February 27, 2007

Appel, a growing force off the bench

By Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

The Stanford women's basketball team had its fill of the Courtney Paris hype last March.

Oklahoma's star freshman was the center of attention at the 2006 NCAA Tournament, the national media swooning over the supremely talented and charismatic Paris, who was winding down a record-breaking debut season.

Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer casually pointed out during a news conference that she had her own freshman center coming in next season, one she hoped might approach Paris on the impact meter. (More ...)


Jayne's stats for the season:

G Min. PPG FG% RPG
28 19.3 13.5 .541 7.1

She has 53 blocked shots, the best in the Pac-10. The Stanford season record (by Cori Enghusen) is 58.

February 26, 2007

February 25, 2007

Stanford Wins Pac-10 Championship

Stanford Wins Pac-10 Championship

By: Bob Kinder, The Bootleg

This was not a pretty game. Stanford missed two-time All-American Candice Wiggins and point guard JJ Hones, struggling with USC's full court press in the first half and trailing 29-28 at the break. Copious turnovers coupled with an extreme difficulty getting into their offense hurt the Card. When Stanford did get the ball into their offensive pattern, often 15 to 18 seconds of the 30-second shot clock had been used. (More ...)


Stanford fends off feisty USC

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

It was not easy and it was not pretty, but No. 8 Stanford weathered its weekend without All-American Candice Wiggins. (More ...)


Stanford women clinch Pac-10 basketball title

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Daily

Seniors Brooke Smith, Kristen Newlin, Markisha Coleman and Clare Bodensteiner hope they get to cut down the nets a few more times this season. (More ...)

Starless crown

By: Dylan Hernandez, The Mercury News

The No. 8 Stanford women's basketball team could be playing the Pacific-10 tournament the way it did in closing its regular season with a 56-53 victory over USC on Sunday at Maples Pavilion -- without Candice Wiggins. (More ...)


Card escapes Troy

By: Christian Torres, The Stanford Daily

It was a drawn-out farewell to the regular season yesterday for the four senior members of the No. 8 Stanford women’s basketball team. Down for most of the game against Southern California, the Cardinal relied on its youth to finally take the lead from the Women of Troy and just barely hold on for the 56-53 win. (More ...)

Jayne in the spotlight

Appel growing into her role as super sub

By: Laurence Miedema, The Mercury News

Jayne Appel's apprenticeship is nearly complete.

The freshman post arrived at Stanford in the fall as one of the most highly regarded recruits in the women's basketball program's storied history. Still, with senior posts Brooke Smith and Kristin Newlin returning she had no chance of cracking the Cardinal's starting lineup.

But with the NCAA tournament rapidly approaching, Appel, who stands 6-foot-4 and has a wingspan of nearly seven feet, has blossomed from super sub into a leading role with the No. 8 Cardinal. (More ...)


The Big Appel taking big bite out of Pac-10

By: John Reid, San Mateo Daily News

I'm voting for Cardinal freshman Jayne "The Big" Appel twice - once for Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and another for the best sixth man in collegiate women's hoop in the world. Appel, the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week, has yet to start in her 26 games played for the Cardinal (23-4, 15-1 Pac-10), which has the UCLA Bruins (13-15, 7-9 Pac-10) come to Maples Thursday night at 7 p.m. (More ...)

February 24, 2007

JJ is one of 11 finalists for Best Point Guard

STANFORD, Calif.- Freshman point guard JJ Hones (Beaverton, Ore.) has been named one of 11 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation's top collegiate point guard.

The award, in its eighth season and named for Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, is given by the Rotary Club of Detroit and is based on floor leadership, playmaking and ball-handling skills. The 11 finalists were voted on by sportswriters from across the country.

Three finalists and a winner will be selected from the final 11 and announced during the NCAA Final Four weekend of April 1-3, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Other Nancy Lieberman Award finalists include: Kimberly Beck (George Washington), Dee Davis (Vanderbilt), Lindsey Harding (Duke), Cameo Hicks (Washington), Ivory Latta (North Carolina), Lyndsey Medders (Iowa State), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut), Mandy Morales (Montana), Rudy Sims (Arkansas State), Kristi Toliver (Maryland).

