We share your disappointment as we shared your joy over all you accomplished this wonderful season. We never dreamed five months ago that you would take us with you to the Final Four. Thank you.
April 05, 2009
Always #1 in our hearts
We share your disappointment as we shared your joy over all you accomplished this wonderful season. We never dreamed five months ago that you would take us with you to the Final Four. Thank you.
Six hours to go
Nothing new left to say, but the media writers are still at it. Here's what I have time to post before boarding the plane to St. Louis:
UConn vs. Stanford: Who's got the edge, Connecticut Post
Stanford women must show their toughness against UConn, Mercury News
Killion: Stanford set to face bully of women's hoops, Mercury News
More to Final Four trip than playing the games, The Telegraph
Made it to St Louis — a few more stories before we head for the pep rally:
Workouts pay off for Stanford's Pohlen, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Learning lessons in defeat, San Francisco Chronicle
UConn coach sounds off, San Francisco Chronicle
That's What You Say, San Francisco Chronicle
UConn vs. Stanford: Who's got the edge, Connecticut Post
Stanford women must show their toughness against UConn, Mercury News
Killion: Stanford set to face bully of women's hoops, Mercury News
More to Final Four trip than playing the games, The Telegraph
Made it to St Louis — a few more stories before we head for the pep rally:
Workouts pay off for Stanford's Pohlen, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Learning lessons in defeat, San Francisco Chronicle
UConn coach sounds off, San Francisco Chronicle
That's What You Say, San Francisco Chronicle
April 04, 2009
Jayne, Kayla, Tina, Lindy, Tara
Big congratulations to Jayne!
Earlier this week, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association named her to the USBWA All-America team.
Today she was named to the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team. Here is the announcement from goStanford and the complete report from the WBCA.
There was a press conference after the Final Four Salute banquet. Here are the transcripts of:
Jayne and Tina Charles have been buddies since middle school, but will be battling on the court tomorrow night as they did in last season's national semifinal.
Dick Patrick (USA Today) writes that the Appel-Charles match-up is the key to the UConn-Stanford outcome. Read more...
John Altavilla (Hartford Courant) agrees. He writes that UConn needs Charles to come through against Stanford. Read more...
Earlier this week, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association named her to the USBWA All-America team.
Today she was named to the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team. Here is the announcement from goStanford and the complete report from the WBCA.
There was a press conference after the Final Four Salute banquet. Here are the transcripts of:
- The Stanford interview with Tara, Jayne and Kayla.
- The UConn interview with Geno, Renee and Maya.
Jayne and Tina Charles have been buddies since middle school, but will be battling on the court tomorrow night as they did in last season's national semifinal.
Dick Patrick (USA Today) writes that the Appel-Charles match-up is the key to the UConn-Stanford outcome. Read more...
John Altavilla (Hartford Courant) agrees. He writes that UConn needs Charles to come through against Stanford. Read more...
Lindy is writing a blog for the Las Vegas Sun about her experiences in St. Louis.
Jonah Bronstein (Niagara Gazette) reports, "We could’ve had a Niagara Falls graduate in the women’s Final Four." But the Niagara Falls High School didn't have a girls basketball team in 1968. Read more...
Jonah Bronstein (Niagara Gazette) reports, "We could’ve had a Niagara Falls graduate in the women’s Final Four." But the Niagara Falls High School didn't have a girls basketball team in 1968. Read more...
Waiting for the game to start
Tara said, "Let's just play the game. Roll the ball out there, and let's see what we've got."
But it's not quite time for that yet. If you want to something to read until then, here is a look at the Final Four's impact on the St. Louis economy:
- Basketball championships give a little bounce to St. Louis economy: from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Stanford senior Harmon leaving it all on the court: The Cardinal will be counting on her in St. Louis writes Elliott Almond (Mercury News)
- Stanford's Boothe looking for the good kind of "chills" in St. Louis: Sarah is planning to enjoy the moment.
- Stanford center a leader on court, in sorority: Michelle Smith (San Francisco Chronicle) shows us a different side of Jayne.
- The keys to St. Louis victories?: ESPN's panel of experts break down which key factors could determine who moves on to the NCAA title game.
- Predicting the national semifinal winners: ... and this is who they pick to win.
- Breaking Down the Teams: Mike Brown (American Chronicle) analyses the final four teams and suggests why each will win or will lose.
- Connecticut is the class of the field: in the opinion of John Klein (Tulsa World).
- Is UConn-Stanford The Real Championship Game?: John Altavilla (Hartford Courant) writes that UConn's perfect record guarantees them nothing but one more game.
- This year's Stanford women take new approach to same goal: Michelle Smith (San Francisco Chronicle) compares the Cardinal's approach to the upcoming game with UConn to what it was last year.
- Conquering UConn: Nate Adams (Stanford Daily) writes that Stanford has some very real reasons to feel optimistic.
- Stanford women ready for UConn's aura: ... and the Huskies have everything to lose writes Rick Eymer (Palo Alto Online)
- Stanford can pull off upset: Candice Wiggins writes what it will take to pull off the upset.
