Candice was selected as a member of the 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team. Brooke was one of 38 players in the nation to receive an honorable mention.
(More ...)
Candice earned Second-Team All-America honors from the Associated Press, and Brooke earned honorable mention. (More ...)
Contra Costa Times and Wire Reports
SAN DIEGO - Carondelet High School's Jayne Appel had 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks as the West defeated the East 80-76 in the McDonald's All-American high school girls basketball game Wednesday.
For her efforts, Appel was given the game's most valuable player award and received the honor from UCLA coaching legend John Wooden.
"It's hard to put into words," said Appel about the honor. "Meeting the best coach ever and having him give me an award. ... I never would have imagined that."
(More .... )
Stanford's "in-between team" is in the books. What's left for the Cardinal women's basketball program is considering what's next. And what's next could be pretty special.
The Cardinal ended their season Monday night in the Elite Eight, the disappointment of a 62-59 loss to LSU in San Antonio temporarily obscuring the fact that this team exceeded the expectations of nearly everyone, including its coach.
"If somebody had said at the beginning of the year, or in December or January or February, that this team would go to the Elite Eight, I would have jumped for joy," said coach Tara VanDerveer, whose teams have lost three straight regional finals. "But right at this second, I can't tell you that I'm jumping for joy."
(More .... )
Mike Eubanks, theBootleg.com
Viewed by some, and not without reason, in the past as "soft," Brooke Smith received a distant second billing last week in the center battle against Oklahoma's Courtney Paris. 35 points and 14-of-16 shooting later, Smith has stamped her legacy with a new mark. Tonight against LSU she again faces a supremely talented opposing center and athlete, but Smith can no longer take the world by surprise. (More ....)
Mike Eubanks, theBootleg.com
After a big win like Stanford's control of an Oklahoma Sooners squad that had won 19 straight, there is plenty to ask in the press room. Tara VanDerveer revealed the Cardinal's five-point defensive plan to limit high-octane Oklahoma. Kristen Newlin explained the tactics of the double-team. And there was universal praise of Brooke Smith after her career day. Read on for all this and more from Stanford, plus Oklahoma's post-game reactions. (More ....)
Tracy Schultz, Sports Illustrated, SI.com
SAN ANTONIO -- Reassurance from Candice Wiggins was all Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer needed Saturday. VanDerveer was worried about the mind-set of her players, who had witnessed an accident involving a pedestrian while on their way to the AT&T Center. No one could blame them if their focus was on the boy they saw struck by a vehicle instead of their regional semifinal opponent. (More ....)
Michelle Smith, SF Chronicle
Courtney Paris is having one of the best individual seasons in the history of college basketball. And she's just a freshman. Wow, that certainly raises the bar for a successful debut. The Stanford women's basketball team is relying heavily on a pair of first-year players. Jillian Harmon and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude are young talents who have at times showed their youth, and at others, played beyond it. That's the thing about freshmen -- it's always a delicate balance. Well, almost always. (More ....)
Mike Eubanks, theBootleg.com
On the eve of the Sweet 16, coaches and players from both Stanford and Oklahoma sat down to answer exhaustive questions from the media. In particular, Tara VanDerveer and Sherri Coale were asked about every angle of Saturday's match-ups. The dominating topic of conversation was unsurprisingly Oklahoma freshman phenom Courtney Paris... (More ...)
Heading into Saturday's regional semifinal against Oklahoma in San Antonio, Rappahahn, the only active senior on Stanford's roster, is the owner of the Cardinal record for 3-pointers made in a season with 85. She is also the all-time leader in attempts with 196. (More ...)
I'm in basketball heaven this week. And basketball hell. That's the curse of being a hard-core Stanford fan. (More ...)
