USC emerges as contender,
Pac-10 stretch drive arrives
Led by Ebony Hoffman, the
Trojans are within striking
distance of second place
By Jon Roetman
Sports Reporter
With its win over Oregon on Satur
day, Southern California can official
ly be recognized as a contender in the
Pacific-10 Conference.
place in the conference, with road
games against Washington and
Washington State this week.
USC is the only Pac-10 team to de
feat No. 7 Stanford (17-3, 10-1),
dropping the Cardinal 59-56 on Jan.
25. Two of the Trojans' conference
losses, surprisingly enough, have
come at the hands of Oregon State
(11-9, 5-6).
Senior forward Ebony Hoffman
has been USC's best player on both
sides of the ball. The 6-foot-2 All
American candidate has been a force
inside, averaging 15.3 points and 8.1
rebounds per game.
Hoffman was key to USC's 71-56
win over Oregon (11-10, 3-8) on
Saturday, scoring 12 points on 5 of
8 shooting in the second half. She
provided the Trojans with a spark
off the bench after being suspended
in the first half for a violation of
team policy.
It was only the fifth time in 106
games that Hoffman was not in the
The Trojans
for second
February 2-29
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starting lineup.
"I am not above team rules and I
should be disciplined as well," Hoff
man told the Daily Trojan after the
game. "It's a point well-proven and it
won't happen again."
Senior guard Rometra Craig has
also been big, averaging 11.5 points
per game.
USC showed its potential early in
the season, giving then-No. 1 Con
necticut all it could handle in a 72-69
USC loss on Dec. 7. The Trojans had
a chance to send the game into over
time, but Rachel Woodward's three
point shot at the buzzer hit the rim
and bounced away.
Blazing Sun Devil
Arizona State junior Kylan Loney
scored a career-high 32 points Satur
day, helping the Sun Devils defeat
Arizona 68-60 at Wells Fargo Arena
in Tempe.
The 5-foot-7 guard connected on 5
of 8 three-pointers to pull Arizona
State within a game of second place in
the Pac-10.
While Loney's offensive outburst
was the key to the Sun Devils' win,
the defensive-minded guard said she
would rather shut down her oppo
nent than produce a scoring
outburst.
"My best games are when I hold
my player to two or zero points, and
she's confused and ticked off,"
Loney told the Arizona State Press.
"It's nice to hit shots, but I like to see
my opposing player totally out of
her zone."
Loney's performance earned her
Pac-10 Player of the Week honors and
pushed Arizona State (13-6, 7-3) 2
1/2 games ahead of Washington, Ore
gon State and UCLA.
HAGER
continued from page 7
shooter despite his 6-foot-11 frame.
Platt has problems shooting free
throws — he was 1 of 4 from the
line Saturday — but has become a
big body down low.
"We've just got to get them a little
further ahead in terms of condition
ing, toughness, little mental things
like that," Kent said. "That's just time.
(Stanford's Nick) Robinson and Little
were not like that their first year in the
Pac-10. They've developed into that
and that's where Mitch needs to go.
He will develop into one heck of a
basketball player."
For the time being, the Ducks will
need Platt to be a solid freshman,
helping hold down the fort until
Aaron Brooks can get back, pushing
Oregon's depth even further.
Contact die sports editor
at hankhager@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
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Moving up
Stanford moved up one spot to No.
7 in this week's Associated Press poll
after demolishing the Washington
schools last week.
The Cardinal defeated the Huskies
(85-59) and the Cougars (91-67) a
week after falling to USC and squeak
ing past UCLA in overtime.
It appears Stanford was awakened
by its loss to USC, which could spell
doom for the rest of the Pac-10. The
Cardinal face the Arizona schools this
week with a chance to take control of
the conference race.
Stanford head coach Tara Van
Derveer said the Cardinal need to be
more aggressive if it is going to be suc
cessful down the stretch.
"I actually pulled people who
weren't taking their shot," Van
Derveer told The Stanford Daily af
ter defeating Washington State. "I
saw four or five people who had
wide open three-pointers and they
didn't take them ... we had 31 at
tempts and I thought we could have
shot 10 more."
Stanford has easily been the best
team in the conference. Eight of its
10 conference wins have come by at
least 10 points and six have come by
at least 20.
All-American forward Nicole Pow
ell has played like her usual brilliant
self, averaging 21.1 points and 11.1 re
bounds per game.
If Stanford can stay away from seri
ous injury, it could make a run at a na
tional title.
Contact the sports reporter
at jonroetman@dailyemerald.com.
i_19
Southern California Media Services
Ebony Hoffman missed her fifth-ever start for the Trojans after a suspension Saturday.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Henson spurns baseball,
returns to NFL
NEW YORK — Four years ago a
New York Yankees official called
Drew Henson a "(Derek) Jeter-like
prospect," but now the better com
parison might be to Tom Brady.
Henson announced Monday that
he is divorcing himself from the
Bombers — and the unheard-of six
year, $17 million minor-league con
tract he signed in 2001 — to return to
the gridiron. A source said Monday the
former Michigan quarterback will not
be paid any part of the remaining $ 12
million he would have been owed,
while the Yanks are not seeking any of
the $5 million they have already paid.
"I have truly enjoyed playing profes
sional baseball, but after a great deal of
thought and discussions with the peo
ple closest to me, I have decided to
make football my career" said Henson,
who played behind Brady for two years
in Ann Arbor. "I want to thank the Yan
kees and Mr. (George) Steinbrenner for
the opportunity to be a part of their or
ganization. My time with the Yankees
gave me experiences in baseball that I
will always remember."
Henson's NFL rights are owned by
the Texans, and Houston, which al
ready has David Carr, likely will try
to work out a sign-and-trade with
another team. If such a deal isn't
made, then Henson would reenter
the NFL draft, where he has been
projected as high as the third-ranked
quarterback available.
— Sam Borden
New York Daily News
Nets' Griffin breaks curfew
NEW ORLEANS — Eddie Griffin
spent Monday night in jail after he
allegedly violated his bail terms
from a felony assault charge.
According to the Houston Chron
icle, Harris County prosecutors say
Griffin broke curfew restrictions
when he attempted to assault a man
outside a gas station around 3 a.m.
on Dec. 23 despite being under a 6
p.m.-to-6 a m. curfew. Griffin, who
is in a Houston jail, had his bond
revoked and a hearing is set for to
day to determine how much longer
he'll have to stay locked up.
Jane Waters, assistant district at
torney for Harris County, said prose
cutors are looking into Griffin's
bizarre incident at the Renaissance
Hotel in Rutherford, N.J., on Jan. 25,
when he knocked on the door of a
hotel guest looking for a party that a
couple of girls had invited him to. It
was the wrong room.
Griffin's attorney, Rusty Hardin,
did not return phone calls. The New
Jersey Nets also had no comment on
Griffin's legal trouble.
Griffin faces up to 20 years in
prison if convicted of hitting and
shooting at a girlfriend last year. He
was scheduled to appear in court on
Feb. 13 for that and also for a sen
tencing hearing for a misdemeanor
marijuana possession charge.
Griffin was on the verge of making
his debut before leaving the team last
week and it is likely he will not play a
single minute for the Nets this season.
— Ohm Youngmisuk
New York Daily News
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