The recognition of Hones as a finalist is impressive, considering she is out for the remainder of the year due to an ACL tear in her left knee. Prior to suffering the injury while driving to the basket 45 seconds into Stanford's 72-57 loss to California on Feb. 4, Hones had emerged as the floor leader of the Cardinal offense despite being just a rookie.

Hones had started 20 of the 23 contests in which she appeared, averaging 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while raking second on the squad in three-pointers. Hones dished out an impressive 90 assists while committing only 32 turnovers, translating into an outstanding 2.81 ratio that still leads the Pac-10 heading into the final week of regular-season play.

Hones dished out at least four assists in a game on 14 different occasions and scored a season-high 17 points at Washington State on Jan. 13. She registered a season-best seven assists in a game twice.

Tournament tuneups for Cal and Stanford

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

At last, both the Stanford and Cal women's basketball teams can take a moment to relax.

The No. 8 Cardinal nailed down a share of their seventh straight Pac-10 title and the top seed in next week's Pac-10 tournament with Thursday night's hard-fought 65-54 win over UCLA.

Cal went the hard-fought route as well with an 86-79 overtime victory over USC that clinched the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and the program's gaudiest win total in 20 years. It was win No. 21 for the Bears, the highest victory tally since the 1986-87 season. (More ...)

February 23, 2007

Cardinal clinch a share of Pac-10 title

Stanford's win is inside job

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Candice Wiggins came out in her sweats, and this time she stayed that way. Without Wiggins available to come to the rescue, the No. 8 Stanford women's basketball team had to find another way to win against a dangerous UCLA team at Maples Pavilion on Thursday night. (More ...)


Stanford tops UCLA

By: Dylan Hernandez, The Mercury News

Candice Wiggins spent the game on the bench nursing her strained hamstring, but the No. 8 Stanford women's basketball team had enough to get past UCLA 65-54 at Maples Pavilion on Thursday night and secure at least a share of its seventh consecutive Pacific-10 Conference regular-season championship. (More ...)


UCLA again fails to complete comeback

By: Jason Feder, Daily Bruin

The Stanford Cardinal was without their best player in Candice Wiggins. It didn’t matter.

In what has become routine for the Bruins (13-16, 7-10 Pac-10), the UCLA women’s basketball team could not complete a late comeback as Stanford found other offensive threats and clamped down on defense in the final minutes to seal a 65-54 victory in Palo Alto. text (More ...)

Audio Slide Show: UCLA @ Stanford

Here is an audio slide show of the Stanford / UCLA game from The Mercury News.

February 22, 2007

The Bay Area vs. L.A.

A farewell to Maples

By: Haley Murphy, The Stanford Daily

There was a lull in the gym after the girls’ basketball team practice yesterday. With the last weekend of the regular season upon them, players finished their drills and listened as head coach Tara VanDerveer spoke a few words.

Then it was just quiet. The calm before the storm. A silent swirl of nervousness, confidence, anxiety and excitement. (More ...)

Each team has its own worries as L.A. women come north

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Can any basketball team -- or any coach -- really feel secure this time of year?

Take, for example, Cal women's coach Joanne Boyle. Her team has 20 wins for the first time in 15 years, a strong position in the conference standings and a top-35 RPI -- seemingly all the ingredients of an NCAA Tournament shoo-in. But Boyle's not convinced the Bears have done quite enough.

Then there's Stanford, which has 23 wins and a No. 8 national ranking and needs one win to lock up another Pac-10 title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. But coach Tara VanDerveer is mulling whether to use star guard Candice Wiggins this weekend, or even next weekend at the conference tournament. The other option is to rest Wiggins' injured hamstring -- at the risk of a lower NCAA seeding -- for what the Cardinal hope is a long postseason run.

Or how about USC coach Mark Trakh, whose injury-riddled team opened the Pac-10 with three straight losses before rallying to win 10 of its next 13 games? That run put the Women of Troy within striking distance of an NCAA berth, though at 16-10, USC needs a few more wins to seal the deal.

And there's a fair share of late-season stress at UCLA, which has failed to find any consistency this season despite the outstanding play of senior Noelle Quinn. (More ...)

