No. 6 Stanford Edges No. 8 Arizona State To Win Pac-10 Tournament
San Jose, CA (AHN) - Candice Wiggins culminated her strong play in the Pac-10 tournament by scoring 20 points to lead No. 6 Stanford to its fourth tourney crown in the last five years with a 62-55 win over No. 8 Arizona State Monday night.
Wiggins, the two-time Pac-10 player of the year, was 6-of-14 from the floor and made all six of her free throw attempts to lead the Cardinal to their ninth straight win and 20th straight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
"When I think about in June or July, I'll go 'wow', Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said about Wiggins' performance. "She gives whatever she can give. She leads by example. She's the most competitive person in this room by far."
Arizona State made a late rally that came up just short, thanks in part to Wiggins.
Briann January made four straight free throws to bring Arizona State to within three points at 56-53 with 1:12 left to play, but Wiggins answered with two free throws of her own, a blocked shot, and a steal in the final 30 seconds that eliminated any hope for a possible miracle finish.
Jayne Appel scored 17 points and reeled in 15 rebounds for Stanford, which improved to 28-4 for the year and will now host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.
The Sun Devils struggled with their shooting the entire game (34 percent), but coach Charli Turner Thorne thought her team's lack of rebounding was the key in the loss.
Stanford dominated the boards with a 41-25 advantage.
"We just didn't rebound well enough," Turner Thorne said. "Despite our shooting woes, to me it was about the boards. If we could have controlled the boards, we would have won the game, and we didn't. We need to use this game to regroup, get a little bit of rest, and get ready for the NCAA's."
See
more at www.allheadlinenews.com
