Stanford looking up at ASU as conference season arrives

By Brooks Hatch
Corvallis Gazette-Times

Stanford finds itself in the rare position of trailing another Pacific-10 Conference team heading into conference play, which begins tonight with the Bay Area schools traveling to Los Angeles.

Arizona State is 10-1 and ranked 10th. The Sun Devils have five more wins and are ranked four slots above the Cardinal, which has won or shared six consecutive regular-season championships and three of the five conference tournaments.

ASU has played in four of the past six NCAA tournaments and advanced to the third round in 2005 and the second round in 2006. The Sun Devils have plenty of depth, as coach Charli Turner Thorne frequently uses a 10-player rotation and alternates Briann January, Dymond Simon and Reagan Pariseau at point guard.

“I think we’re better on offense than on defense,” Turner Thorne said. “We have a different look. We are able to score better than I’ve ever coached. Hopefully, we can sustain it.”

Standout senior Emily Westerberg, a two-time Pac-10 all-star, plays only 21 minutes a game but is still averaging more than 15 points.

“There’s always going to be a girl to step up,” she told USA Today. “No one is going to average more than 25 minutes, and people don’t complain.”

Oregon State opens Pac-10 action at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Washington State The Cougars and Beavers were picked to finish ninth and 10th, respectively, in the Pac-10 preseason poll.

OSU senior guard Casey Nash has tripled her career scoring average (6.3) through the first seven games and leads the Pac-10 in scoring at 21 points per game.

“She is the only player we have back with significant game experience and minutes played and just being around the Pac-10,” coach LaVonda Wagner said. “So we’ve been in a situation where we’ve had to look to her quite a bit until these other young women can figure out what we’re doing.”

Coach Sherri Murrell said WSU has been inconsistent because it starts two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior.

“Turnovers (20.2 tpg) have been a problem,” Murrell said. “Our freshmen point guards are talented, but at the same time are very inconsistent.”

Also, a back injury has slowed senior post Kate Benz, the Central Catholic graduate who was the Pac-10’s top rebounder in 2006.

“There is only one way Kate Benz plays and that’s extremely hard,” Murrell said. “There have been games where she went all out and the next day she couldn’t even walk. But she’s getting a little more consistent with back-to-back practices.”

Other Pac-10 openers are: Cal at UCLA and Stanford at USC tonight; Washington at Oregon on Thursday night; and Arizona at Arizona State on Friday. The Beavers conclude their opening weekend of conference play at 4 p.m. Saturday against Washington, also at Gill Coliseum.

There’s plenty of talent in the Pac-10 outside of Tempe, however, and no one is conceding the title to ASU.

Stanford junior guard Candace Wiggins, the 2005 and 2006 Player of the Year, heads the seven returning all-conference players. Wiggins injured a hamstring against Utah on Dec. 16 and her status for the Los Angeles road trip is undetermined, although she will accompany the team.

Other returning all-stars are Stanford’s Brooke Smith, a 6-3 center; 6-3 sophomore center Devanei Hampton of Cal; 5-10 senior guard Cameo Hicks of Washington; 5-11 senior forward Eshaya Murphy of USC; 6-0 senior guard Noelle Quinn of UCLA, and the aforementioned Westerberg. Hampton has been slowed by a sprained ankle.

Also returning are Benz; sophomore guard Alexia Gray-Lawson of Cal and junior guard Camille LeNoir of USC, honorable-mention choices in 2006. LeNoir is redshirting with a hip injury, though.

All-Freshmen guard January of ASU, forwards Jillian Harmon of Stanford and Ashley Walker of Cal are back, as are honorable mention all-freshmen guards Jessica Arnold (ASU), Amanda DuRocher (WSU), Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (Stanford), Jene’ Morris (Cal), Tamika Nurse (Oregon) and Danielle Orsillo (ASU).

Gold-Onwude has an ACL injury, however, and hasn’t played.

Stanford is winning with defense, as it is allowing 59.9 points a game and has held five opponents to less than 60 points. Only two opponents have shot better than 40 percent against the Cardinal. Its offense should improve; the Cardinal’s optional shooting time at Maples Pavilion was limited in December because the volleyball team was still practicing.

“Once we get into more of a routine in our building and we’re shooting more and once kids understand what a good shot is I think we’ll be fine on the perimeter,” coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Our kids really need a lot of repetitions.”

USC made the second round of the NCAAs in 2006 but has been hit hard by injuries. LeNoir, Jacki Gemelos (ACL) and Brynn Cameron (baby) will redshirt; Markisha Lea (knee) and Aarika Hughes (foot) might.

“We’ve got to worry about who’s out there and not who’s not out there because most of the kids are not going to be back,” coach Mark Trakh said. “So it is what it is. It’s disappointing because we could have been really good.”