The women’s basketball team hits the road for a two-game trip to Washington this weekend. The No. 10 Cardinal will meet Washington tonight at 7 p.m. at the Bank of America Arena in Seattle. On Saturday, the team will then head to Pullman to face Washington State.

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Alvin Chow

Senior center Brooke Smith is averaging 13.9 points per game heading into tonight’s match with the Huskies. After Seattle, the Cardinal travel to Pullman to face the Cougars of Washington State.

The Huskies (12-5, 5-1 Pacific-10 Conference), currently second in the Pac-10, are looking to strip the Cardinal of the conference lead. A win for Washington would also help to redeem the Huskies’ 88-83 loss to Arizona State on Jan. 7. Freshman forward Michelle Harrison believes that this, compounded with Stanford’s 10 consecutive wins, gives the Cardinal the advantage heading into the matchup.

“I think that the momentum that we have right now from our winning streak is really pushing us and giving us the rhythm that we need to go on the road and play well,” Harrison said.

Furthermore, Stanford (12-3, 5-0 Pac-10) has experience playing in an unfriendly arena. Early losses to No. 4 Tennessee and then-No. 8 Georgia exposed the Cardinal to difficult road trips, and helped to prepare them for similar conference situations.

“I think [playing at Tennessee and Georgia] was a really good learning experience, given it was our first road trip,” Harrison said. “I definitely think we did the best thing, which was to take the positive out of it.”

However, with two ‘L’s in the record book from November, the meeting with the Huskies will be a good measure as to whether it stands for “learning”or just “loss.” Washington will challenge the Cardinal especially in the backcourt. Senior guard Cameo Hicks and junior guard Emily Florence, who lead the Huskies in scoring and assists, respectively, rank in the conference’s top 10 for steals and will test the composure of Candice Wiggins and her fellow guards.

Hicks will also draw out the defense with her long-range jumper, as she is 22 of 51 from behind the arc, good enough for sixth in the conference in three-point field goal percentage. But Stanford should be able to respond, as Wiggins is fourth on the same list and leads the Pac-10 in made three-pointers. Similarly, the Cardinal should have the answer down low in Brooke Smith, Kristen Newlin and company as they meet the less-acclaimed Jill Bell and Andrea Plouffe.

Stanford’s depth will also benefit the team, as they may again encounter the fatigue that left them lackluster against the University of South Carolina on Jan. 8. Harrison, however, was unfazed by the quick turnaround and said Washington’s fan base would be the biggest challenge.

“I think the biggest obstacle will be playing at their facility,” Harrison said. “You know, they’re playing at home, they have the crowd behind them, and they’re really comfortable there. I think that’s something we have to work against, but we just have to play our game and block out the crowd and everyone cheering against us.”

Harrison said she has no doubt that the Cardinal is ready to extend its winning streak to 11.

“I mean, we’re ready,” Harrison said. “We’ve been practicing well and playing well. The coaches have been preparing us [to defend and] stop shooters. As long as we just play how Stanford plays, we’ll be fine.”

Indeed, the coaches have emphasized more than just play. Head coach Tara VanDerveer also gave the girls words of wisdom for the mental aspects of the game.

“She told us just to have fun, relax and work hard,” Harrison said. “If we work harder than they do, the outcome will be in our favor.”

To extend its reign over the Pac-10, Stanford must prove that this hard work and learning will, in fact, be enough