Candice is a contender for Pac-10 Player of the Year

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Candice Wiggins may not be the overwhelming favorite to win her third Pac-10 Player of the Year honor, but she's certainly stepped up her campaign.

When the Stanford women's basketball team needed Wiggins to deliver, she not only put her stamp on the game, she made sure it arrived first class. (More ...)

Candice is Pac-10 Player of the Week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--STANFORD junior guard Candice Wiggins has been named the U.S. Bank Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 22-28, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

The Cardinal extended their winning streak to 16 games with a pair of key road wins at the Arizona schools. Wiggins set the pace for Stanford, beginning with her 18 point, five rebound performance in the Cardinal's 86-76 win over the Wildcats on Thursday.

Wiggins' marquee performance came on Saturday, as she scored a season-high 30 points to lead Stanford to a 73-65 overtime win against 10th-ranked Arizona State. Wiggins carried the Cardinal in overtime after Stanford's vaunted front court tandem of Brooke Smith and Jayne Appel fouled out of the game, scoring 10 of Stanford's 14 points in the extra period. Wiggins also added seven assists and five rebounds and was perfect from the foul line (9-of-9) while playing all 45 minutes. Stanford's win snapped Arizona State's 22-game Pac-10 home winning streak.

For the week, Wiggins averaged 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 steals while shooting 44.1 percent from the field (15-of-34) and 93.3 percent from the foul line (14-of-15).

The Cardinal look to continue their unblemished Pac-10 mark (11-0) this week when they host rival California on Sunday. First up though is their final non-conference game of the regular season, a road contest at UC Santa Barbara this Thursday.

This is the fifth career Player of the Week award for Wiggins and the second this season. It is the 57th all-time for Stanford.

ALSO NOMINATED: Devanei Hampton, CAL; Eleanor Haring, ORE; Casey Nash, OSU; Lindsey Pluimer, UCLA; Jamie Hagiya, USC; Colleen Betteridge, WSU.

2006-07 PAC-10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Nov. 20- Ashley Walker, CAL; Nov. 27- Chloé Kerr, USC; Dec. 4- Cameo Hicks, WASH; Dec. 11- Ashley Walker, CAL; Dec. 18- Cameo Hicks, WASH; Dec. 26- Danielle Orsillo, ASU; Jan. 1- Candice Wiggins, STAN; Jan. 8- Dymond Simon, ASU; Jan. 15- Devanei Hampton, CAL; Jan. 22- Ashley Walker, CAL; Jan. 29- Candice Wiggins, STAN.

Photos of Cardinal vs. Sun Devils

Here are some photos of the game at Arizona State from Sportspage Magazine.

Candice turns it on in overtime against ASU

Wiggins turns it on in OT

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Leave it to Candice Wiggins. On a day that was looking increasingly shaky for No. 9 Stanford, that's exactly what the Cardinal did.

... But this was not a run-of-the-mill conference game, considering the Sun Devils' (18-3, 9-2) spot in the national rankings, their extraordinary ability to defend their home court (34-2 in the last 36 home games) and a national television spotlight. Yet Wiggins once again proved to be ASU's recurring nightmare. (More ...)

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Wiggins' OT heroics lift Stanford to crucial win

By: Mark Heller, San Jose Mercury News

For the final five minutes of Saturday's game, 25 players, eight coaches and 4,300 fans inside Wells Fargo Arena knew what was coming.

But nobody could stop Candice Wiggins. (More ...)

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Stanford still best in Pac-10

By: José E. Garcia, The Arizona Republic

How far will the Arizona State women's basketball team advance in the NCAA tournament? Basketball lessons don't always come neatly wrapped.

Some come with wrinkles that make players age. In the future, the young Arizona State Sun Devils should reach a level of maturity and toughness that will allow them to execute down the stretch against higher-ranked foes.

For now, they'll have to continue swallowing the hurt that Stanford administers. (More ...)

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A little bravado from Charli

By: Paola Bolvin. The Arizona Republic

"People want to make it like we're some up-and-comer," [Turner thorne] said. "I don't feel we're an up-and-comer. I feel like (we've already arrived)."

As far as Stanford, a program that has won two national titles and advanced to 18 straight NCAA Tournaments under coach Tara VanDerveer?

"There's no gap anymore," Turner Thorne said. (More ...)

