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This Week In Pac-10 Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
THREE TEAMS REMAIN PERFECT... Three Pac-10 teams -- No. 7 STANFORD (5-0), ARIZONA (3-0) and CALIFORNIA (2-0) -- remain unbeaten heading into the fourth week of the season... The Cardinal is off to its best start since the 1996-97 Final Four-bound squad reeled off nine straight wins to start the season. Pac-10 teams have posted a formidable 24-15 record (.615) in nonconference play thus far, including three victories over Top-25 programs in the last week... In Top-25 action this week, OREGON (2-2) hosts No. 8 Texas Tech, Arizona's tournament features a possible meeting with No. 23 Wisconsin, and California could face No. 13 Georgia in the Oakland Tribune Classic. THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Mon., Nov. 26
Tue., Nov. 27
Wed., Nov. 28
Thu., Nov. 29
Fri., Nov. 30
Sat., Dec. 1
UCLA at Utah, 3 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 2
Tournament/Neutral Sites All times are local to site.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Mon., Nov. 1
Tue., Nov. 20
Wed., Nov. 21
Fri., Nov. 23
Sat., Nov. 24
Sun., Nov. 25
Mon., Nov. 26
2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT TICKETS
2002 PAC-10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Fri., Mar. 1
Sat., Mar. 2
Sun., Mar. 3
Mon., Mar. 4
UA'S PICKNEY NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Pickney, from Houston, Texas, averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in leading Arizona to a 3-0 start last week, including an upset win of defending national champion and 15th-ranked Notre Dame. On the week, Pickney shot 95.8 percent (23-of-24) from the line and hit 57.1 percent (20-of-35) from the floor. She is on a current streak of 22 consecutive free throws made. In an 81-77 season-opening win over Pepperdine on Nov. 18, Pickney notched 12 points and six rebounds. On Nov. 21, she shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line en route to a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds as Arizona downed Ohio State, 90-76. Pickney was 8-for-13 from the floor against the Buckeyes. In the 72-70 win over the Fighting Irish on Nov. 24, she scored a game-high 27 points and posted a team-high eight rebounds. She shot 8-for-13 from the floor and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line. She also recorded two blocks. Pickney scored 21 of UA's 43 second-half points, nailing a lay-up at the buzzer to lift the Cats to a two-point win. The Player of the Week honor is the fourth of Pickney's career and the 24th all-time selection for Arizona. ALSO NOMINATED: Amanda Levens, ASU, Kristin Iwanaga, CAL, Edniesha Curry, ORE, Lindsey Yamasaki, STAN, Felicia Ragland, OSU, Michelle Greco, UCLA, Aisha Hollans, USC, Emily Autrey, WASH.
2001-02 TRIPLE DOUBLES N. Powell, STAN (11/16) 1* (11 pts/12 reb/11 ast) * - only player in Stanford history to record two career triple-doubles
NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE. . . ARIZONA: Senior forward Elizabeth Pickney averaged 21.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks to lead Arizona to a 3-0 start last week, including an upset win of defending NCAA champion and No. 15 Notre Dame. The win was the first for a Pac-10 team over the Irish since the 1991-92 season. The Wildcats (3-0) have drained 23 three-pointers over the first three games of the season. It took them the first seven games to reach the same point last season. UA is sizzling from the free throw line, shooting 87.9 percent (58-66) from the stripe. The Wildcats tied their own Pac-10 record with a perfect 100 percent performance (20-of-20) from the line against Notre Dame on Nov. 24. The `Cats take to the road for the first time this season when they play at New Mexico Nov. 27. ARIZONA STATE: The 2001-02 season has begun at a torrid pace for the Sun Devils (4-2), who have played six games in 10 days, including a 3,076-mile trip to the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. ASU won its division of the Paradise Jam, and senior center Melody Johnson was named Tournament MVP. Johnson recorded her first double-double on the season with 16 points and 11 boards in the win over Richmond. Senior guard Amanda Levens averaged 19.0 points in five games last week. Levens has posted three 20-point games on the season. ASU was ranked 21st in the Nov. 19 AP poll, its highest ranking since reaching No. 16 in 1983-84. The Sun Devils return home to host the ASU Holiday Classic Dec. 1-2, with Fordham, Northwestern State and Rutgers comprising the field. CALIFORNIA: The Golden Bears are off to their first 2-0 start since 1999-2000 and will attempt to open the season 3-0 for the first time since 1994-95. Coming of a 71-69 victory at Cal Poly, Cal hosts Fresno State on Nov. 28. Against Cal Poly, freshman point guard Kristin Iwanaga posted 13 points, six assists and three steals and committed one turnover in 30 minutes of play. Iwanaga and fellow freshman Leigh Gregory have earned starting spots in the lineup. Gregory is averaging 10.0 points on 58.3 percent shooting (7-of-12). The Bears' top outside shooting threat, freshman guard Jackie Lord, is recovering form an ACL injury and is expected to start practicing with the team in early December. OREGON: The Ducks (2-2) return home to take on No. 8 Texas Tech on Nov. 26. The Lady Raiders lead the all-time series, 2-0. Junior guard Shaquala Williams has been near-perfect from the free throw line this season. She has made 16-of-17 for a 94.2 percent mark. Her 6-for-6 outing against TCU on Nov. 24 helped vault her into first place on the Oregon all-time free throw list with 81.5 percent (203-of-249). Senior transfer Edniesha Curry has been a welcome complement to Williams in the back court. Curry is averaging 14.8 points on 49 percent shooting, including 39 percent from three-point range. Curry averaged 20.