WSU Prefers A Slower Pace Vs. Stanford

REPLAY: Sports, January 23, 1997: The Washington State women’s basketball games tonight and Saturday afternoon will be played in Bohler Gym.

Turn off the shot clock and maybe the Washington State women’s basketball team will give No. 3 Stanford a game when the two meet at Friel Court in Pullman Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

“We’ve got to slow down the tempo and hopefully they don’t come out and hit a rash of 3s like Washington did against us,” said WSU coach Harold Rhodes, whose Cougars watched Washington hit four 3-pointers in the first 8 minutes of the Huskies’ 78-56 win last Saturday.

Stanford (18-1, 6-0 Pac-10), leads the conference in 7 of 12 team statistical categories, and 3-point shooting (35.7 percent) is just one of them.

Washington State, far from the top in most categories, has been respectable from 3-point range, shooting 35.8 percent (second place).

The Cougars are last in the standings with an 0-5 record, 6-8 overall.

But first up at Friel Court is Cal, Thursday night at 7. Much like the Cougs, the Bears are struggling and are 2-4 in the conference, 6-9 overall.

“Every time we take the floor, I’m hoping that’s the one,” said Rhodes, who’s anxiously seeking a Pac-10 win.

Cal is led by first-year coach Marianne Stanley, who coached Old Dominion to three national championships. Stanley, interim co-coach at Stanford last season while Tara VanDerveer was coaching the U.S. Olympic team, inherited a 7-20 team that finished last in the Pac-10.

Stanford, Pac-10 champ seven of the last eight years, finished 29-3 last year and made its fifth trip to the Final Four, losing to Georgia in the semifinals. It holds a 22-0 record against WSU. Cal has a 16-9 edge against WSU.

“I like our chances of matching up better with Cal than Stanford,” Rhodes said.

Once again, Stanford is loaded, beginning with three-time Pac-10 player of the week Kate Starbird of Tacoma. Starbird’s 21.1 points per game places the preseason All-America pick third in the conference, 21st nationally.

Heather Owen of Moscow, Idaho, is one of 10 returners. Owen, a 6-foot-4 junior, is averaging 18 minutes per game off the bench.

Teammate Regan Freuen, a Mead High grad, suffered a preseason stress fracture in her right leg and continues her rehab program. She can’t run up and down the court.

Around the conferences

University of Portland senior guard Deana Lansing, a Kamiakin High grad who played for the Spokane Stars, became the West Coast Conference’s all-time steals leader with 272. One of her teammates, Central Valley’s Kristin Hepton, leads the nation in free-throw shooting (44 of 46 for 95.7 percent). Hepton sat out Monday’s practice after reinjuring her knee, which has a cartilage tear. “We’re hoping she makes it through the season,” coach Jim Sollars said.

Eastern Washington (1-5, 4-12), looking to snap a three-game losing streak, will play four of its next five games at home… . Saturday night against Portland State, Eagles coach Heidi VanDerveer will have a big fan in the stands. Her older sister, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, plans a trip to Cheney after the Cardinal plays at WSU in the afternoon …. Sandpoint High grad Alli Nieman continues to excel at Idaho. In last week’s Big West overtime win over Boise State, the 6-2 freshman led the Vandals (6-9, 1-2) with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: AREA LEADERS Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt Avg Alli Nieman, UI 83-186 84-112 5 17.0 Rebecca Moore, Whit. 72-186 40-52 33 15.5 Tanya Kirk, EWU 86-253 38-52 28 14.9 Jen Tissue, Whit. 54-127 36-39 12 13.0 Yvonne Kunze, WSU 70-137 34-56 0 12.2 Shana Ray, EWU, 43-110 29-42 1 11.6 Rachel Ferguson, EWU 65-127 49-60 0 11.2 Sherri Northington, Whit. 62-144 25-53 1 10.7 Amy Saneholtz, WSU 52-97 43-65 0 10.5 Joanna Smith, WSU 50-116 10-17 31 10.1

Rebounding Northington, Whitworth, 9.4 (131); Nieman, Idaho, 9.1 (137); Kirk, EWU, 7.3 (116); Andrea Sherer, Whitworth, 6.2 (87); Sydney Perno, GU, 5.6 (89).

Assists Jade Hyett, WSU, 6.6 (92); Jennifer Sutter, EWU, 5.2 (83); Tissue, Whitworth, 4.4 (53); Moore, Whitworth, 3.4 (48); Kathryn Gussett, UI, 3.3 (49).

Steals Hyett, WSU, 4.7 (66); Tissue, Whitworth, 2.5 (30); Moore, Whitworth, 2.4 (33); Gussett, UI, 2.4 (36); Sutter, EWU, 1.9 (30).

Schedule Thursday: Cal at WSU, 7 p.m.; New Mexico State at Idaho, 7 p.m,; Friday: Lewis & Clark at Whitworth, 6 p.m.; Gonzaga at LMU, 7 p.m.; Weber State at Eastern, 7 p.m.; Saturday: Stanford at WSU, 12:30 p.m.; Pacific at Whitworth, 6 p.m.; North Texas at Idaho, 7 p.m.; Gonzaga at Pepperdine, 7 p.m.; Portland State at Eastern, 7 p.m.

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