Among the top 50

Rick Eymer (Palo Alto Online) reminds us how well the Cardinal are doing. They rank among the national top 50 in:

• Fewest turnovers per game (12.7 - third)
• Assist-to-turnover ratio (1.37 - fourth)
• Assists per game (17.4 - 15th)
• Scoring margin (+20.6 - 16th)
• Points per game (77.4 - 18th)
• Three-pointers per game (7.4 - 19th)
• Fewest fouls per game (15.1 - 24th)
• Field-goal percentage (45.4 - 28th)
• Rebound margin (+7.9 - 30th)
• Blocked shots per game (5.0 - 39th)
• Turnover margin (4.71 - 42nd).

Individually, Jayne is in the national top 50 of three categories:

• Field-goal percentage (54.2 - 38th)
• Blocked shots per game (2.1 - 42nd)
• Assist-to-turnover ratio (1.91 - 49th).

She's the only center in the assist-to-turnover top 50!

Jillian's back

Michelle Smith (San Francisco Chronicle) reports:

Stanford senior forward Jillian Harmon has a back injury and will not play in Saturday's game against Fresno State.

Harmon was injured in the Cardinal's win over Hawaii in the final game of a tournament in Honolulu on Nov. 30 after scoring 18 points in the first half. Harmon was scheduled to see a back specialist Wednesday and coach Tara VanDerveer declared her out for Saturday's game.

"We are hoping it's not going to be a long, long, thing," VanDerveer said. "Jill was playing so well for us."

Harmon, who played in the Beijing Olympics with the New Zealand national team, is averaging 10 points a game and is finding her stroke as a three-point shooter, hitting 7 of 13 attempts.

Next up, the Fresno State Bulldogs

Dead week, which seems like at least a month, is almost over. The Cardinal will be back on the court at Maples against the Fresno State Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. I'm sure that they will be as eager to play again as we will be to see them! The Bulldogs were a strong team last season, They were the WAC tournament champion and the conference co-champion. They went to the NCAA for the first time ever and lost to Baylor in the first round.

They've lost four key defenders this season-- two to graduation, one injured and one suspended -- and have just one player taller than 6 ft, 6-1 Hayley Munro. Coach Adrian Wiggins thinks that defense has hurt them big-time this year, but they've out-rebounded their opponents by more than 10 in each of their six wins.

The three-point shot is a big part of their defensive game. Their top three scorers -- Bailey Amundsen, Jaleesa Ross and Hayley Munro -- are 43.5%, 42.1 % and 37% respectively from beyond the arc. Jeff Davis writes about their focus on 3s in this article from the Fresno Bee.

So far this season, the Bulldogs are 6-2, including a win over TCU, the team that recently beat Cal. They are #1 in the WAC and their RPI is 65. They're unranked, but they got 5 votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics and their roster .

If you need more basketball before the Cardinal reappear at Maples on the 28th, head down to the Event Center at San Jose State after our game. There's plenty of time to get there by 6:00 for the game between Cal and Oklahoma.

• Will the Bears surge back from their loss to TCU?
• Will Courtney Paris get her 102nd consecutive double-double?
• Or will Dev and Ashley shut her down like New and Brooke did in the 2006 Sweet Sixteen -- remember? OK, they didn't shut her down -- she got 12 rebounds and 26 points, but that wasn't enought to win the game.
• Will there be a big crowd, as SJ State coach Pam DeCosta expects? I doubt it, but you can order tickets in advance, as explained here.

Stanford is #1 for academically minded athletes

STACK ranks Stanford as the #1 school for academically minded athletes. Here are their:

• Video of Stanford as the overall #1, with JJ representing women's basketball.
• 2008 ranking for women's basketball.
• Coaching report, which concludes, "With VanDerveer at the controls, Stanford women’s basketball will continue to be one of the best programs in the country for years to come."

The Jillian Show

Jillian didn't fool around with buzzer-beater recalls today. She scored the first nine Cardinal points in 3.5 minutes and ended with the game-high 18 points (including four of five three-pointers) in 18 minutes before being sidelined with back spasms.

Jayne added 16 points, Nneka 14 and Kayla 10 to the Cardinal's 83-54 win over the Rainbow Wahine.

