Cardinal women will hit boards and road to open Pac-10 hoops Cardinal women will hit boards and road to open Pac-10 hoops (December 21, 2005)

Nationally 10th-ranked team has history of success against WSU, Washington

by Rick Eymer

For one day at least, the Stanford women's basketball team showed it could manage to stay competitive on the boards despite losing one of the top rebounders in the Pac-10.

After beating visiting Rice, 83-53, on Saturday the 10th-ranked Cardinal (5-2) now turns its attention to Pac-10 Conference play, which opened on Tuesday night in Pullman against Washington State and Pac-10 rebounding leader Kate Benz.

Stanford, which has won or shared the conference title in each of the past five years, dominates the series with the Cougars, having won all 40 times the teams have met, including a 19-0 mark in Pullman. The Cardinal has beaten Washington State by an average of 19.9 points on the Cougars' home court.

Stanford visits Washington, which leads the conference in offensive rebounding (19.3) on Thursday, where the Cardinal has won in just three of six previous trips. Stanford has beaten the Huskies four straight overall.

Washington State (6-2) appears to be on the brink of taking its program off life support. The Cougars' six wins already matches last year's total. They are looking for their first winning record in 10 years.

The Cougars won just four nonconference games last season, and 11 in the past four years combined.

Benz is a candidate to become Washington State's first Pac-10 Player of the Week since Jade Hyett was selected on Jan. 27, 1997. Stanford players have won the honor 25 times since Hyett.

Washington (7-2) is also looking to rebound from its first losing season in six years, and just its second overall. The Huskies are 5-0 at home, and have won nine straight. Stanford handed the Huskies their last home loss in late January.

Stanford is also the only school with more conference wins (291-223) and conference titles (14-3) than Washington.

With Kristen Newlin expected to miss both games this week, the Cardinal will need another effort like they received against Rice when Brooke Smith had 12 rebounds and four others, including freshman Jillian Harmon, who started in Newlin's place, each had six rebounds.

"Brooke did a great job rebounding," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "I thought her performance was one of the highlights of the game."

Added Harmon: "Everyone just needed to step up to take the place of Kristen."

Sophomore Candice Wiggins gave VanDerveer a scare when she had to be helped off the court early in the game. She was able to return two minutes later and scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Cardinal.

Harmon added 15 points and Cissy Pierce had 10. Smith recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 points to go with her career-matching 12 rebounds. It was her third career double-double.

"I was jumping for a ball and my leg twisted," Wiggins said of her injury. "But it was OK and now it's just a little sore."

Football

Stanford offensive linemen Alex Fletcher and Allen Smith were named to the Pac-10's All-Freshman squad.

Fletcher was also named an honorable mention Freshman All-American by the Sporting News, and a First Team Freshman All-American by Scout.com while Smith was an honorable mention Freshman All-American by Scout.com.

Women's soccer

Co-captains Hayley Hunt and Rachel Buehler were both selected to NSCAA West Regional teams after helping the Cardinal to a 10-7-3 record. Stanford earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the Cardinal's 15th appearance in the postseason and eighth-consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Hunt, a defender from San Marino, was named to the All-West Region second team after helping Stanford to a 0.82 goals-against and a 0.55 shutout percentage, which ranked No. 16 in the nation this season. Hunt also earned All-Pac-10 first-team accolades.

Buehler, a midfield from Del Mar, earned All-West Region third-team honors this season. After redshirting her second season to play with the U.S. 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women's World Championship team, Buehler returned The Farm and switched to midfield from defense. Her first collegiate goal came against Santa Clara to give the Cardinal a 1-0 upset victory.

Track and field

Stanford's return to prominence promises to continue after seven highly-regarded athletes signed letters to attend and compete for Stanford beginning in the fall of 2006.

Anne St. Geme brings a familiar name to the Cardinal program, as she is the daughter of former Stanford distance star Ceci Hopp and former Cardinal football player Ed St. Geme. The younger St. Geme won the California state cross-country title and is the reigning state 1,600-meter champion in track and field.

Daniel Haddock, who competed in the javelin at the World Youth championships, was also raised with Cardinal in his blood as both parents attended Stanford.

Sarah Matthew has already established a nice resume as she is the reigning Colorado state champion in the 100 (11.56) and 200 meters, the long jump and as a member of the Niwot High School 400 relay team. She was the top high school jumper in the nation last year at 21-2, and should provide Stanford with quality depth in the event.

Kate Niehaus is the South Carolina state record holder in cross country, the 3,200 meters, the 5,000 meters and as a member of the Spring Valley High 3200-meter relay team.

Nora Miller is a USATAF Junior Olympic long jump champion. She also competes in the hurdles and 200 meters.

Steven Duplinsky owns a personal best of 8:38.27 in the 3,000 meters, and Durrell Coleman was twice named Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Regional Athlete of the Year. He's a sprinter and high jumper.

Wrestling

Ray Blake finished fourth and Tanner Gardner finished fifth to highlight Stanford's effort at the Reno Tournament of Champions inside Livestock Events Center on Sunday.

Blake won five straight matches through the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the third-place match. Gardner won five of seven matches to finish fifth.

Scott Loescher and Brennan Corbett each reached the quarterfinals before losing.

Stanford travels to the Midlands tournament in Evanston, Ill. on Dec. 29.

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