Feb. 10, 2007
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -Stanford watched a key player go down with an injury for the third straight game, and this time it was all-everything Candice Wiggins.
Wiggins scored 23 points and topped 1,700 for her career before leaving with a sprained right ankle, leading No. 11 Stanford past Washington 80-54 on Saturday.
"Considering what our team has been through, I couldn't have asked much more from people than what they gave today," coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Candice had an excellent floor game. Obviously we're very concerned about her ankle being sprained. It's the same ankle she sprained before in the Washington game."
Wiggins, a junior and the two-time reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, went down with 7:59 remaining after driving to the basket for a layup. Wiggins, whose ankle was still healing from the original sprain last month against the Huskies, landed and writhed in pain before being helped to the locker room. She will be evaluated later this weekend.
The Cardinal (21-4, 13-1 Pac-10) beat the Huskies for the third straight time and 10th time in 12 meetings overall. It was another lopsided win at home for Stanford in the series after it beat the Huskies 100-69 last Feb. 23 to clinch a sixth straight conference title.
The Huskies (15-11, 8-7) have lost seven of 10 after starting the Pac-10 season 5-0. Emily Florence had 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Huskies.
Kristen Newlin had 12 points and nine rebounds and Brooke Smith added 12 points, 12 rebounds, two blocked shots and three assists for the Cardinal. Freshman Melanie Murphy, who is getting more playing time after point guard JJ Hones was lost to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month, had season-bests of 11 points and eight assists.
"After the Cal loss, we came out in practice and knew we had to turn things around," Newlin said. "This was a really important week and we have to continue doing that in practice."
Wiggins hit back-to-back 3-pointers after Washington pulled within 38-29 at 17:36 to keep Stanford well out in front. Her shots sparked a 20-2 run by the Cardinal, which also featured seven straight points by Wiggins at the end of the spurt.
Jillian Harmon scored seven of her eight points in the first seven minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds for Stanford, which used a 7-0 spurt midway through the opening half to build a 24-7 lead. The Huskies answered with a 9-0 run to get within 24-16 on Sami Whitcomb's 3-pointer at 5:17.
Stanford went nearly five minutes without scoring during Washington's stretch but held the Huskies to 30 percent from the field in the first half on the way to a 37-25 lead at the break.
NOTES: Stanford student Gabriel Velarde is $500 richer. Velarde was Saturday's Brickyard Club Contest, a promotion where a Stanford student gets one chance to sink a half-court putt. Velarde became the first contestant to accomplish the feat this year, winning $500 cash and a $20 gift certificate to Jimmy V's Sports Cafe ... Brooke Smith posted her team-best sixth double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds ... Candice Wiggins has now scored in double-figures in seven straight games and has made 19-45 three-point attempts during that span ... In two games since losing starting point guard JJ Hones to a season-ending ACL injury, fellow freshman Melanie Murphy is 5-8 from the field with 12 assists and just one turnover ... Washington leading scorer Cameo Hicks was held to just 3-14 shooting for eight points and six rebounds in 33 minutes ... Stanford had three other near double-double efforts: Jillian Harmon (eight points, 10 rebounds), Kristen Newlin (12 points, nine boards) and Jayne Appel (eight points, eight rebounds) ... Stanford held a 22-11 edge in assists ... The Cardinal held a commanding 48-32 advantage on the glass ... Stanford's current starting lineup of Wiggins, Cissy Pierce, Harmon, Smith and Newlin is 4-1 on the year ... Christy Titchenal scored her 25th career point with a bucket late in the game. ... Stanford will play its final regular-season road games next week, at Oregon State (Feb. 15) and Oregon (Feb. 17) ... 3,885 were in attendance on National Girls And Women In Sports Day, which began early in the morning with a free clinic for elementary school students.