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Pac-12 Weekly Roundup: Stanford remains undefeated against Washington State

STOCKTON, CA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Tara VanDerveer of the Stanford Cardinal is congratulated by her team after she sets the record for the most victories in Division I women's basketball, with 1,099 during a game between Stanford and Pacific at Alex G. Spanos Center on December 15, 2020 in Stockton, California.(Photo by John Todd/ISI Photos/Getty Images).
STOCKTON, CA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Tara VanDerveer of the Stanford Cardinal is congratulated by her team after she sets the record for the most victories in Division I women's basketball, with 1,099 during a game between Stanford and Pacific at Alex G. Spanos Center on December 15, 2020 in Stockton, California.(Photo by John Todd/ISI Photos/Getty Images).

Stanford dominated in Wednesday night’s matchup and is now 68-0 all-time against the Cougs

In a crushing 71-49 victory over Washington State, Stanford had multiple players put up double-figures in points. Lexie Hull scored 17, Cameron Brink scored 12 and Kiana Williams scored 17. Brink also got her first double-double of the season by tacking 14 rebounds as well as five assists and five blocks onto her stat line.

Prior to the loss, WSU’s Charlisse Leger-Walker was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday. It’s her fifth honor of the season and she’s now the seventh player in league history to earn it five or more times since the award started during the 2012-13 season. She entered this game leading the Pac-12 in scoring with 20.3 points per game, but was kept at bay through the first half and finished with less than ten points for the first time this season.

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Stanford Takes Round One Against WSU

Despite constant travel and adjusting to the new pandemic-impacted norm, the Cardinal has found a way to dominate on the court this season. The 71-49 victory Wednesday is their second straight win of 20-plus points. Things are starting to look up for Stanford, which is currently sitting at the top of the Pac-12, but there’s no doubt this team has had to overcome an extraordinary amount of obstacles this year.

“Our team is ecstatic. We have been living in a hotel since basically November,” said head coach Tara VanDerveer. “The wear and tear on people, the being in hotels and being on buses, practicing in high school gyms … No other team except for maybe our men’s team has been dealing with what we are dealing with … We want to play well this weekend so we can be back in our gym and enjoy it.”

Stanford will face Washington State again Friday before heading back to California.

Now technically, Stanford hasn’t played a true home game since Nov. 25 due to COVID-19 protocols in Santa Clara County. Following the lifting of California’s Regional Stay at Home Order, though, the Cardinal will finally be able to start training and playing at home again. The team is scheduled to return to Maples Pavilion after this week’s games in Washington and will host Colorado on Feb. 5

Aari McDonald Joins 2,000-point Club

Arizona’s Aari McDonald had herself a game to remember in her team’s 66-54 win over Utah on Saturday. She put up 20 points and, in doing so, notched her 2,000th career point. McDonald has scored in double figures in 79 straight games now, the longest active stream in NCAA Division I.

TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 31: Arizona Wildcats guard Aarion McDonald (2) laughs with her teammates after missing a shot during a college women’s basketball game between the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats on January 31, 2020, at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 31: Arizona Wildcats guard Aarion McDonald (2) laughs with her teammates after missing a shot during a college women’s basketball game between the UCLA Bruins and the Arizona Wildcats on January 31, 2020, at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

She’s also on the 15-player watchlist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. McDonald won the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last season and certainly hasn’t backed down in 2020-21. So far, she’s taken 33 steals in 13 games and is averaging 4.5 defensive rebounds per game. McDonald is impossible to ignore when considering who will earn Pac-12 Player of the Year honors this season and she’s also expected to be a high pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft.

Conference of Champions Ever-Present in Rankings

As we saw last week, four Pac-12 teams are ranked in the latest AP top 25 poll. But wait, there’s more: three of them are in the top ten, which is the most of any other conference. UCLA is slotted at No. 5, followed by No. 6 Stanford, No. 10 Arizona and No. 11 Oregon.

The Conference of Champions is also all up in the latest NET Rankings with nine teams inside the top 80 and three in the top ten. Stanford earned the No. 2 spot, followed by No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 UCLA, No. 15 Arizona, No. 31 Washington State, No. 59 Colorado, No. 63 Oregon State, No. 65 USC and No. 77 Arizona State.

Pac-12 Matchups: What to Watch This Weekend

As the clock ticks closer and closer to the NCAA Division I Championship, each game matters more than ever. Don’t miss out on the action! All times listed are PST.

Friday, Jan. 29

  • No. 6 Stanford at Washington State,12 p.m. (live stream)
  • No. 11 Oregon at Utah, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
  • Oregon State at Colorado, 5 p.m. (live stream)

Sunday, Jan. 31

  • No. 11 Oregon at Colorado, 11 a.m. (Pac-12 Network)
  • Oregon State at Utah, 11 a.m. (live stream)
  • No. 6 Stanford at Washington, 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)

Due to COVID-19 protocols, Arizona has had to postpone its games against UCLA and USC, which were scheduled for Friday and Sunday respectively. The games are put off indefinitely, but the organizations will work together to reschedule.

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