By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle
Stanford guard Candice Wiggins can't get relief from the injuries that have plagued her junior season.
Seemingly on the mend from a sprained right ankle, Wiggins now is battling a recurrence of the hamstring injury that forced her out of two games in December. Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer is weighing options, including resting Wiggins for the last regular-season games against UCLA and USC.
"We have to make a decision even if she could play whether she will play," VanDerveer said Tuesday. The No. 8 Cardinal need one win in the final two games to clinch a seventh consecutive Pac-10 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-10 tournament.
Wiggins, Stanford's leading scorer, was not expected to play in last week's road trip to Oregon after sustaining the ankle sprain against Washington on Feb. 10, but Wiggins came in during the second half of Thursday's game at Oregon State and played 34 minutes against the Ducks on Saturday. Stanford came home with the sweep. VanDerveer said Wiggins' ankle has improved.
"Right now, her hamstring is more a concern than her ankle," the coach said.
Stanford defeated both USC and UCLA in December without Wiggins. After this weekend, VanDerveer must decide how to use Wiggins in the Pac-10 tournament, which requires three games in three days if the Cardinal were to reach the final.
"We want her to be ready for the NCAA Tournament," VanDerveer said. "That's what's most important to us."
February 21, 2007
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