Here are previews of the Cardinal's next game or two:
It's not exactly clear what the question was, but the answer is indisputably Joslyn Tinkle. The only senior on the roster of the Stanford women's basketball team, Tinkle has plugged up virtually all the holes the Cardinal seemed to have this season. Read more...
UC Davis's head coach Jennifer Gross is one of the top offensive coaches on the west coast, and her teams have given Stanford some challenging competition in recent years. The Aggies have advanced to the WNIT four times in their five years as a Division I program.
They may not be quite so challenging early in this season. They lost the nucleus of the team – four strong starters – to graduation and have six newcomers – five freshmen and a transfer from Iowa State who is not eligible to play this season.
They've been picked to finish seventh (of ten) in the Big West and are 2-2 for the season
The Aggies who will probably see the most action on Friday are:
The Bulldogs no longer have Courtney Vandersloot, Kayla Standish or Kate Redmon, who led their team deep into the NCAA tournament in the past three years.
They have a lot of youth this season – 10 underclassmen, including six freshmen. But they still have head coach Kelly Graves, one of the best coaches in the mid-majors, who's been building Bulldog teams that compete with the best for 12 years. He says the team is one of the most talented he's had at Gonzaga.
The apparent drop in talent at Gonzaga prompted coaches to pick the Bulldogs to finish second (to BYU) in the West Coast Conference this season. It's a first for the Zags in five years to be picked anywhere but first, but it hasn't slowed them down. They've won five of their first six games, losing only to #6 Louisville in a tournament in Puerto Vallarta.
The Bulldogs are especially competitive at home in their 6000-seat "Kennel", which is sold out for Sunday's game.
These are the most productive Bulldogs:
Michelle Smith (espnW) has much more to say about the Zags here: Gonzaga has a new look this season
Here are the Bulldogs' 2012-13 statistics and roster.
The Long Beach State 49ers are very good 3-point shooters, but Cardinal defense held them to two of 20 beyond the arc this afternoon, while the Cardinal sharpshooters sank ten of 24. The result: a 77-41 victory for the Cardinal.
The 49ers used a zone defense most of the game in an attempt to deny access to the basket. They didn't slow Chiney down much — she scored her third consecutive double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds).
Her teammates took the opportunity to shoot from beyond the arc and made 42% of their attempts — three of five from Taylor, two of five from Jos and Bonnie, and one each from Jasmine, Sara and Amber. Jos was the top scorer with 18 points.
The Cardinal defense denied the 49ers their comfort zone beyond the arc and outrebounded them 43-32 on the inside.
Here are game reports:
A gallery of photos by Norbert Von Der Groben (Stanford Photo),
And these photos by Tony Avelar (Associated Press):
Cardinal fans know that the team reaches out to the community in various ways, but the media doesn't often report those activities. So, it was a pleasure to find a report of one in the San Carlos Patch:
Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer and her number-one ranked Cardinal team fired up the students at Ralston Middle School Wednesday with some awesome ball handling drills and advice on teamwork, respect and appreciation. Read more...
By the way, Ralston counselor Teresa Bergin, who invited the team to Ralston, is Clare Bodensteiner's mother.
These are a few of the photos that accompany the article:
After three games in three days in Hawai'i, the Cardinal have it a bit easier next weekend. They play just one game, at home, against the Long Beach State 49ers.
The game will be live-streamed by the Pac-12 Network and broadcast by KZSU.
Stanford and Long Beach State were frequent competitors in the pre-Tara era and have met occasionally since then. They last played each other 19 years ago. Stanford scored its most points ever and won that game and 122-49.
The 49ers play in the Big West conference, along with one of the Cardinal's recent competitors (Univerity of Hawai'i) and two upcoming ones (U.C. Davis and Pacific). They've been picked to finish fifth (of ten) in the conference this season.
Last season they became the first team in Big West history to knock off a No. 1 and No. 2 seed in conference tournament action, and they reached the championship game for the first time since 2001. They return eight letterwinners and four starters from that team.
The 49ers have four players who frequently shoot from beyond the arc — Sanchez, Dooley, sophomore guard Lauren Spargo and sophomore forward Ella Clark. They average a total of 5.0 three-pointers per game at a rate of 35%.
The 49ers are 2-2 for the season. Their most recent game was a 71-62 victory over the University of Washington.
Here are the 49ers 2012-13 statistics and roster.