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No Wiggins means no win for Sun Devils

By: Scott Bordow, East Valley [Arizona] Tribune

There’s an old college basketball joke that applies to the women’s basketball programs at Stanford and Arizona State. The Cardinal’s roster is filled with McDonald’s All-Americans. ASU’s players eat at McDonald’s.

OK, it’s a bit of an overstatement. Under coach Charli Turner Thorne, the Sun Devils have upgraded from fast food joints to elegant restaurants. (More ...)

Stanford's Stealth Player Extraordinaire

By Warren Grimes, The Bootleg

She does not often stuff the stat sheet. She is caught somewhere between the Cardinal's upperclass All-Americans and the fab freshmen.

Sophomore forward Jillian Harmon, however, is a big reason why Stanford is one of the hottest teams in the nation and still undefeated after Saturday's overtime battle at #10 Arizona State. Harmon played all 45 minutes, shuffled between positions and made plays. (More ...)

Candice still not 100%

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

It has been an atypical year for Stanford's two-time All-American in a handful of ways. As the No. 9-ranked Cardinal prepare for today's big Pac-10 matchup against No. 10 Arizona State in Tempe, Wiggins is still not playing at 100 percent. The first ankle sprain of her career is not fully healed. Neither is her nagging hamstring injury.

"I don't think I've played my best basketball, but I don't think it has to do with my ankle," Wiggins said. "This isn't a team that needs me to score 20 points a game. Maybe it appears like I'm not in the flow yet, but my role on the team is a lot different. Everything is so balanced and it is a different role, and I'm cool with that." (More ...)

Bracketology: The Cardinal is a solid Final Four threat.

This month Charlie Creme discusses the mid-majors -- the smaller leagues, like the WCC. He says, "Don't expect the smaller leagues to get any of the at-large bids." Not much here to interest Cardinal fans.

But his current analysis of the Pac-10 teams he has placed in the bracket are interesting:

Stanford: The Cardinal have been lights out since this bracketologist said Stanford wasn't among the elite. It certainly is now and is as solid a Final Four Threat as anyone.

Arizona State:Their only losses are to Tennessee and Stanford. But unless the Sun Devils can knock off the Cardinal on Jan 27, they have almost no way of improving their seeding.

California: Thanks to the play of Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton, the young Bears have withstood a rash of injuries and are the Pac-10's third best team.

Washington: Since letting one slip away at Arizona State, the Huskies were terrible until Washington State came to Seattle. UW was in danger of losing its spot in the field.

Here is the complete bracket.

Cardinal's first half better than Wildcats' second half

Stanford Played a Superb First Half

From: Mercury News Wire Services

Ninth-ranked Stanford played a superb first half. Coach Tara VanDerveer, however, is looking for a complete game.

Brooke Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 9 Stanford to its 15th consecutive victory, 86-76 over Arizona on Thursday night.

The Cardinal, which faces Arizona State in a showdown for first place in the Pacific-10 Conference on Saturday, led by 19 at halftime and was dominating inside and getting open three-point attempts.

Instead of putting Arizona away, the Cardinal let the Wildcats cut a 22-point lead to seven with 6:40 left. (More ...)

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Wildcats' Strong Second Half Not Enough

By Sarah Trotto, Arizona Daily Star

The Arizona Wildcats had lost four in a row and nine of their last 10, but here they were, cutting ninth-ranked Stanford's 19-point lead to single digits in the second half.

Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer, a scowl on her face, called a timeout after the UA whittled the lead to nine. She barked orders at her players.

On the other end of the court, Arizona players hopped up and down as they ran to the bench. (More ...)

Stanford controls the Pac-10 race

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Stanford enters the second half of the Pac-10 women's basketball season controlling its own destiny. The ninth-ranked Cardinal (9-0, 16-3) head to Arizona this weekend for a showdown in the desert and there is plenty at stake.

The Cardinal, riding a 14-game winning streak, has had its share of trouble in both Tucson, where Arizona (1-8, 7-14) awaits for a 6 p.m. (PT) tipoff on Thursday, and in Tempe, where 10th-ranked Arizona State (8-1, 18-2) rubs it collective hands in anticipation of revenge in the rematch on Saturday. (More ...)

Pac-10 review from CSTV

From: Oregon Daily Emerald via CSTV U-WIRE

The first half of the Pacific-10 Conference season is almost here and outside of a few surprises here and there, the standings reflect what coaches predicted. Here's an update on the conference: (More ...)