Women’s basketball to face rival Stanford

By: Jason Feder, Daily Bruin

For any hope of a postseason run, the women’s basketball team most likely needs to win the Pac-10 Tournament, regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game at Stanford and Saturday’s at Cal.

The Bruins (13-15, 7-9 Pac-10) have lost three in a row but will look to get back at the No. 8 Cardinal tonight at Maples Pavilion. Last time the two teams faced each other, the Bruins dropped a close game 68-59.

“They do have the NCAA Tournament to look forward to, but I know how they operate,” UCLA coach Kathy Olivier said. “I know that their mind-set will be ‘let’s continue to play well so we can get a good seed.’ They never want us to beat them.” (More ...)

Never too early for postseason predictions

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

It may be too early for postseason fever, but it's never too early for postseason predictions. Conference tournaments begin next week. Selection Monday is just 18 days away, the first tournament games are 22 days out.

Plenty of time to build anticipation, you say? Perhaps. But it's never too early for predictions. (More ...)
From: ESPN

A look at the selections from ESPN.com writers Mechelle Voepel, Graham Hays, Beth Mowins and Nancy Lieberman (More ...)

February 21, 2007

Wiggins' hamstring flares up

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Stanford guard Candice Wiggins can't get relief from the injuries that have plagued her junior season.

Seemingly on the mend from a sprained right ankle, Wiggins now is battling a recurrence of the hamstring injury that forced her out of two games in December. Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer is weighing options, including resting Wiggins for the last regular-season games against UCLA and USC.

"We have to make a decision even if she could play whether she will play," VanDerveer said Tuesday. The No. 8 Cardinal need one win in the final two games to clinch a seventh consecutive Pac-10 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-10 tournament.

Wiggins, Stanford's leading scorer, was not expected to play in last week's road trip to Oregon after sustaining the ankle sprain against Washington on Feb. 10, but Wiggins came in during the second half of Thursday's game at Oregon State and played 34 minutes against the Ducks on Saturday. Stanford came home with the sweep. VanDerveer said Wiggins' ankle has improved.

"Right now, her hamstring is more a concern than her ankle," the coach said.

Stanford defeated both USC and UCLA in December without Wiggins. After this weekend, VanDerveer must decide how to use Wiggins in the Pac-10 tournament, which requires three games in three days if the Cardinal were to reach the final.

"We want her to be ready for the NCAA Tournament," VanDerveer said. "That's what's most important to us."

February 20, 2007

Slideshow from Eugene

The University of Oregon also has a Fast Break Club and a photographer. Here is her slideshow of the Stanford/Oregon game.

Jayne is Pac-10 Player of the Week

From: Pac-10 News

STANFORD freshman forward Jayne Appel has been named the U.S. Bank Pac-10 Women's Basketball Player of the Week for Feb. 12-18, Commissioner Tom Hansen announced today.

Appel, a native of Pleasant Hill, Calif., averaged 23.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, four assists, 1.5 blocks and two steals, solidifying her status as one of the premier post players in the Conference. On the week, she shot 55.2 percent from the field (21-of-38) and 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from the foul line as the Cardinal defeated Oregon State and Oregon on the road. (More ...)

February 19, 2007

A day in the life of Brooke Smith

By: Katie Goldhahn ('06), Buck/Cardinal Chronicle

When the alarm clock goes off at 7:00 a.m., senior women's basketball standout Brooke Smith knows it's only the start of a very long day.

A typical non-game day starts with weight training anywhere between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. for her and the rest of the Cardinal. From there, Brooke heads to the classroom for a few hours. As a Human Biology major, Smith has a lot to juggle with her class and laboratory load as well as her commitment to the team.

After a quick lunch, Smith is off to her second home on campus: Maples Pavilion. For a 3:45 practice time, Brooke and the team usually get to the gym about 45 minutes early to get prepared both mentally and physically. The team typically starts its session with film and does not finish until approximately 6:45 p.m.

After practice, the team heads to training table, dinner that is prepared for the women's basketball team as well as other teams in season. After returning home and doing a little schoolwork, Smith looks forward to a good night's sleep, knowing the same routine is waiting for her the next day.

