First up: Corban and Vanguard

The 2012–13 season begins, as usual, with a couple of exhibition games – against Corban University on Thursday evening at 7:00 and Vanguard University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00.

Exhibition games aren't included in team win–loss records, so they don't affect rankings or RPIs. They're sort of a bridge between preseason practice sessions and the "real" season games.

But the games are important for Corban and Vanguard, who like to test their mettle against strong non-conference competitors like Stanford and Cal.

And they're important for Stanford as Tara and Amy begin arranging the puzzle pieces to form another winning team. I hope to see lots of playing time for our newbies:

• Point guard Denia Ebersole
• Guard Kiran Lakhian
• Forward/center Tess Picknell
• (Forward Aly Beebe is red-shirting this season with a torn ACL)

And the returnees who missed most of last season due to injury:

• Forward Mikaela Ruef
• Guard Jasmine Camp
• (Guard Alex Green , who tore her Achilles tendon, has not yet been cleared to play)

Both games will be webcast by Pac–12 Live Stream and broadcast by KZSU.

  Corban Warriers

Corban University, located in Salem, Oregon, plays in the Cascade Conference of Division II of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Last season, the Warriors were ranked #13 in NAIA Division II with a 24–8 overall record and won their first conference title with a 15–3 record. They're ranked #2 in their conference and #14 in the NAIA Division II 2012–13 preseason polls. Thursday's game will be the first meeting of Stanford and Corban.

Corban returns three starters from last season's team:

• 5'10" senior forward Tess Bennett
• 5'5" senior guard Emily Tsugawa
• 6'2" sophomore center Tara Van Weerdhuizen

And adds six freshman, led by Gonzaga transfer:

• 6'1" forward Megan Benedict

Head coach Terry Williams is, "extremely pleased with the effort our team is showing in practice. Our new players are showing early maturity and we see chemistry already that makes us optimistic for the season."

Here are Corban's 2011–12 statistics and their current roster.

  Vanguard Lions

Vanguard, located in Costa Mesa, plays in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of Division I of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Lions are one of the elite NAIA teams. They've advanced to the NAIA Division I National Championship for eleven straight seasons, won one championship, advanced to the semifinals twice and finished as quarterfinalists three times. They've been picked to finish fourth in NAIA Division I this season.

Vanguard and Stanford have met in exhibition games the past four seasons. They've never come close to winning (the closest score was 77-41 in 2008), but it's never been for lack of effort. A major factor in their poor showing last year is that 17-year head coach Russ Davis sat down five of his players, including three starters, because they were late for a team meeting.

Vanguard returns three starters:

• 6'2" senior forward/center Esther Timmermans from Australia
• 6'0" senior forward Maree Allison from Australia
• her younger sister, 5'9" senior guard Allison Drennan, a Fresno State transfer from Australia

And its most productive reserve:

• 5'6" senior guard Chelsea Alfafara

Here are Vanguard's 2011–12 statistics and their current roster.