March 04, 2005

Back to the table of Contents Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

Stanford's Wiggins is best in Pac-10

by Rick Eymer

The main event is just around the corner as the second-ranked Stanford women's basketball team prepares for the preliminaries this weekend.

The Cardinal will be bringing the Pac-10 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year, three first team all-Pac-10 selections and an honorable mention pick into the fray.

Candice Wiggins has emerged as one of the top players in the nation, as evidenced by her inclusion on the midseason Wooden Award and Naismith Award lists. She became the first freshman in Pac-10 history to be named Player of the Year and is just the third Division I women's player to be named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season.

In addition, Wiggins, who ranks second in the Pac-10 in scoring (17.9), fourth in steals (2.61), and fourth in free throw percentage (.814), is also just one of eight freshmen to ever receive first team all-conference honors.

Kelley Suminski and Brooke Smith joined Wiggins on the first team, and Susan King Borchardt was named to honorable mention. Tara VanDerveer earned her seventh Coach of the Year award.

Suminski was named to the team for the second time. She's ranked second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.471) and her career total of 198 three-pointers rank her seventh all-time in the Pac-10.

Smith was the named to the team for the first time. She leads the conference in field goal percentage (.621) and is fourth in blocked shots (1.11).

March Madness officially began on Thursday when the West Coast Conference tournament got underway at Santa Clara's Leavey Center - Stanford's adopted home for a few games.

Perhaps there will be a watchful eye at Santa Clara and 24th-ranked Gonzaga, a possible opponent in the West Regional in Fresno.

The Cardinal (26-2) will be spectators for today's first round of the Pac-10 tournament at HP Pavilion in San Jose, just a few minutes down the road from Santa Clara on California State Highway 82.

Top-seeded Stanford plays its first game on Saturday at 5 p.m., meeting the winner of today's 8:15 p.m. game between No. 8 seed California (10-17) and No. 9 Washington State (6-21).

Stanford has opened against Cal in the Pac-10 tournament the past two years and won both contests by 25 points.

"This gives us a chance to hopefully play three great games against teams who know us better than anyone else in the country," VanDerveer said. "We won the 18-game tournament; now we want to win the three-game tournament. This is fine-tuning for the NCAA tournament."

Stanford beat Cal by an average of 39 points this season, and beat the Cougars by an average of 32 points.

The Cougars have won two of their last nine games, including a 10-point win over Cal on Jan. 27. They have never beaten Stanford in 40 meetings.

The Cardinal will be without the services of senior forward T'Nae Thiel, who sustained a small fracture in her left foot in the win over Oregon on Feb. 24.

"That changes things for us," VanDerveer said. "Without her, we're a new team in a lot of respects in a new environment."

The Cardinal won't miss Thiel's 5.2 points a game, but they will miss her rebounding ability, her defensive presence, and her quiet leadership.

Azella Perryman, Kristen Newlin and Pinewood grad Sebnem Kimyacioglu are all capable of picking up the slack, and VanDerveer said she will likely expand the playing rotation to include Krista Rappahahn and Cissy Pierce.

"Three games in three days wears on a team," VanDerveer said. "It tests team depth. If there's one thing we have to do better to compete on the highest level is rebound better, especially offensively. I definitely think we can play better."

The experience of reaching the past three conference championship games will likely grow valuable as the weekend draws out. Suminski, Borchardt, Perryman, Kimyacioglu and Thiel have been in each of those games and understanding what it means to play so often - a possible three games in 51 hours - could mean the difference in seeking their third straight conference title.

"Success at this time of the year is being healthy and being hungry," VanDerveer said. "When you want a chance to win the national title, you're not sitting around reading your press clippings."

The rest of the field is aware that the conference title will have to go through Stanford but coaches aren't ready to fold it in just yet.

"Stanford has played so tough the whole season and they use their veteran experience to the maximum," Oregon coach Bev Smith said. "It is a difficult task because they're not going to surrender anything. At the same time, it is a new season."

Neither Cal nor Washington State is looking ahead to the next round. Both are trying to keep their goals simple.

"One of our goals was to get out of the cellar," Washington State coach Sherri Murrill said. "We did not want to finish last again for the fourth straight time or whatever it is."

The Cougars are the only team never to have won a tournament game, but there's some history on their side this time. The No. 9 seed has won two of the past three games against the No. 8 seed.

"That's the beauty of the tournament," California coach Caren Horstmeyer said. It gives you another chance for success and that's what we are looking for. We don't look ahead. It's great what Stanford has been able to accomplish. They have gotten stronger as the season progressed and they are playing better defense than I've ever seen. But we are focused on our game."

No. 7 seed Washington (13-15) and No. 10 Oregon State (6-22) open the tournament today at 6 p.m.

No. 3 Arizona State (20-8) and No. 6 UCLA (16-11) meet on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by No. 2 Oregon (19-8) against either the Huskies or Oregon State.

No. 4 USC (18-9) and No. 5 Arizona (19-10) follow the Stanford game at 7:15 p.m.

Sunday's semifinals are set for 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Cardinal would play the late game should they advance.

The championship game is slated for Monday at 7:30 p.m.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.