Cardinal open season with victory

The Cardinal are bigger and were better than the Lady Monarchs tonight. They made the 89-56 victory look pretty easy. However, Old Dominion was no pushover; they came back revitalized after half time and held Stanford to 36-33 in the second half.

There were three Cardinal double-doubles:

• Nneka led all scorers and rebounders with 25 points and 12 rebounds—and a block and two steals.
• Jayne had 19 points and 11 rebounds—and four blocks and three assists.
• Jeanette had 15 points and 10 assists—with just four turnovers and three steals.

Kayla also scored in double digits—14 points.

The three-pointers were falling nicely—three of four from Kayla, three of six from Jeanette, two of seven from JJ and one from Joslyn.

All the Cardinal played hard and defended fiercely. It was clear that they were determined to win this game.

Ashley and Hannah were not at the game. Sarah was there, but of course didn't play. Michelle was suited up, but is still reported to be nursing a sore back and didn't play. Joslyn has apparently recovered from her bruised foot and eye infection. She played strong for eight minutes, contributing good defense, four points and two rebounds.

ODU's attempt to sell out this game fell way short. Official attendance was 4653, which would have looked pretty good at Maples—not so much at Ted Constant Convocation Center, which holds 9520. The weather was probably a factor. It wasn't too dismal by game time, but there were a lot of road closures due to flooding. Of those in attendance, about 50 were wearing Stanford red. Eileen said that about a dozen comp tickets went unused by people who had planned to attend.

Here are game reports from Palo Alto Online, Jake Curtis, the Newport News Daily Press and the Associated Press, and the box score and play-by-play.

Another title run

Nate Adams, The Stanford Daily, previews the Cardinal's opening game against Old Dominion tonight:

"The Cardinal women have their eyes fixed on this season’s national title, and their season-long trek begins this weekend."

His story highlights Nneka's performance during the preseason and in last season's game against Rutgers. Read more...

Jayne's on a mission

"... and we're right behind her," said Jeanette.

They won't be satisfied with anything less than winning it all this season. Read more about Jayne in this story from Sports Illustrated.

Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle) writes about the the team's expectations in this story. "We know what it takes to get to the Final Four, and we all hold each other accountable," Jayne said. "We already have the building blocks in place. We didn't have to go over the little things, just get the freshmen up to speed and go from there."

Three of the best

An ESPN panel has selected Jayne as the best center — "One of a kind; seamlessly blends imposing size and intricate skill."

Jeanette was selected as one of the top five shooting guards, and Kayla as one of the top five small forwards.

JJ and Nneka also received at least one vote from the panel.

Here is the complete top five report and a story by Mechelle Voepel that details the selection process.

Cardinal ready to take on all challengers

Ann Killion, writing for SI.com, wonders if the gap between the two top teams is as wide as it seemed last season after the semifinal game.

Tara thinks it will be different for UConn this season as they adjust to the loss of their starting point guard (Renee Montgomery) to graduation. "I'm betting on us," she said. "I think we're a team to be reckoned with." Read more ...

The San Jose Mercury News had a feature article about the Cardinal on the front page of the Sports section today, with photos of Jayne and Nneka. There's no new information, but it's good to see the local media coverage. Here's the article and a season preview, both by Elliott Almond.

Jayne & Nneka in the spotlight

Today the ESPN women's basketball site features the Cardinal, with this introduction to the two major stories:

Stanford's Jayne Appel loves leading the way -- even when she doesn't exactly know where she is headed. Sophomore Nnemkadi Ogwumike knows where she's going -- even if basketball is a vehicle to bigger things. Will this season end with another journey to the Final Four?

In his story about jayne, Graham Hays says, "If a veteran Stanford team blessed with almost as much size as experience is finally going to walk away smiling from its last game of the season, it's going to do so by following the best center in the country." Read more...

The story about Nneka, by Mechelle Voepel, emphasizes the Ogwumike family's dedication to education. "Education always comes first," Nneka said. "I saw in Stanford my best opportunity for having a career in basketball and a wonderful life after basketball." Read more...

How strong is Stanford?

.. asks ESPN contributor Mechelle Voepel.

... and answers, "This is one of Tara's most talented teams, especially with its interior play," then discusses the team strengths and areas of concern.

In the same article, Voepel also discusses what we might see from the nation's freshmen this season. One of her "star freshmen" is Joslyn Tinkle. Read more...

Graham Hays' picks for the top five point guards are listed here. Number four is JJ: "A great shooter who simply doesn't turn over the ball."

ESPN has published their preseason top 10 picks. Their capsule evaluation of Stanford: "A lot of size and versatility inside make Cardinal the main team out there able to scare UConn." Read more...

Cardinal trounce Tritons

The victory wasn't nearly as easy as the final score indicates. The Cardinal built a 20-point lead in the first nine minutes of the game, but the UCSD Tritons held them to that, plus or minus a basket or two, well into the second half. With about 12 minutes left to play, the stronger team took control and drove to the final score: 107-55.

Mighty Melanie Murphy had a fine game today. It's been reported that she's helping Nneka to improve her shot. It appeared today that the help is reciprocal. She looked like a smaller version of Nneka, driving to the basket, leaping high for rebounds, and making athletic shots. She scored 17 points, and had seven rebounds, one block, one steal and five assists.

Kayla and Nneka both had big double-doubles — Kayla 20 points and 15 rebounds; Nneka 26 points and 11 rebounds.

There was a sprinkling of three-pointers — three (of three) from JJ, and one each from Kayla, Ros, Jeanette, Grace and Lindy.

Michelle and Joslyn joined Hannah and Sarah on the bench today. Joslyn was stepped on during practice and has a bruised foot. Michelle's reason for not playing has not been disclosed. Everyone else played and scored.

Freshman Mikaela Ruef had the fewest, but the most entertaining, points. Late in the second half she took the ball down the court end-to-end, eluding her pursuers with behind-the-back dribbles, ending with this layup: which took the Cardinal to 100 points, and delighted the Cardinal fans and her teammates: Here are game reports from Jake Curtis and goStanford, the box score and play-by-play, and more photos

Jayne is AP Preseason All-American

Jayne has been named to the Associated Press 2009-10 preseason All-America team.

She received 34 votes from the 40-member national media panel — the second-leading vote-getter amongst the five players selected to the AP's preseason All-America team. Connecticut's Maya Moore was a unanimous selection, while teammate Tina Charles (28 votes), Ohio State's Jantel Lavender (20) and Virginia's Monica Wright (20) made up the rest of the team.

Nneka was among 14 players who also received votes from the panel.

Nneka improving leaps & shots

Susan Slusser, SF Chronicle staff writer, writes about Nneka's improvements in leaps and shots.

As reported from a different source recently, she's amazing her teammates with the height of her jumping, and she's working on a new shooting technique.

She is also working with Stanford athletic-development specialist Devan McConnell, because she had not been coached in the proper techniques of running, jumping and lateral movement.

Remember her performance on the court last season and think about what it will be when she learns to do things right — it boggles the mind!

Read more...