At home to the Washingtons

The Cardinal are back home in Maples next weekend looking for a record-breaking 49th consecutive conference victory. They play:

• Washington State on Thursday at 7:00pm. The game will be webcast by Stanford All*Access and broadcast by KZSU.
  
  If you're coming to the game, remember to wear pink to show your support for breast cancer awareness. Be sure to check out the pre-game activities on the concourse to learn more and join the fight against cancer. If you're wearing pink, you can buy a reserved seat ticket for $10. Regardless of what you're wearing, you can buy a general admission ticket for $4 and this voucher.


• Washington on Saturday at 2:00pm.The game will be webcast by Stanford All*Access and broadcast by KZSU.

  Washington State Cougars

When the Cardinal played the Cougars in Pullman a month ago, the Cougars were 9th in the Pac-10, but coach June Daugherty said they were learning and improving at a very rapid rate.

She expected to start counting the Ws soon and has done just that. They have won three of five games since then and are now 6th in the Pac-10, a heady position for the perennial cellar-dwellers.

The Cougars have improved both offensively and defensively. They lead the Pac-10 in 3-pointers per game (9.27) and in 3-point percentage (38.2). They are second (to Stanford) in assists per game (16.2) and in rebounds per game (39). Junior guard Ireti Amojo and freshmen guard/forward Sage Romberg have the two best 3-point percentages in the Pac-10 — 47.8 and 47.5.

Romberg, who comes off the bench, was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for sparking decisive runs in WSU's victories over the Oregon schools last week. She averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game. She was 10-for-19 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line.

The Cougars' win-loss record (7-16 overall, 5-6 conference) places them 6th in the Pac-10, their RPI (130) places them 9th, and their strength of schedule (18) places them 3rd.

Here are their 2010-11 statistics and their roster.

  Washington Huskies

The Huskies have not fared so well. They were 8th in the Pac-10 when we last played and they still are.

The team is pretty well back to full strength. — Junior forward Mollie Williams has recovered from her concussion and is back in the starting lineup. Junior center Regina Rogers appears to be fully recovered from her hamstring injury; she's playing more than 20 minutes a game and had double-doubles in the last two.

But that hasn't translated to more wins. The Huskies have won just three of their last six games (Cal, WSU and Oregon); they lost to both Arizona schools and to OSU.

The Huskies know that a stiff challenge is awaiting them this weekend. They take heart from knowing that they beat Cal last time around and stayed within 15 points of Stanford for much of the game. Junior center Mackenzie Argens says the Huskies are, "going to tweak some things and come out hard."

The Huskies' win-loss record (9-11 overall, 4-7 conference) places them 8th in the Pac-10, their RPI (108) places them 8th, and their strength of schedule (52) places them 7th.

Here are their 2010-11 statistics and their roster.