These long days don't bother Smith. It's daily routines such as these that make the Stanford women's basketball team so successful.

And success is something that Brooke Smith knows. She was the 27th player in school history to score 1,000 points in her career, and is now 15th on the all-time school list with 1,368 points. She also ranks among Stanford's all-time best in field goal percentage (second, 56.8%), points per game (sixth, 14.9) blocked shots (sixth, 119) and rebounds per game (sixth, 6.7).

Being one of four seniors on the team this year, she feels that the depth on this year's squad will be key as the post-season approaches.

"We have a lot of talent and a very deep team. Between good senior leadership and a talented freshmen class, we have high expectations for the season," Smith said. "We have people in the system that have been there for a long time and are very experienced. That mixed with new blood is a combination that has the potential to be very effective."

Thus far, Smith has had a tremendous career at Stanford. She was an All-Pac-10 selection as a sophomore and junior. Prior to The Farm, Smith spent her freshmen year at Duke. As a Bay Area (San Anselmo) native, she found herself homesick her first year, making the transition to NCAA Division I basketball difficult.

'When I had the opportunity to come to Stanford, I took it. It was the only school I'd even consider because I didn't want to sacrifice my education," Smith said.

In the future, Smith aspires to play both in the WNBA and overseas. But for the time being she's only focusing on her senior season on The Farm.

"Being a senior, you get a sense of urgency. I want to enjoy every day and the whole experience."

February 17, 2007

Another double-double for Jayne

Appel powers Cardinal sweep

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Ready or not, Jayne Appel has been anointed the centerpiece of Stanford's big postseason plans. Appel looks ready.

The Cardinal's 6-foot-5 freshman center capped a great trip to Oregon with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead No. 11 Stanford to a 74-56 win over Oregon at McArthur Court on Saturday afternoon. (More ...)

Stanford women bring UO back to earth

By: Rob Moseley, The Register-Guard

No. 9 Stanford found its rhythm in the second half, while Oregon never found it at all as the Ducks dropped a 74-56 women’s basketball game to the Cardinal on Saturday at McArthur Court. (More ...)

Appel is big for Stanford women's hoops again

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Jayne Appel may be just a freshman on the Stanford women's basketball team, but the 6-foot-4 center isn't playing like one.

Appel had 18 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-56 win at Oregon, that coming on the heels of a career-best 28-point, 17-rebound game against Oregon State two days earlier.

Appel nearly recorded a triple-double against the Ducks, also finishing with seven assists. (More ...)

February 15, 2007

Stanford goes to the post

Stanford goes to the post

By: Brooks Hatch, Corrvallis Gazette-Times

The next time the Oregon State women’s basketball team plays Stanford, it should just leave the arena at halftime and call it good.

For the second time this season, the ninth-ranked Cardinal erased a substantial first-half deficit, outscored the Beavers 38-21 in the second half and made off with a 70-55 victory on Thursday night before a Gill Coliseum crowd of 1,526. (More ...

Inspired win for Stanford

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer wondered, as she waited all day for a flight out of Providence, R.I., on Wednesday, whether Candice Wiggins had packed her uniform for the Cardinal's trip to Oregon. Did she even have to ask?

With No. 9 Stanford in a very fragile place, watching another teammate go down with a potentially serious injury and getting outhustled by ninth-place Oregon State over the first 20 minutes, VanDerveer decided to go for the visual impact of having her two-time All-American ready to play.(More ...)

Appel propels hobbled Stanford

From: Mercury News Wire Services

After stumbling through the first half, Stanford came roaring back with a little help from injured guard Candice Wiggins and a lot of help from freshman Jayne Appel.

Appel had a season-high 28 points to go with 17 rebounds, Wiggins entered in the second half to steady the offensive attack, and No. 9 Stanford beat Oregon State 70-55 Thursday. (More ...)

Murphy adjusts to life shifts and turns them in her favor

By: Haley Murphy, The Stanford Daily

All around Melanie Murphy, things have been changing. As a freshman from Brooklyn, New York, the cross-country move was merely the beginning. And Murphy’s season began as it does for most freshmen: tough.

“I didn’t really have that many surprises,” Murphy said. “I just figured everything would be hard, and it was. So, it just lived up to my expectations.”(More ...)

