Stanford Already Planning Ahead

Stanford has shown it can beat anyone except Tennessee. And the Cardinal would have ended its losing streak against the second-ranked Lady Vols, which now stands at five, if it had held onto a five-point lead late in the second half.

So as Pacific 10 Conference play opens this week, the question is: Who else can beat Stanford?

At 9-1, the sixth-ranked Cardinal, which shared last year’s conference title with Washington and Arizona State, has already accomplished one goal with its best start in five seasons. Coach Tara VanDerveer figured that early losses last season to St. Mary’s, Tennessee, Purdue and Oklahoma ultimately led to being a 10th seed in the NCAA tournament, where Stanford lost a second-round rematch with Oklahoma.

This time around, the Cardinal has nonconference victories over UC Santa Barbara, Penn State, Indiana and Hawaii, among others, as it tries to win the conference title outright.

“If anything [the loss to Tennessee] will have them more fired up going into conference,” said Arizona State Coach Charli Turner Thorne. “If they had squeaked that game out, then maybe they would be a little overconfident.”

Added Washington Coach June Daugherty, “Not only are they playing well, but they have an incredible quality of depth. They can go to big or small or quick lineups. They can constantly change up the tempo, and Tara’s confident to use a lot of players. There is no doubt they are very deep and dangerous.”

Cardinal forward Nicole Powell is making an early case for being the Pac-10’s best all-around player. The 6-foot-2 sophomore forward was averaging 16.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and five assists entering Wednesday’s conference-opening 81-57 victory over Arizona. And Powell isn’t even Stanford’s leading scorer. That would be Lindsey Yamasaki, averaging 18.9 in what’s shaping up as a great senior season.

“Last year Powell and Yamasaki looked like they had played together a long time and it was their first year,” Thorne said. “This year it’s like [Michael] Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen.”

VanDerveer said she has tried to develop her team with the conference tournament in mind.

“In some ways the tournament is what you have to point toward. So it’s about depth and staying healthy,” Van Derveer said.

“When you have 14 players it’s hard to keep everyone happy. I have to give as many minutes as we can and do things we haven’t done before, because you can’t go into the tournament with nine people on the team mad at you. Role players determine how you do.”

But the tournament is more than two months away. So who are the regular-season challengers?

At 9-2, Arizona State is riding a seven-game winning streak and off to its best start since the 1991-92 season. Senior guard Amanda Levens, averaging 19.8 points, has been voted conference player of the week the last two weeks.

However, Stanford will be the Sun Devils’ first ranked opponent.

Washington, at 5-4, has started slowly after graduating six seniors. But the Huskies, with four players averaging in double figures, look like a team that will peak in the second half and be a bigger threat by the conference tournament.

USC, Oregon and Oregon State are also lurking around the perimeter, each trying to put together a string of good games.

Only UCLA and Washington State look overmatched. But, thanks to the first women’s Pac-10 tournament in March, even the Bruins and Cougars can hope to catch lightning in a bottle.

That’s one reason Daugherty resists the urge to just hand over the penthouse keys to Stanford.

“I believe the conference race is wide open,” she said. “The tournament is in the back of everybody’s mind. Whether you’re in first or last with two weeks to go, the tournament cleans off everybody’s slate.”

The Big East, Southeastern Conference, and Big Ten will draw their share of attention by the time the NCAA tournament rolls around, but the deepest conference may be the Big 12.

As of Monday, three teams--Baylor, Oklahoma and Iowa State--were undefeated, and seven of the 12 teams had two losses or fewer. Six teams are listed in the top 25.