Home court advantage not myth

Stanford hasn’t done it. Neither has Washington or
Arizona.

None of these women’s basketball teams has lost a
conference game at home this season, perhaps the biggest reason all
three are still in contention for the Pac-10 Championship.

With only two weeks left in the regular season, one element has
surfaced that goes beyond pure basketball talent: home court
advantage.

“It’s extremely hard to win on the road,” said
Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne following a loss to
UCLA on Feb. 16.

Based on the Pac-10 season thus far, Turner Thorne
couldn’t have said it better.

The top three conference teams have a combined 20-0 record at
home, but road games have proven challenging.

While conference-leader No. 9 Stanford (20-3, 12-2 Pac-10) has
not lost a conference game in Palo Alto in nearly two years, the
Cardinal have dropped a pair of road games this season to USC and
Washington.

“We have so many young teams (in the conference),”
Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Many of the top
players are freshmen or sophomores, and young players have a
special comfort for playing at home.”

Whereas all but four players on Stanford’s squad have
collegiate experience, other Pac-10 teams do not have the luxury of
such leadership. Consequently, many teams’ inexperience
haunts them on the road while home games become opportunities to
avenge earlier season losses.

Washington (19-5, 11-4) has a fairly firm hold on the
second-place spot in the Pac-10, but it knows all too well the
possibilities of losing on the road. Although the No. 23 Huskies
have not lost a game this season in Seattle, they were swept by the
Arizona schools two weeks ago in the desert.

“We were solid for a half,” said Washington senior
guard and All-American candidate Loree Payne after the Arizona
loss. “That’s not enough on the road or in this
conference.”

Considering Arizona’s one-point loss to Washington in
Seattle earlier this season, it was no surprise the Wildcats used
their home turf to seek revenge.

But Washington’s play at home has been more extraordinary
than merely solid. The Huskies exhibited a breathtaking display of
skill in their 111-77 rout of UCLA on Feb. 1, and defeated Stanford
by 24 points last Thursday.

“A lot of teams in this conference love to play at
home,” UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier said.

“You can’t take a breather … you’re a pretty
good basketball team if you can win both games on the the
road.”

In three road trips, the Bruins have swept their road opponents
only once and have managed splits twice.

As the postseason approaches, coaches and players will no doubt
look to maintain sparkling home records and improve road results.
The competitive nature of the Pac-10 demands wins everywhere and
anywhere.

“Any team can beat anybody on a given night,” Cal
head coach Caren Horstmeyer said. “Games (in this conference)
are always a battle.”

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