track and field
Princeton sophomore Rachel Skokowski from Castilleja finished third in the women's 1,000-yard race during the New Year's Invitational at Jadwin Gym on the Tigers' campus on Sunday.

Men's water polo
Princeton freshman Alex Gow from Menlo-Atherton High is one of three goalies nominated for USA Water Polo's "Save of the Year". Gow is the only collegian up for the national award, going against U.S. National Team members Merrill Moses and Betsey Armstrong.

In the second game of his career, Gow's save came on the national stage via ESPNU versus then-No. 3 California on Sept. 7. With 2:49 left in regulation, Gow stopped a 5-meter Golden Bear penalty shot.

Gow is in elite company, as both Moses and Armstrong competed for Team USA at the 2012 London Summer Olympics on the men's and women's sides, respectively. Armstrong helped guide the U.S. women to gold at the Games.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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