May 27, 2009

Live life large

Tara was a student at Buffalo Seminary about 40 years ago. She remembers listening to alumnae addressing the student body and thinking that she would never do that.

But she was the one on the stage yesterday, speaking to the students about leadership and dreams.  "This will be you someday," she said. "It goes fast. I encourage you to live your life large." Read more...

May 22, 2009

Summer National Senior Games

The 2009 Summer National Senior Games are not associated with Stanford Women's Basketball, but most of the events will take place at Stanford and one of the sports is women's basketball*.

The Senior Games offer lots of entertaining things to do. If you have some free time the first two weeks of August, you can participate as an athlete, as a volunteer or as a spectator.

Athletes

14,000 athletes will compete in the 2009 Senior Games. There are 18 medal sports in which the athletes qualified at a State Senior Games Championship last year.

But there are also seven demonstration sports (Equestrian, Fencing, Lawn Bowling, Rowing, Sailing, Soccer and Water Polo) that are open to any athlete who is at least 50 years old on August 1, 2009. This is How to Register Online for Demonstration Sports.

Volunteers

4,000 volunteers are needed — 300 have signed up so far.

Have you ever wondered if managing the time clock at a basketball game is really rocket science? Here's your chance to find out.

Here's a sampling of other volunteer opportunities and how to register online.

Spectators

All sports events are free and open to the public. Watch your favorite sports or some you've never seen before. All you need to do is be there. Here's what, when and where: There are also lots of special events from the flame arrival ceremony on Aug 1st to the Farewell Party on Aug 15th, with food/entertainment each night in between ($15 - $25 per person).

* Note: Basketball at the Senior Games is three-on-three half court. If this game is before your time or beyond your memory, see page 15 of the NSGA Rule Book.

May 21, 2009

More about Super Softball

If you haven't been following the softball action this season, here are a couple of articles from the Stanford Daily to bring you up to speed:

May 20, 2009

Super Softball

It's not basketball, but it is a women's sport played by a very good Stanford team.

The Stanford Softball Team has advanced to the third round of the NCAA playoffs — the Super Regional, which is softball's Sweet Sixteen. Each pair of teams plays at a different location this week in a best-of-three series.

Stanford plays Arizona at the Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium, which is between Maples and El Camino Real, just south of the Sunken Diamond. The first game is on Thursday at 6:30, the second on Friday at 5:30, and the third (if required) at 8:30. The winner advances to the Softball World Series in Oklahoma City next week.

Unless this post generates way more interest than I expect, you'll be able to buy tickets at the stadium. You can also buy tickets on-line, but the added charges make that considerably more expensive.

Stanford and Arizona are closely-matched rivals. They've played three times this season, Stanford has won twice. Stanford is #4 in the Pac-10, Arizona #3. Stanford's NCAA RPI is #10, Arizona's is #7. Each team has four players that earned All-West Region honors this season.

Three of Stanford's outstanding players are:
  • Senior pitcher Missy Penna ranks among the top 10 pitchers in the nation. She pitched her 1200th career strikeout two weeks ago — the first active pitcher in the nation to do that. She pitched her 50th career shutout last week — the most in Stanford history. She was a 2008 All-American.
  • Junior outfielder Alissa Haber leads Stanford in nearly every offensive category for the third year in a row. She is hitting .439 with 79 hits, 21 doubles (third-best in the nation), 54 runs, a .722 slugging percentage, a .500 on-base percentage and 18 stolen bases. She was an All-American in 2007 and 2008.
  • Freshman shortstop Ashley Hansen is hitting .397 with 19 doubles, five triples and four home runs. She is the Pac-10 Freshman Player of the Year.
So: Smith Stadium at 6:30 on Thursday and 5:30 on Friday — it's a lovely way to spend a Spring evening!

May 19, 2009

Wacky basketball from the Ducks?

Last month the University of Oregon announced a rather surprising choice for women's basketball head coach — Paul Westhead, who had previously coached WNBA, NBA and various men's basketball teams.

Westhead is known for executing an exciting brand of run-and-gun basketball. Read more about Westhead in the announcement of his hiring.

