July 21, 2012

You never know ...

... who's going to show up at Kezar. A few stalwart Cardinal fans did on Saturday, but Jos, Morgan, Sammy and Lexi didn't.

Kish was the only Stanford representative. She started the scoring for South Bay with a lovely steal and fast break.

South Bay went on to defeat the Bay Area Knights 93-67 and will play Mission Recreation Center in the semifinals next Saturday. Jos won't (nor will Sammy or Lexi). SF Pro-Am has a rule that a player can participate in the playoffs only if she's played in at least one regular game.

Ah well, it's only 15 more weeks until the next game at Maples.

July 20, 2012

A bit of summer basketball after all

If you haven't been going to Kezar for summer basketball because no current Cardinal players signed up, you'll be happy to hear that Jos has signed up for the rest of the summer.

So have Sammy (Prahalis) and Lexi (Gray-Lawson) while the WNBA is taking an Olympic break.

They're all on the South Bay team, along with Cardinal alums Morgan Clyburn '09 and Markisha Coleman '07.

South Bay is playing on Saturday (July 21) at 4:00 pm in the last regular game of the season. After that come the playoffs on Saturday July 28 and Sunday August 3 and the championship game on Saturday August 11.

South Bay is currently in 4th place with a 1-3 record.

Forgotten where Kezar is? Here's the map and the SF Pro-Am website with the full schedule and all the rosters.

July 19, 2012

Summer means more school for most players

By FBC reporter Judy Richter

It may be summer, but for 10 of the 14 players on the Stanford women’s basketball team, that means summer school, not summer vacation.

As is traditional, the three freshmen – posts Tess Picknell of Oregon and Aly Beebe of California plus guard Kiran Lakhian of Texas – are getting a head start on their college lives by attending summer school.

Joining them on campus are senior forward Mikaela Ruef, junior guard Sara James, junior forward Chiney Ogwumike and four sophomores: forwards Bonnie Samuelson and Erica Payne and guards Alex Green and Jasmine Camp. All of them have helped part-time at head coach Tara VanDerveer’s hoops camps, said associate head coach Amy Tucker.

Besides attending summer school, Chiney has been traveling. She has gone to some games played by her older sister, Nneka, ’12, who’s having a stellar rookie season with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. Chiney also went to Colorado Springs earlier this month and was chosen for USA Basketball’s 3x3 National Team, which will compete in Athens, Greece, in late August.

Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle has been at home in Montana, but she has returned to the Farm to help at the next camp session. Junior guard Toni Kokenis has been traveling between her Illinois home and Stanford to help at camp.

Sophomore guard Amber Orrange is at home in Texas. Likewise, sophomore forward Taylor Greenfield is summering at home in Iowa.

Mikaela and Jasmine, who missed most of last season with injuries, have been cleared for basketball activities, Amy said, but Alex is still rehabbing after an Achilles injury.

Players who are on campus have been working with strength and conditioning coach Susan Borchardt and have been organizing basketball sessions on their own. According to NCAA rules, the coaches cannot work with them during the summer. The rules have been relaxed to allow male players to work with their coaches two hours a week, but so far that change hasn’t applied to women’s teams, Amy said.

Sara, Aly, Mikaela, Alex, Tess, Kiran, Bonnie, Jasmine, Susan and ?? on a grocery run.

Besides running Tara’s hoops camps, the coaches have been on the summer recruiting trail. They’ll get a break in August, then return in September, ready to begin the next season.

July 08, 2012

Chiney named to USA Basketball 3x3 National Team

Chiney, Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Bria Hartley (UConn) and Alyssa Thomas (Maryland) were named to the USA Basketball 3x3 National Women's Team today. They will represent the U.S. at the inaugural FIBA 3x3 World Championship, which will be played August 23 – 26 in Athens, Greece.

For more information, see:

July 04, 2012

Chiney talks basketball with campers

The Los Altos Town Crier reports that Chiney stopped by Los Altos High School last week to speak to a group of girls attending the 1-on-1 Advantage Basketball Camp run by Kevin Lee, the Eagles’ varsity girls coach.

She discussed her career, the importance of fundamentals and maintaining a desirable balance between basketball and life.

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