Pac-10 women's hoops title on the line when No. 8 Cal hosts No. 7 Stanford

2/22/2008 12:05 PM

By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - For Stanford, the Pac-10 title has been on the line every game since it was swept in Los Angeles the first weekend in January.

The way California was playing, the Cardinal knew that any more slip-ups could doom whatever chance they had at winning their eighth straight regular season conference title.

The difference Saturday when seventh-ranked Stanford (24-3, 13-2) visits No. 8 California (23-3, 14-1) is the Cardinal can take control of the race instead of just staying alive.

``We dug ourselves a hole, but we're really working hard to dig ourselves out,'' Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. ``Each game for us is for the Pac-10 championship because if we lose one we'll be out of it because we don't have any cushion. I think quite honestly it's helped us focus and it will help us for the NCAA tournament because that's how that is.''

Stanford hasn't lost since dropping back-to-back contests at UCLA and Southern California, winning 12 straight games, including a 72-52 home win over the Golden Bears last month.

Other than that loss at Maples Pavilion, Cal has done what it needed to stay ahead of the Cardinal in the conference race and move into position to win its first Pac-10 title.

Even though the Bears are in first place and at home, they are embracing the role of the upstart looking to end Stanford's dominance in the conference.

``I like the underdog role,'' coach Joanne Boyle said. ``Yep, definitely. We didn't perform over there. It doesn't matter that we're one game ahead. It's just head-to-head competition and we didn't perform over there. We feel like we're a better team now.''

If the Bears win on Saturday, they will clinch at least a tie for first place and will be assured of the top seed in next month's conference tournament in San Jose based on the Pac-10's tiebreaking rules.

If the Cardinal win, the teams will be tied heading into a final road trip to Washington and Washington State, although Stanford will hold the tiebreaker based on sweeping the season series.

Those high stakes led Washington State coach June Daugherty to call this perhaps the biggest game in conference history.

VanDerveer, who has coached countless big games during a 30-year career that includes two national titles and an Olympic gold medal, disagrees with that sentiment because the teams could have to play again in two weeks for the conference tournament title.

``It's going to be a big game but it doesn't feel like it used to to me, honestly,'' VanDerveer said. ``We're excited about playing again and we're excited we're both ranked teams. But it seems because of the Pac-10 tournament there's a lot more still coming up.''

The Pac-10 joined just about every other conference in the country by instituting a postseason tournament in 2001-02. That turned the regular-season race into a fight for seeding in the conference tournament.

Stanford has made it to the championship game each year, losing twice. The Cardinal have also failed to make it to the Final Four for 10 straight years, making Saturday's game just one of many goals they have in the closing weeks of the season.

``Obviously the regular season is very important to us, every part of the season is important to us,'' Stanford star guard Candice Wiggins said. ``But obviously the tournament will be what we remember because it's the last thing.''

It's clear the Golden Bears are placing much more importance on this game because a conference title would serve as validation for the progress made the past three years under Boyle.

``It would mean a lot for our program to say Cal does deserve a spot in the spotlight,'' senior forward Krista Foster said. ``We've worked hard, we've recommitted ourselves to our goals, and we want this. We want this Pac-10 title, and we are going to fight for it.''

This game gives Cal a chance to prove it belongs on the national stage with a power like Stanford. Last month at Maples Pavilion, the Bears looked overmatched in a 72-52 loss.

Wiggins scored 28 points in the first meeting and Stanford held Cal's powerful post duo of Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker to 13 combined points on 5-for-19 shooting.