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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 17, 2008

Wiggins spurs No. 6 Stanford

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

ASU's Jill Noe, center, drives to the basket past Stanford's Jeanette Pohlen, left, Candice Wiggins, top, and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ | Associated Press

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STANFORD, Calif. — Candice Wiggins walked to center court with her family, embraced coach Tara VanDerveer and smiled during a loud ovation and a video tribute highlighting her brilliant career.

Wiggins isn't ready for any retrospectives just yet, knowing there's so much more she wants to accomplish in the next few weeks — the Pac-10 scoring record, another conference title and a trip to her first Final Four.

Wiggins moved closer to all those goals in her final regular season game at Maples Pavilion, scoring 23 points to move into second place on the Pac-10 career scoring list and lead No. 6 Stanford to a 79-57 victory over Arizona State yesterday.

"It's an emotional game because it's the last regular season game. That's it for me," Wiggins said. "But like Tara said, we still have plenty more games to go, so I'm not concerned about that."

The 12th straight win for the Cardinal (24-3, 13-2) sets up next weekend's showdown for first place at Haas Pavilion against rival California. The Cardinal, who have won seven straight Pac-10 regular season titles, trail the Golden Bears by one game with three games remaining. But by beating Cal at home last month, Stanford could be in control of the race with a win next Saturday.

Wiggins received a prolonged ovation during pregame introductions and was also honored along with fellow senior Cissy Pierce in a postgame ceremony. This most assuredly won't be Wiggins' last game at Maples because Stanford will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament next month.

By then, Wiggins will likely be the top scorer in Pac-10 history. Her free throw 1:44 into the second half moved her past Oregon State's Tonja Kostic (2,349 points) into second place on the conference's career scoring list. Wiggins finished the game with 2,365 career points, 50 away from breaking Lisa Leslie's record of 2,414.

"What can I say about Candice," VanDerveer said. "Every game she comes out and puts our team on her back and does whatever our team needs her to do, whether it's play the 1, play defense, rebound. She's just a fabulous player and just a pleasure to coach every day."

Wiggins added a 3-pointer during a 12-0 run that broke open a four-point game early in the second half. The Cardinal held Arizona State scoreless for more than 6 minutes during the spurt and led by double-digits the rest of the way.

"I just know that I am giving her the best graduation present of anybody. I'm so happy she's graduating," ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "She's just a tremendous player. She's certainly one of the all-time greats not just in the Pac-10 but ever to play college basketball."

Wiggins had plenty of help this game. Rosalyn Gold-Onwude set career-highs with 17 points and five 3-pointers, and Jayne Appel added 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. JJ Hones scored 11 points, making three of Stanford's 11 3-pointers in VanDerveer's 900th game as a college coach.

NO. 5 RUTGERS 71, SOUTH FLORIDA 50

TAMPA, Fla. — Matee Ajavon scored 14 points, and Epiphanny Prince and Myia McCurdy added 10 apiece as the Scarlet Knights (20-4, 10-1 Big East) never trailed, shooting a season-best 61.9 percent from the field in rolling past the Bulls (12-12, 2-9).

Scarlet Knights reserves outscored the Bulls' bench 31-3, with McCurdy making four of five shots and Brittany Ray contributing eight points in her second game following surgery to repair a meniscus tear in her right knee.

NO. 9 CALIFORNIA 66, ARIZONA 45

BERKELEY, Calif. — Ashley Walker scored 24 points, including 12 during a 21-6 run over the final 7:30 of the first half, as the Bears (23-3, 14-1 Pac-10) rallied for a 32-30 halftime lead in beating the Wildcats (9-16, 3-11) for their sixth straight victory.

The victory completed a series sweep over both Arizona and Arizona State, a first for the Cal program.

DEPAUL 81, NO. 11 WEST VIRGINIA 80

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Deirdre Naughton had 24 points and 15 rebounds and the Blue Demons (17-7, 6-5 Big East), who hit a season-high 14 3-pointers, made six free throws in the final minute to upset the Mountaineers (20-4, 9-2), who got a 3-pointer from Ashley Powell at the buzzer.

ST. BONAVENTURE 63, NO. 14 G. WASHINGTON 60

OLEAN, N.Y. — Dana Mitchell and Katelyn Murray scored 14 points each, and Cara Gustafson made a free throw to break a 60-all tie, then hit a pullup jumper in the paint as the host Bonnies (17-9, 5-6, Atlantic-10) stunned the Colonials (20-4, 8-2) for their first victory ever over a ranked opponent.

NO. 16 NOTRE DAME 79, NO. 21 SYRACUSE 67

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Charel Allen had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Erica Williamson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and the Lady Irish (20-5, 8-3 Big East) pulled away from the Orange (19-5, 7-4) in the final 3 minutes en route to their fifth straight victory.

NO. 19 UTAH 63, SAN DIEGO STATE 51

SAN DIEGO — Kalee Whipple had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Utes (21-3, 10-0 Mountain West) used a 15-2 run over the first 9 1/2 minutes of the second half for a 41-30 lead they never lost in beating the Aztecs (13-10, 4-7). Utah has won 16 in a row, tying idle Chattanooga for the nation's longest active winning streak.

NO. 22 WYOMING 60, AIR FORCE 32

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Justyna Podziemska scored 13 points, Hanna Zavecz added nine points and 14 rebounds, and Cowgirls (20-4, 8-3 Mountain West Conference) outscored the Falcons (8-15, 2-9) 25-4 over a 14-minute stretch in the second half to put the game out of reach.

NO. 24 UTEP 65, RICE 53

EL PASO, Texas — Natasha Lacy scored 23 points, Jareica Hughes added 20 and the Miners (21-2, 12-0 Conference USA) held a 34-18 edge on points in the paint and a 26-7 edge in points off turnovers to win their 17th straight game by turning back the Owls (10-16, 3-9).