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This Week In Pac-10 Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
PAC-10 PLAY GETS UNDERWAY The race to crown the 2002 Pac-10 Champion tips off this week, with ARIZONA STATE, STANFORD and WASHINGTON ready to defend their co-championships. For the first time in league history, teams begin Pac-10 play with a Conference Tournament waiting for them come March... No. 6 STANFORD and CALIFORNIA open the Conference season on the road, at ARIZONA and ARIZONA STATE... The Golden Bears-Sun Devils matchup is this week's FOX Sports Net/Pac-10 Game of the Week. OREGON and OREGON STATE travel to Los Angeles to take on UCLA and USC, while WASHINGTON hosts WASHINGTON STATE. In separate preseason polls, both the Pac-10 head coaches and Pac-10 media selected Stanford as the favorite to win the 2001-02 regular season title (full poll results are on page five of this release). THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Wed, Dec. 19
Thu., Dec. 20
Fri., Dec. 21
Sat., Dec. 22
Sun., Dec. 23 All times are local to site.
POWER RATINGS (12/17) Sagarin CBN/RPIWBCA/RPI ARIZ 113 137 144 ASU 55 37 45 CAL 145 116 146 ORE 87 80 93 OSU 89 63 51 STAN 3 2 2 UCLA 150 84 73 USC 66 133 129 WASH 46 54 56 WSU 241 203 205 LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
Wed., Dec. 11
Thu., Dec. 13
Sat., Dec. 15
Sun., Dec. 16 PAC-10 WOMEN'S HOOPS ONLINE COLUMN: Stop by the Pac-10 website Wednesday afternoons to check out Pac-10.org's women's basketball columnists' inside look at what's going on in the Conference. FOX Sports Net analyst Mary Murphy and long-time Seattle Times sports writer Dick Rockne have the scoop on all the Pac-10 teams. The next column appears Dec. 19. WE'RE NOT DONE YET: Due to the first Pac-10 Women's Basketball Tournament, which debuts Mar. 1-4, 2002 , in Eugene, Ore., the Conference slate starts earlier than ever before. As a result, half of the league's teams have yet to conclude nonconference action, despite the start of Pac-10 play this week. Here are the remaining regular-season nonconference tilts: Wed., Jan. 2 STANFORD at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m. Fri., Jan. 4 CALIFORNIA vs. Lipscomb, 6 p.m. Sat., Jan. 5 CALIFORNIA at Nassau Knockout, 6/8 p.m. STANFORD at Fordham, 2 p.m. Mon., Jan. 14 UC Santa Barbara at ARIZONA, 7 p.m. Wed., Jan. 16 UC Santa Barbara at OREGON STATE, 7 p.m. Tue., Feb. 5 UCLA at Long Beach State, 7:30 p.m. NONCONFERENCE RECORDS: The Pac-10 posts a 48-41 record (.539) in nonconference games this season, with seven contests remaining. Over the past three seasons, the league has averaged 59 nonconference victories -- 1998-99: 60-36 (.625), 1999-2000: 61-47 (.565), 2000-01: 57-36 (.613).
2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
PAC-10 TOURNAMENT TICKETS
AMANDA LEVENS NAMED PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK Levens, from Belvidere, Ill., averaged 23.5 points in a pair of wins in her native state, as Arizona State defeated Chicago State Dec. 13 and Northern Illinois Dec. 15. Levens led the Sun Devils in scoring in both games, notching 21 points against the Cougars and 26 points against the Huskies. She shot a combined 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and connected on 44.4 percent of her three-point shots (4-for-9). Levens also averaged 5.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in the two victories. The games marked Levens' fifth and sixth 20-point outings on the year. She leads the Sun Devils in scoring (19.8 ppg), three-point shooting (.426), assists (4.36 apg) and minutes played (28.1 avg). Arizona State (9-2 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) has won seven straight games, its longest streak since winning seven straight Pac-10 games last season. The Sun Devils open Conference play this week, hosting No. 5 Stanford on Dec. 21 and California on Dec. 23. The ASU-Cal game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net, at 11 a.m. MST. Levens garners Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week and the third time in her career. It marks the 21st all-time selection for Arizona State. ALSO NOMINATED: Felicia Ragland, OSU, Nicole Powell, STAN, Whitney Jones, UCLA, Aisha Hollans, USC, Brittney Hawks, WSU. 2001-02 TRIPLE DOUBLES N. Powell, STAN 2* * - only player in Pac-10 history to record more than one triple-double, has three career. 2001-02 DOUBLE-DOUBLES (points-rebounds) B. Hawks, WSU 6 N. Powell, STAN (incl. 2 trip.-doub) 4 E. Hoffman, USC 3 A. Lalum, WASH 3 L. Yamasaki, STAN 2 C. Carvalho, ASU 1 B. Donaphin, STAN 1 C. Enghusen, STAN 1 C. Fields, WSU 1 A. Forney, CAL 1 A. Fredrick, ORE 1 M. Johnson, ASU 1 M. Leatham, UCLA 1 E. Pickney, Ariz 1 L. Taylor, ARIZ 1 F. Ragland, OSU 1 J. Veasley, UCLA 1 R. Woodward, USC 1
30-POINT CLUB
F. Ragland, OSU (12/6) 37
(12/9) 32
M. Greco, UCLA (11/17) 36
A. Levens, ASU (11/17) 30
2002 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT
Fri., Mar. 1
Sat., Mar. 2
Sun., Mar. 3