Tara VanDerveer's team ended Brittney Griner and the Lady Bears' 42-game winning streak. David Shaw and his players outsmarted No. 1 Oregon 17-14 in overtime Saturday to complete a dramatic double, and "Nerd Nation" -- as athletes across all sports on this quaint Silicon Valley campus call themselves -- enjoyed a giant I-told-you-so celebration.Read more...
This is Chiney's second consecutive Pac-12 Player of the Week award this season and the fifth of her career.
The Cardinal got more national attention in Graham Hays' weekly wrap:
Stanford is the stock of the moment, and for good reason.And the icing on the cake: Stanford moved up to #1 in the AP women's basketball poll, just edging out UConn and dropping Baylor to #3. Read more...No Nneka Ogwumike? No problem. Behind another command performance from Chiney Ogwumike and the type of supporting efforts from players such as Taylor Greenfield and Mikaela Ruef that largely erase the question marks about Stanford before anyone has even brined their Thanksgiving turkey, the Cardinal made a case for New Orleans from Honolulu. By all means, buy Stanford for No. 2 or even No. 1.
Commentary by Clay Kallum (Full Court Press): So which is the better team, Stanford or Baylor?
Stanford defeated Tennessee-Martin 92-67 in a fast-paced, high-scoring game.
The Skyhawks' sharp-shooting duo, junior guards Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome, lived up to their reputations. They were slowed down just a bit by dogged Cardinal defense (particularly by Amber and Toni), but still scored a total of 37 points, a little below their season average of 43.
The two teams traded a slim lead for the first 12 minutes of the game. Then Stanford went on a 14-2 run and led by ten points at the end of the half. They returned from the break (possibly with some crisp advice from Tara) and increased their lead throughout the second half.
Tara used an eight-player rotation for most of the game, plus a few minutes from Sara, Erica and Tess. Three Cardinal had outstanding performances.
As a team, the Cardinal shot the ball considerably better than yesterday (against Hawai'i). They made four of ten three-pointers (two by Bonnie, one each by Jos and Taylor) and made 56.9% of their field goal attempts. They were also very good at the free throw line. With the exception of a freshman who's not doing well there yet, they made 13 of 15 tonight — that's a very nice 87%.
The All-Tournament team, "as selected by the media," ("What media?" snickered some Cardinal fans) was announced after the game: Joslyn, Brittney Griner and Jordan Madden from Baylor, Jasmine Newsome from Tennessee-Martin and Kamilah Martin from Hawai'i. Stanford won the tournament with its three wins and no losses. Chiney was the MVP.
Here are game reports and commentary:
A gallery of photos by Dave Cortesi,
And photos by Marco Garcia (Associated Press):
The Cardinal lost their sharp-shooting edge tonight, but not their energy or enthusiasm. It was enough to defeat the Rainbow Wahine 69-42.
The Cardinal made just 43% of their shots tonight, well below their prior season average of 55% and made only four of 15 three-point attempts. But they out-rebounded the Rainbows 38-28 and had just nine turnovers to their 13.
Chiney didn't give an inch to tough Rainbow defense and tallied her second double-double of the season (15 points and 17 rebounds). Eight of the rebounds were O-boards, the credit for which goes to her teammates' just-off-the-mark shooting as well as to her prowess.
Everyone got some playing time tonight. Denia and Kirhan subbed in for the last two minutes and the other 11 active Cardinal got 11 minutes or more.
Tess played tough defense for 16 minutes. She grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Erica delighted her fans with fierce defense, a steal and two successful spirited drives to the basket during her 11 minutes on the court.
Sara sat out yesterday with ice on her knee, and it was a relief to see her on the court for 15 minutes tonight, during which she contributed four rebounds and a couple of free throws to the stats.
In other game tonight, Baylor defeated Tennessee-Martin 82-67.
These games drew little attention from the media. For the Stanford/Hawaii game, there's just:
From the AP game report: "... and with three players draped on her, the 6-foot-8 star's shot fell harmlessly off the rim ..."
From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser game report: "... but she [Griner] came up short on her baseline shot and no one cleanly got the rebound in time."
Not true!
03.0 seconds to go: Griner puts up her shot. Mikaela & Chiney are straight-up guarding Griner. Jos is holding off a couple of Lady Bears.
02.9 seconds to go: Griner's shot is on the way. Chiney is already turning towards the basket. Jos continues holding off possible Lady Bear rebounders.
01.6 seconds to go: Many reach for the rebound.
Chiney, her hands slightly above Griner's, grabs the rebound cleanly and in plenty of time.
