If you've caught a NCAA women's basketball game on television lately, two things might have struck you in a positive way. One, the games are really entertaining and two, the crowds are starting to mirror men's games. And we're not just talking about for the standard Connecticut or Tennessee matchup, although those crowds remain impressive.

But Duke's rivalry matchup with North Carolina reminded me of the men's Cameron Crazies in their heyday. That outcome was actually a blowout in Duke's favor, but No. 20 Louisville hung with No. 3 Connecticut before more than 16,000 fans on Tuesday.

No. 1 Baylor announced a second sell out of the season, expecting more than 10,000 at Ferrell Center for Saturday's game against No. 15 Texas A&M while it just played before 12,000 in defeating Kansas State on the road last weekend.

No. 19 Gonzaga has sold out nearly all of its games this season at McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000), getting a record 4,000-plus to be season-ticket holders this year. South of Spokane in Pullman, Washington State had a solid crowd of more than 2,000 when Louisville visited, drawing a lot from the Native American community because of the Cardinals' Schimmel sisters.

But overall in the Pac-12, attendance has been anemic in comparison to the other regions of the nation. The teams are averaging a combined 1,795 fans thus far. That's down from 2,291 last year. WSU is on pace to double its draw, however, averaging 1,244 in nine home games this year compared to 607 in 12 home matchups last year.

For Washington, the Huskies have dipped a little, drawing 1,913 in coach Kevin McGuff's first season (after nine games) compared to 2,411 under Tia Jackson last year. (But that figure isn't true to who actually showed or paid, according to multiple sources.)

Former Washington G Kayla Burt will join The Times readers for a live chat Wednesday afternoon. Burt, 28, has bounced around careers since leaving UW, going from coaching to becoming a certified EMT. She's currently the outreach coordinator at The Hope Heart Institute, a program that has meaning to Burt because of past experiences.

In December 2002, she collapsed at her house while hanging out with teammates on New Year's Eve. Two teammates immediately began CPR and paramedics soon arrived to shock Burt's heart back into normal sinus rhythm.

She was in a coma for 15 hours and spent several days recovering at UW Medical Center. Six days after collapsing, she had an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) placed in her chest to shock her heart back to a normal rhythm should another arrhythmia ever occur again.

Burt subsequently had to end her basketball career.

In 2007, she was by former UW coach June Daugherty's side as she suffered cardiac arrest. The two remain close and do a lot of work in the community to raise heart awareness.

After graduating from UW in 2006, Burt spent time as an assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Portland. She later worked as an EMT in south King County and as a medical/surgical technician in the ER at Valley Medical Center.

February is Heart Health Awareness Month and on Thursday the UW women will host a Heart Health Awareness Night at Hec Ed. The Huskies (12-9, 4-7 Pac-12) play Oregon (13-10, 5-6).

Click below to join the chat on Wednesday.

The Storm remains under a 10-year lease signed in 2009 to play home games at KeyArena, so talks of investors buying land in hopes to build arenas doesn't directly impact the WNBA team. Unless a deal is made to also make the Storm a tenant in a new building, the team is linked to the city's facility at Seattle Center.

But bringing the NBA back would alter the sports landscape in Seattle, making the city one of the major players among professional sports. The Storm and Sounders FC being the only ones to have won a championship, of course.

In today's poll, we're asking if the recent movement toward building an arena has created any excitement. There were plenty of Sonics fans in Portland on Monday to express their want for the NBA to return to Seattle, what about you?

Brian Agler, the Storm's coach and general manager, cashed in on the salary cap space cleared with a big trade in January to announce the signing of Belgium star C Ann Wauters on Monday. Wauters, 31, was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2000 but didn't play in the WNBA the past two years in order to start a family.

Wauters currently plays in Spain with Storm C Lauren Jackson - a convenient pairing since one reason Agler had the organization spend big on international recruiting was to find a replacement for Jackson during the 2012 London Olympics. A native of Australia, Jackson will miss training camp and the first half of the WNBA season in order to prepare and participate in the Games. She signed a contract to return in August, or as quickly as possible should the Aussies win gold.

That left the Storm with a gap in the middle, not to mention holes on the wing and bench after trading veteran forwards Swin Cash and Le'coe Willingham to Chicago in exchange for the No. 2 overall draft pick. At 6-foot-4, Wauters is a noted scorer and solid defender. Her best WNBA season was in 2008, averaging 14.7 points and 7.5 rebounds for San Antonio as it reached the WNBA Finals.

