The complexion of Pac-10 women's basketball was shaken up last week when UCLA sophomore guard Noelle Quinn suffered a knee injury that will sideline her for at least a month.
Before the Bruins lost Quinn, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, they stood atop the Pac-10 standings. They then dropped back-to-back games to UA and No. 4 Stanford but rebounded Saturday with an
85-70 victory against California.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer told the San Francisco Chronicle that Quinn's absence was felt Thursday in her team's 25-point win over UCLA.
"UCLA is not the same team without Noelle Quinn," VanDerveer said. "But they still trap you and disrupt you with what they do."
While UCLA is hindered without Quinn, it still possesses two of the Pac-10's leading scorers in junior guards Lisa Willis (15.2 points per game) and Nikki Blue (13.2). Willis told the Los Angeles Times that her teammates are focusing on just one possession at a time.
"Noelle is a big part of this team, and without her it's going to be hard," Willis said.
Blue and Willis stepped up against Stanford. Blue scored a season-high 26 points, and Willis posted 25, but their efforts were not enough to stop Stanford. The Bruins fell into a three-way tie for third place in the Pac-10.
UCLA coach Kathy Oliver told the Chronicle that other players will have opportunities to compensate for Quinn.
"Our bench is going to have to perform a little more than they have been," she said. "They are going to get some more opportunities, and they are going to have to take advantage."
Big log jam
Buoyed by a 94-58 win over USC, Stanford has assumed the top spot in the Pac-10.
"That's a well-meshed machine over there," USC coach Mark Trakh told the Times.
Led by freshman guard Brynn Cameron, USC (13-5, 7-2) sits alone in second place in the Pac-10. Even Trakh admitted that Stanford is in a class of its own.
"They'd be very good at home, away, on the blacktop outside," Trakh told the Times. "We've played Notre Dame and DePaul, but [Stanford is] the best team we've played all year. It's not even close."
ASU and UA are in a three-way tie for third place with UCLA, which owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over USC.
UA coach Joan Bonvicini remains optimistic despite her team's inconsistencies.
"We have two really difficult games ahead of us," Bonvicini told reporters after Saturday's 86-65 win over Oregon State. "Now we have the opportunity to get Arizona State again. We control our own destiny. We have five conference games at home, and we have to get those."
ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said her team is ready for the second half of the Pac-10 season.
"We've continued to try to develop our offense," Turner Thorne said Saturday after her team beat Oregon. "I think there was good toughness shown in that game, and we're going to need it. We've got three coming up on the road and a lot of season left, so that was good to see."
Reach the reporter at mark.saxon@asu.edu.