- Women's Final Four: Players To Watch from ESPN
- Women's Final Four: Stanford Vs. UConn from ESPN
- UConn and Stanford Meet in Women's Final Four from the Associated Press
April 03, 2009
10 things we love about Stanford women's basketball
By John Reid
Daily News Staff Writer
1. Stanford won't be afraid of UConn. The Cardinal has beaten the Huskies in five of eight meetings.
2. Stanford has entertaining YouTube videos. UConn's are not entertaining.
3. Stanford's Jayne Appel (right) is a walking headline. After her school-record 46-point game to beat Iowa State in a regional final, a headline could have been: "How do you like that Appel?"
4. With 83 3-pointers, Jeanette Pohlen needs eight to tie Krista Rappahahn for Stanford's single-season record.
5. Appel, Stanford's season(84) and career (214)blocks leader, will keep the Huskies from driving to the hoop. That should force the Huskies to shoot from the perimeter in a strange venue.
6. Stanford doesn't have anyone annoyingly tweetering during NCAA tournament games telecasts (UConn has Rebecca Lobo).
7. Stanford doesn't have a player who promised to give back her full scholarship money if they don't win the title (Oklahoma's Courtney Paris did).
8. Stanford's warm-up music ("All Right Now" played by the Stanford band) makes us want to get on the floor and dance with them.
9. Stanford's frontline of Appel, Kayla Pedersen and Nnemkadi Ogwumike is peaking at the right time. If the Cardinal wins its first national title since 1992, the frontline would be crowned the school's best ever.
10. Jillian Harmon (135 career games) can tie Candice Wiggins' Stanford record for most games played with an appearance in Tuesday's title contest.
Daily News Staff Writer
1. Stanford won't be afraid of UConn. The Cardinal has beaten the Huskies in five of eight meetings.
2. Stanford has entertaining YouTube videos. UConn's are not entertaining.
3. Stanford's Jayne Appel (right) is a walking headline. After her school-record 46-point game to beat Iowa State in a regional final, a headline could have been: "How do you like that Appel?"
4. With 83 3-pointers, Jeanette Pohlen needs eight to tie Krista Rappahahn for Stanford's single-season record.
5. Appel, Stanford's season(84) and career (214)blocks leader, will keep the Huskies from driving to the hoop. That should force the Huskies to shoot from the perimeter in a strange venue.
6. Stanford doesn't have anyone annoyingly tweetering during NCAA tournament games telecasts (UConn has Rebecca Lobo).
7. Stanford doesn't have a player who promised to give back her full scholarship money if they don't win the title (Oklahoma's Courtney Paris did).
8. Stanford's warm-up music ("All Right Now" played by the Stanford band) makes us want to get on the floor and dance with them.
9. Stanford's frontline of Appel, Kayla Pedersen and Nnemkadi Ogwumike is peaking at the right time. If the Cardinal wins its first national title since 1992, the frontline would be crowned the school's best ever.
10. Jillian Harmon (135 career games) can tie Candice Wiggins' Stanford record for most games played with an appearance in Tuesday's title contest.
Cardinal.Red.Basketball
Yesterday Stanford athletics launched CARDINAL.RED.BASKETBALL, a website that is designed to give potential student-athletes, alumni and fans an inside look at Stanford women’s basketball players and staff that is not covered by gostanford.com news, releases and features.The site will delve deeper into what it means to the athletes to be a part of the Cardinal tradition. It delivers interactive content for fans to enjoy and learn from and will assist coaches with recruiting.
This website is a lot of fun — full of videos and other visual information. Check it out now and enjoy it all through the basketball doldrums this summer.
April 02, 2009
Final Four Sendoff
Dozens of fans, new and old, gathered at Maples Pavilion at noon today to give the Stanford women's basketball team a spirited send-off as the players and coaches got ready to depart for St. Louis. Read more and watch the video ...
Stanford-UConn revisited
An article by the Associated Press discusses last season's Stanford-UConn game and the upcoming one, and proposes, "If anybody can topple the Huskies, why shouldn't it be the calm, tournament-tested Cardinal?"
Read more...
Charlie Creme (ESPN) favors the Huskies. He points out that the Cardinal are playing with the knowledge that beating the Huskies is possible, but concludes that it is hard to imagine the Huskies' not delivering in this one. Read more...
An article in Sports Illustrated discusses Jill's huge contributions to the team this season. Jill said, "It's almost over. I just want to take advantage of it and enjoy every moment.'' Read more...
Michelle Smith (San Francisco Chronicle) considers why the Stanford-Connecticut game isn't the NCAA championship game. Looking on the bright side, Tara said she's glad to have five days instead of just one to prepare for the matchup. Read more...
Here is a longer version of the Final Four Press Conference shown in the SF Chronicle article. The questions are unfortunately unintelligible, but Jillian and Jayne are, as always, articulate, calm, gracious and beautiful.
April 01, 2009
Nneka: One of the game's young stars
Tom Timmerman, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, introduces Nneka to Final Four fans ... her maturity, her competitiveness, her intelligence, her obvious athleticism and more than anything, her wanting her team to be successful. Read more...
Jill turns up the volume
After the game against Iowa State, Jill said, "To come back two years in a row is so exciting. To put the program back on the map and to do it with this team and these coaches is just so special."
She's not leading the team just by example any more. Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle, writes about Jill's finding her voice in the waning days of her career. Read more...
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