June 10, 2011

Getting to know Alex, Amber, Bonnie, Erica, Jasmine & Taylor

You have six freshmen to "learn" next season — Alex Green, Amber Orrange, Bonnie Samuelson, Erica Payne, Jasmine Camp and Taylor Greenfield.

Get a head start by watching them play at Kezar Pavilion this summer. All of them except Alex (who tore her ACL last November) have signed up for the San Francisco Bay Area Pro-Am Summer Basketball League, along with Chiney, Joslyn and '07 alum Markisha Coleman.

Play begins in a week, on Saturday June 18th, and continues each Saturday until July 30th, ending with championship games on Saturday August 6th, Sunday August 7th and, if necessary, Saturday August 13th. Note that the Stanford summer quarter begins on June 20, so the freshmen may not appear untilJune 25th.

I'm surprised each summer at how few Cardinal fans come to watch the games. It's not great basketball, but it is basketball, played by competitive young women, and well worth watching.

Don't let parking worries keep you from attending. You won't find on-street parking unless your parking karma account is overflowing, but there's a public parking lot next door to Kezar Pavilion on Stanyan at Beulah. Last summer, they charged a flat fee of $5.00. There's always plenty of space unless there's a special event at Kezar Stadium. In that case, the fall-back option is the public garage at UCSF Medical Center on Parnassus at 3rd They charge #3.00 an hour. It's just a short (½ mile), but steep, walk between the garage and Kezar.

Here are more inducements for a trip to the City. Kezar Pavilion is at the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park. The DeYoung Museum of Art, the Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers and Strybing Aboretum are all within a mile's walk of Kezar. The tea garden and arboretum open at 9:00 on summer Saturdays, the museums at 9:30 and the conservatory at 10:00. Come early before the crowds, then head back to Kezar for the first game at 12:00, the second at 2:00 or the third at 4:00.

If you live south of San Francisco, take a detour to Twin Peaks on your way home, especially if you haven't been up there in a long time or if you're new to the Bay Area. The fog has usually cleared by late afternoon (no guarantees), and the views are spectacular.

Here is more information:

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Note that all seven Stanford players are on the same team, South Bay, making it easier to see them all at once.
Should be fun. Thanks for the posting, Marian.