By Judy Richter, with photos by Dave Cortesi
About 20 fans of Stanford women’s basketball got their first chance to see three of the four incoming freshmen June 27 in San Francisco Pro-Am games at Kezar Pavilion in the city.
Guard Marta Sniezek and forward Shannon Coffee are teammates on the Bay City team along with a Stanford alum, guard Markisha “Kish” Coleman, ’07. Guard Alexa Romano and senior center/forward Tess Picknell are paired on the San Francisco team.
Also competing that afternoon were two sophomores, guard Brittany McPhee and forward Kaylee Johnson on the Mission Rec Center team.
Marta and Shannon’s Bay City was victorious over East Bay Athletics 105-80 in the first game. Brittany and Kaylee’s Mission Rec prevailed over Tess and Alexa’s San Francisco 110-75 in the second game even though Mission Rec had only seven available players while San Francisco had 12.
Shannon gets five fouls but keeps playing
According to unofficial numbers compiled by me and FBC webmaster Marian Cortesi, Shannon had 28 points and seven rebounds for Bay City. She picked up her fifth foul in the third quarter but was allowed to stay in the game because Bay City had only five players.
Markisha and another player had switched over to East Bay to give it five players. Hence players on both teams had to play the full game -– four 10-minute quarters in accord with new NCAA rules for women’s basketball.
Shannon’s Bay City teammate Marta had 17 points plus four rebounds.
Markisha had 17 points and one rebound for East Bay.
Marta shows leadership
Marta was the first to score for her team, nailing two free throws. Throughout the game, she was a vocal floor leader on both offense and defense and distributed the ball well.
She had a number of assists and nifty passes, including several to Shannon in the paint -- something that could bode well for the future.
Shannon was more tentative, missing several seemingly easy shots, but she improved as the game continued.
Kish showed a number of crafty moves for East Bay, indicative of her experience at Stanford as well as her current coaching experience at Menlo-Atherton High School. (She earns her living as a Santa Clara County probation officer.) After the game, she came over to thank the Stanford fans for coming.
Shannon, Marta greet fans
Shannon and Marta chatted with fans before the game. Marta said that she went to the same Washington, D.C., high school, National Cathedral, as Grace Mashore, ’12.
Shannon, who comes from Centerville, Ohio, said it’s about 20 miles from the hometown of Mikaela Ruef, ’13.
Among Stanford fans at the game were Marta’s mother, Edwina; and Marta’s uncle, Ignacio Dayrit, who lives in Berkeley. His daughter, Teresa, also is a freshman at Stanford. Edwina said that Marta is the eighth of nine children.
Players use Caltrain, Uber, bicycles
Marta and Shannon had taken Caltrain from Palo Alto to San Francisco before catching an Uber ride to Kezar. Marta’s mother and uncle planned to take them out to eat before returning them to campus.
Kaylee and Brittany, who played in the second game, also took Caltrain but then bicycled across the city to get to Kezar.
Kaylee started for Mission Rec, jumping against Tess for San Francisco at center court to get the action under way. Brittany entered the game with 7:11 to go in the first quarter.
Brittany leads everyone in scoring
Brittany was largely responsible for Mission Rec’s success, scoring 37 points, more than any other player in either game. Her baskets included three 3’s, and she had nine rebounds, indicative of the hustle she had shown during her freshman season.
Kaylee, who played less than Brittany, had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Playing 16 minutes, Tess had 5 points and six rebounds for San Francisco. She seemed to improve as the game continued.
Alexa, her teammate, came off the bench to play 16 minutes. She took only a few shots and didn’t score but had one rebound. She moves well, but it was difficult to draw any more conclusions.
The fourth freshman, forward Alanna Smith from Australia, will represent her country in U19 women’s competition in Russia in mid-July.
Games to continue July 5
San Francisco Pro-Am competition will resume Sunday, July 5.
The first game is at 1:30 p.m. when Tess and Alexa of the San Francisco team will face junior guards Lili Thompson and Briana Roberson of Palo Alto TnT.
Kaylee and Brittany’s Mission Rec will play East Bay at 3:30 p.m.
Kezar Pavilion is at 755 Stanyan St. (at Waller) on the east side of Golden Gate Park. Admission is free. A pay-by-the-hour parking lot is right next door.
Marta shoots a free throw
Marta scores on a layup
Shannon sets a screen for Marta
Shannon shoots a free throw
Shannon scores on a layup
Shannon scores a three-pointer
Alexa drives
Alexa goes up for a shot against Kaylee
Kish coaches her team
There are more photos in
this gallery.