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, suggests that Westhead's wacky brand of ball could eventually pose a threat to Stanford's dominance of Pac-10 women's basketball. Or not. Tara and her talent base and incoming recruits should keep the Cardinal on top for the forseeable future. Read more...

In any case, it's likely that Cardinal/Duck basketball games will be more entertaining and exciting than they've been in many years.

May 18, 2009

Stanford women's basketball best player ever

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, completes his series of articles about Stanford's alltime best women basketball players by revealing his top two choices: Candice Wiggins and Jennifer Azzi. Read more...

May 17, 2009

Kayla, Jeanette, Jayne. Sarah & Nneka all make first cut

Kayla, Jeanette and Jayne were named today as three of the 14 finalists for the USA Basketball World University Games team. They will return to Colorado Springs on June 18 and train through June 25, when the team is expected to depart for the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia. The 12-member roster will be announced prior to the team's departure. Here is a full report and quotes from the finalists.

Sarah and Nneka were named today as two of the 14 finalists for the USA Basketball U19 World Championship team. They will return to Colorado Springs on July 9 to begin training for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, which will be held July 23-Aug. 2 in Bangkok, Thailand. The eventual 12-member team will be finalized prior to the team’s departure for Thailand. Here is a full report and quotes from the finalists.

May 16, 2009

News from Colorado Springs

Jayne, Kayla, Jeanette, Nneka and Sarah are no doubt all working hard at the USA Basketball team tryouts in Colorado Springs this weekend. Here's a little news about them.

Nneka, Sarah, Jayne and Kayla are four of the 14 the contenders who earned gold medals in prior USA Basketball competitions. Before the first trial session, these players were asked about their medals, their memories and their experiences while wearing red, white and blue.  Read more...

Here are some video clips from the team trials. They include:
  • Jayne in Friday trials action.
  • Jayne running the floor, getting a great pass and scoring
  • Sarah scoring for the U19 blue team
  • Kayla scoring during the World University Games trials

May 15, 2009

Stanford alltime women's hoops - first team

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, has selected what he thinks are Stanford's alltime best women's basketball players. These are three of his selections for the first team -- he will reveal the top two and the alltime greatest player in Stanford history next week: Read Jake's article...

May 14, 2009

Stanford alltime women's hoops - second team

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, has selected what he thinks are Stanford's alltime best women's basketball players. This is his second team: Read Jake's article...

May 13, 2009

Stanford alltime women's hoops - third team

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, has selected what he thinks are Stanford's alltime best women's basketball players. These are his choices for the third team: Read Jake's article...

May 12, 2009

Stanford alltime women's hoops - fourth team

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, has selected what he thinks are Stanford's alltime best women's basketball players. Today he presents his choices for the fourth team : Read Jake's article...

May 11, 2009

Stanford alltime women's hoops - fifth team

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, has selected what he thinks are Stanford's alltime best women's basketball players. Today he presents his choices for the fifth team (I've added links to each non-current player's entry in the FBC Alumnae file, so you can learn more about players you're not familiar with): Read more...

May 08, 2009

The missing piece

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, writes about JJ's being the missing piece to Stanford's hopes of winning a third national championship. Read more...

May 07, 2009

USA Basketball team trials for U19 World Championship

Sarah and Nneka have been invited to try out for the 2009 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship team. They are two of the seven invitees that were on the USA U18 National Team that won the gold medal last year.

The FIBA U19 World Championship For Women is held every other year. The 2009 competition will take place July 23 - Aug 2 in Bangkok, Thailand. The trials to select the 12 finalists will be held May 14-17 in Colorado Springs.

Sarah and Nneka have the opportunity to help uphold both Stanford and USA Basketball traditions -- Kayla was on the U19 team that won the gold medal in 2007; Candice was on the U19 team that won the gold medal in 2005.

This is the announcement and the trial roster from USA Basketball.

May 06, 2009

USA Basketball team trials for World University Games

Jayne, Kayla and Jeanette have been invited to try out for the 2009 USA Basketball Women's World University Games Team. Eligible athletes for the USA team must be currently enrolled in a college or university and have remaining NCAA athletic eligibility.

