Publication Date: Friday, February 18, 2005
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Stanford is ready to win Pac-10
Stanford is ready to win Pac-10
(February 18, 2005) Cardinal can capture crown tonight at USC
by Rick Eymer
The difference between fourth-ranked Stanford and USC is fairly dramatic. The Cardinal (13-1 in conference play, 22-2 overall) have already clinched at least a tie for the Pac-10 women's basketball title. They could lose the next five games (gasp, heresy!) and still get a good seed in the NCAA tournament.
The unranked Trojans (10-5, 16-8) are in second place, 3 1/2 games behind Stanford with three to play. USC was headed for the tournament until it split its last six games. The Trojans will likely need to win a couple more games to assure themselves of a tournament bid.
Stanford features three players averaging double figures: freshman Candice Wiggins, junior Brooke Smith and senior Kelley Suminski. USC's leading scorer is Brynn Cameron with a 9.8 average.
Stanford travels to USC for a 7 p.m. game on Friday, with at least a share of its fifth straight conference title already secured. The Cardinal will be looking to extend their current 13-game winning streak at one of the hardest places they have played in the past few years.
Stanford has lost its last two games at USC, and has beaten the Trojans just five times in the past eight meetings. Only Tennessee has a better mark against Stanford over the same span, having won nine straight from the Cardinal.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer still has a to-do list for the Cardinal as they try to pick up momentum heading into the Pac-10 Conference tournament which begins March 4 in San Jose.
"The number one thing is rebounding, especially offensively," she said. "Number two is post defense and number three is just to be more consistent with our production from people off the bench."
For first-year USC coach Mark Trakh, his to-do list is more about missing ingredients.
"We need to play defense the way we did earlier in the season," he said. "And we have to make our free throws. Missing free throws in the Arizona State game (a 49-45 loss) really hurt. We have a chance to finish strong but we really need to defend."
Stanford put on a clinic the last time the teams met, Jan. 22 in Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal scored the game's first 12 points and never looked back. They eventually built a 45-point advantage before settling for a 94-58 victory.
"That wasn't a lot of fun," Trakh said. "We're telling the team we're playing them again for the first time. I don't know if that will work. Candice Wiggins is just outstanding and I don't think Brooke Smith missed a shot. We're going to try and keep the game close until the final 10 minutes and see what happens."
VanDerveer always points to the return of Susan King Borchardt as the defining moment in Stanford's season. She missed the loss to Tennessee, and played three minutes in the loss to Oregon. Stanford hasn't lost since.
"Both losses we were without Susan," VanDerveer said. "With Susan coming back it really helped our team speed-wise and especially on defense. She got us going in the right direction. We're a different team from either of those games."
Borchardt is averaging 20.6 minutes a game now, and the three-guard set with Wiggins and Suminski has proved nearly impossible to defend. Borchardt is making 55 percent of her shots, 45 percent of her 3-pointers and has missed one of 14 free throws (91 percent) on the season. Her biggest asset is disrupting the opponent's rhythm on the perimeter.
Borchardt, Suminski, T'Nae Thiel, Azella Perryman and Sebnem Kimyacioglu are playing the final four regular-season games of their collegiate career.
"We're all aware of it," Thiel said. "We want to make it count."
The senior class (Borchardt actually has an extra redshirt year) takes a 108-17 record into Friday's game, and trips to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. They'd love to go the extra 2,334 miles -- the distance from Stanford to Indianapolis -- this year.
Stanford is ranked sixth in the nation with a 77.3 scoring average and Smith is seventh in field goal percentage at .623.
Over the 13-game winning streak, Stanford's margin of victory is 21.7. Boston College came closest at 77-66.
Eastside Prep grad Markisha Coleman has appeared in 18 games this season and is averaging just under six minutes per game. Kimyacioglu has 191 three-pointers in her career, tied for fourth all-time with Jennifer Azzi, and one short of Lindsay Yamasaki. .
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