Wiggins is most efficient player in the nation

By: Graham Hayes, ESPN

Despite all the injuries (losing two point guards to ACL tears) and adversity, Stanford is still capable of reaching the Final Four. That is, if the most efficient player in the nation, Candice Wiggins, can overcome her own hobbles.(More ...)

The game by itself doesn't fill the seats

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

More and more, marketing women's basketball seems to take out-of-the-box thinking.

Nowhere is fresh thinking needed more than with the Pac-10 tournament, which will be in San Jose for the fifth consecutive year and is dealing with a persistent case of empty seats.

The Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative is trying to attract spectators with labor-intensive efforts..

... AND ... on another topic:

Boosters and banners:

A group of Stanford women's basketball boosters is circulating a petition asking the athletic department to put championship banners back up in Maples Pavilion. The banners, acknowledging championships in women's basketball, men's basketball and women's volleyball, were removed when the facility was remodeled three years ago.(More ...)

February 13, 2007

New Oregon Trail ... to Jillian & JJ

By: Joe Freeman, The Oregonian

Pac-10 coaches journey here for a deep pool of talented girls basketball players, and Jillian Harmon, JJ Hones, Jill Noe and Lauren Greif are prime examples why. (More ...)

Stanford women limp on their way to March

By: Ann Killion, The Mercury News

Tara VanDerveer might want to stick a roll of duct tape in her suitcase when she heads to Oregon later this week. Because, all of a sudden, her team is falling apart.

And the timing is treacherous for a team with serious Final Four aspirations.

Candice Wiggins -- just the best player Stanford has ever had, which is saying an awful lot -- went down with an ankle injury Saturday and will miss this week's games and perhaps more. That blow came two weeks after JJ Hones' season ended because of a knee injury. Stanford is suddenly without experience handling the ball.

``We need some caterpillars to turn into butterflies,'' VanDerveer said Monday. ``But we have a good month left in our season to really get better.'' (More ...)

February 12, 2007

Candice is week to week

By: Elliott Almond, The Mercury News

By: Elliott Almond, The Mercury News

Injured Stanford guard Candice Wiggins probably won't play at Oregon State on Thursday, Coach Tara VanDerveer said Sunday.

Wiggins, a two-time Pacific-10 Conference player of the year, suffered a painful ankle sprain in the Cardinal's 80-54 victory over Washington on Saturday at Maples Pavilion. X-rays showed no fractures, but VanDerveer described Wiggins' status as "week to week."(More ...)

February 11, 2007

Painful win for the Cardinal

Wiggins reinjured in blowout

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

With 15:23 to go, the Stanford women held a 48-29 lead over Washington. It was the same margin and about the same point at which the Huskies staged an epic comeback against Cal on Thursday night, a game that ended with a Washington win in overtime. The No. 11 Cardinal made sure they would not endure the same fate.

Candice Wiggins ignited a 20-2 run early in the second half to propel Stanford to an 80-54 victory over the Huskies on Saturday at Maples Pavilion.

Wiggins, a junior who surpassed the 1,700-point mark in her career, scored 13 points in Stanford's game-turning run and finished with a game-high 23. But her stellar day turned out to be only half the story. (More ...)

Painful win for Cardinal

By: Elliott Almond, The Mercury News

Candice Wiggins grimaced as Stanford football player Brandon Harrison ferried her down a corridor Saturday after the No. 11 Cardinal's 80-54 victory over Washington at Maples Pavilion.

For the second time this season, Stanford's star player sprained her right ankle against the Huskies. This time, it happened after Wiggins scored her 23rd point on a driving layup with 7:59 left. She landed awkwardly, crumpled to the floor and then left the game. (More ...)

Huskies women get down, stay down

By: Ron Bergman, The Seattle Times

The Washington Huskies, who came from 19 points down with 13:52 to play Thursday and beat 20th-ranked California, fell behind Saturday afternoon to No. 11 Stanford and stayed there like two uncooked eggs in a cold frying pan. (More ...)

