Stanford FBC: Stories of the Season: February 2013

February 28, 2013

Cardinal rolls over the Huskies

With two of their best players on the bench, the Huskies didn't have a chance and lost to Stanford 36-71.

The Cardinal attacked the Huskies's zone defense from the perimeter for the whole game. They took 2/3 of their shots from beyond the arc in the first half and made a sizzling seven of eleven in the first ten minutes. The rim shrank after that, and the final total was nine of 39.

Bonnie was the most productive bomber. She took all her shots – 15 of them – from beyond the arc, made four of the first five, and sank one more later.

Chiney got off to a slow start. She took only five shots in the first half, and didn't get her 53rd double-double until two minutes into the second half. She grew it to 24 points and 13 rebounds by the end and also blocked three shots.

Jos and Amber also scored in double digits. They each made two of the remaining three-pointers and each scored a total of 12 points. Jos added two assists, three rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Amber added four assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Mikaela was, as always, a fierce defender. She tallied 12 rebounds, two blocks and a steal. She contributed the game-high six assists (which matches her career high) to the Cardinal offense.

Taylor's play was impressive everywhere but at the perimeter. She matched her career highs with four assists and six rebounds. She also scored on a layup and stole the ball once.

Tess made a very nice play that we can expect to see often as she continues to improve her offense. She missed a layup, then grabbed the rebound from several Huskies and put it back.

In the only other Pac-12 action tonight, Cal and WSU traded a slim lead for 18 minutes. Then Cal pulled ahead and won 73-60.

Here are game reports and commentary:

No. 4 Stanford Routs Washington, 71-36 by Tim Booth (Associated Press)
Short-handed Huskies are no match for No. 4 Stanford women by Jayda Evans (Seattle Times)
Putting down the Dawgs by Wally Mersereau, FBC traveller

The box score and play-by-play,

And photos by Elaine Thompson (Associated Press):

Mikaela blocks Mercedes Wetmore's shot

Now that's grabbing a rebound!

Jos closes the lane

Mikaela drives past Jeneva Anderson

Taylor gets a tip from Tara

Tess vies for a rebound

Talia Walton, Jazmine Davis and Deborah Meeks cheer their teammates' effort

February 27, 2013

Next up: Washington at last

The Cardinal hits the road for its last two games of the regular season – its only meeting with the Washington Schools:

Washington on Thursday night, February 28 at 7:00.
Washington State on Saturday, March 2 at noon.

Both games will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast by KZSU.

Washington Huskies

The Huskies have continued to improve in Kevin McGuff's second season as head coach.

They were contending with UCLA for third place in the Pac-12 standings until last week when they lost to Utah and Colorado. They're now tied with Colorado for fourth place and are likely to end the season in fifth place (Colorado's games this week are against the Oregon schools). That will be a nice step up for the Huskies, who finished in a tie for seventh last season.

The Huskies have accomplished this in spite of being short-handed and inexperienced. They have just ten active players on the roster – four of them are redshirt or true freshmen. Only seven have gotten significant playing time.

They will be even shorter-handed against the Cardinal. Sophomore guard Jazmine Davis (19.2 ppg, 3.24 apg, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year), redshirt freshman forward Talia Walton (13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and redshirt freshman reserve Deborah Meeks will serve one-game suspensions Thursday for a violation of team rules. (Read more about that here.)

The Huskies are a strong defensive team that can slow games down and force opponents into turnovers and missed shots. They lead the Pac-12 in turnover margin; they average 12.2 per game against their opponents' 17.9.

They also lead the Pac-12 in three-point shooting – both in average per game (8.37) and percentage made (33.8).

The Huskies' biggest weakness is rebounding. Their most promising freshman, forward/center Katie Collier, who was expected to replace Regina Rogers, is out for the season with a torn ACL. They rank at or near the bottom of the Pac-12 in all rebounding statistics.

The Huskies who will probably each play close to 40 minutes on Thursday are:

#10, 5'11" redshirt senior guard/forward Kristi Kingma is an outstanding three-point shooter. She set the UW single-season record with 79 in her junior year. After sitting out last season with a torn ACL, she's broken that record with 81 so far this season. She capped that ahievement two weeks ago when she set the Pac-12 single-game record with 11. She's the Huskies' second-best scorer (14.1 ppg) and third-best rebounder (4.8 rpg).

