Jan. 28, 2002

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Next Pac-10 Coaches Conference Call is Tuesday, Jan. 29, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. PT

THREE OF FOUR SECOND-PLACE TEAMS TO MEET IN DESERT
Arizona State Hosts Oregon, Oregon State

The No. 3 STANFORD Cardinal (20-1, 10-0 Pac-10), which has matched its best start in school history, holds a three-and-a-half game lead over the rest of the field... The Cardinal also won 20 of its first 21 games in 1987-88, 1989-90 and 1996-97. Four teams jam the second-place slot -- ARIZONA STATE (16-6, 7-4), OREGON (12-8, 7-4), USC (11-9, 7-4) and OREGON STATE (11-10, 7-4) -- with three of those teams set to do battle this week... Arizona State hosts the Oregon schools, with Saturday's Sun Devils-Beavers contest televised live by FOX Sports Net at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT. After a 1-4 start in Pac-10 play, the ARIZONA Wildcats (10-10, 6-5) have won five of their last six Conference games to even their overall record at .500. In other television action this weekend, UCLA (5-14, 2-9) hosts WASHINGTON (11-8, 6-4) Sunday at 11 a.m. PT on FOX Sports Net.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

Wed., Feb. 30
CALIFORNIA at STANFORD, 7 p.m. (KRON)

Thu., Jan. 31
OREGON at ARIZONA STATE, 7 p.m.
OREGON STATE at ARIZONA, 7 p.m.

Fri., Feb. 1
WASHINGTON at USC, 7 p.m.
WASHINGTON STATE at UCLA, 7 p.m.

Sat., Feb. 2
OREGON at ARIZONA, 4 p.m. (KWBA/KUSK)
OREGON STATE at ARIZONA STATE, 2 p.m. (FOX Sports Net)
STANFORD at CALIFORNIA, 3 p.m. (KRON)

Sun., Feb. 3
WASHINGTON at UCLA, 11 a.m. (FOX Sports Net)
WASHINGTON STATE at USC, 2 p.m.

All times are local to site.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Thu., Jan. 24
OREGON 75, USC 65
ORE: Williams - 18 pts/4-4 FT, USC: Hollans - 15 pts/4 reb
OREGON STATE 77, UCLA 36
OSU: Ragland- 19 pts/7 reb, 4 stl, UCLA: Winn- 9 pts/2 reb
STANFORD 76, ARIZONA 62
STAN: Yamasaki- 22 pts/7-7 FT, ARIZ: Pickney - 24 pts/9 reb
ARIZONA STATE 56, CALIFORNIA 40
ASU: Carvalho- 14 pts/7 reb, CAL: O'Keith- 13 pts/6 reb

Fri., Jan. 25
WASHINGTON 75, WASHINGTON STATE 68
WASH: Lalum-25 pts/5 reb, WSU: Hawks-19 pts/12 reb

Sat., Jan. 26
STANFORD 62, ARIZONA STATE 48
STAN: Yamasaki-27 pts/10-16 FG, ASU: Boardman-15 pts
USC 60, OREGON STATE 58
USC: Hoffman-16 pts/2-3 3FG/6 reb, OSU: Estavan-16 pts
ARIZONA 76, CALIFORNIA 68
ARIZ: Pickney-15 pts/14 reb/2 bl, CAL: White-14 pts/6 reb
OREGON 76, UCLA 54
ORE: Williams-23 pts/7 reb, UCLA: Nakase-14 pts/8 ast

2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
The 2001-02 season ushers in a new era when, for the first time in Pac-10 women's history, the season culminates with the drama and excitement of a Conference Tournament. Slated for March 1-4, 2002, at McArthur Court, on the campus of the University of Oregon (Eugene, Ore.), this inaugural event promises to be history in the making. All 10 universities will participate in the tournament, with the winner receiving the Conference's automatic bid to the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

PAC-10 TOURNAMENT TICKETS
All-session booklets to the 2002 Pac-10 Tournament may be purchased by calling the University of Oregon Ticket Office at 541-346-4461. Ticket booklets for the tournament cost $60 each, which includes all sessions. Everyone must have a ticket for admission, regardless of age.

MEDIA CREDENTIAL REQUESTS
Pac-10 Tournament media credential request forms are available online or by contacting the Pac-10 Office (925/932-4411). Online forms may be obtained by visiting: www.pac-10.org. First, click on "Pac-10 Tournament Information," then click on the women's tournament logo. NOTE: Media members must contact the Pac-10 Office for the user ID and password necessary to gain access. Deadline for submitting credential requests is Feb. 12, 2002.

