... who's going to show up at Kezar. A few stalwart Cardinal fans did on Saturday, but Jos, Morgan, Sammy and Lexi didn't.
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. ☹
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.
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.
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.
For more information, see:
She discussed her career, the importance of fundamentals and maintaining a desirable balance between basketball and life.
Story ... Photo Gallery
Nneka and Chiney were honored last week at the annual Stanford Athletic Board Awards Luncheon, which highlighted Stanford's athletic success during the 2011-12 campaign.
President John Hennessy began the program with praise for the Stanford Athletic Program's musicality, as well as for its academic accomplishments and athletic accomplishments. He said a special thank you to Chiney for his shout=out in the Nerd City video.
Nneka was awarded a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship and was honored as an outstanding female senior:
Award of Excellence recipient ... No. 1 overall pick by the Los Angeles Sparks in the 2012 WNBA Draft ... Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner ... NCAA Woman of the Year nominee ... named a First Team All-American by Associated Press, WBCA, USBWA and John R. Wooden Award ... Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and USBWA National Player of the Year finalist ... MVP of Fresno Regional and Pac-12 Tournament ... Pac-12 Player of the Year ... All-Pac-12 First Team selection ... Pac-12 Defensive Team Honorable Mention ... fourth player in school history to compile at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds ... ranks among top-five in school history in the following categories: free throws attempted (first), points (second), field goal percentage (third), free throws made (second), rebounds (third), points per game (fourth) and rebounds per game (fourth) ... established single-season school records for points scored (809), points per game (22.5), free throws made (191) and attempted (230) ... scored career-high 42 points in victory over Tennessee (Dec. 20).
Chiney was honpred as an outstanding female sophomore:
WBCA All-American ... Wade Trophy finalist ... named to Wooden Award final ballot ... WBCA Defensive Player of the Year finalist ... CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Team ... named to Midseason Top 20 List for USBWA National Player of the Year ... named to Fresno All-Regional and Pac-12 All-Tournament Teams ... Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year ... All-Pac-12 First Team selection ... only player to start all 37 games ... averaged 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game ... ranked second in Pac-12 with 58.3 field goal percentage ... totaled 45 blocked shots and 28 steals ... posted 18 double-doubles ... notched career highs of 27 points and 18 rebounds in win over California (Jan. 28).
For more information, see the full report from Stanford Athletics.
Cardinal fans won't get to enjoy seeing the freshmen or any other current team members at Kezar this summer. The San Francisco Pro-Am games begin in a week, but no Stanford players have signed up.
Some who were injured are just getting cleared to ease back into basketball. Others who will be in Palo Alto this summer have chosen not to participate — a decision that is entirely theirs.
There are many familiar names on the rosters: Markisha Coleman, Toni Russell, Layshia Clarendon, Reshanda Gray, Brittney Boyd. See the Pro-Am website for information about Cardinal-less summer basketball.
Yes, the Cardinal will have three incoming freshmen in 2012-13.
If you read the Recruiting News Blog, you know all about Tess Picknell, a 6'5" center from Medford, Oregon. Tess helped lead her team to a perfect 30-0 season and to a state championship and was named to the All-State team.
You may have forgotten about Aly Beebe, a 6'3" forward from Santa Maria, California. There was little news about Aly because she tore her ACL in May 2011 and didn't play in her senior year.
And you probably haven't heard of Kiran Lakhian, a 5'11" shooting guard from Plano Texas. Kiran was originally slated to walk-on for the Cardinal, but she was recently granted a scholarship.
Greetings Women's Basketball Fans,
If you are planning to stay at the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown, July 7 & 8, 2012, for the "Weekend in LA Celebration for Nneka", please use group rate code SPKSPKA for the discount $109.00 single or double occupancy price. If you forget, just mention the "Los Angeles Sparks". Reservations may be made by calling the hotel at: 1-800-260-0227 or on-line at this link.
The games are on Saturday July 7 at 7:00pm and Sunday July 8 at 5:30pm.
Please note that the weekend of July 7 & 8, 2012, will be a very busy "independence weekend". So don't wait, make your reservations NOW, or prior to June 20, 2012, in order to guarantee yourself a room at the $109.00 rate.
Nneka says, "Hello to all", and that she is looking forward to seeing all of her basketball fans in Los Angeles,
Otis Watson
From Otis Watson, FBC member:
Hello Fans of Women's Basketball,
This year, plan for an Independence weekend on July 7 & 8, 2012 in Los Angeles with the 2012 No.1 Draft Pick of the WNBA.
The Los Angeles Sparks organization has pulled out all the stops to celebrate their newest member of the Sparks family. A few of the pre- and post-game speakers will include: Laurel J. Richie, President and Commissioner, of the WNBA, Mike Levy, President of the Los Angeles Sparks organization, Penny Toler, General Manager of the Sparks, Carol Ross, Coach of the Sparks, Paula Williams Madison, Majority Investor of the Sparks, a special invited guest from ESPN. and of course, the star of the show Nneka Ogwumike for post-game conversations, pictures, autographs and networking.
Attendees will dine on wonderful pre-game buffet gourmet meals and no-host full bar in the VIP Lexus Club, participate in raffles for Nneka's jerseys and t-shirts, and receive a special Sparks gift bag,
Special hotel discounts are now available at the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown for $109.00 single and double occupancy.
It is recommended that you consider Southwest Airlines in making your low-cost flight arrangements.
Saturday, July 7 Pre-Game Meal - "Taste of Italy"
"First-Come, First-Served" on all seat assignments. Act TODAY...don't delay. Invite your family, friends and colleagues from all over Northern and Southern California, to attend this great event.
Special Events at STAPLES Center