The men in the women's games

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

When Jonathan Gibbs found out from a friend two years ago that the Stanford women's basketball team was looking for male practice players, he had two thoughts:

It seemed like an appealing opportunity for him to play organized basketball and feel like part of a team, something he wasn't getting out of pick-up and intramural games.

And he wasn't good enough.

"I didn't think I could do it," said Gibbs, who played basketball at El Camino High in Los Angeles. "They were ranked fifth in the country at the time, and I thought, 'They don't need me.' " But Gibbs, 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, has proven a worthy adversary, particularly for the Cardinal's trio of post players, Brooke Smith, Kristen Newlin and Jayne Appel. Gibbs works under the basket against all three players regularly. He doesn't win every battle. He's got a scar on his face from one of Newlin's elbows.

"They are bigger than I am, and better-skilled, but I know they don't enjoy having me guard them," Gibbs said. "I can rebound and make them run. They know I'm here to make them better." (More ...)

February 10, 2007

Stanford needs to get the point

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

As the No. 11 Stanford women's basketball team prepares for today's home matchup against Washington, the second full game without starting point guard JJ Hones, the Cardinal are doing what coach Tara VanDerveer calls "putting the puzzle together in a different way."

The Cardinal (20-4, 12-1) have one big gap to fill and five guards with which to fill it. Hones started 20 games before sustaining a season-ending knee injury against Cal last Sunday. She was the Cardinal's assist leader (90) and second-leading three-point shooter (14). (More ...)

February 09, 2007

Cardinal crushes Cougars

Cougars offer perfect remedy for all that ails

By:Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Before Thursday night's game against Washington State, Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer said she felt like she was starting anew.

Her team was moving forward after its first Pac-10 loss of the season -- Sunday's 72-57 loss to Cal, the program's first Pac-10 home loss in 50 games -- and the loss of starting point guard JJ Hones to a season-ending knee injury.

But by the time the final buzzer sounded, a sense of familiarity had returned. The No. 11-ranked Cardinal did as they usually do, manhandling the last-place Cougars in a 60-34 victory at Maples Pavilion. (More ...)

Stanford crushes Washington State

By:Dylan Hernandez, Mercury News

Stanford's latest victory was over a last-place team to which it had never lost -- but it was important.

Behind freshman center Jayne Appel's first collegiate double-double, the No. 11 Cardinal women blew by Washington State 60-34 at Maples Pavilion on Thursday. (More ...)

Cardinal Defense Crushes Cougars

By: Scott Bland, The Stanford Daily

The No. 11 Stanford women’s basketball team defeated Washington State 60-34 at Maples Pavilion on Thursday night to improve to 44-0 all-time against the Cougars. Freshman center Jayne Appel scored 19 points to lead all players and added 14 rebounds for the first double-double of her career.

“We played with a purpose,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We wanted to get the ball inside, and I thought people were working really hard to get Jayne the ball.” (More ...)

Stanford Women Win

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Stanford freshman Jayne Appel literally played at a higher level than any other player on the court in the 11th-ranked Cardinal’s 60-34 Pac-10 victory over visiting Washington State on Thursday night.

Appel, all 6-foot-4 of her with a wingspan that seems like it’s seven feet wide, dominated the paint to the tune of 19 points (on 8-of-14 shooting) and a season-high 14 rebounds in just 22 minutes. (More ...)

Audio Slide Show: WSU @ Stanford

Here is an audio slide show of the Stanford / Washington State game from The Mercury News.

February 08, 2007

ACL injuries

ACL demons on rampage in Pac-10

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

Five Pac-10 point guards. Five season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Are we done yet? Not likely. Have we had enough? Absolutely.

There is no cure in sight for the ACL plague in the women's game. The three little letters churn the stomach as seasons are ended swiftly, randomly and cruelly. The three little letters are synonymous with disappointment and devastation; they can derail a season's worth of hope for a team. (More ...)

Women and ACL Injuries

By: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

For more than a decade, researchers have debated various reasons why anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are occurring more often in women than men, ranging from anatomical to hormonal differences in the genders.

Recent studies show that female athletes participating in certain sports like soccer or basketball are three- to four-times more likely to injure their ACL than males. A majority of these injuries are occurring in women between the ages 15 and 25, it was reported at the meeting. (More ...)

