Before the start of Pac-10 play, the assumption was that Stanford, California and Arizona State would be the class of the conference’s women’s basketball teams.
What would happen with the other seven teams was not nearly as easy to predict.
And three weeks into the conference season, that’s still the case.
Heading into tonight’s games, the Washington Huskies are one of several teams jockeying for position in what looks like a wide open middle of the Pac-10.
Washington, which is tied for sixth with Oregon, plays at Oregon State, which is a game behind in eighth, tonight and at Oregon on Saturday.
The Huskies and Ducks sit just a half game behind USC and one game behind Stanford and UCLA, who are tied for third.
“Everyone is talking about it being time to break out of that cluster, and I couldn’t agree more,” Washington coach Tia Jackson said. “I think we’re all in agreement on that, so everyone is going to come with their A-plus-plus game this weekend and (be) ready to prove a point.”
And while the Huskies’ opponents tonight have stumbled to a 1-4 start in conference play, the Beavers know they are just a couple of wins from making a big move in the conference standings.
“This is going to be a big weekend for the Pac-10 and the Pac-10 standings,” Oregon State coach LaVonda Wagner said. “Several teams are going to have a chance to break out of that cluster behind Stanford, Cal and Arizona State. I think everybody is looking to this weekend to have some success and get some confidence.”
If the Huskies are to start a climb up the Pac-10 ladder, they’ll have to find a way to slow Oregon State guard Ashley Allen, who leads the conference in scoring at 19.7 points per game. Allen, a 5-foot-10 senior, averaged just 7.6 points last year, and came into this season having never scored more than 15 points in a college game. This season, Allen has been nearly unstoppable, scoring 20 or more points eight times, and scoring in double figures in 14 of Oregon State’s 16 games.
“She’s a phenomenal 3-point shooter, and very good penetrator off the dribble,” Jackson said. “And I would say she is one of the better rebounding guards in the conference. She’s a very talented young lady. We have our work cut out for us when we get to Oregon State.”
Making matters worse for the Huskies is the fact they likely will play without starting center Jess McCormack, who suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win over USC. Jackson said the freshman is unlikely to play this week. If McCormack can’t play, the Huskies are hoping to get a boost from Laura McLellan, who is expected to return this week. McLellan, a sophomore forward/center, has been out for four weeks after undergoing knee surgery.
Regardless of who can play this weekend, Jackson said she hopes her team is ready to make its move in the Pac-10.
“Now is the time to start getting better and to prove to teams in the conference, and to yourselves, that you are a better team,” she said. “And that’s definitely something that we’re looking to do.”
Contact Herald Writer John Boyle at jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on University of Washington athletics, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog.
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