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This Week In Pac-10 Women's Basketball
Complete Release in PDF Format
First Pac-10 Coaches Teleconference is Thursday, December 13, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. PT NO. 6 STANFORD, NO. 2 TENNESSEE SQUARE OFF IN PALO ALTO With the advent of the first Pac-10 Women's Basketball Tournament March 1-4, 2002, and an earlier start to the Conference slate, five Pac-10 teams have either concluded or will conclude the nonconference portion of their schedules this week (ARIZONA STATE, OREGON, USC, WASHINGTON and WASHINGTON STATE). No. 6 STANFORD (8-0) hosts the second-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols Sunday at 1 p.m. Pacific Time... The game will be broadcast live by FOX Sports Net. Winners of five straight, ARIZONA STATE (7-2) travels to Chicago State and Northern Illinois. OREGON (5-3), which has won three in a row and four of its last five, heads to Provo, Utah, to take on BYU.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Thu., Dec. 13
Sat., Dec. 15
Sun., Dec. 16
Tennessee at STANFORD, 1 p.m. (FSN) All times are local to site.
POWER RATINGS (12/9) Sagarin CBN/RPI*WBCA/RPI ARIZ 148 -- 101 ASU 74 -- 57 CAL 99 -- 131 ORE 76 -- 80 OSU 96 -- 47 STAN 3 -- 1 UCLA 152 -- 109 USC 87 -- 163 WASH 50 -- 70 WSU 221 -- 195* College Basketball News RPI ratings begin on Dec. 17, 2001.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Tue., Dec. 4
Wed., Dec. 5
Thu., Dec. 6
Fri., Dec. 7
Sat., Dec. 8
Sun., Dec. 9
2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT TICKETS
AMANDA LEVENS NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Levens, from Belvidere, Ill., notched a game-high 28 points as the Sun Devils (7-2 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) downed Kansas, 73-52, on Dec. 5 to win their fifth straight. Levens shot 60.0 percent from the field (9-of-15), and scored 19 points in the opening half. She connected on a career-best 6 of 9 three-point baskets (66.7 percent) and made 4 of 5 free throws (80.0 percent). Levens also contributed five assists, four rebounds and two steals in the win. Levens has scored at least 20 points four times this season and has led the defending Pac-10 Co-Champions in scoring in seven of nine games. ASU's five-game winning streak is its longest since winning seven straight Pac-10 games last season. The Player of the Week honor is the second of Levens' career and the 20th all-time selection for Arizona State. ALSO NOMINATED: Elizabeth Pickney, ARIZ, Shaquala Williams, ORE, Felicia Ragland, OSU, Jalina Bradley, UCLA, Loree Payne, WASH, Brittney Hawks, WSU. NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE. . . ARIZONA: The Wildcats return to the Lone Star state to take on Stephen F. Austin Sunday afternoon. UA's win over Rice last week snapped a nine-game road losing skid. UA's two Houston natives, senior forward Elizabeth Pickney and senior center LaKeisha Taylor, combined for 34 points and 14 rebounds against the Owls. Pickney was 10-of-13 from the field for a game-high 22 points, which moved her to the No. 3 spot on Arizona's all-time scoring list. With 1,300 career points, Pickney is only 16 points away from moving into the No. 2 spot. Arizona is still without the services of guards Julie Brase (back sprain) and Candice Allen (concussion). ARIZONA STATE: Riding a five-game winning streak, ASU travels to Chicago State and Northern Illinois for its final nonconference games of the year. The five straight wins are the most since winning seven consecutive Pac-10 games last season. Senior guard Amanda Levens led the Sun Devils with 28 points in the win over Kansas, going 6-of-9 from three-point range. It was Levens' fifth 20-point outing on the year. ASU has outrebounded all nine of its opponents this season, and is averaging 40.3 rebounds to its opponents' 31.7 boards per game. CALIFORNIA: In the midst of a 13-day break for final exams, the Bears return to action Dec. 21 at Arizona in their Pac-10 opener. When play resumes, Cal looks to snap a three-game losing skid that started Dec. 2 against then-No. 13 Georgia. Although their roster features just two players 6-2 or taller, the Bears have outrebounded six of their seven opponents this season, including Georgia. California is limiting its opponents