Stanford Vs. Tennessee Now And Forever

Next Sunday should be declared Tennessee-Stanford day in women’s basketball.

At the college level, the two longtime powerhouses will meet in Knoxville, Tenn., in an intersectional contest that will be televised on SportsChannel Regional.

Meanwhile, some prominent former players of Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and Tennessee coach Pat Summitt will play in the first American Basketball League All-Star Game, in Hartford, Conn. That game will also be televised on SportsChannel Regional as part of a doubleheader.

In the college game, No. 1 Stanford and No. 4 Tennessee should both still be in the top five. It has been tradition that the team that wins this regular-season game goes on to win the NCAA title.

However, that was not true last season when Stanford routed the Volunteers early but went as far as the national semifinals. Tennessee went on to win a record fourth national championship.

Former Tennessee players in the ABL All-Star Game include Tonya Edwards and Nikki McCray of the division-leading Columbus Quest on the East squad, and Portland’s Michelle Marciniak, who was the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player last spring, on the West.

The Stanford players include Portland’s Katy Steding and San Jose’s Sonja Henning and Val Whiting. A fourth might have been chosen, but San Jose’s Jennifer Azzi was injured and is out for the season. When she suffered a dislocated shoulder, she was thought to be among the top vote-getters among fans, coaches and general managers. She will be an honorary captain.

The X Factor

Colorado’s nickname in the ABL is the Xplosion, but the Denver team could be called the Xhealthy because of all the injuries.

“We know injuries are part of the game,” coach Sheryl Estes said, “but half of our original roster has been beset with injuries the past month.”

The most recent is local favorite Shelly Sheetz, a former University of Colorado star who suffered an ACL injury in her right knee Tuesday against Portland and will be lost for the season.

“We are extremely disappointed with Shelly’s loss. She is one of our team leaders and has been a valuable backup to Debbie Black,” Estes said.

Some other Colorado players who were hurt but did not miss any games are point guard Black (ribs and back), Crystal Robinson (shoulder) and Charlotte Smith (ankle and dislocated finger).

By the numbers

This week’s ABL statistics show McCray leading all scorers with a 22.6 average, followed by the New England Blizzard’s Carolyn Jones, a former Auburn star, with a 20.4 average.

Portland’s Natalie Williams, who has been out of the lineup for a month with a knee injury, still leads in rebounding with a 14.7 average, far ahead of Seattle’s Cindy Brown, who has an 8.5 average. Williams, a former UCLA star, is due to return any day.

Richmond’s Dawn Staley leads in assists with a 6.7 average, while Black is second with 6.6. Black leads in steals with a 3.7 average, while Staley is second with a 3.1 average.

In field-goal percentage, Stanford graduate Anita Kaplan of San Jose leads with a 56.5 average.

Where to watch

ESPN and ESPN2 start the second year of their seven-year deal of exclusive national coverage of the NCAA Tournament. There will be 15 games of the tourney on ESPN and another 11 on the sister station. The Final Four - March 28 and 30 in Cincinnati - will be on ESPN.

Coming Dec. 13 on ESPN2 will be the Big Ten/SEC women’s basketball challenge, with Florida vs. Iowa at 7 p.m. and Georgia at Wisconsin at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Mel Greenberg and Tara Sullivan Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service