Here are the AP game recap and photo gallery and the box score from Stanford Athletics.

Jayne was the tournament MVP, and Kayla was named to the all-tournament team.

The Cardinal return home for finals week. Welcome them back to Maples Saturday after next (December 13) in their game against last season's WAC champion, Fresno State.

Stanford overpowers Iowa State

Stanford's defense against Iowa State this afternoon was a thing of beauty. They absolutely smothered the Cyclones, holding them to a season-low field goal percentage of 29.6.

On the other end of the court the Cardinal went wild. They were led by Ros and Sarah, each with 14 points, closely followed by Kayla with 13 and Lindy with 11. Ros, who rooms with Lindy, thinks hitting threes has rubbed off on her. Today it was an epidemic. Six Cardinal players combined for 13 threes -- four from Ros, three each from Lindy and Kayla (!) and one each from Jeanette, Jill and Michelle.

The result was Iowa State's worst loss since 1994: 83-45.

Here are the AP game recap and photo gallery and the box score from Stanford Athletics and game reports from Palo Alto Online and GoCyclones.

Game so nice, they had to win it twice

The score is 65-65, 19 seconds to play, Purdue has the ball.
Purdue calls a timeout.
Stanford calls a timeout.
Purdue misses a jumper, Jayne gets the rebound, 1.4 seconds to play,
Kayla heaves the ball way-y-y-y downcourt, Jill leaps high in front of a Purdue defender, snatches the ball, spins around her defender, shoots, swish!, Stanford wins 67-65!
Jubilant hugs and high fives all around!

OH NO! Why are the refs conferring in midcourt? (They have no video monitor at Stan Sheriff center).
They decide Jill didn't release the ball before the buzzer.
Overtime, Jayne comes out filled with righteous indignation.
Jayne hits a jumper, gets two rebounds, hits another jumper, then two layups.
A few more shots and free throws later, Stanford wins again 78-70!!

Here are the AP game recap and the box score from Stanford Athletics and a game report from Palo Alto Online.

Next up, Iowa State, who defeated coach Cynthia Cooper's Prairie View A & M earlier in the day, but didn't look as good or as strong as Purdue.

Thanksgiving in Hawaii

The Cardinal is in Hawaii for the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic. This is a six-team round-robin tournament, where each team plays three of the other five. Stanford's opponents will be Purdue, Iowa State and Hawaii. The other two participants are Prairie View and San Diego State.

Before the tournament begins on Friday, all the teams will enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner tonight at the Waikiki Marriott with their families and fans.

Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue was the Big Ten tournament champion last season. They lost to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAAs. And that was without Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, who missed the season with an ACL, and Jodi Howell, who was out with two shoulder surgeries.

In her junior year, Wisdom-Hylton was the Big Ten defensive player of the year and an honorable mention All-American. She led the team in rebounds and blocks and was their second leading scorer. She is a bit smaller than Jayne, 6-2 with a wingspan of 6-4.5.

ESPN's Charlie Creme evaluates them thus: Their nightmarish injury problems of a year ago might turn into a blessing this season. While Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Jodi Howell were out with injuries, Danielle Campbell and Lakisha Freeman established themselves inside. The 6-4 Campbell anchored a defense that ultimately carried the Boilermakers to their end-of-the-year success. FahKara Malone is probably the player most responsible for keeping Purdue alive last season, and the junior returns to anchor the backcourt.

Coach Sharon Versyp made practices more challenging this week, "We went very, very hard," to prepare her players for the trip to Hawaii.

So far this season, the Boilermakers are 3-0 against unranked teams. Their RPI is 44, and they're ranked 19/23. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.

Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State finished eighth in the Big 12 last season. They lost to Rutgers in the second round of the NCAAs.

They return four double-digit scorers: Alison Lacey, Nicky Wieben, Heather Ezell and Kelsey Bolte. Charlie Creme says that Lacey is probably the best of that group. He expects that she will get more minutes at her more natural shooting guard spot after playing the point last season.

They have a 21.3 rebounding margin, but coach Bill Fennelly isn't sure they can keep that up. He says the one thing his team hasn't seen yet this season is size. "That will be the No. 1 thing our kids will have to adjust to. They’re going to be looking up to people when they haven’t had to look up in a while.” If they are to succeed in Hawaii, "...the rebounds must continue to fall into ISU’s hands."