OUTSIDE OUR LEAGUE
Pac-10 teams have staged several quality nonconference wins over ranked opponents and teams who now find themselves in the top-half of their respective Conference standings. Here's a quick look at those scores, in chronological order, as well as quality losses during the 2001-02 season:

BIG WINS... Stanford 87, UC Santa Barbara 67
Arizona 81, Pepperdine 77
Stanford 96, Minnesota 65
Arizona 72, #15/#15 Notre Dame 70
Oregon 75, TCU 63
Stanford 71, Hawaii 60
USC 71, #12/#13 Florida 68
Arizona State 76, Kansas State 58
Stanford 90, #23 Penn State 68
Oregon 75, St. John's 52
Stanford 75, Pepperdine 63
Washington 62, St. Mary's 55
Oregon 67, Kansas 60
Oregon State 77, New Mexico 61
Stanford 94, Santa Clara 62
Arizona State 73, Kansas 52
Arizona, Rice 65
Oregon 63, Utah 55

...`GOOD' LOSSES
On the Road
New Mexico 75, Arizona 67
Utah 58, Oregon State 46
BYU 75, USC 73 (OT)
Home/Neutral
Texas 66, USC 64
#8/#9 Texas Tech 72, Oregon 65
#13/#13 Georgia 54, California 48
#16/#16 Michigan 71, Washington 70
#2/#2 Tennessee 68, Stanford 62

YAMASAKI NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STANFORD senior forward Lindsey Yamasaki has been named the Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 21-27.

Yamasaki, from Oregon City, Ore., averaged 24.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the third-ranked Cardinal (20-1 overall) improved to 10-0 in Pac-10 play with wins over Arizona and Arizona State. On the week, she shot a combined 16-of-30 from the floor (.533), was 5-of-12 from 3-point range (.417) and made 12 of 13 free throws (.923).

In the 76-62 win over the Wildcats, Yamasaki notched a team-high 22 points, including three treys. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line, grabbed three boards and dished out three assists in 33 minutes of play. In the Cardinal's 62-48 victory over the Sun Devils, Yamasaki scored a game-high 27 points, with 23 coming in the first half. She added four rebounds before fouling out after 33 minutes of action.

Stanford hosts rival California Wednesday at 7 p.m., then travels to Berkeley on Saturday for a 3 p.m. rematch with the Bears. Both games will be televised locally by KRON-TV.

The Player of the Week honor is the second of Yamasaki's career and the 45th all-time selection for Stanford.

ALSO NOMINATED: Elizabeth Pickney, ARIZ, Shaquala Williams, ORE, Leilani Estavan, OSU, Natalie Nakase, UCLA, Andrea Lalum, WASH.

ARIZONA: After a 1-4 start in Pac-10 play, the Wildcats (10-10, 6-5) have won five of their last six Conference games to even their overall record at .500. The `Cats trail Washington by one-half game and are just one-and-a-half games out of second place. Arizona plays five of its last seven contests at home, where it is averaging 79.0 ppg this season. UA has won 26 of its last 33 games at McKale Center.

ARIZONA STATE: One of several teams jockeying for sole possession of second place in the Pac-10, the Sun Devils are presented with the prefect opportunity to help themselves out this week. Returning home to Wells Fargo Arena after a four-game road stretch, ASU hosts fellow second-place teams Oregon and Oregon State. The Sun Devils were held to a season-low 48 points Stanford, and averaged 52.0 points in two games last week, 16.4 points below their average. Senior guard Amanda Levens is still hobbled by a nagging high ankle sprain suffered Jan. 12. Freshman guard Carrie Buckner (17.6 min.) missed last week's games (pulled hamstring) but is expected to return to the lineup on Thursday.

CALIFORNIA: The Bears get set to play No. 3 Stanford twice this week, Wednesday in Palo Alto and Saturday in Berkeley. The Bay Area rivalry features the Pac-10's top offense against one of its top defenses. The Bears are second in the league in scoring defense (61.2 ppg), while Stanford averages a Conference-leading 81.4 ppg. The Bears are averaging just 57.7 ppg, and are 6-2 when scoring at least 60 points. Junior forward Amber White notched a season-high 14 points against Arizona, while senior Ami Forney logged her fourth double-double of the season, and 11th of her career (10 pts/11 reb) vs. the Cats.

OREGON: The Ducks won back-to-back Pac-10 games for the first time since Dec. 28-30 to grab a share of second place in the league standings. Oregon travels to Arizona State and Arizona this week. The Ducks posted a split against the Arizona schools earlier this month, defeating the Wildcats, 72-53, and falling to ASU, 86-72. Sophomore forward Cathrine Kraayeveld has grabbed 63 rebounds in the Ducks' last five games (12.6 rpg), the most in a five-game stretch since Alison Lang had 63 near the end of the 1983-84 season. Junior guard Shaquala Williams averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists on UO's two victories last week. In the win over UCLA, Williams notched 23 points for her third 20-point performance this season.

