Stanford Runs Away From Huskies
No. 7 Stanford 73, Washington 53
Stanford point guard Candace Wiggins moved closer to the all-time record for career Pac-10 points with 22 in the No. 7 Cardinals' 73-53 win over Washington on Friday night in Seattle.
(Elaine Thompson - AP)
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Saturday, March 1, 2008; 1:12 AM
SEATTLE -- JJ Hones came up with a quick way to silence coach Tara VanDerveer's halftime speech about Stanford's lack of rebounding.
Don't miss.
"If we make shots we don't need to rebound and we don't get yelled at for not rebounding," Hones said.
Hones scored eight of her 16 points during Stanford's 12-0 run to start the second half, star Candice Wiggins inched closer to the Pac-10 scoring record with 22 points, and the seventh-ranked Cardinal pulled away from Washington for a 73-53 win Friday night.
Stanford needs a win Sunday at lowly Washington State to wrap up at least a share of its eighth straight Pac-10 title, no matter what No. 9 California does at Washington. A win against the Cougars would also give Stanford the top seed in the Pac-10 tournament.
Sunday also could be a coronation of Wiggins as the best scorer in Pac-10 history, a topic she would like to quickly put aside. The senior guard has 2,400 career points, pulling within 14 of Lisa Leslie's conference record of 2,414.
"Obviously it's a huge feat and it's amazing, and I'm going to be proud of that accomplishment," Wiggins said. "But right now I'm just enjoying my last go with my teammates. The only time I think about it is when I'm reminded of it."
Wiggins overcame a sluggish start on Friday to make nine of 18 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Her final points came when she stopped a Washington fastbreak with a steal and sprinted the length of the court for an uncontested left-handed layup with 5 minutes left.
Jayne Appel scored 12 and Kayla Pedersen added 11 as the Cardinal (26-3, 15-2) won their 14th straight.
"The guards led the way for us, which is what it's going to take down the stretch," VanDerveer said.
Andrea Plouffe led Washington (12-17, 7-10) with 11 points, but the Huskies shot just 28 percent and scored only 17 second-half points.
"You can't get down with a team like that," Washington guard Emily Florence said. "They're not going to let you come back."
