Photos from U18 training camp

The USA Women's U18 National Team is six days into training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in preparation for the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women, which will be contested July 23-27 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The team departs for four more days of practice in Washington, D.C. on July 16.

Here is a photo gallery from USA Basketball. Look for Sarah and Nneka.

A team to remember

As we look forward to next season, here's a look back at last season from Stanford Magazine. It doesn't hurt much now to remember the very end.

Is Palo Alto TitleTown USA?

ESPN SportsCenter will travel to 20 communities this summer before letting SportsNation decide which one deserves the name TitleTown USA. Palo Alto is one of the finalists. The Palo Alto segment was filmed a couple of weeks ago. Watch Tara explain why we deserve the title.

Special WNBA Hoops Package

by Otis Watson, Fast Break Club Member

The Sacramento Monarchs have put together a game package for all Stanford Women's Basketball fans for Sunday, September 7th, 2008, at 6pm, when the Monarchs (with Nicole Powell) play the Minnesota Lynx (with rookie Candice Wiggins), at ARCO Arena, in Sacramento. This will be Candice's only Bay Area appearance this year! You do not have to be a Fast Break Club member to attend!

You'll find more information and an order form here.

First look at Grace & Lindy

by: Wally Mersereau
photos: Dave Cortesi

Here are my impressions on seeing new Stanford freshmen Grace Mashore and Lindy LaRocque for the first time in a summer Pro-Am game on July 5 at Kezar Pavilion, which they lost 108-85 to a better team led by Alexis Gray-Lawson, Lauren Greif and incoming Cal player Casey Morris.



Grace Mashore showed poise and strong confidence. As a point guard she seemed to have a good view of the floor and was fast and quick with good ball-handling skills, especially her accurate and deceptive passing, which led to four assists. She played well on defense where her quickness resulted in her getting four steals, four rebounds and a block -- not bad for 5'9"! She looked good driving to the basket, which earned her five free throws and three made baskets. Those plus one 3-pointer gave her a total of 15 points. Grace is a scrappy player. She always seemed to be in the middle of whatever was going on.



Lindy LaRocque has a promising quick release and no hesitation in shooting long 3s--most of her 3-point efforts were from well beyond the line. She made three of them, four free throws and a two, for a total of 15 points. She is the same height as Grace at 5' 9", but has a slighter build. She was active on defense and in going for rebounds and was not afraid to mix it up. Lindy's style of play resulted in frequent falls to the floor, reminiscent of Brooke Smith in her earlier days.

Tentative 2008-09 schedule

Look forward to a great 2008-09 season! Some of the highlights are:

• A trip to Hawaii over the Thanksgiving weekend for the Rainbow Wahine tournament.
• A week-long trip east the week before Christmas to play Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee.
• The game against Duke initiates a home/home series with the Blue Devils (the UConn series starts next season).
• Four of our pre-conference opponents were in the top 25 last season: Duke, Tennessee, Baylor and Rutgers.
• You get to spend half a week in Los Angeles for the Pac-10 Tournament.
• The "ghost of Maples" takes a rest this season. Stanford will not host a sub-regional. The closest venues are Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle.
• One of the Regionals will be in Berkeley at Haas Pavilion.

The tentative schedule is now available. The opponents are probably correct, but all times and dates are subject to change until contracts and TV schedules are finalized.

Nneka & Sarah named to USA Basketball Under 18 team

Following three days of trials at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., that featured 35 of the nation's best 18-year-old and younger players, USA Basketball today announced the official 12-member roster for the 2008 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team. The roster includes Stanford freshmen-to-be Nneka Ogwumike and Sarah Boothe. Read more...

The team will compete in the July 23-27 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is the tournament in which Jayne & Kayla played in 2006, Candice in 2004, and Nicole in 2000. The USA won the gold medal in each of those tournaments.

Sister Act

Incoming freshman, Nneka Ogwumike and her sister Chiney are competing for one of 12 roster spots on the 2008 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team.

They have been playing basketball together since the age of 10. But they may have to say goodbye to their sister act on the hardwood this fall when Nneka starts her collegiate career at Stanford. Maybe. If all goes well at trials, the sisters may make an encore appearance in Buenos Aires in what could either be their final act as sibling teammates, or a preview of what is yet to come at the collegiate level. Read more...

Summer basketball at Kezar

Jillian at Kezar last summer

Are you yearning for fast breaks, back door cuts, and drives down the lane?  Take heart -- summer basketball at Kezar starts next week. You may not see that level of play, but you will see fun, competitive, and occasionally very good games. For free!!

The rosters aren't complete yet, but they're only an approximation of reality anyway. So far, our incoming freshmen Grace, Lindy and Sarah are on the rosters. So are Michelle, Markisha and CiCi (Cissy?). And Lindsey Yamasaki with the SF Olympic Club team, a new participant in the SF Pro-Am League.

The season starts Sunday June 15th and continues on Saturday & Sunday afternoons until the Championship game on August 9th. The Stanford summer quarter starts on June 24th, so our players may not show up for the first couple of games.

Here is the schedule and the rosters and a map (The games are played in Kezar Pavilion, which is at 755 Stanyan near Waller, east of the stadium).

Photos from the past

Do you have a box of old photos in the closet -- class pictures, famiy reunions, favorite pets -- that you really will organize some day?

Stanford Photo had many, many, many cartons full of old Stanford athletic photos. Last summer, David Gonzales and his staff and some volunteers began the task of identifying them, sorting them and scanning them into their digital photography archives.

Lat week they finished a major part of the project -- the photos prior to 1998 -- which included 637 women's basketball photos, as far back as 1978 mug shots. These are some of my favorites -- old photos of Pac-10 coaches:



To find photos of your favorite player, search Stanford Photo for her name. Or look her up in the FBC's alphabetical or chronological "Where Are They Now?" file.