Preventing ACL Injuries in Women

By: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

In general, musculoskeletal injuries are sports-specific rather than gender specific. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), for example, occur frequently in soccer, basketball, and volleyball. However, data collected since 1995 suggest that ACL injury patterns are different in men and women who participate in the same sport. The incidence of ACL injuries among women basketball players is twice that for men, and female soccer players are four times more likely to suffer an ACL tear than their male counterparts. Both women and men incur ACL injuries in non-contact situations. Nearly 60 percent of ACL injuries in female basketball players occur when landing from a jump. (More ...)

Time for strong home appearance against Cougars

By: Haley Murphy, The Stanford Daily

Fresh off a disturbing loss to Berkeley and with only six games to go in the regular season, the No. 11 Stanford women’s basketball team will take on Washington State and Washington at Maples Pavilion before the week’s end.

Last Sunday, No. 20 California disrupted the Cardinal’s 17-game win streak, handing Stanford its first conference loss. The Cardinal (19-4, 11-1 Pacific-10 Conference) hopes to begin a new string of victories tonight with a strong home appearance against the Cougars (5-18, 1-12 Pac-10). (More ...)

February 06, 2007

Candice On Wooden Award Midseason All-America Team

From: GoStanford.com

Junior guard Candice Wiggins (San Diego, Calif.) has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason All-America Team, which includes the nation's top 20 players to this point in the season who will contend for this year's player of the year award. The list is based on individual player performance and team records through the first half of the season. (More ...)

JJ is out for the season

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

The worst fears of the Stanford women's basketball team were realized Monday afternoon with the news that freshman point guard JJ Hones sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Sunday's loss to Cal and will not return to the court this season. (More ...)


Note:

You can send your best wishes to JJ at:

JJ Hones
P.O. Box 11607
Stanford, California 94309

Or: jhones@stanford.edu

February 05, 2007

Cal makes it a rivalry again

Stanford women lose Hones, Pac-10 win streak

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Stanford lost its point guard in the first minute and then lost its shooting touch as No. 21 California stunned the eighth-ranked Cardinal, 72-57, in a Pac-10 women’s basketball contest on Sunday.

Stanford (11-1, 19-4) had its 17-game winning stopped, and its 52-game home conference streak also came to a crushing halt. (More ...)

Cal women conquer Stanford at Maples

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

This will be a game that neither Cal nor Stanford soon will forget.

The 21st-ranked Bears women fondly will recall the excitement and exuberance of the celebration following a 72-57 victory over No. 8 Stanford at Maples Pavilion on Sunday, ending a 14-game losing streak to their rivals and snapping the Cardinal's 50-game home Pac-10 winning streak.

Stanford, meanwhile, will remember that the afternoon started badly and simply got worse. Less than a minute into the game, starting point guard JJ Hones left the floor with what might be a season-ending knee injury, and the Cardinal fell apart in historic fashion. (More ...)

Cal make it a rivalry again

By: Dylan Hernandez, Mercury News

Coach Joanne Boyle called No. 21 Cal's 72-57 victory over No. 8 Stanford "the biggest win in the history of our program." Point guard Natasha Vital proclaimed the triumph would mark the start of "a real good rivalry in the Bay Area."

Stanford (19-4, 11-1) lost more than its first conference game this season. Starting point guard JJ Hones crumpled to the floor, clutching her left knee only 45 seconds into the game. Hones sat out the rest of the game because of what was called a sprain, but Coach Tara VanDerveer feared something considerably worse. (More ...)

Womens' hoops stunned by No. 21 Cal

By: Christian Torres, The Stanford Daily

For the No. 8 Stanford women?s basketball team, yesterday brought both the end of one era and the start of another. After 17 straight wins, the Cardinal women were upset, 72-57, by No. 21 California, which broke its own streak of 14-straight losses to Stanford for the beginning of a “real” Bay-Area rivalry.

"When people talk about a rivalry, you've got to win some of them," said Golden Bears head coach Joanne Boyle, who called the game the biggest win in our program's history. (More ...)