So far this season, the Cyclones are 3-0 against unranked opponents. Their RPI is 28, and they're ranked 25/22. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.

Hawaii Rainbow Wahine

Hawaii finished sixth in the WAC last season.

They were led by their freshman phenom, point guard Keisha Kanekoa, who started 15 games and played in every one.

This is coach Jim Bolla's fifth season at Hawaii. He is the program's second winningest coach, known for recruiting talented players. This year's team is a deep, though young, squad with six freshmen added to the nine returners.

The Rainbow Wahine are 0-3 this season. Their RPI is 265. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.

Losing Hones hurts, but Stanford will be OK

Graham Hays (ESPN) writes about JJ and how her loss will affect Stanford's prospects this season. He thinks that with a full season to adjust and the experience of last season's postseason run in hand, Stanford's return to the Final Four is not precluded. Read more...

Ann Killion (Mercury News) agrees that the Cardinal have reason to be optimistic. They are a no nonsense, hard-working team. They understand from their run to the Final Four last season the conditioning and pace required to reach such heights. When JJ went down, they regrouped and went back to work. As Jayne said, "It's sad, but you have to move on." Read more...

Darren Sabedra (Mercury News) reports the confirmation of JJ's ACL injury here ...

With love to JJ

We don't yet know what the MRI will show, but I want to tell JJ how much she means to her fans. Following are posts from the Bootleg Women's Basketball Message Board. Please add your tribute -- your thoughts, feelings, special memories -- as comments to this blog. I'll send them all to JJ tomorrow.
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As convincing a victory as I have ever seen, but so saddened by the injury to our spark, JJ. We hope for the best, and our thoughts are with JJ and her family. Candace Parker suffered ACL injuries in both her Sr year of HS and her first year at Tenn. She turned out to be the best in college BB after her injuries. Keep the faith JJ.
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I love JJ's game. I first saw JJ play in December of her freshman year. She and her mates came down to LA to kick off the Pac-10 season (before Christmas!) against UCLA and USC. Candice Wiggins was injured and missed both of those games, so someone had to step up. It was JJ, who scored much needed points from the outside and brought a calming influence to her team. Stanford won both games. I brought a guest to the USC game who'd never seen Stanford play before. His thought -- that freshman point guard was the most impressive player on the floor. Indeed she was.

During the game against Rutgers, there were two touch pass plays that really entertained me (watching on the video feed). One was Nneka, leaping in the air to meet a high pass into the post and volleyballing the pass back to the perimeter where a mate knocked down a three point shot. Wow! The other touch pass was JJ's. Running the floor on offense, JJ met a pass around the mid court line and touch passed it ahead to Jeanette Pohlen (I think) for the lay up. What a marvelous play, and made to look so easy and effortless. In fact, the play was extraordinary, as JJ was in full stride and her touch pass fell just where it needed to for Jeanette to complete the play.

JJ, I love your game. I know that, whatever your injury, you will be back!
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A tragedy. JJ had trained herself into peak condition, significantly better than at the start of last season. Her vision of the court and seemingly natural ability to connect with her teammates was inspiring. Hopefully, she will still bring inspiration from the bench as Morgan does.

Her smiling presence signing autographs for worshipful little girls was missing from the auction. She left poignant stats for her last 17 minutes: 3 of 4 3-pointers, 6 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal.
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Just viewing the video clips on YouTube where JJ is so cute, running around on campus and making threes, gets me all verklempft. Double RATS!!! I am bereft and disconsolate!
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That pass from JJ brought the house to its feet, and it [the game] may have been over from that point on. The definitive statement: We are better than you. We are quicker, we can score on you. Well at this point we hope for some sort of good news for us, for JJ, for her family.
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I hate this so much. It is the only thing that bothers me about following basketball. Losses bum me out for two minutes to a day, depending. This kind of bummer sticks around.
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I cried. JJ has such amazing talent, but I have to admit it's JJ's heart that I love the most -- she's a spark, an influence, a helper, encourager, leader, all the intangibles that I don't have words for + a great, skilled and fun-to-watch player. Our prayers and best wishes to her and her family.
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Go to comments for more messages.
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