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in two games last week. This weekend Oregon travels to Lawrence, Kan., to compete in the Holiday Inn Jayhawk Classic. OREGON STATE: Senior guard Felicia Ragland averaged 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 steals in two games last week as the Beavers (2-2) defeated Portland State and suffered a narrow, four-point loss to No. 8 Texas Tech. Against the Lady Raiders, Ragland scored a game-high 24 points, shooting at a 5-of-9 clip from beyond the arc. Ragland became the most prolific three-point shooter in Oregon State history against Texas Tech, and now has 118 career treys to her credit. Ragland has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 15 games. Oregon State travels to Utah and New Mexico this week. STANFORD: The No. 7 Cardinal (5-0) is off to its best start since the 1996-97 Final Four-bound squad reeled off nine wins to start the season. Stanford captured the tournament title at the Asahi Rainbow Wahine Classic last week, and senior guard/forward Lindsey Yamasaki garnered tournament MVP honors for the second straight week. Sophomore forward Nicole Powell was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Yamasaki averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in three games as Stanford defeated Minnesota, host Hawaii and No. 23 Penn State. Against the Gophers, Yamasaki notched her 1,000th career point, becoming the 22nd Stanford player to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier. Yamasaki now has 1,050 career points, 20th in the Stanford annals. In the middle of a stretch of six games in a 10-day period, Stanford hosts San Francisco, travels to Pepperdine and hosts Santa Clara this week. Following a two-week break for finals, the Cardinal will host No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 16. Stanford is the only team in this year's Top-10 that was not in the final polls at the end of 2000-01. UCLA: The Bruins (2-1) rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat Ohio State 64-60 last week. UCLA trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, and the Buckeyes outrebounded the Bruins 44-37. Senior guard Michelle Greco finished with a game-high 23 points to lead UCLA. Greco has 1,123 career points and needs 12 more points to move into 15th place on the UCLA all-time scoring list. With 74 career three-pointers, Greco needs seven treys to move into the third-place spot on the Bruin career chart. The Bruins host BYU and travel to Utah this week. USC: Sophomore guard Aisha Hollans averaged 20.7 points and 6.0 rebounds, and shot 44.2 percent from the field in USC's three games last week. Hollans was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team, notching a career-high 29 points and a personal-best nine rebounds in the upset win over No. 12/No. 13 Florida. USC outrebounded the Gators 43 to 26. The Florida win was USC's first over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 25 Oregon on Jan. 25, 2001. The 39 points scored by Morgan State last week were the fewest allowed by the Women of Troy since Dec. 11, 1999, when Sacramento State managed just 42 points. The 87-39 win over Morgan State accounted for USC's largest margin of victory since Jan. 21, 1995. USC returns home to host BYU on Nov. 29 at the Sports Arena. WASHINGTON: The Huskies posted a split in their home tournament last week, going 1-1 in the Seattle Times Husky Classic. Washington defeated Northeastern, but fell to Santa Clara in the championship game. The Broncos notched an upset win over then-No. 24 Utah in their season-opener. Junior forward Emily Autrey averaged 16.5 points in two games last week and was named to the Seattle Times All-Tournament Team. Autrey was 5-of-10 from the field against Northeastern. She finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks against Santa Clara. With the win over Northeastern on Nov. 23, sixth-year head coach June Daugherty became the second winningest coach in Washington history (83-68/.550). Washington has a busy week on tap, hosting Boise State and Gonzaga before traveling to Saint Mary's and San Francisco. WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars (0-3) begin a three-game homestand with Portland State on Nov. 26. In just the third game of her collegiate career, freshman guard Francine McCurtain came off the bench against BYU and nailed six three-pointers -- just two shy of the WSU single-game record. She finished with 18 points, shooting at a 6-of-9 clip (.667) from long range. McCurtain's effort was good enough to tie for sixth on the Cougar all-time single-game list. McCurtain is second on the team, averaging 11.0 points. Senior center Brittney Hawks leads the team, with 11.7 points per game. As a team, Washington State s shooting 47.4 percent (18-of-38) from three-point range this season.
NAISMITH PLAYER OF THE YEAR
STREET & SMITH'S PRESEASON PRESEASON ALL-PAC-10 TEAM Name Pos Yr Michelle Greco, UCLA G Sr. Ebony Hoffman, USC F So. Nicole Powell, STAN F So. Felicia Ragland, OSU G Sr. Shaquala Williams, ORE G Jr.
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