W.HOOPS Notebook

Fight on top

The upper tier of the Pac-10 standings still remains uncertain
as four teams are currently vying for second-place honors in
conference standing.

The volatile structure will experience major toppling around as
three of those squads will be squaring off against one another by
the end of this week. Arizona State (16-6, 7-4 Pac-10) will host
the University of Oregon (12-8, 7-4) this Thursday and Oregon State
University (11-10, 7-4) on Saturday.

USC (11-9, 7-4) will be spared the actual fight-for-second
bloodshed as they host Washington (11-8, 6-4) on Friday and the
lowly Washington State (2-18, 0-10) on Sunday.

All four teams are chasing Stanford, the No. 3 team in the
nation. The Cardinals continues to dominate its Pac-10 opponents as
they have yet to lose in its 10 conference games.

Standing atop the Pac-10, the squad boasts an overall record of
20 wins with just one loss and it is off to its best start in
school history.

Freshmen playing time

As head coach Kathy Olivier experiments with different
rotations, the incoming freshmen have been seeing increasing
playing time. Krystle Johnson has been able to come in the last
couple of games and make her mark at the center position.

In the last four games, she has averaged 4.0 points and 2.3
boards in close to 10 minutes of play. Defensively, she has been a
positive force off the bench. Using her 6-foot-4 frame and her
sheer strength, Johnson has been able to contain the Bruins’
opponents in the paint.

Brianna Winn has also come off the bench to give the Bruin
guards ““ Natalie Nakase and Jalina Bradley ““
much-needed relief. The San Diego native has been able to produce
offensively for the Bruins, averaging 4.3 points per game in the
season.

Although these numbers may not be “impressive,”
these freshmen have shown that they are willing and able to provide
some quality minutes for the Bruins in the present and, more
importantly, in the future.

Pac-10 Player-of-the-Week

Her consistent effort and production has helped her team to its
best start ever. And, now, she finally gets some personal
recognition. Lindsey Yamasaki of Stanford has just been named the
Pac-10 Player-of-the-Week for Jan. 21-27.

The Cardinals forward, who is currently leading her team in
scoring, played a major factor in both of Stanford’s decisive
victories against University of Arizona (76-62) and Arizona State
(62-48). In both wins, she averaged 24.5 points and 2.5 rebounds
while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 41.7% behind the
arc.

A pivotal member of the squad, she has helped her team gain a
three and a half game separation from the rest of the Pac-10
Conference.

The honor is Yamasaki’s second in her career.