A Cardinal Calamity

By: Warren Grimes, The Bootleg

Shortly before the Super Bowl kicked off Sunday, a 72-57 upset of #8-ranked Stanford at Maples Pavilion sent shockwaves through the Pac-10 and women's college basketball. #21 Cal dared the Cardinal to shoot from outside, with alarming success, while muscling and outhustling Stanford on the boards. Stanford also lost starting point guard JJ Hones to injury on a calamitous afternoon on The Farm (More ...)

Audio Slide Show: Cal women stun Stanford

Here is an audio slide show of the Stanford / Cal game from The Mercury News.

February 02, 2007

Jayne one of five fabulous freshmen

By: Tracy Shcultz, Sports Illustrated

Herewith, five freshman worthy of recognition:

Stanford's Jayne Appel hasn't cracked the starting lineup, but she's putting up starter-like numbers for the Cardinal. The 6-foot-4 Appel is third on the team in scoring with 12.6 points a game. She trails a couple of pretty big names in player of the year candidates Candice Wiggins and Brooke Smith. With 37 blocks, she's no slouch on the defensive end either. (More ...)

Stanford streaks to win over UCSB

Stanford Streaks to Win

By:John Zant, Santa Barbara News-Press

Aside from that 32-0 Stanford scoring spree, it was a back-and-forth basketball game.

Only the Cardinal was going forth during a nine-minute span that propelled the nation's No. 8-ranked women's basketball team to an 84-59 victory over UCSB on Thursday night before a season-high crowd of 1,448 at the Thunderdome. Stanford (19-3) started a new month with its 17th consecutive victory after going unbeaten in December and January. (The remainder of this story is not available online -- sorry!)

Card roll over UCSB in second half

By:Haley Murphy, The Stanford Daily

If you’re keeping tally, notch mark number 17 into the count. That’s how many consecutive wins the No. 8 Stanford women’s basketball team has registered over this stretch of the season. The Cardinal dominated UC-Santa Barbara last night with an 84-59 victory.

While Stanford (19-3, 11-0 Pacific-10 Conference) opened the match up with a steady lead, the Gauchos (11-10, 5-2 Big West Conference) went on an 8-0 run with three minutes left in the first half to climb within three. But the Cardinal responded, sinking 32 unanswered points over the next 10 minutes of play. Senior forward Kristen Newlin attributed the scoring to motivation after the break. (More ...)

Stanford women win 17th straight

By: Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Weekly

Candice Wiggins must be close to 100 percent from a hamstring pull. One game after leading eighth-ranked Stanford to a critical conference victory, Wiggins led the way in an 84-59 women’s basketball nonconference affair at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night.

Wiggins scored 21 points and recorded six assists as the Cardinal won its 17th straight, the third longest active streak in the nation and eight games shy of matching the Stanford record. (More ...)

February 01, 2007

Getting back in her game

By: Scott Bland, The Stanford Daily

... The performance should come as no surprise to anyone who follows Stanford women’s basketball, even though Wiggins has been hindered by injuries this season. Head coach Tara VanDerveer said that her star is just starting to get back to full strength.

“I think that was the Candice we’ve seen for two years at Stanford,” VanDerveer said of Wiggins’s performance against Arizona State. “I can’t say that we’ve really seen that [this year] to the degree that we saw it last weekend.”

A tweak to Wiggins’ hamstring and a sprained right ankle recently conspired to keep Wiggins out of a few games and out of form in a few more. For the first part of January, her first step and mobility were not at the lightning-quick level that Stanford has become accustomed to seeing, and Wiggins’s rhythm and shooting suffered as well.

Things are finally starting to look more promising.

“I’m at about 95 percent right now,” Wiggins said. (More ...)

Stanford in catbird seat for NCAA tourney

By: Michelle Smith, San Francisco Chronicle

With a month to go before conference tournaments begin, it's time to start sizing up the postseason possibilities of the local teams:

-- Stanford -- With a record of 18-3, 11-0, a 16-game winning streak and a No. 8 national ranking in this week's poll, the Cardinal once again are an NCAA shoo-in. With Stanford, it's always a matter of seeding and geography and the Cardinal look to be set well on both counts.

Stanford is looking like a No. 3 seed with a likely placement in the West Region. (More ...)

Be at Maples for the first two rounds. Buy your tickets now!