Sitting Turned Freuen Around

Coach Tara VanDerveer said she feels Regan Freuen’s about-face began in Pullman, sitting on the Stanford University bench.

The 1994 Mead High graduate was back on familiar Eastern Washington turf playing before her usual supporters. Problem was, the family and friends didn’t see much of Freuen in Stanford’s 77-65 win over Washington State that night about one month ago. In 6 minutes, Freuen went 0 of 1 from the floor and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line to finish with a meager two points and a career-high in frustration.

“She was disappointed in her minutes,” VanDerveer said. “She talked to me after that game. I told her, `This is not a sentimental journey. It’s about getting the job done. Our team needs more from you.”’ Since then, they’ve gotten it from the Cardinal’s lone senior. Stanford (14-9, 10-2) - which plays host to Washington (11-11, 7-6) Thursday and Washington State (10-12, 4-9) Saturday - has strung together seven wins and is back in the race for its 10th Pac-10 Conference title in 11 seasons.

Last Friday, Freuen scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting in the Cardinal’s ballyhooed win over No. 12 UCLA. Three weeks ago against Arizona, Freuen finished with 23 points. Her scoring average has increased from 6.4 per game since her night in Pullman to 10.9. Her minutes are up from 17 to 19.3.

“She’s playing the best basketball I’ve ever seen her play,” said VanDerveer, about the oft-injured Freuen. “She taking being a senior to heart. Something has clicked, and she’s going out in style. She’s carrying the team.”

More Pac-10 chat

With just three weeks left in the regular season, this year’s title race is the most competitive since 1993-94 when Southern Cal squeezed out Stanford by one game.

No. 18 Oregon (20-4, 11-2) and No. 13 UCLA (19-6, 11-2) both are trying to win their first titles. Stanford is going for its fifth straight. Arizona (13-8, 8-4) is in a good position to earn an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies (11-11, 7-6) need a strong finish to receive consideration.

But with all this motion, the WSU Cougars remain stagnant as a lower-division team.

With five games remaining, WSU is on course to match last year’s records of 6-12 in conference and 12-15 overall. Coach Harold Rhodes, who signed a one-year contract extension last March, had predicted more from his team that returned a strong nucleus.

“When you don’t reach your goals, you’re always disappointed,” Rhodes said. “And again, you have a team - you think you have a nice little rotation - and it’s interrupted (by injuries).”

Jockeying for position

As the conference season winds down, here’s a look at the area Division I schools and their postseason possibilities.

Idaho: (13-10, 6-5, third place Big West Conference Eastern Division). The Vandals have won three of four, but hurt themselves last weekend by losing to a weak Nevada team (13-10, 6-5). North Texas (16-6, 8-2) should win the Eastern Division while Boise State (13-10, 7-4) and Idaho will battle in Boise next week for No. 2.

But finishing third in the East isn’t all that bad. If the third-place East team can pull upsets, it wouldn’t have to face No. 20 UC Santa Barbara (19-3, 11-0) of the West until the finals of the Big West tournament March 3-6 in Reno, Nev. (Assuming the Gauchos move on).

Eastern Washington (7-15, 4-8 sixth place Big Sky Conference). Ouch, the Eagles’ loss to lowly Sacramento State (3-19, 1-11) last weekend still smarts. But Eastern is hanging on to the final Big Sky tournament (March 3-6) spot, edging Idaho State (9-13, 4-10) and Northern Arizona (3-19, 3-9) in the standings.

“Last year, we didn’t even have a chance.” Eagles coach Jocelyn Pfeifer said. “This year, we control our own destiny with the last few weeks to go.”

Eastern travels to Cal State Northridge and Northern Arizona this weekend and finishes at home against possible conference champ Montana State and Montana.

Gonzaga (7-17, 3-9 seventh place West Coast Conference). Everyone goes to next weekend’s WCC tournament at Santa Clara, Calif. The Bulldogs could go as high as the sixth seed and as low as eighth (last).

Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and Pepperdine are fighting for the top seed with 9-3 records. The Waves are here Thursday. GU finishes with Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

“The frustrating thing is that we can play anybody,” GU coach Kellee Barney said. “This is a critical weekend for us.”