#23, 6'0" sophomore forward Aminah Williams is a vital part of the Huskies defense. She grabs the most rebounds (10.9 rpg) and gets the most steals (2.4 spg). She also scores 9.2 ppg.

#1, 5'8" junior guard Mercedes Wetmore leads the offense for the Huskies. She averages 4.0 assists per game with just half that many turnovers. She also scores 7.4 ppg.

#14, 6'1" freshman guard/forward Heather Corral broke her wrist before the season started, and didn't play until the last non-conference game. Since then she's come off the bench for almost 20 minute per game and averaged 4.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg. She takes 74% of her shots from beyond the arc. (She is former USC Star Ashley Corral's sister.)

#16, 6'0" senior forward Jeneva Anderson comes off the bench for about ten minutes per game. If she starts on Thursday, it will be the first time this season. She averages 0.8 ppg and 1.8 rpg.

Here are Washington's 2012-13 statistics and roster.

Washington State Cougars

Head coach June Daugherty's rebuilding of the Cougars is now in its sixth year, and it's again heading in the right direction. The Cougars finished 11th in the Pac-12 last season and are now No. 7. That's where they're likely to finish the season, possibly tied with Arizona State and/or USC.

Coach Daugherty usually sets a tough schedule for the Cougars, and this season was no exception. Their non-conference schedule included two top-25 teams and was ranked 45th in the nation at the beginning of conference play.

The Cougars returned only three starters from last season – one of them, sophomore guard Tia Presley, who was their top scorer, tore her ACL a month ago. The team includes six true freshmen who are a vital part of the Cougars' success. They are, Coach Daugherty says, "as good as advertised" and "a key part of a very bright future for the Cougars."

The Cougars have 13 active players. All but one of them play at least ten minutes per game, and only two play more than 20 minutes.

Scoring is a major weakness for the Cougars. They score the third-lowest points per game in the conference (60.1), and have the second-lowest field goal percentage (35.9). With Presley gone, only one player averages more than ten points per game. Also, they're not strong from beyond the arc. They have the lowest 3-point shooting percentage in the conference (25.6) and only one player who makes, on average, more than one per game.

The probable starters for the Cougars are:

#3, 5'11" freshman guard Lia Galdeira leads the Cougars in scoring (14.8 ppg). rebounding (5.1 rpg) and steals (2.9 spg). She is on pace to become the leading freshman scorer in WSU history. She's been named the Pac-12 Player of the Week three times and is a strong candidate for Pac-12 Feeshman of the Year.

#22, 6'1" junior guard/forward Sage Romberg averages 6.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg.

#33, 6'5" senior center Carly Noyes owns the WSU career record for blocks (158) and will own the career record for games played (122) after this weekend. She averages 1.2 bpg, 3.2 rpg and 6.0 ppg.

#4, 5'9" redshirt senior guard Katie Grad averages 2.5 ppg and 2.3 rpg.

#11, 5'9" freshman guard Dawnyelle Awa has taken Presley's place in the starting five. She runs the point for the Cougars. She averages 24 assists per game with a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio.

Here are Washington State's 2012-13 statistics and roster.

More national recognition for Chiney: Drysdale and Naismith

Chiney is:

One of 20 players named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 20 Midseason Watch List, and
One of 30 that remain in the running for the 2013 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year

For more information about the awards and about Chiney's accomplishments, see:

February 26, 2013

Honoring Joslyn and Mikaela

Here are reports – in words and pixels – of Jos' and Mikaela's Senior Day.

Stanford celebrates seniors Joslyn Tinkle and Mikaela Ruef by Tom Taylor (The Stanford Daily).