to just 54.9 points per game, first in the Pac-10. However, the Bears are averaging just 61.3 points per contest. OREGON: Winners of three straight and four of their last five, the Ducks travel to BYU Wednesday afternoon for their final nonconference tilt of the season. Oregon overcame a 14-point first-half deficit to defeat Utah on Dec. 8. Although UO's front line may not be as imposing as years past, the Ducks have notched seven blocked shots on three occasions this year, doing so against the Utes. Junior guard Shaquala Williams paced UO with 19 points, going 8-of-15 from the field. Williams is six points shy of becoming the 16th Duck to reach 1,000 career points. OREGON STATE: The Beavers continue their season-long, four-game road stretch when they travel to Wyoming this week. Senior guard Felicia Ragland, the 2001 Pac-10 Player of the Year, averaged 34.5 points per contest in OSU's two losses last week. Ragland scored 37 points against Portland and followed with 32 against Kansas State to move into sixth place in the OSU record books with 1,334 career points. Ragland has tallied 24 steals over the last six games and leads the Pac-10 in steals per game (6.0 avg.). STANFORD: The Cardinal climbed to No. 5 in the Dec. 3 national polls, it's highest ranking since entering the 1997-98 NCAA Tournament ranked fifth by the Associated Press. Coming off a two-week break for final exams, Stanford hosts No. 2 Tennessee Sunday at 1 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net. The Cardinal has posted six of its eight wins over teams that qualified for the postseason in 2000-01 (two NCAA, four WNIT), and has won each of its eight games by 11 points or more. Stanford's average margin of victory this season is 22.1 ppg. UCLA: The Bruins travel to No. 9/No. 13 Baylor for a Sunday afternoon contest televised by FOX Sports Net. UCLA has been without the services of leading scorer Michelle Greco for the past two games. Greco sat out the San Diego and Baylor games for an undisclosed medical reason. UCLA welcomes its second- and third-leading scorers from a year ago back into the lineup. Junior forward Kristee Porter played in the NCAA Volleyball Regional final match Dec. 7 and joined the basketball team Dec. 8 against Colorado. Sophomore forward Whitney Jones rejoins the hardwood Bruins after helping the soccer team reach the NCAA quarterfinals. USC: The Women of Troy host Nevada Saturday afternoon in their final nonconference game of the year. USC registered its second-largest margin of victory on the season with a 42-point win over Cal State Northridge Dec. 4. Sophomore guard Aisha Hollans, who has paced the Women of Troy in scoring in five of seven games this season, notched a game-high 24 points against the Matadors. In the loss to No. 23 Notre Dame Dec. 9, USC committed a season-high 27 turnovers and shot just 32.8 percent from the field. Head Coach Chris Gobrecht has added a pair of walkons in 5-9 guard Ashley Conrad (Carmel Valley, Calif.) and 5-5 guard Leslie Donester (Walnut, Calif.). WASHINGTON: The Huskies take a 12-day break for final exams, returning to action for the start of Pac-10 play Dec. 21 against Washington State. Junior guard Loree Payne averaged 19.5 points in UW's two games last weekend, tying her season high with 23 points against No. 16 Michigan. Payne drained a school record-tying seven three-pointers against the Wolverines, while her 15 attempts from beyond the arc were the most in Husky history. UW's 36 three-pointers attempted against Michigan broke the previous school record of 32, set twice last season. WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars host Montana State Sunday afternoon in their final nonconference tilt of the season. Freshman Francine McCurtain is shooting a team-leading 41.7 percent from three-point range (25-of-60). She also paces the squad in scoring, with 11.7 points per contest. McCurtain has reached double figures in scoring in five of nine games. Senior center Brittney Hawks has posted a Pac-10-leading five double-doubles this season, including three in a row. In three games last week, Hawks averaged 12.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest.
PAC-10 COACH/MEDIA TELECONFERENCES
Dates:
Schedule (times are Pacific):
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