Wauters opted in 2010 not to return to the WNBA after helping the Silver Stars reach the postseason, again, in 2009. She told fans it was to spend time with family at home. A Belgium paper later reported she was pregnant along with her partner Lot Wielfaert, who also played hoops but had to retire due to knee injuries. Wauters gave birth to a son.

"I have decided not to return to the WNBA this summer but believe me when I say that this was not an easy decision," Wauters said in a statement released by the team. "I have always loved being in San Antonio with my amazing teammates, great coaching staff and the best fans in the League in a exciting city. So why not return? I have been playing professional basketball for 12 years now and I feel like I haven't taken the time to enjoy life with my family. So it's time for me to take a break and spend a summer in Belgium."

Wauters currently leads Ros Casares Valencia in scoring (14.9) and rebounds (8). They won the Group A regular-season title last week and are preparing for EuroLeague playoffs.

Agler and Karen Bryant, the team's president and CEO, were in Europe to sign Wauters and Tanisha Wright in Israel last week. The Cash-Willingham trade created about $200,000 in cap room. With max salaries at $105,000, there's still room for Seattle to make another big deal, most likely signing Wauters to a multiyear max contract.

Wauters previously stated she only wanted to return to the WNBA if she had a chance to win a WNBA championship.

The Wauters signing also gives the Storm some options in the April draft with the second-overall selection. Although NCAA-leading scorer Elena Delle Donne (who plays like Jackson with handles like PG Sue Bird) will not enter the WNBA draft, the Storm could draft a quality perimeter player for the future -- another goal of Agler's during the busy offseason.

Seattle also needs to re-sign Bird, which is basically a formality.

"I've always loved Seattle as a city," Wauters said in a released statement. "To be able to play on such an incredible team in front of such loyal fans is a real privilege."

*PHOTO CREDIT: C Ann Wauters smiles, provided by Ciudad Ros Casares.

Washington sophomore F Marjorie Heard underwent successful surgery in Seattle on Friday. She's expected to be fully rehabilitated for the 2012-13 basketball season.

Heard, a 6-foot former Glacier Peak High star, appeared in 12 games for the Huskies. After a rocky start, falling out of the rotation in late November-early December, she had solid games in losses against Oregon and Utah.

Against the Ducks, Heard had five points and nine rebounds. In the overtime loss to the Utes, she had two key blocks at the end of regulation along with five points and three rebounds.

But Heard injured her left knee at practice on Jan. 9 following the game. Doctors wanted to wait until swelling subsided and Heard regained some strength in the area before undergoing the procedure. She's the second UW player to undergo major surgery this season, joining G Kristi Kingma.

Freshmen teammates Talia Walton, Deborah Meeks and Beatrice Carta are also out this season due to knee injuries. Carta recently had another procedure on her knee, wearing a brace. The others aren't wearing protective gear.

Washington (11-9, 3-7 Pac-12) is currently in Los Angeles for a two-game trip against UCLA (11-10, 6-4) and Southern California (12-9, 6-4). The Huskies lost to the Bruins on Thursday and play the Women of Troy on national television Sunday at 1 p.m.

No. 4 Stanford won its 67th consecutive Pac-12 game, defeating Arizona State 62-49 at Wells Fargo Arena. The Ogwumike sisters combined for 42 points and 32 rebounds for the Cardinal (19-1, 10-0).

"It's real simple, are we willing to work ourselves back into a position to play that team again?" ASU interim coach Joseph Anders told The Arizona Republic.

That can only happen in Pac-12 Tournament. ASU does not play at Stanford in the regular season.

In Los Angeles, a hot-shooting Washington couldn't continue in overtime, losing to UCLA 79-73. PG Jazmine Davis led with 23 points and C Regina Rogers had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

It's the Huskies' fifth loss by six points or fewer this season.

In Spokane, F Kayla Standish scored 18 points to help No. 20 Gonzaga beat Portland 77-56 Thursday night. The Bulldogs (20-3, 9-1) reached 20 wins for the sixth straight season,

The game of the night, though, was South Carolina defeating No. 8 Tennessee 64-60 in Knoxville. It ended the Vols' 28-game home win streak.The last time South Carolina beat Tennessee was on Jan. 23, 1980, a 56-52 USC win at home.

*PHOTO CREDIT: Stanford F Nnemkadi Ogwumike gets defensive by Deirdre Hamill of The Arizona Republic.

No. 4 Stanford will test it's 66-game Pac-12 win streak at Arizona State on Thursday. The game will be aired on ROOT Sports at 6 p.m. (PST). The Cardinal was challenged by Cal, needing overtime to win at Maples Pavilion on Saturday.

ASU is the conference's best defensive team and is ridding a five-game win streak. Because the Sun Devils are deep and have more seasoned play on the perimeter than the Cardinal, this should be a good matchup.

