No. 13 Washington Defeats California

Washington Coach Lorenzo Romar took a seat in the interview room and started praising his point guard.

Will Conroy had 11 points and seven assists, and Romar credited his leadership and defense for carrying the No. 13 Huskies to an 81-67 victory over California in the Pacific 10 opener for both teams Friday at Seattle.

“Will Conroy came up big in the intangible area,” Romar said. “He was a warrior down the stretch. He got rebounds. He defended extremely well. If Will’s not on the floor tonight, I don’t know if we win.”

Tre Simmons scored 18 points for Washington (11-1), which extended its home winning streak to 14 games.

Richard Midgley led California (7-4) with 18 points, but Conroy’s defense held him scoreless over the last 11 minutes.

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Washington State 60, Stanford 51 -- Jeff Varem scored all 18 of his points in the second half at Spokane, Wash., to lead the Cougars (6-4) past the Cardinal (6-5) in the teams’ conference opener. The Cougars had lost 17 in a row to the Cardinal since winning on Feb. 22, 1996.