Mon., Mar. 4 All game times are Pacific. NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE... ARIZONA: The Wildcats open Pac-10 play at home against Stanford and California. Stanford leads the series against UA, 27-3, while Arizona holds a 21-9 edge in the series against Cal. The Cats have dropped four of their last five games, losing by an average of 5.0 points. UA outrebounded Stephen F. Austin 52-36, and junior Krista Warren pulled down a game-high 18 boards. With her 16 points at Stephen F. Austin Dec. 16, senior forward Elizabeth Pickney moved into the No. 2 spot on the Arizona career scoring chart (1,316 points). ARIZONA STATE: ASU's seven-game winning streak is the longest for the team since it won seven consecutive Pac-10 games last year. The 1991-92 team holds the school record for consecutive victories with nine. The Sun Devils completed nonconference play with nine wins for the first time since 1991-92. Senior guard Amanda Levens has posted six 20-point games and one 30-point game on the season. She has led the team in scoring in nine of 11 games this year, and needs just 11 more points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career (302 pts. at ODU, 687 at ASU). CALIFORNIA: Coming off a two-week break for final exams, the Bears open the Pac-10 slate at Arizona Dec. 21. California looks to snap a 12-game losing streak to the Wildcats that dates back to 1996. Senior Ami Forney leads the team in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg), and is averaging a league second-best 3.29 offensive boards per game. The Bears continue to pace the Pac-10 in scoring defense (54.9 ppg) and are second in three-point field goal pct. defense (.329). OREGON: The Ducks travel to UCLA and USC to open Conference play. Oregon, 1-2 on the road this year, has dropped eight of its last 10 road games, dating to last season. Senior guard Jamie Craighead continues to heat it up from long range. Over the past two weeks, Craighead has connected on 12 of 18 shots (66.7 percent) from downtown in five games, including a 6-for-7 outing against St. John's. OREGON STATE: Oregon State has emerged victorious in four of the last five meetings with USC, and the Beavers have won three straight over UCLA. Seven different players scored in the win over Wyoming on Dec. 15, and seven players recorded at least one assist. Senior guard Felicia Ragland contributed 29 points against the Cowgirls. She has reached double figures in scoring in 19 of the last 20 games, with a current streak of seven consecutive. Ragland is the only Pac-10 player to score 30-plus points twice this season. STANFORD: Sophomore guard Susan King started Dec. 16 against Tennessee, her first game in nearly a year after suffering a torn ACL last December. The loss to the Lady Vols snapped Stanford's 13-game home nonconference winning streak. The Cardinal travels to the Grand Canyon State to open Pac-10 play this week. Stanford and Arizona have split their games in each of the last four seasons, and the visiting team has won in the last four meetings, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. UCLA: The Bruins continue to adjust after losing leading scorer Michelle Greco for the season due to concussions. Soccer standout Whitney Jones paced UCLA with 14 points against No. 9 Baylor on Dec. 16. Jones was a starting midfielder for the UCLA women's soccer team, which finished its season Dec. 2 after losing in the NCAA quarterfinals. Three-sport star Kristee Porter posted a game-high four blocks against the Lady Bears. USC: The Women of Troy shot a season-high 51.5 percent (35-of-68) against Nevada, the third time this season the Trojans have shot above 50 percent. USC is 3-0 in those games. Senior guard Tiffany Elmore and sophomore guard Aisha Hollans scored 20 points apiece in the win over Nevada. The Women of Troy have four players averaging double figures in scoring -- Hollans (19.8 ppg), Elmore (11.7 ppg), Ebony Hoffman (12.8 ppg) and freshman Rachel Woodard (11.0 ppg). WASHINGTON: The Huskies open Conference play by hosting rival Washington State on Dec. 21. Since Pac-10 play began in 1986-87, Washington owns a 28-2 edge in the series. The Huskies have won 12 straight over the Cougars, dating back to the 1995-96 season. Junior guard Loree Payne leads the team in scoring (14.2 ppg), while sophomore Andrea Lalum averages a team-high 7.7 rebounds (fifth Pac-10). Washington is second in the Pac-10 in field goal pct. defense (.396) and averages a league second-best 7.33 three-point field goals per contest. WASHINGTON STATE: Senior center Brittney Hawks recorded her fourth consecutive double-double against Montana State, and paces the Pac-10 with six double-doubles on the season. She is averaging a team-high 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest. The freshman guard tandem of Francine McCurtain and Jessica Perry combined for 29 points against the Bobcats. McCurtain is second on the team, averaging 12.3 points. Through 10 games this season, WSU has registered 48 blocked shots and is second in the Pac-10 with 4.80 blocks per game. PAC-10 CHAMPION: The team that finishes the regular season atop the Pac-10 standings, based on double round robin play, is the Conference Champion. All Pac-10 teams will participate in the Pac-10 Tournament, with the winner receiving the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The tournament bracket will be seeded according to the final standings, with the league champion earning the top seed. STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE (12/17) CBN/RPI WBCA/RPI ARIZ 137 165 ASU 101 171 CAL 144 211 ORE 60 100 OSU 10 8 STAN 2 10 UCLA 14 7 USC 116 111 WASH 32 39 WSU 65 38
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