Seniors share spotlight with Chiney by Judy Richter, FBC Event Reporter

Photos from fans in the stands by Scott Uyeno, Michael Li and Baranduin Briggs:

The whole family

Doing the Beaver Crawl

Two slide shows – one of the game and one of Senior Day – by Deb Gumbley:

Watching the Jos & Mikaela video

Photos from Stanford Photos by Don Feria:

BFF

The Jos & Mikaela video by Stanford Athletics:

February 24, 2013

Chiney leads Duck defeat

Today was senior day for Jos and Mikaela and a record-breaking day for Chiney, as the Cardinal defeated the Ducks 74-50.

Chiney had a field day under the basket at both ends of the court. On offense, she grabbed 11 rebounds, and she made nine of 15 shots and nine of ten free throws. On defense, she grabbed another 13 rebounds, blocked three shots and stole the ball four times.

Her total of 24 rebounds broke the Stanford single-game record of 23 that Nneka made in Oregon in 2010. Chiney's career rebound total is now 1,010, and she is the sixth Cardinal with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, (The others are Nneka, Jayne Appel, Val Whiting, Nicole Powell and Kayla Pedersen.)

Her 24 rebounds and 27 points are the 52nd double-double of her career, and that breaks the Stanford record set by Nneka in 2008-2012.

The Cardinal launched a lot of shots from beyond the arc against the Ducks' zone defense, but made only 21% of them – Sara and Bonnie each made two and Taylor and Jasmine each made one. The Cardinal defense held the Ducks to fewer than that — they made only three (14%) of their long shots.

Amber continued her strong offense with 12 points and four assists. She also tallied a block, a steal and three rebounds.

Michaela continued her good defense with nine rebounds, a block and a steal. She could have had an almost-double-double, but she got careless with her free throws and missed three of them.

In other Pac-12 action today, Cal almost let one slip away. They were down by 12 to OSU at the break, but rallied and eked out a two-point win.

Colorado defeated Washington and moved up into a tie with them for fourth place. Colorado is likely to gain sole possession of fourth place next week – it plays the Oregon schools and Washington plays Stanford and Cal.

UCLA defeated USC again, but is not yet secure in its third place position. UCLA has to defeat both Arizona schools next week to ensure that it stays ahead of Colorado.

Here is the only game report:

No. 4 Stanford Overpowers Oregon, 74-50 by the Associated Press

The box score and play-by-play,

A postgame video, Chiney talks to Ros Gold-Onwude about the game,

A gallery of photos by Don Feria (Stanford Photo),

And photos by Tony Avelar (Associated Press):

Sara lays it up and in

Amber drives to the basket past her defender

Mikaela drives to the basket over her defender

Chiney maintains possession

Sara robs a Duck

Chiney boxes out

Chiney blocks a shot

February 23, 2013

Cardinal routs the Beavers

The Beavers have a very good freshman class and promise to be a strong team next season, but they haven't pulled it together yet. They battled to the end tonight, but fell to the Cardinal 90-53.

It was a lively game with so many good things for the Cardinal.

The most spectacular play was made by Chiney, who flung the ball toward the basket as she went flying into the courtside seats. The look on her face when her teammates pulled her up and congratulated her on making the shot was priceless. She ended with 19 points and 12 rebounds – the only double-double tonight and her 21st of the season – and four blocks, two assists and two steals. Eleven of her points were free throws – a career high.

The biggest step up was taken by Taylor, who matched her career high scoring with 18 points. Her prior 18-point game was against Gonzaga with six three-pointers. She was more versatile in her scoring tonight – four (of five) three-pointers, a layup on a back door cut and a crisp assist from Mikaela, a layup on a fast break (again on an assist from Mikaela), and two pull-up jumpers.

The most notable shot was Jos' jumper two minutes into the second half that increased her career total to 1,001 and made her the 34th member of the Stanford 1,000 Point Club. She sank two three-pointers later and ended with 11 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Amber was on her game tonight. She was dogged by a Beaver (is that possible?) on every trip down the court, but had zero turnovers. She scored 15 points, dished out six assists and had three rebounds and two steals.

Mikaela did her thing – assists (six) and rebounds (ten). She also blocked a shot and scored six points.

The Cardinal made 45.5% of their three-point attempts tonight (10 of 22) – four by Taylor, two each by Jos and Sara, one each by Bonnie and Amber. One of the very good things about tonight's game is that Chiney accounted for only 21% of the Cardinal scoring.