OREGON STATE: The Beavers' hunt for sole possession of second place continues in the Grand Canyon State this week. OSU swept the Arizona schools earlier this month in Corvallis, but will look to snap a long drought in the desert. The Beavers have not defeated Arizona in Tucson since 1994-95 (six tries) and are winless against Arizona State in Tempe in their last five tries, dating back to 1995-96. Senior guard Felicia Ragland continues to lead the Pac-10 in scoring (19.9 ppg) and is the league leader in steals (2.95 spg). Sophomore Leilani Estavan is second in assists (5.76 apg).

DID YOU KNOW?
Stanford is the only Pac-10 basketball team, men's or women's, to make it through Conference play with an unblemished 18-0 record. Since the league began sponsoring women's basketball in 1986-87, and since the current men's alignment in 1978-79, the Cardinal have accomplished the feat three times: 1989, 1996, 1997.

STANFORD: The Cardinal clinched its 14th 20-win season in program history, and 13th in the last 15 years, with the win over Arizona State Jan. 26. Stanford last won 20 games when it went 21-9 in 1999-2000. The team's 20-1 start matches the best in school history. The Cardinal also won 20 of its first 21 games in 1987-88, 1989-90 (National Champions) and 1996-97 (Final Four). Stanford has held its last 10 opponents to under 40 percent field goal shooting and has outscored its last four opponents by a combined 168-93 in the first half. Sophomore forward Nicole Powell is the new Pac-10 assists leader (5.86 apg) and paces the league in rebounding (9.9 rpg) and defensive boards (7.29 avg.). Freshmen Kelley Suminksi (1st/.509) and Sebnem Kimyacioglu (3rd/.473) are two of three rookies to lead the Pac-10 in 3-point percentage.

UCLA: Senior guard Natalie Nakase led the Bruins against Oregon, with 14 points and eight assists. Nakase has completed 28 of her last 33 free throw attempts (.848) to improve her overall average to 76.6 percent. The Bruins posted a road split against the Washington schools earlier this month, defeating Washington State, 76-64, and falling to Washington, 86-53. Since Pac-10 play began in 1986-87, UCLA has won 15 straight against the Cougars at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins have won four straight over the Huskies in LA.

USC: Among the pack of teams tied for second place in the Pac-10, USC returns home to host Washington and Washington State. The Women of Troy recorded a road split against the Washington schools earlier this month, falling to the Huskies in overtime (80-79). USC and UW have played to overtime in three of their last four meetings, including the triple overtime thriller Jan. 7, 2001, in Seattle (91-79 loss). Sophomore Jessica Cheeks' layup with four seconds on the clock sealed USC's 60-58 victory at Oregon State Jan. 26. Starting guard Tiffany Elmore (11.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg) did not return to the Trojan lineup last week. Elmore suffered a severe ankle sprain Jan. 6 and was listed as questionable last week.

WASHINGTON: The Huskies continue their three-game road stretch this week, traveling to USC and UCLA. Washington downed the Women of Troy 80-79 in overtime Jan. 6, the third time in the last four meetings the two teams have played to extra periods. The Huskies are looking for their first win over Bruins in Los Angeles since 1996-97. Sophomore Andrea Lalum notched a career-high 25 points in the win at Washington State Jan. 25. Lalum is averaging 21.0 points over the last two games. Freshmen Kristen O'Neill (.482/2nd) is one of three rookies to lead the Pac-10 in 3-point field goal percentage.

WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars travel to Los Angeles for Friday-Sunday matchups with UCLA and USC, respectively. WSU looks to snap a 15-game losing skid, after giving rival Washington all it could handle last week in Pullman. The Cougars led by two at the half, and led by nine mid-way through the second half before falling, 75-68. Senior center Brittney Hawks continues to lead the Pac-10 in double-doubles, notching her 10th on the season against the Huskies (19 pts/12 reb).

2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
March 1-4, 2002
McArthur Court, Eugene, OR

Fri., Mar. 1
G1: Seed #7 vs. Seed #10, 6:30 p.m.
G2: Seed #8 vs. Seed #9, 8:45 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 2
G3: Seed #2 vs. Winner 7/10, 12 p.m.
G4: Seed #3 vs. Seed #6, 2:15 p.m.
G5: Seed #1 vs. Winner 8/9, 6 p.m.
G6: Seed #4 vs. Seed #5, 8:15 p.m.

Sun., Mar. 3
G7: Game 3 win vs. 3/6 Winner, 12:30 p.m. (FOX Sports Net)
G8: Game 5 win vs. 4/5 Winner, 3 p.m. (FOX Sports Net)

Mon., Mar. 4
G9: Championship Game, 7:30 p.m (FOX Sports Net)

All game times are Pacific.