Jayne and Kayla are both two-time USA Basketball gold medalists. In 2006, they played on the U18 team. In 2007, Jayne played on the Pan American Games team and Kayla played on the U19 team. This is Jeanette's opportunity to earn a spot on her first USA Basketball team.

The World University Games, which are organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), are held every other year. The 2009 competition will take place July 1-11 in Belgrade, Serbia. The trials to select the 12 finalists will be held May 14-17 in Colorado Springs. The USA team will be coached by Charli Turner Thorne, assisted by Julie Rousseau.

This is the announcement and the trials roster from USA Basketball.

How much longer will Tara coach?

It seems Tara has been coaching Stanford forever. So how much longer will she coach?

The short answer is: a long time.

Jake Curtis, Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner, reports the highlights of Tara's career and various reasons why she has not even thought about retiring. Read more...

May 05, 2009

64 teams to watch

It's too early for even Charlie Creme (ESPN) to build next season's bracket, but not too early for him to speculate about what the NCAA tournament field might look like next March. Here are his capsule evaluations of Stanford and some of the teams on our 2009-2010 schedule:
  • 1. Connecticut: After winning 39 consecutive games to notch the fifth perfect season in women's Division I history, the question might be: When will the Huskies finally lose? Point guard Renee Montgomery will be gone and can't be replaced, but remember, Diana Taurasi won two titles after Sue Bird graduated. Maya Moore has a chance to do the same.

  • 2. Stanford: Jillian Harmon is the only significant loss from a corps that has made two straight Final Four appearances. Jayne Appel will be a serious threat to win the Wade Trophy.

  • 7. Duke: Jasmine Thomas, Krystal Thomas and Karima Christmas will become the focal point of a team that might be developing the personnel better-suited to coach Joanne P. McCallie's system. Jasmine Thomas was beginning to play like the point guard the Blue Devils needed late last season.

  • 8. Rutgers: C. Vivian Stringer will have to replace starters Kia Vaughn and Heather Zurich, but Epiphanny Prince is back for her senior season. She will continue to be the focal point of the Scarlet Knights. This season's freshmen should grow up plenty.

  • 9. Tennessee: Coming off perhaps the most disappointing season in school history, the Lady Vols have plenty of offseason questions. If the freshmen learned some lessons in 2008-09, then Tennessee could be back to its usual perch. If not, 2009-10 could be yet another transition season. No program will have more eyes on it this summer.

  • 14. Arizona State: Coach Charli Turner Thorne loses plenty, including heart-and-soul Briann January. But the Sun Devils should have the usual depth, led by Dymond Simon and Danielle Orsillo, to be back in the hunt as the Pac-10's second-best team.

  • 27. California: With Devanei Hampton and Ashley Walker gone, the Bears will largely be relying on Alexis Gray-Lawson and a top-five recruiting class to stay near the top of the Pac-10.

  • 36. UCLA: Nikki Caldwell is already recruiting nationally and loses a little off a Bruins team that showed signs of improvement as the season wore on.

  • 44. Utah: The Utes lose a bunch just with Morgan Warburton's graduation, but Kalee Whipple is back and it's hard to bet against Elaine Elliott's club.

  • 46. Gonzaga: West Coast Conference Player of the Year Courtney Vandersloot, just the the third Zag ever to earn All-American recognition, is back for her junior year and joined by Gonzaga's top scorer, Heather Bowman. The Zags will be huge favorites in the WCC.

See all 64 ...

May 04, 2009

This team will be back

John Rawlings (Stanford Magazine) writes about the Cardinal's 2008-09 season, the final game against UConn and how the players found consolation in sharing the season's journey, despite the jarring ending.

Jeanette put it this way, “We stayed together the whole game. The whole game. That’s the best part. It’s amazing we made it this far, when you think of what we went through. We know better now what we can do. We all get along and we play well together. That makes it easier to think about what we have to do next year.” Read more...

The article includes a video of Tara explaining how Stanford uses the triangle offense to get the ball inside to Jayne.

In another article, Rawlings writes of Jillian's fond farewell, “I couldn’t have asked for more. The best coaches in the world, the best teammates. To have it come to an end is a bit surreal.” Read more...