Once again, Pac-10 season
will be a wacky, wild ride
■ Oregon, UCLA, Arizona
and Stanford should fight it
out for the Pac-10 title
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon finishing third in the
conference?
It could happen. Also, UCLA
could finish third. Stanford could
finish third. On the same note,
each of those teams could finish
on top.
The race for the conference title
is an encore of last season’s finish
that left the Ducks and Bruins tied
for the honor. There isn’t much
difference in the amount of talent
on each team between the No. 1
and No. 3 spots, either.
But don’t let the following rank
ings be deceiving.
Two of the top three teams,
Oregon and UCLA, could easily
switch spots within the first few
games of the season. Meanwhile,
count on Stanford being a steady
competitor throughout, finishing
the season in first — runner-up,
that is.
1. No. 17 UCLA
Bruins (64)
Head Coach:
Kathy Oliver
Player to
watch: Erica Gomez, G
Outlook: If UCLA were facing
any other Pacific-10 Conference
opponents to start its season, it
probably wouldn’t be picked by
the coaches and media polls to
finish on top.
The Bruins do have a great shot
to win the conference title, but
they have no chance if they don’t
start playing as a team. Newly re
turned captain Erica Gomez pub
licly blasted her teammates after
their 106-64 loss to No. 1 Con
necticut: “I’m looking for intensi
ty from our players, and it looks to
me like we don’t have any.”
But the Bruins’ first Pac-10 op
ponent is Washington, followed
by Washington State and South
ern California — those three con
tests should provide enough time
for UCLA to regroup before facing
Arizona on Jan. 20.
Everyone from last season’s
starting five is back. Gomez is re
covered from injury. Senior May
lana Martin is playing great.
2. Stanford Cardi
nal (7-3)
Head Coach: Tara
Vanderveer
Player to Watch:
Milena Flores, G
Stanford returns
all but one starter from last sea
son’s second-in-the-conference
finish, and Lindsey Yamasaki has
rejoined the team following the
volleyball season.
The Cardinal has held oppo
nents under 50 points in consecu
tive games for the first time in
three years. Stanford also boasts a
potent shooting game and is No. 2
in conference three-point shoot
ing, hitting 6.5 per game.
Senior guard Milena Flores has
became the fourth player in Stan
ford history to record 500 career
assists, a mark that puts her eighth
in the Pac-10 record books. For
ward Bethany
Donaphin is
averaging 11.3
points and 5.6
rebounds per
game.
3. No. 24 Ore
Stanford forward Bethany Donaphim, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a
game this season, will try to help Stanford regain dominance inthePac-10.
gon Ducks (9-3)
Head Coach: Jody Runge
Player to Watch: Shaquala
Williams, G
Oregon has earned the right to
say it owns everything inside of
McArthur Court, including its op
position. The beatings were abun
dant during the first half of the
nonconference schedule — 77-42
over Howard, 73-53 over Virginia
Tech and 90-58 over Colorado
tops the list of point spreads.
The Ducks earned their first
top-10 ranking since the 1981-82
season, but Oregon saw its rank
ing slip away once it hit the road.
When it comes to women’s
hoops, Oregon has one of the best
home-court advantages in the
conference. On the road, head
coach Jody Runge knows the
Ducks must learn to create their
own energy. She’d like to see her
team get rnean, if that’s what it
takes.
Unfortunately, Oregon must
play Stanford on the road before
going back to The Pit. But if Ore
gon can play better on the road, it
can beat anyone anywhere. In
cluding Stanford in Palo Alto.
4. No. 15 Ari
zona Wildcats
(11-1)
Head Coach:
Joan Bonvicini
Player to watch: Tatum Brown, F
The Wildcats join Oregon and
Arizona State as the only Pac-10
teams undefeated at home
through the preseason. Arizona has
been solid thus far. capturing the
conference’s best record at 11-1.
Forward Tatum Brown leads
the Pac-10 in field goal percentage
(.661) and is fourth in scoring
with 16.3 points per game. She’s
also pulled down a second-place
8.9 boards per game.
Guard Felecity Willis tops the
conference in assists (5.42 per
game), and guard Lisa Griffith is
the league’s top three-point shoot
er with an accuracy mark of .448
percent.
5. Arizona State
Sun Devils (7-3)
Head Coach:
Charii Turner
Thorne
Player to watch:
Leah Combs, F
The Sun Dev
ils are off to their best start since
the 1991-92 season, losing just
three games to ranked opponents
— including a near upset of North
Carolina.
Now Arizona State faces the
impossible task of beating Stan
ford in its conference opener. The
last time Arizona State beat Stan
ford was also in the 1991-92 season.
Kitch Kitchen leads the Sun
Devil offense. The senior guard
ranks second in the Pac-10 in
steals (2.6) and assists (4.4). Four
starters return from last season,
and with forwards Leah Combs
and Theresa Jantzen healthy, the
Devils’ post offense should be
more producfive.
6. Washington
Huskies (4-8)
Head Coach:
June Daugher
ty
Player to
watch: Megan Franza, G
Unlike many other conference
Turn to Women’s Pac-10, page 8B
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