Stanford Women Seldom At A Loss Area Stars Owen, Freuen Continue Winning Ways

The winning never seems to stop, but it comes with a warning.

Stanford freshmen Heather Owen, after three straight Idaho A-2 state championships, and Regan Freuen, after three top-four finishes in the Washington State AAA tournament, find themselves in Minneapolis for the Women’s Final Four basketball tournament.

“When you sign here, you know this is the best,” Owen said. “I was talking with (teammate) Olympia Scott and it’s hard to put into perspective. We haven’t experienced the losing end. (Senior) Kate Paye told us she made it (to the Final Four) as a freshman and hadn’t been back since. It doesn’t happen every year.”

Forgive Freuen and Owen if they find that hard to believe, considering their past success, even though comparing high school championships to an NCAA Final Four isn’t practical.

“It’s a lot different,” said Freuen, who scored the game-winning basket for Mead in the state championship game as a sophomore. “The feeling we got, just beating North Carolina to play Purdue (for the West Regional championship), it’s so hard to explain. Not very many get to the Final Four.”

Owen and Freuen may only be secondary contributors when fourth-ranked Stanford (30-2) takes on top-ranked Connecticut (33-0) Saturday about noon in the Target Center (CBS-TV), but they are doing their part.

“I’m sure I’d feel different if I was playing more,” said Freuen, who averages 1.6 points in 18 games. “The last five players on the bench run Connecticut in practice. We pushed (the starters), we got a lot of steals. We’re preparing them. If they don’t do something in a game because we didn’t prepare them, we’d feel bad. Even though I’m not playing, when they’re playing so well I feel great.”

Owen, who broke the Moscow High School scoring record of Andrea Lloyd, who went on to win a national championship at Texas, has averaged 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds playing in 31 of the 32 Cardinal games. Kate Starbird, a sophomore from Tacoma, who played for the Spokane Stars in 1993, leads Stanford with a 16.4 average.

“I never really worried about individual stats,” Owen said. “(Coach) Tara (VanDerveer) said, even though some people may win individual awards, without the team those people wouldn’t get anything. I know I helped the team in practice. Tara makes sure we know it’s a team win.”

Owen and Freuen, who plan to tryout for the Olympic Festival next month, aren’t awed by UConn’s record or ranking and both offered the same formula for success.

“We’ve got to play smart basketball, Connecticut is very good,” Owen said. “We match up well with them. We need to use our depth, run and push the ball. And keep on subbing like we do.”

The Huskies have an imposing front line in 6-foot-7 Kara Wolters and 6-4 All-America and player of the year Rebecca Lobo. But after Stanford starters Anita Kaplan, 6-5, Rachel Hemmer, 6-3, and now 6-2 freshman jumping jack Kristin Folkl, VanDerveer can summon the 6-2 Owen, 6-2 Scott or 6-3 Naomi Mulitauaopele, all freshmen.

It’s just that Owen has no idea when she’ll be called on, even though the call always comes.

“I haven’t figured out Tara yet and, to tell you the truth, I haven’t tried,” Owen said.

Though the opportunities come less often for Freuen, she has no second thoughts about playing a lesser role for the Cardinal than she might have at a different school.

“The thought has crossed my mind, but I’m real competitive.” she said. “Eventually I’ll play here and I wanted to play at the highest level … Stanford is a challenge I wanted to meet. Everyone is so good, we don’t drop off. If we dropped off I’d feel bad being on the bench. But I know I can play with them. My time will come.”

Meanwhile, there’s a ringside seat and a chance to participate in the ultimate of U.S. women’s basketball.