But there's still the Ogwumike sisters to deal with.

"We've got to be really locked in and make them earn every step, every bounce, every catch," ASU interim coach Joseph Anders told the Arizona Republic. "Nothing can be easy. You've got to first take away transition then you've got to be ready for a series on on-ball screens.

"We're not trying to change our defensive philosophy because it's Stanford. We're trying to be better at what we do defensively then put our hard work against their hard work and see who's the best."

The Pac-12 is beginning its second half of conference play, teams hoping to separate themselves and move to the top. The top four teams receive a bye in the March tournament at Southern California's Galen Center. The semifinal and championship round will be played at Staples Center.

Another team on the rise is Oregon State. The Beavers are tied for sixth along with Washington State and Colorado.

Washington plays at UCLA on Thursday. UW senior C Regina Rogers transferred from the school in 2008 and is making her last trip back. It's also the final trip home for Huskies senior F Mollie Williams, who's from Cerritos, Calif.

The Cougs are at USC on Thursday. WSU has lost five of its past six games.

For other games on television this weekend, and there's a slew of them, please click here.

It's National Girls and Women in Sports Day -- a time when asked to celebrate women in athletics and how they've influenced you. But what makes the celebration remarkable this go-round is it's also the 40th year of the Title IX legislation.

I would have thought after 40 years that more opportunities would have been provided to women in sports. It's good to catch a women's basketball game on television nearly six times a week, but reading that high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than boys is discouraging.

Personally, I'm not big on celebrations. Meaning and intentions tend to get lost in annual build up. But I would like to celebrate women like Billie Jean King, Laurel Richie and Tara VanDerveer for the work they've done on creating awareness and change in women's sports. A nod also goes to the Pac-12 women's basketball players over the years who've continued to create change and influence youths, like Kate Starbird, Adia Barnes, and Giuliana Mendiola.

Yet, the best way to honor the work done before me is to continue covering the sport. Let's get to it with this week's rankings. Lots of movement, but not enough to declare the finish. Here's the complete Pac-12 schedule for the week.

Ranking (Last Week) Team (Record): Comment

1. (1) Stanford (18-1, 9-0): Plays Game of the Week at ASU, 6 p.m. (PST) on ROOT.

2. (2) California (15-6, 6-3): If were soccer, would get points for taking Cardinal to OT.

3. (5) ASU (15-5, 6-3): Deja Mann my kind of PG. Doesn't score a lot, hurts when does.

4. (3) USC (11-9, 5-4): F Briana Gilbreath day-to-day with knee injury, but no tear.

5. (4) Colorado (14-4, 3-4): G Chucky Jeffery couldn't nail third-straight winning shot.

6. (7) OSU (13-7, 4-5): Overall record above .500 for first time since 2008-09 season.

7. (9) UCLA (10-10, 5-4): G Markel Walker in double figure rebounding past 7 games.

8. (6) WSU (10-11, 4-5): Needs to sweep the LA schools to remain in Pac-12 race.

9. (10) Oregon (11-10, 3-6): G Amanda Johnson back, out 11 games with thumb injury.

10. (12) Utah (10-10, 3-6): Homecoming as 3 coaches and 3 players have Oregon ties.

11. (11) Washington (11-8, 3-6): Plays at USC on ROOT Sport at 1 p.m. Sunday.

12. (8) Arizona (13-8, 2-7): Coach Niya Butts questioning team's mental toughness.

The Players of the Week:
Pac-12: Stanford sophomore F Chiney Ogwumike.
WCC: BYU senior C Kristen Riley.
Big Sky: Eastern Washington senior PG Chene Cooper.
WAC: Fresno State sophomore PG Ki-Ki Moore.

My Golden Apple: The achievements are minor to a Stanford or even Washington, but EWU's sweep of the Montana schools was historic in being a first. At the center was 5-foot PG Chene Cooper, who averaged 15.5 points on 47 percent shooting from the field. She also averaged 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds. Cooper (Lakes High) scored her 1,000th-career point against Montana State.

Play it Back: USC squeaked a nonconference game into the schedule, defeating UC Santa Barbara 50-39 on Tuesday. Freshman F Alexyz Vaioletama had a career-high 15 rebounds in the win. USC hosts Washington on Super Bowl Sunday, which school be a fun battle in the paint to watch. The Trojans also say they're feeling better after the three-game losing streak. Coach Michael Cooper said in a teleconference call on Tuesday that the team was previously playing for Jacki Gemelos, who suffered a fifth knee injury, and now needs to find another reason to play. Here's Vaioletama and Cassie Harberts talking about the team.