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STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -Tara VanDerveer compared Candice Wiggins to the most competitive players she has ever coached, including a pair of Olympians who won gold in 1996: Teresa Edwards and Dawn Staley.
The way Wiggins performed in the Pac-10 tournament, everybody was left echoing VanDerveer's sentiments about the gutsy Stanford star. Her contributions on a sore left hamstring helped the sixth-ranked Cardinal lock up their 20th straight NCAA tournament berth.
"She's the most competitive person in this room by far," VanDerveer said after her team's 62-55 victory over No. 8 Arizona State in the tournament final Monday night. "Coaching her, the only other people I think are in her league are people I've coached on the Olympic team who'll knock you down for just a nickel. They battled, Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley. Those were some real fights. But Candice is a competitor."
Wiggins returned after missing the final two Pac-10 games with a hamstring injury and scored 65 points and shot 14-for-25 on 3-pointers in Stanford's three wins in the Pac-10 tournament - including a career-best and tournament-record eight 3s in a semifinal win against Southern California.
She's the biggest reason the Cardinal secured an automatic bid to the NCAAs.
"I think I'm just feeling it," said Wiggins, a two-time Pac-10 player of the year. "I think I could have done better. I'm a little disappointed. But I'm happy to be playing."
And her teammates are thrilled to have her on the court. Wiggins brings a contagious energy with every possession.
Last season, Stanford lost to UCLA in the tournament final and had to wait until selection day to receive its NCAA bid, a surprising No. 3 seed. The Cardinal talked all last week about carrying the success of their school-record seventh straight regular-season Pac-10 crown into the conference tournament.
"We really did want to finish this on a good note and provide us with momentum," Wiggins said.
Momentum the Cardinal hope has them ready for a deep NCAA run. They host the first and second rounds at Maples Pavilion on March 17 and 19.
Stanford has come up just short of reaching the Final Four in each of the past three years, but has been focused since before this season began on traveling to Cleveland for championship weekend.
It's been since the 1996-97 team that Stanford has reached the Final Four. After that run, there were back-to-back first-round losses, followed by consecutive second-round defeats.
This Stanford team (28-4) believes it has the talent to reach the Final Four again despite two key guards sidelined with season-ending knee injuries. Any team with Wiggins can't help but be optimistic.
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