The Cardinal defense was, as usual, outstanding. "Know what they like to do, and don't let them do it," executed beautifully.

Here's a game report and commentary:

No. 4 Stanford women rout Oregon State 90-53 by Janie McCauley (Associated Press)
WBB: Stanford 90 Oregon State 53 from the CARDboard

The box score and play-by-play,

And photos by Tony Avelar (Associated Press):

Taylor launches one of her treys

Amber puts up a shot

Chiney drives through the defense

Mikaela boxes out

Amber takes the ball away from Alyssa Martin

Jamie Weisner drives against Sara

Cheers from the bench

February 22, 2013

Chiney, Jos et al, CTT

Where does she find the time?

Basketball player extraordinaire, 3.41 GPA Stanford Scholar, writer of Nerd City Rapper for FBC Team Blog and writer of It's hard to say: I'm becoming a California Girl for espnW blog.

It'll be a senior moment for Stanford's Tinkle by Rick Eymer (Palo Alto Online News)

The days remaining in her college career are numbered and Joslyn Tinkle knows it. Four more Pac-12 games followed by three at the conference tournament, a pair of home games to open NCAA action and then ...

and just a bit off-topic:

ASU Regroups after coach's absence by Michelle Smith (espnW)

Charli Turner Thorne returned from a sabbatical feeling refreshed and re-invigorated. But at 12-15, Arizona State is now having to regroup, too ...

February 21, 2013

Chiney named to Capital One Academic All-America® team

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced today that Chiney is one of five women named to the 2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America® Women’s Basketball Division I first team.

Chiney, the owner of a 3.41 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in international relations, was joined on the Academic All-America Team by Elena Delle Donne (Delaware), Brandi Brown (Youngstown State), Jacqui Kalin (Northern Iowa) and Marissa Kastanek (N.C. State). It is Chiney's first selection to the team, and the second year in which she has earned All-District 8 recognition.

This is Chiney's profile from the CoSIDA website:

A junior international relations major with a 3.41 G.P.A., Ogwumike was a consensus pre-season All-American and a National Player of the Year candidate. A native of Cypress, Texas, she has led No. 4 Stanford to a 24-2 record. Ogwumike ranks third nationally in scoring (22.7) and has 20 double-doubles. She is also the sixth-leading rebounder in the nation with a 12.3 average and she ranks fourth in field goal percentage (.584). A two-time All-Pacific-12 first team selection, she was the inaugural espnW National Player of the Week on Nov. 19 and the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week on Jan. 29. An eight-time Pac-12 Player of the Week, Ogwumike was a WBCA All-American and a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. She was an Associated Press second team All-American and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

For more information, see:

February 20, 2013

Next up: The last home stand

Yes, the regular season is almost over, and the Cardinal play their last games at Maples this weekend. (That is, the last games of the regular season. They'll be back on March 24 for the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.)

The games this weekend are against:

Oregon State on Friday night at 8:00
Oregon on Sunday afternoon at 4:00

Both games will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks and broadcast by KSZU.

The Opponents

There's not much news about the Oregon teams since the Cardinal last played them on the road three weeks ago.

Oregon State has some of the top young players in the Pac-12, but the team has struggled all season and has lost its last eight games. The Beavers are now ranked 11th in the Pac-12.

Freshman guard Jamie Weisner is the Beavers' leading scorer (12.7 ppg), and freshman forward Devan Hunter is their leading rebounder (6.4 rpg).

The Beavers played tough defense against the Cardinal in Corvallis and held them to 38.5% field goal shooting, well below season average.

Here are Oregon State's 2012-13 statistics and roster

Since losing to Stanford three weeks ago, the Oregon Ducks lost to Cal, Utah, Colorado and Washington, then upset Washington State 65-60 for their second conference win of the season. They are in the Pac-12 standings cellar.

Tara reminds us in her weekly video that Oregon uses a zone defense that challenges perimeter shooting. The Cardinal's response to that challenge in Eugene included ten of 27 three-point attempts.

