Stanford's newest hoop standout may be as good as gold

Palo Alto Online Rick Eyler, July 28, 2008


Nneka Ogwumike helps USA Women's Under-18 team win FIBA Americas Championship

If Stanford women basketball fans needed a reason to get excited, than they need look no further than 6-foot-2 forward Nneka Ogwumike.

She's going to be a freshman on The Farm this fall and has already received numerous accolades. The National High School Player of the Year, she helped Cy-Fair High in Texas compile an 108-2 mark during her three seasons on the varsity. She scored 2,204 points, and added 1,287 rebounds, 172 assists, 262 steals and 133 blocked shots.

On Sunday, Ogwumike added her first international gold medal to the family trophy case as she recorded a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds to help the USA Women's Under-18 national team beat host Argentina, 81-37, and win the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Buenos Aires with a 5-0 record.

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Final Stats from USA U18 Championship - Nneka leads the way

Nneka Ogwumike led the way statistically during the FIBA world championships for the gold medal winning American team. Nneka had the highest scoring average with 12.6 points/game and the highest rebounding average with 8 boards per game while only playing an average of 17 minutes per game. Sarah Boothe averaged 10.8 minutes per game and scored 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Here are the final statistics for the American team.

Recap of three more dominating wins by U18 team

In the final 3 games of the FIBA Americas under-18 Championship for Women the USA team dominated play to win the gold medal without losing a game.
USA beats Argentina 81-37 in the final game: Led by a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds (in 23 minutes) from Nneka Ogwumike, the 2008 USA Women's U18 National Team concluded its run through the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women unscathed with an 81-37 drubbing of host Argentina Sunday night in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The team's first-place finish qualified the USA for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, along with runner-up Canada, third place Brazil and fourth place Argentina. Sarah Boothe added 2 rebounds in 11 minutes of play. Here's a complete recap of the Argentina game. USA beats Brazil 96-51 in game 4 to clinch the gold medal (July 26):
Jumping to a 21-4 lead after just five minutes of play, the 2008 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team (4-0) once again easily defeated its FIBA Americas U18 Championship opponent in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this time capturing a 96-51 win over Brazil (2-2) Saturday night. All 12 U.S. players scored in the game, including nine players with points in the first quarter. Nneka had 13 points and 8 boards in 17 minutes of play while Sarah Boothe 12 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. Here's a complete recap of the Brazil game. US U18 team overpowers Puerto Rico 116-36
The 2008 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team (3-0) took its first lead 19 seconds into its game against winless Puerto Rico (0-3) Friday night in the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and never looked back. Racing to an 80-point romp that featured six U.S. scorers in double digits, the 116-36 win was the USA's largest margin of victory yet. Sarah Boothe scored 12 points and had 3 boards in 10 minutes of play while Nneka tallied all nine of her points in the 1st quarter as USA jumped to a 25-6 lead after the first 10 minutes. Nneka also added had 6 rebounds in 15 minutes of play. Here's a complete recap of the Puerto Rico game.

Another easy win for the USA U18s

The USA team defeated Canada 72-56 for its second win in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women. It wasn't a blowout like yesterday's game against Venezuela, but it's described as an "easy win".

This win guarantees the USA a top-four finish -- Sarah and Nneka will be playing in the FIBA U19 World Championship next year.

Here are a game report, the box score and some photos.

Next up: Puerto Rico (who lost to Venezuela today 89-52) at 1:00 PDT on Friday afternoon.

USA overpowers Venezuela

The USA Basketball U18 team started the tournament with a definitive win over Venezuela: 112-49!

It was definitely a team effort. Every one of the 12 members played significant minutes and scored.

Nneka had 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. She was excited to see the scoreboard go over 100. She'd never seen that before. Hopefully it won't be last time in her college career.

Sarah had six points, six rebounds and a block

Here are the story, the box score, and some photos.

Next up: Canada, who defeated Brazil today 67-47, on Thursday at 11:00 PDT.

Report from Buenos Aires

The USA Basketball U18 team reports on their arrival in Buenos Aires. It's cold and raining, so they're all wearing hooded grey sweatshirts and it's hard to tell who's who. But here are Sarah and Nneka.

Read more... and see all the pictures.

The team plays their first game today at 11:00 PDT against Venezuela.

Interview with Nneka

Today's USA Basketball U18 feature story is about Nneka:

Honored by Gatorade, McDonald's, Parade and USA Today, among others, Nneka Ogwumike is one of the most decorated members of the 2008 USA Basketball Women's U18 National Team. Just days away from the start of competition, the Stanford-bound forward from Texas discusses her team, her future and her idols in this audio interview.

Where are they this summer?

By Judy Richter

This summer finds the 15 members of the 2008-09 Stanford women’s basketball team literally scattered around the nation and around the world.

Here’s a rundown of what everyone’s doing, according to Amy Tucker, associate head coach:

Incoming freshman forwards Sarah Boothe and Nneka Ogwumike are playing together on the U.S. Under-18 National Team that will compete in FIBA Americas U-18 Championship for Women in Buenos Aires July 23-27 after training in Colorado Springs and Washington, D.C. You can follow their adventures in Stories of the Season.

The other world traveler is senior forward Jillian Harmon, who, along with Clare Bodensteiner, ’06, is proving to be a stalwart for New Zealand’s women’s Olympics basketball team. Their feats are chronicled in Cardinal in the Olympics.

Incoming freshman guards Lindy LaRocque and Grace Mashore are playing for the Bay Pride women’s team in the San Francisco Pro-Am League at Kezar Pavilion. They’re also attending summer school at Stanford.

The four sophomores – forwards Kayla Peterson and Ashley Cimino and guards Jeanette Pohlen and Hannah Donaghe – have all been at their respective homes and working out. Kayla, Jeanette and Hannah will return to campus next week to help with the elite sessions of Tara Hoops Summer Camp.

Among the juniors, forward Michelle Harrison and guard Melanie Murphy are attending summer school while continuing to rehab from last season’s knee injuries. Center Jayne Appel is at home and rehabbing from post-season shoulder surgery. Guard JJ Hones is working out at home.

Senior forward Morgan Clyburn is another summer school scholar. She’s rehabbing from post-season foot surgery. Guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude has a sports marketing internship at Nike’s world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.

The four coaches – Tara VanDerveer, Bobbi Kelsey, Kate Paye and Amy Tucker – have been amassing the miles while recruiting for much of the summer. They’ll be coaching at hoops camp and then get some much-needed rest to recharge their batteries in August before returning to campus in September. Their first official activities with the team start in mid-September.

Photos from U18 training camp

The USA Women's U18 National Team is six days into training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in preparation for the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women, which will be contested July 23-27 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The team departs for four more days of practice in Washington, D.C. on July 16.

Here is a photo gallery from USA Basketball. Look for Sarah and Nneka.

A team to remember

As we look forward to next season, here's a look back at last season from Stanford Magazine. It doesn't hurt much now to remember the very end.

Is Palo Alto TitleTown USA?

ESPN SportsCenter will travel to 20 communities this summer before letting SportsNation decide which one deserves the name TitleTown USA. Palo Alto is one of the finalists. The Palo Alto segment was filmed a couple of weeks ago. Watch Tara explain why we deserve the title.

Special WNBA Hoops Package

by Otis Watson, Fast Break Club Member

The Sacramento Monarchs have put together a game package for all Stanford Women's Basketball fans for Sunday, September 7th, 2008, at 6pm, when the Monarchs (with Nicole Powell) play the Minnesota Lynx (with rookie Candice Wiggins), at ARCO Arena, in Sacramento. This will be Candice's only Bay Area appearance this year! You do not have to be a Fast Break Club member to attend!

You'll find more information and an order form here.

First look at Grace & Lindy

by: Wally Mersereau
photos: Dave Cortesi

Here are my impressions on seeing new Stanford freshmen Grace Mashore and Lindy LaRocque for the first time in a summer Pro-Am game on July 5 at Kezar Pavilion, which they lost 108-85 to a better team led by Alexis Gray-Lawson, Lauren Greif and incoming Cal player Casey Morris.



Grace Mashore showed poise and strong confidence. As a point guard she seemed to have a good view of the floor and was fast and quick with good ball-handling skills, especially her accurate and deceptive passing, which led to four assists. She played well on defense where her quickness resulted in her getting four steals, four rebounds and a block -- not bad for 5'9"! She looked good driving to the basket, which earned her five free throws and three made baskets. Those plus one 3-pointer gave her a total of 15 points. Grace is a scrappy player. She always seemed to be in the middle of whatever was going on.



Lindy LaRocque has a promising quick release and no hesitation in shooting long 3s--most of her 3-point efforts were from well beyond the line. She made three of them, four free throws and a two, for a total of 15 points. She is the same height as Grace at 5' 9", but has a slighter build. She was active on defense and in going for rebounds and was not afraid to mix it up. Lindy's style of play resulted in frequent falls to the floor, reminiscent of Brooke Smith in her earlier days.