c
■ Stanford still tops the Pac-10,
but after a third of the season,
it is still a wide-open race
By Hank Hager
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Pacific-10 Conference will
hold a tournament this year for the
first time in conference history.
As a result, the first week of
March may prove to be an exciting
time of the season for conference
teams, but for most, the early part of
the season is the most important.
Pac-10 play is underway, with all
but Stanford and California having
completed close to one-third of the
season. The Cardinal and Washing
ton have already proved to be the
front-runners for die No. 1 seed in
the tourney, with Cal and Washing
ton State looking more and more like
the cellar-dwellers they usually are.
1. No. 5 Stanford Cardinal
(14-1 overall, 4-0 Pac-10)
Head Coach: Tara VanDerveer,
23 rd year
Player to watch: Nicole Powell, F
After having a so-so 2001 season,
at least by their standards, the Car
dinal have rebounded to fifth in the
nation and the cream of the crop in
the conference. Powell has already
been named the Pac-lO’s player of
the week twice this
season and is show
ing no signs of letting
up.
However, with the
exception of a win
over USC, Stanford
has not played a
tough conference schedule as of
yet. Oregon visits Maples Pavilion
Sunday and Stanford visits Wash
ington the next week. If they can
survive these two tough games, the
Cardinal will be on the fast track to
keep the top position.
2. Oregon Ducks (9-6,4-2)
Head Coach: Bev Smith, 1st year
Player to watch: Cathrine
Kraayeveld, F
o
After an off year that saw the
Ducks embroiled in turmoil, Ore
gon looks to return and capture its
third Pac-10 title in four seasons.
Shaquala Williams, the Ducks’
leader and
2000 Pac-10
Player of the
OREGOn Year, returns
after sitting
out last season with an injury, and
will provide a big lift to a young
squad.
However, this is a young team,
and unless the Ducks can grow up
fast, they could be resigned to the
middle of the pack. Bets are,
though, from early play, that the
team will gel and grow up quickly.
They’ll have to against Stanford
this weekend.
3. USC Trojans (8-7,4-2)
Head Coach: Chris Gobrecht,
23rd year
Player to watch: Aisha Hollans, G
The most balanced team in the
conference will put up a fight to
come out on top. They’ve already
. shown that re
siliency against
Stanford and
Washington,
barely losing to
both teams. If
Hollans and
center Ebony
Hoffman stay healthy, USC could
be a dark horse to take the confer
ence tournament this season. But
the Trojans may be a lock to make
%
the NCAA tournament this season
anyway.
4. Washington Huskies (9-5,4-1)
Head Coach: June Daugherty,
13 th year
Player to watch: Loree Payne, G
One of three conference champs
last year (with Stanford and Ari
zona State), Washington has proven
to be one of the most successful
ed USC by one and dominated
Washington State and Oregon
State. The Huskies look to remain
atop the standings with games
against Arizona State and Stanford
in the next two weeks.
5. Oregon State (8-7,4-2)
Head Coach: Judy Spoelstra,
13 th year
Player to watch: Felicia Ragland, G
Ragland looks to lead the Beavers
to their first NCAA Tournament ap
pearance since the 1996. She is the
reigning Pac-10
PJayer of the
Year and cur
rently leads the
conference in
scoring with
20.3 points per
game. Without Ragland, though,
the Beavers are not as well-round
ed as the rest of the conference,
with only one other player, Hollye
Chapman, placing in the top 20 in
scoring.
teams against
their Pac-10
foes. Besides a
loss at Oregon
in recent
weeks, the
Huskies defeat
6. Arizona State (12-4, 3-2)
Head Coach: Charli Turner
Thome, 9th year
Player to watch: Amanda Levens, G
The Sun Devils are 11-2 when
Levens leads them in scoring, so
stopping her is the key to stopping
the Arizona State of
fense. At 20.2 points
per game, not many
teams have been able
to do so. With solid
background players
in guard Betsy
Boardman and cen
ter Melody Johnson, the Sun Devils
have an excellent chance to run the
gambit during the conference tour
nament. If they can’t, they may be
resigned to the National Invitation
Tournament, but could squeak into
the NCAAs if six Pac-10 squads are
chosen.
7. Arizona Wildcats (5-8,1-4)
Head Coach: Joan Bonvicini,
23rd year
Player to watch: Elizabeth
Pickney, F
This is where the conference be
gins to drop off, as last year’s middle
of the pack team begins to drop to
die bottom. The
’Cats are ninth
in the Pac-10 in
scoring defense,
allowing 74.4
points per
game. They’ve
already given up 83 three-pointers
in 13 games, while only Pickney and
guard Dee-Dee Wheeler are provid
ing the offense. This should be a
down year for Arizona.
8. UCLA Bruins (5-9,2-4)
Head Coach: Kathy Olivier,
9th year
Player to watch: Malika Leatham, C
Internal problems will plague
the Bruins this season with two
Turn to Women’s, page 8B
LI I ICl dIU
Washington twins
Gioconda (31) and
Giuliana (13)
Mendioia look to lead
the Husies to the
topofthePac-10
again this year.
Arizona State guard
Amanda Levens, seen
guarding Oregon’s
Kourtney Shreve (5),
is among the
conference leaders
in scoring.
004318
We screen print and embroider
t-shirts and sweatshirts, etc. for
fraternities, sororities, dorms, etc.
865 Conger St. #16 • 686-5890 • 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. M-F
Virtual Office Systems Inc.
In Partnership with
The University of Oregon Bookstore
3131 West 11th Ph. 343-8633 Open Mon-Sat 10-6
“Competitor
AMD Duron -750
$499.99
• GVC GT133KT Board
• 32 MB TNT 2 Video card
• 20 GB 5400 RPM Drive
• 128 MB 133 MHz RAM
• Monitor Additional
Add 17”.27Monitor, $170.00
With Duron 1000, add $40
Win 98 SE not available
The VOS Computers
Giveaway Shootout
is back!
Details at:
www.voscomputers.com
“Ultimate"
Athlon ™XP1600+
$1049.99
• MSI 6380 Motherboard
• 32 MB GeForce 2 MX
•30 GB 7200 RPM Drive
• 256 MB DDR 266 MHz
• 17” .27 SVGA Monitor
W/a Athlon 1700+, $1079.99
W/a Athlon 1800+, $1149.99
Adda 16/40 DVD for $80
VOS systems include ATX case, Windows 98 SE, ME, or XP Home, 52X CD,
56K v.90 modem, mouse, keyboard, floppy, sound, stereo speakers, warranty.
VOS Inc. Systems are also available at the UO Bookstore. Parts available only at VOS Inc.
Prices good through I IX02. \Ml). K7, \l\ Athlon anil Duron arc trademarks of AMD. Inc Specs subject to change, www voscomputers.com