Oregon's fabulous freshman forward Jillian Alleyne has continued her stellar performance. She's the Ducks' leading scorer (13.4 ppg) and rebounder (12.3 rpg). She's tied with Chiney as the sixth best rebounder in the nation. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week last week for the third time this season.

Here are Oregon's 2012-13 statistics and roster.

Senior Day

Cardinal fans will say, "Good-bye," to Jos and Mikaela on Sunday.

They'll be officially honored by Stanford Athletics in a ceremony after the Oregon game. Then they and their family members will meet with their fans for an informal "Behind the Bench" session.

Jos will most likely have another reason to remember this weekend as a special one. She has now scored 996 points in her Cardinal career and is almost certain to become the 34th member of the Stanford Women's Basketball 1,000-Point Club on Friday or Sunday.

Mikaela is eligible to play next season as a red-shirt senior, and she has been accepted into her Master's program at Stanford. Whether or not she'll join the Cardinal on the court next season hasn't been announced. It's a convoluted decision, involving scholarships and NCAA limitations.

Other Notable Events

Sunday is also Parents and Daughters Day with pregame events beginning at 3:15. All fans and families with tickets to the game are invited. Click here for more information.

There are two special deals on tickets for the Sunday game:

Food and Fun Package – four general admission tickets, four hot dogs and four soft drinks for $28: Click here to purchase.
Discounted Tickets – $5 general admission, $15 upper reserved: Click here and specify promo code "DAUGHTERS" to purchase.

Friday is Fan Appreciation Night. You can purchase general admission tickets to the Oregon State game for $1 at the Maples ticket office on game day. There'll be prizes and giveaways throughout the game.

Friday is also Professional Women's Networking Night – a mixer before the game and courtside tickets to the game for the first 40 to register. Click here for more information and to register.

February 17, 2013

Cardinal controls the Bruisers

It was rough and it was tough — the Bruins were desperate for this win. But the Cardinal kept their cool and prevailed to a 68-57 victory.

The Bruins' aggressive defense cost them the game. They shot better than the Cardinal (44.4% - 39.7%) and, on field goals alone, would have won 51-50. But they were called for 19 fouls, and the Cardinal made 18 of their 20 free throw attempts. The Bruins made 6 of 11. (These stats were skewed somewhat by the last minute of play when the Bruins began fouling on every Cardinal possession and traded two field goals for six free throws.)

The Cardinal, especially the less-experienced players, were frequently rattled by the Bruins' very effective trapping defense. But the Cardinal's controlled defense was equally effective. The Cardinal had more rebounds (38-31), more blocks (5-3), more steals (11-9) and fewer turnovers (15-21).

The Bruins scored first with a jumper by Thea Lemberger. Then the Cardinal took the lead with a layup and free throw by Chiney and never relinquished it. The Bruins kept the margin to less than 10 points until seven minutes into the second half, and the Cardinal's biggest lead was, briefly, 16 points.

Chiney missed making a double-double for only the sixth time this season, but dominated the scoring with 26 points. She also had two assists, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals.

Mikaela had the only double-double today – the second one of her career – with ten points and ten rebounds. Four of her points came from 100% success at the free throw line! Her always strong defense helped keep Alyssia Brewer and Jasmine Dixon in check.

Amber led the Cardinal offense for 38 minutes. She seemed tentative at times, but her careful deliberation paid off. Although she turned the ball over five times, she dished out seven assists and scored nine points herself (on a three-pointer and six free throws). She also hurt the Bruins on defense with six rebounds and five steals.

Jos again was a stong senior leader for her team. She played the full 40 minutes of this grueling game and tallied ten points, three assists, nine rebounds, a block and a steal.

Bonnie sparked the Cardinal offense with two three-pointers — Sara had one.

Also notable was Tess' presence for four minutes in the first half of the game, during which she turned to the basket and scored a layup. On a subsequent play, she was holding the ball high over her head and twisting her body in an attempt to get away from Alyssia Brewer's in-your-face defense. Her elbow contacted Brewer's head, and she was called for a flagrant foul.

In other Pac-12 action, Cal held off a late rally by USC and won 72-64. Washington doesn't play OSU until Monday, so UCLA has dropped to fourth for the time being.

Here are game reports and commentary: