November 30, 2015

Gulf Coast Showcase: 3rd Round Wrapup

3rd Round Overview

Stanford captures Showcase in overtime against Purdue, by Carl Bleich (Naples Daily News)

#1 Stanford 71, #2 Purdue 65

Gulf Coast Showcase Champs, AP game recap posted by Stanford Athletics
WBB Falls to No. 13 Stanford in OT 71-65, game recap from Purdue Athletics
Purdue goes cold in OT; Stanford wins Gulf Coast Showcase Championship, by Kat LaRocca (Swish Appeal)
Purdue Falls to Stanford in the Gulf Coast Showcase Championship, by WBBFan (Hammer and Rails)
Tournament Champion, by FBC Traveller Wally Mersereau
Box score and play-by-play
Audio Press Conference, Tara and Lili

#3 Dayton 79, #4 Louisville 66

#UDWBB powers past #22 Louisville, 79-66, Sunday night, game recap from Dayton Athletics
Moore, Hines-Allen Lead Louisville Women’s Basketball in Loss to Dayton, game recap from Louisville Athletics
Louisville’s downward slope continues, drop to 1-4, by Kat LaRocca (Swish Appeal)
Box score

#5 Maine 52, #6 LSU 41

Women's Basketball Defeats LSU, Finishes Fifth at Gulf Coast Showcase, game recap from Maine Athletics
Lady Tigers Take Sixth Place in Showcase, game recap from LSU Athletics
Box score and play-by-play

#7 Missouri State 77, #8 Marist 45

Lady Bears' complete performance produces big win over Marist, game recap from Missouri State Athletics
Women's Basketball Ends Gulf Coast Showcase with Loss to Missouri State, game recap from Marist Athletics
Box score and play-by-play

November 29, 2015

Gulf Coast Showcase: We are the champions!

This game was a nail-biter from end to end, and was decided by two unusual and unexpected factors.

Stanford took a quick early lead on threes by Lili and Bri. The Cardinal held a small lead through the first half, which ended at 26-21 — a low score resulting from many dry possessions by both teams that ended in turnovers and missed shots. The halftime stats were remarkable for how little difference there was between the teams: field-goal percent, turnovers, rebounds, all the usual stats were nearly identical. Basically Stanford was ahead because of the early threes.

Purdue took a brief lead at 4 minutes into the third quarter, and ended the third quarter ahead by one, 44-45. They made it 46-48 with a three at 6:16 into the fourth quarter. About this time Karlie was called for a block on which she went down hard and was slow to get up. However, she re-entered the game a few minutes later. The game was tied at 51-51 at the final media timeout with 4:07 to play.

Those last four minutes of regulation were full of action, most notably a three by Bri as the shot clock expired; Lili being fouled on a 3-point attempt and making all three free throws for a 57-53 lead; then two baskets by Purdue to tie the score at 57 all. Purdue made one more jumper to pull ahead, but fouled Bri who made two free throws to tie the game again at the 33-second mark. Purdue couldn't score and we went to overtime.

At this point we checked the stats and noted that although almost all the stats were close, there was one glaring difference. Purdue was 5 of 8 on free throws, and Stanford was 16 of 17! Stanford had gone to the line much more often and was making almost all. That difference of +11 on free throws is undoubtedly what kept Stanford in the game and allowed them to reach the OT. Now they had to win...

In the overtime, Bird grabbed a gritty rebound of a Lili miss, and Lili was fouled by Purdue's #13, Perry, a dangerous defender who now had to leave with her fifth foul. Lili made both free throws to give Stanford the lead.

After missed shots by both teams, Bri turned the ball over and Kailee fouled the Purdue player. Purdue made both of their free throws to tie the score once again.

Bird drove for the basket and was fouled and made both free throws: 63-61. On a Lili foul, Purdue made one of two free throws to make it a one-point game, 63-62 at 1:39. But on the next possession, with Stanford looking baffled and the shot clock running out, Kailee shot a three from the corner! The most unlikely player had suddenly put Stanford up by four, 66-62, with 1:00 on the clock.

The drama wasn't quite finished even then. Purdue fouled Bri who made two free throws (68-62) but then Purdue hit a three (68-65 with 40 seconds to go). But what iced the game was that on the Stanford possession, Bri was fouled shooting a three, and made all three free throws. That set the final score, 71-65.

Stanford and Purdue looked almost exactly matched, and Stanford could easily have lost the game to Purdue and been justified to call it a "quality loss". However they won the game and did so on two remarkable things: an amazing performance at the line, shooting 25 of 26 free throw attempts; and a startling last-second three-point shot by Kailee to put Purdue two possessions down late in overtime.

Bri had 26 points for her career high, including 5 of 6 three-point attempts. Bird had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Lili had 17 points tonight, averaged 20.7 points and 6.0 assists for the tournament, and was named the tournament MVP.

Here's the box score and play-by-play. Come back tomorrow for media game reports.

November 28, 2015

Gulf Coast Showcase, 2nd round

Stanford 74, Dayton 66

Dayton clearly outmatched Stanford off the court — they had their 30-man pep band, an 8-person yell squad, the Dayton Flyer mascot, and about 60 enthusiastic, red-shirted fans behind their bench. Stanford had about 20 fans (counting parents and Tara's mother and sister) thinly scattered around the arena.

The Flyers owned the first quarter 24-14, and looked like owning the game, with the Cardinal missing shots and giving up turnovers. There was promise, however in the fact that Bird ended the quarter with 4 made baskets, quite respectable given the size of the Dayton big girls defending her, and Alanna had hit two threes.

In the second quarter Alanna hit another 3-pointer and Stanford came within two, 28-26, before Dayton drained three 3s in a row to reopen their lead and end the half 40-33. We fans also noted Lili had only field goal, which suggested things might improve.

In the third quarter Alanna hit a three, Lili hit a three, Bri drove the lane (defying two players twice her size), drew a foul and made two free throws to bring the score to 43-40. A moment later, a three by Karlie tied the game, and shortly after Stanford was ahead by six. This lead they just as quickly gave back as Dayton tied the score 51-all, mostly on points made off Stanford turnovers. The third quarter ended with Dayton up 54-53.

Stanford opened the fourth quarter well, with treys by Lili, Alanna, Lili again, and a two by Lili. At 7:11 Dayton called time with the score 56-64. At 4:04, the final media timeout, the score was 64-69 and Lili, Karlie, Alanna and Bird each had three fouls. Three minutes later the score was unchanged after several fruitless possessions by both sides.

Then Dayton hit two free throws to get within three, and the game was still anyone's. But at 0:22, with the shot clock almost out, Karlie dropped in a clutch three: Stanford up by six with 22 seconds to play.

Employing the new rule, Dayton called time and then inbounded from the end of their bench. A score at this point could have been significant, but big #55 clanked a jumper and Bird got the rebound.

Dayton had to foul the Stanford inbound three times before free throws were needed. Bri made both and that completed the scoring: Stanford wins by eight, 74-66.

Top scorers were Alanna, posting her best performance with 22 points from making six of eight 3-point attempts; Lili with 19, including three of six 3-pointers and a perfect four from the line; and Erica with 16, on 62% shooting. Karlie was only two for seven attempts, but the second one was absolutely crucial.

Although they rarely looked comfortable and gave up many fouls and turnovers, the Cardinal recovered from a bad first quarter and posted a solid win over a quality opponent.

Here are game reports and commentary:

The box score and play-by-play,

And photos by Dave Cortesi

Dayton pep band and mascot
Pre-game huddle
Tara welcomes the team onto the court
The tipoff
Quiet post-game celebration

Purdue 62, Louisville 60

Purdue is unranked; Louisville is ranked 22 in the AP Top 25. On that basis, this was Louisville's game to lose.

Although Louisville kept the lead through most of the game, they were not able to put Purdue away. Purdue did not play like an unranked team; they passed the ball crisply and kept their composure in the face of the Louisville's harassing defense. Louisville would pull out a lead of 6 or 8, and Purdue would pull it back. Purdue has a freshman "big", 6-6 Nora Kiesler, who reminded us a lot of Jayne Appel; her rebounding was important to Purdue's ability to hang on.

The final minutes were exciting. Purdue was within 2, 51-53, at the four minute mark. At 1:50 they were within 1, 55-56. After a turnover by Louisville, Purdue scored to take a one-point lead, 57-56 with 1 minute to play.

Louisville answered at 41 seconds, regaining a one-point lead at 57-58. Here the new rules came into play: Purdue called an immediate time-out and then could inbound the ball from the end of their bench. At 34.1 seconds, Purdue scored: 59-58. Now Louisville called a time-out so they could inbound from the end of their bench.

Louisville scored at 26.1 seconds, regaining a one-point lead 59-60. Purdue called time-out to inbound from the end of their bench.

Purdue inbounded the ball and a Louisville player caused a foul. The Purdue player made both her free throws, making the score 61-60. Louisville called a time out; both teams were now out of time-outs.

Louisville put the ball in play; after a few seconds it went out of bounds and was awarded to Purdue. Now Louisville had to foul and did, at 10.6 seconds. The Purdue player made one of two free throws, making the score 62-60. Louisville was unable to score in the final seconds, so that was the final score.

The Cardinal should not look past Purdue; they are a legitimate threat. Just the same, most fans were glad we would not have to face Louisville tomorrow.

Here are game reports:

And the box score and play-by-play,

Consolation side of the bracket

Maine 69, Missouri State 65

LSU 72, Marist 45

Up Next

No Cardinal vs Cardinals after all.

The Louisville Cardinals play the Dayton Flyers for third place at 2:00 pm Pacific Time.

The Stanford Cardinal play the Purdue Boilermakers for the championship at 4:30 pm.

November 27, 2015

Gulf Coast Showcase, 1st round

Read Wally Mersereau's trip report for an account of Thanksgiving day in Florida as well as the 1st round games: Raining Threes in Florida

Ready for Thanksgiving Dinner

Dayton 68, Maine 47

Debbie Antonelli helps Stanford staff scout the Dayton/Maine game

Dayton dominated this game from the start, primarily on their defense.

They played a fluid, alert zone on every defensive possession. The Maine Black Bears found it very difficult to score inside or outside. Outside, their threes weren't dropping, and when they managed to get the ball inside the height of the Dayton front court (6-5 Saicha Grant-Allen and 6-4 Jodie Conelie-Sigmundova), made it hard to get an unobstructed shot or an offensive rebound.

Dayton in turn did not score as freely as their height advantage would suggest they should -- in fact their high scorer was guard Amber Dean — but their final total of 68 was ample, given their defense.

Here are game reports:

And the box score and play-by-play,

Stanford 82, Missouri State 65

Stanford dominated this game on shooting, hitting a total of 15 threes: five by Lili, five by Karlie, four by Bri and one from Brittany. (The Stanford single-game record for 3-pointers is 16).

The Cardinal began the game a three from Lili, then Bri, then Karlie in the first four minutes.

Missouri State mounted a vigorous player defense from the start, varied only in the second half with a tepid zone for one or two possessions.

A few minutes into the game the Lady Bears took their first and last lead, 11-12, quickly erased by a three from Brittany. From that point Stanford pulled away, ending the first half at 44-30.

The Lady Bears cranked their defense even higher in the second half, resulting in a lot of entertaining, and sometimes scary, action. Lili especially often tumbled to the floor. Marta also mixed it up, driving into the scrum to pass or shoot. But Missouri State played Stanford even in the third quarter at 22 points each.

In the fourth quarter they got within 12, but then Stanford pulled away to the final result.

Lili scored a season-high 26 points — her fourth straight 20+ game. Bri scored her most points of the season (18) and her most-ever 3-pointers (four).The Cardinal had trouble getting the ball inside this afternoon. Bird grabbed the game-high rebounds (10), but missed her fifth straight double-double by one point.

Here are game reports:

And the box score and play-by-play,

Louisville 65, Marist 53

This was an entertaining game due to Louisville's style of play: pressure defense played with abandon. The Cardinals pressed Marist on every possession. This frequently resulted in a foul, or a ball out of bounds to Marist, but it often produced a turnover.

In the first half the Red Foxes were able to keep their composure under the constant annoying harrassment, and Louisville's shooting was poor (27% for the half), so they could not profit much from turnovers. Marist hit a number of timely threes and the half ended with Marist up 32-28.

Things began to turn for Louisville in the third quarter when, despite a number of unforced turnovers and a lot of fouls, they outscored Marist 17-10 to enter the fourth quarter up 45-42. In the fourth quarter Marist seemed to tire and Louisville ended the game with a 16-3 run to win going away.

If Stanford plays Louisville (Cardinal v. Cardinals), all that will be necessary to win is for Stanford to keep their composure and make the many free throws Louisville is sure to give them.

Here are game reports:

And the box score and play-by-play,

Purdue 69, LSU 52

We didn't have the stamina for a fourth game today, but

Here are game reports:

And the box score and play-by-play,

Alanna

Freshman Smith is Stanford's first international recruit by Janie McCauley (AP)

November 25, 2015

Fear the Flyers

Looks like the Cardinal's probable second round opponent in the Gulf Coast Showcase will be a big challenge.

Graham Hayes (espnW) has updated his mid-major rankings and now ranks the Dayton Flyers No. 1 with this evaluation:

Since last rankings: Home wins against Yale (81-75), Vanderbilt (81-56), Wisconsin (87-64)

In the spotlight: Size, size and more size. While not to the extent suggested by a photo that makes it appear they invaded a gym used by the Keebler Elves, the Flyers are big. That size has them at No. 1, rather than struggling to adapt to life without Andrea Hoover and Ally Malott. A backcourt of Kelley Austria, Jenna Burdette and Amber Deane was always going to be the foundation. But 6-foot-2 freshman Maddy Dennis looks ready, 6-5 junior Saicha Grant-Allen has been double-double productive with expanded minutes alongside 6-4 senior Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova, and 6-3 junior Andrijana Cvitkovic produced when Grant-Allen was in foul trouble against Wisconsin.



Dayton coach Jim Jabir and coaches of other teams competing in the tournament talk about coaching and opportunities in: VanDerveer, Stanford headline Gulf Coast Showcase

November 24, 2015

Up next: Thanksgiving in Florida

The Cardinal are spending the long Thankgiving weekend in Florida this year, playing in the third annual Gulf Coast Showcase.

The tournament format is an eight-team playoff, with winners playing winners and losers playing losers in the second and third rounds to determine places one through eight.

BD Global Sports, the event sponsor, will provide a video live stream and live stats of each game.

Click here for the tournament bracket and game times.

First Round


Stanford will play the Missouri State Lady Bears on Friday, November 27 at 10:30 am Pacific Time.

The Lady Bears play in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They were picked to win the conference in the preseason poll:

Missouri State welcomes back four starters and nearly its entire statistical output from last season’s 18-15 squad that returned to the postseason (WNIT) for the first time since 2012.

The Lady Bears roster features a pair of talented senior guards in Kenzie Williams, a first-team all-MVC selection this season, and Tyonna Snow, an honorable mention all-conference honoree last season. Sophomore Liza Fruendt, a member of the league’s All-Freshman team a season ago, completes the Missouri State backcourt.

Senior center Hillary Chvatal, junior guard Lexi Hughes and sophomore forward Aubrey Buckley, who started in 30 games for Missouri State last season, will also play pivotal roles for the Lady Bears once again in 2015-16.

Here are Missouri State's statistics and roster.

Second Round

Stanford will play either the Dayton Flyers or the Maine Black Bears on Saturday, November 28 at either 8:00 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon (Pacific Time).


The Dayton Flyers are not ranked in the top 25, but have received votes in the national polls — enough to place them at No. 29/27. Graham Hayes (espnW) ranked them seventh in his preseason evaluation of the mid-majors.

The Flyers play in the Atlantic 10 conference. They were picked to finish second to George Washington University in the preseason conference poll.

The Flyers, who went 28-7 overall and 14-2 in the Atlantic 10 in 2015, are coming off a thrilling run to the Elite Eight in which they defeated tenth-seeded Iowa State, second-seeded Kentucky and third-seeded Louisville before falling to eventual National Champion, UConn.

The Flyers lost their two top players from that squad to graduation — senior guard Andrea Hoover and senior forward Ally Malott. Those two combined for 43% of the Flyers points and 34% of the rebounds.

The Flyers have made a good start this season with three victories, led by senior guard Amber Deane, senior guard Kelley Austria and senior center Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova.

Here are Dayton's statistics and roster.


The Maine Black Bears play in the America East Conference. They were picked to finish second to four-time reigning champion Albany in the preseason conference poll.

The Black Bears are coming off their best season in eleven years, winning 23 games and claiming the America East Co-Regular Season title after going 14-2 in conference play.

The Black Bears return all five starters from last year's squad, including Co-Defensive Player of the Year, senior forward Liz Wood, who ranked in the top-7 of scoring, rebounding, steals, assists and field goal percentage last season. Maine led the league in scoring defense last year, allowing just 54.5 points per game.

The Black Bears are a small black spot in the Stanford record book. The Cardinal have played them just once — in the 1999 NCAA 1st round. The Black Bears won 60-58 with a pair of free throws in the last 17 seconds of the game.

Here are Maine's statistics and roster.

Third Round


If Stanford wins its first two rounds, it is most likely to play the Louisville Cardinals, the only other nationally-ranked team in the tournament, in the championship game on Sunday November 29 at 4:30 pm Pacific Time. It would be a first-time meeting — the Cardinal and the Cardinals have never played each other.

Louisville was seeded No. 3 last season, but was upset by Dayton in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. They received pre-season rankings of No. 8/8 in the national polls. But they have lost their first two games this season (to Cal by four points and to Western Kentucky by two) and are currently ranked No. 22 in the AP Top 25 and dropped from the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

Louisville plays in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They were picked to finish third, behind Notre Dame and Florida State, in the preseason conference poll. Charlie Creme (espnW) concurred with this evaluation:

Nine freshmen and sophomores make up the Cardinals' roster, and at least three of those players could be All-Americans one day.

Sophomore Mariya Moore could burst through as one of the country's top players, and classmate Myisha Hines-Allen is already one of its most efficient scorers. Although just a freshman (but the best of an outstanding class), guard Asia Durr is a veteran of the Team USA circuit and a two-time Georgia Player of the Year.

Taja Cole takes over at the point. She and Durr look to be the backcourt duo for Jeff Walz for the next four years. Erin DeGrate and Sam Fuehring should each get sizable minutes in the post as rookies.

Here are Louisville's roster and statistics.

The other three teams in the bottom half of the bracket are:


The LSU Tigers, headed by fifth-year coach Nikki Caldwell Fargas, play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The SEC is a very strong conference, led by South Carolina and Tennessee. The Tigers were picked to finish tenth in the preseason conference poll.

Here are LSU's roster and statistics.


The Purdue Boilermakers play in the Big Ten Conference. They were picked to finish in the bottom half of this 14-team conference in the preseason conference poll.

The Boilermakers are the only Gulf Coast Showcase participant that the Cardinal has played in the recent past. The teams met two years ago in the Puerto Vallarta Thanksgiving Tournament. The Cardinal won that game — it was Tara's 899th career victory.

Here are Purdue's roster and statistics


The Marist Red Foxes play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).

The Red Foxes have dominated the MAAC for more than a decade. They've been the tournament champion ten times in the past twelve years. They lost the championship game last season and, before that, in 2005.

They were picked to finish second this season in the preseason conference poll.

Here are Marist's roster and statistics.

November 23, 2015

Bronco stampede stuns the Cardinal

The Broncos brought their best defensive game ever to Maples tonight and defeated the Cardinal, 61-58, for the first time since 1998.

The Broncos' aggressive, wide-spread zone defense completely flummoxed the Cardinal, who never got into an offensive rhythm. The Cardinal couldn't penetrate to the basket, their 3-pointers weren't falling (until late in the game — way too late) and their free-throw shooting was pathetic (10-of-17 for 59%).

The discombobulated Cardinal turned the ball over 26 times (four shy of Stanford's single-game record) in their attempts to solve the Bronco defense.

The Broncos made good use of those additional possessions and of superior offensive re-bounding (23 to 16). They weren't shooting very well (31% to the Cardinal's 36%), but they took 71 shots to the Cardinal's 53.

Lili had her third straight 21-point game, and Bird had her fourth straight double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), but that wasn't quite enough to prevail over the determined Broncos.

Here are game reports and commentary:

The box score and play-by-play,

A gallery of photos by Nhat V. Meyer (Bay Area News Group),

The press conference audio, with Tara, Lili and Bri,

And a few of Nhat V. Meyer's photos:

Alanna fights for the ball
Bird takes a shot
Bri drives into the Bronco defense
Brittany takes a shot
Lili launches one of her five 3-pointers
Jubilant Broncos

November 21, 2015

Cardinal speeds past the Colonials

Whatever happened to the nice girls from Stanford?

The Cardinal on the court this afternoon were fast, aggressive, fast, hard-driving, tough, really fast -- a great deal of fun to watch and apparently enjoying that style of play as much as their fans.

The Colonials took an early lead with an amazing performance by 6'4" senior forward Jonquel Jones, who scored 18 of their first 26 points. They were ahead by four at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinal stepped up the offense after the break. They took the lead three minutes into the second quarter and extended it with a 17-5 run from which the Colonials never recovered.

The Colonials lived up to their reputation as excellent rebounders. They won the battle of the boards, but just barely 50-46. The Cardinal out-did them in every other category — shooting (46% from the field, 45% on 3-pointers, 83% on free throws), assists, blocks, fewer turnovers, fewer fouls — and won the game 84-63.

Lili led the Cardinal scoring with 21 points, including 3-of-6 3-pointers and 6-of-6 free throws. She also had six assists (with zero turnovers), five rebounds and two steals.

Bird made 60% of her shots. She scored 18 points on nine layups and grabbed ten rebounds for her third straight double-double of the season. She also had two assists and two blocks.

Karlie was outstanding on both offense and defense. She scored 17 points, including 4-of-6 3-pointers. She took over the job of defending Jonquel Jones somewhere in the second quarter and bothered her enough to limit her scoring to just nine more points.

Alanna was the fourth Cardinal to score in double-digits. She scored ten points, including a 3-pointer, and was both aggressive and controlled on defense; she was called for just one foul in 18 minutes of play.

Kaylee fought hard under the basket against the tall Colonials. She grabbed ten rebounds and blocked three shots.

Bri made only one of her twelve shots, but she was a beast on defense. She harrassed the Colonial guards unmercifully for 25 minutes and also tallied four assists, three steals, three rebounds and a block.

The Colonials are reputed to use the press, said coach Paye before the game, but they hardly had a chance to do that in today's fast-paced game.

Here are game reports and commentary:

The box score and play-by-play.

The press conference audio, with Tara, Bird and Lili.

A gallery of photos from (Stanford Athletics).

November 18, 2015

Up next: Home with George Washington and Santa Clara

The Cardinal will be back home at Maples next weekend to host George Washington on Saturday at noon (leaving plenty of time before tuning in to the Big Game) and Santa Clara on Monday evening at 7:00.

Both games will be live-streamed by Stanford Athletics and broadcast by KZSU, with live stats here.

There will be a chalk talk in Kissick Auditorium before each of the games.

Cards need lots of rebounds next weekend

  George Washington Colonials

George Washington University, which is located in Washington DC, plays in the Atlantic 10 conference.

The Colonials and the Cardinal have played each other twice — in the postseason long ago (1991 & 2001). Do you remember seeing the Colonials when they played at Maples seven years ago in the opening rounds of the NCAA? They defeated Cal by two points in the second round.

The Colonials will pose a strong challenge to the Cardinal defense. They're currently ranked No. 22/20 in the national polls. They're the reigning Atlantic 10 champion and have been picked to win the title again this season.

espnW ranked the Colonials No. 20 in the preseason, with this evaluation:

Notable returners: Jonquel Jones (15.3 PPG, 12.5 RPG); Caira Washington (12.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG); Hannah Schaible (9.2 PPG, 2.2 APG) *

The Colonials should again be one of the best rebounding teams in the country because Jones and Washington return. The 6-4 Jones averaged a double-double in 2015 and should be a finalist for every national player of the year award. Kelli Prange, a 6-5 sophomore, gives fourth-year coach Jonathan Tsipis another potentially dominant rebounder.

Shannon Cranshaw as the primary deep threat and the return of Lauren Chase, fifth in the Atlantic 10 in assists, are the X factors for defending the conference championship and making a deeper NCAA tournament run.

Graham Hayes ranked the Colonials second-best in the mid-majors:

What they have: The Department of the Interior. All right, the nickname needs work, but not many programs, mid-major or otherwise, can talk about running out a lineup that goes 6-2, 6-4, 6-5 across the front. Colonials coach Jonathan Tsipis has talked about doing just that at times with All-America candidate Jonquel Jones, Caira Washington and Kelli Prange. The team led the nation in rebounding by a healthy margin a season ago.

Name to remember: Caira Washington. The headlines will go to Jones, and deservedly so, in the case of a player who can do things like put up 24 points and 17 rebounds at Dayton. But to use a comparison to a recent mid-major success, Washington is the Ta'Shia Phillips to Jones' Amber Harris -- not in stature, where Washington gives up inches to Phillips, but certainly in value. The junior forward just can't afford to hit triple digits in fouls this season.

Here are George Washington's statistics and roster.

* Hannah Schaible, George Washington's third-best scorer last season, has not played yet this season. I can find no report of an injury.

  Santa Clara Broncos

The Cardinal can realistically expect a victory over Santa Clara unless they get complacent.

The Broncos have been picked seventh in the West Coast Conference. They've had a tough start to their season — on the road to Washington and then USC. They lost both games.

You'll see something you've never seen before if you come to the game — the Cardinal outfitted in turquoise.

Stanford Athletics reports:

Stanford women’s basketball has partnered with Nike N7 to honor Native American Heritage Month and will wear N7-inspired turquoise uniforms at its November 23 game against Santa Clara. Turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in Native American culture.

“We are very excited and honored to host an N7 game,” Stanford’s Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball Tara VanDerveer said. “My staff and I are fortunate to have been involved in several clinics with Native Americans and are happy to join Nike in supporting basketball and physical activity among Native youth.”

more ...

Here are Santa Clara's statistics and roster.

November 17, 2015

Lili named to Wooden Award Preseason Top 30


Lili is among 30 women’s basketball players named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30 it was announced today.

November 16, 2015

Katelin Knox joins staff as athletic trainer

By Judy Richter:

Although she’s new to the Stanford women’s basketball staff, athletic trainer Katelin Knox is no stranger to the campus.

Before recently succeeding Marcella Shorty, who went to the South Carolina women’s basketball team, Katelin had been associated with Stanford for three years.

She started as an intern with the football and men’s volleyball teams from October 2012 to June 2013. She then received an athletic training fellowship that kept her on campus until moving onto the WBB staff this season.

Happy to stay at Stanford

She welcomed “the opportunity to stay at Stanford.” Its first-rate medical facilities are a big draw, she said in an interview.

Besides working with women’s basketball, she serves the women’s golf team, but doesn’t travel with it. She had worked with the field hockey team during its offseason earlier this year.

Her varied experiences have helped to “broaden my horizon on different types of injuries,” she said.

Athletic trainers “do a lot of preventive” work, she said. In particular, she works with Brittany Keil, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, to help the players with proper movement and mechanics and, if necessary, their physical therapy.

Along those lines, she coordinates with the medical staff to help players with injuries.

Communication plays a big role

If a player feels ill or thinks she might be injured, she first contacts Katelin, who decides where to go from there. She stressed that she and Brittany work in concert with the medical staff. “All of us work together,” she said. “There’s a lot of communication.”

Part of that communication, of course, involves the coaches. “The coaches always know what’s going on,” she said. Therefore, they know what an ill or injured player’s practice plan should be.

Nutrition is another important aspect, so a sports nutritionist is on staff. “We have a lot of resources,” she said.

Other resources include the human performance lab and Stanford sports medicine. Both boast of state-of-the-art technology and conduct all kinds of sports-related research.

Katelin involved in ACL research

Right now she’s working with Dr. Jason Dragoo, a Stanford orthopedist and sports medicine doctor, on a research project aimed at preventing ACL injuries in girls. He’s trying to see how the biomechanics of younger girls and high school soccer players change after an exercise program.

The researchers first use motion-capture technology to watch the girls in drills in the lab. Next they go to the girls’ practices and put them through drills.

After three or four months, the girls return to the lab where the motion-capture technology records their jumping and cutting maneuvers, specifically how they land.

The research is “still in the process,” so there are no conclusions for now, Katelin said.

Her job at practices and games

Her day-to-day work when the WBB team practices starts early in the morning for meetings and any needed rehab work. She helps the players get ready for practice by taping their ankles if they don’t use a brace.

During practice, she helps injured players and keeps an eye on the court to make sure everyone’s OK. For example, when a player hit the floor hard during the recent open practice, Katelin rushed over to check on her – no harm done.

Sometimes she stays after practice if someone needs additional help.

During games, she’ll be at the end of the bench with a supply bag loaded with such necessities as first aid items, cleansing supplies, tape for ankles, splints, ice bags and wraps, compression wraps and hand sanitizer.

Any player who wears contact lenses is asked to give Katelin an extra set in case a lens comes out during the game. She has lens solution.

Visiting teams bring their own trainers, but she e-mails them ahead of time with her contact information. She also supplies them with ice and Gatorade. There’s always a doctor at the games to serve either team if needed.

Academic background

Katelin earned her BS in combined sciences at Santa Clara University in 2009 and went on to earn an MS in athletic training at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2012. Both schools are on the WBB schedule this year.

Besides being familiar with Stanford before moving into her present position, Katelin was familiar with the area.

She grew up in San Mateo and graduated from Aragon High School, where she played basketball for four years and ran track for two years.

She became interested in becoming an athletic trainer while working at a physical therapy clinic and in the athletic training room at Santa Clara U.

“I really enjoyed being able to help athletes get back to what they love doing after an injury. The dedication to getting back to sports and being able to help others really drew me to athletic training,” she said by e-mail.

She “was first introduced to Stanford sports medicine while working basketball camps during summer breaks,” her official bio says.

There’s more where Stanford is concerned. Her father works in its IT department.

“Nothing compares to Stanford,” and “it’s nice to be close to home,” she concluded.

November 15, 2015

Stanford Daunts the Dawgs

Updated Nov 16: Corrected ASU v Kentucky result.

It was a highly-contested game that could have so easily gone either way. Tied at the end of the first quarter. Tied at the half. Stanford up by a meager three points at the end of the third quarter. Tied again with seven minutes to go.

Then: bam-bam-bam! a timely barrage of threes by Lili - Karlie - Lili put the Cardinal ahead by ten. The Zags, flustered, missed their next 12 shots and Stanford coasted home to a 65-48 victory.

Bird had a big game — 23 points and 13 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double, plus a block and four steals

Lili was close behind on scoring. She came off the bench and scored 21 points with four-of-seven 3-pointers. She also had three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

The Zags won the rebounding battle. They had as many as ten more than the Cardinal, although the Cardinal closed the gap to 44-43 by the end of the game. Kaylee helped keep the Cardinal in the game by grabbing ten of those rebounds.

Bri played for 35 minutes, Karlie for 26, and Brittany for 21. They contributed to the Cardinal victory in ways that didn't show up much in the box score.

Marta and Alanna both picked up early fouls and were limited to nine minutes and five minutes respectively.

The Pac-12 is off to a great start! In other action today, Oregon defeated #22 North Carolina 79-77 and Cal defeated #8 Louisville 75-71. But Arizona State lost to #18 Kentucky 50-46 in overtime.

The Cardinal returns to Maples next weekend for games against #21 George Washington on Saturday and Santa Clara on Monday.

Here are game reports and commentary:

The box score and play-by-play,

Approximately 5,975 soon-to-be-disappointed fans

Great photos of game action from Stanford Women's Basketball Facebook:

Preview:Gonzaga

Stanford Athletics preview: Cardinal continues North

Gonzaga Athletics preview: Clash with Cardinal Looms for Women's Basketball

November 13, 2015

Cardinal runs down the Aggies

The women's game was delayed by 45 minutes tonight as the Aggie men blew a nine-point lead in the last couple of minutes of their preceding game and took it into overtime, where they lost to North Dakota State.

About half of the spectators departed, leaving maybe 2000 to watch the women's game, 50 or so wearing Cardinal red. The Cardinal wore new stylish black road warrior uniforms.

The Cardinal's offense was delayed by two quarters as the Aggie women stifled it with their fierce zone defense. The Cardinal player defense was equally effective at stifling the Aggies. Each team made about 30% of their shots, and the halftime score was just 29-24 in favor of the Cardinal.

Tara may have reminded her players at the break that, "It counts now". On returning to the court, most of them practiced shooting 3-pointers during the warmup.

They greatly intensified their defense in the second half, with a lot of effective pressing and trapping that disrupted and wore out the Aggies. They began the third quarter with a 20-2 run, shot 46% to the Aggies' 18% in the last two quarters and won 74-45.

In last week's press conference, Tara said she would be really happy if she had five players who scored close to double digits. That happened tonight — Bri scored 15 points, Alanna 13, Lili 10, Erica 10 and Karlie 9.

Tara also said that the Cardinal has seven pretty good 3-point shooters to replace Bonnie's prowess beyond the arc. Eight of them launched a total of 24 long shots tonight, although only four of them succeeded — Bri hit 3-of-4, Karlie 2-of-6, Lili and Alanna each 1-of-4.

This is really a fun team to watch — with the emphasis on team. Six players blocked shots — Kaylee, Erica, Kailee and Tess each had two; Alanna and Alexa had one apiece. Marta tallied two steals; Kaylee, Erica, Bri, Brittany and Kailee one apiece.

Eight players had assists — Marta dished four; Bri three; Karlie, Lili and Tess, two; Kaylee, Brittany and Kailee one. The team's collective assist/turnover ratio was a nice 1.45.

Everyone played. All except one got rebounds. Erica grabbed the most (11) and tallied her third career double-double.

In oher Pac-12 action today, six other teams played their first game of the season. All of them won.

Here are game reports and commentary:

November 12, 2015

Preview: UC Davis

Stanford Athletics previews the Cardinal's first game of the season: Now it counts

Bill Paterson (Sacramento Bee) reports the Aggies' prospects for the season: UC Davis women’s basketball team seeks consistency

Run Cardinal, run

From Cardinal will be on run this season by Elliott Almond (Mercury News): "... Stanford coaches plan to take advantage of their deep and fast roster by transforming into a running team..."

From Young Cardinal need time to grow by John Reid (Daily News): "... We're hoping to play at a faster pace ... We can constantly be running the floor ..."

From As season nears, women’s basketball looks to contend with youth, quickness and depth by Ashley Westhem (Stanford Daily): "... will also look to push the ball in transition and get the ball inside more, playing run-and-gun basketball, ...

November 10, 2015

Up next: A visit to the Aggies and Zags

The Cardinal begins its 2015-16 non-conference season with a short road trip to UC Davis, against whom Kaylee soared to her second career double-double last season.

The game is on on Friday, November 13 at 7:30 pm. There will be no television or video coverage of the game, but UC Davis Athletics will provide a live audio stream and live stats.

If you're going to the game and can make it to Davis by 5:30 or so, drop in to The Graduate, a sports bar just across the street from ARC Arena, and join the no-host mixer organized by the Sacramento Stanford Alumni Association.

After returning to Palo Alto for a night's sleep and perhaps an early practice session, the Cardinal will fly to Spokane for a Sunday afternoon game vs Gonzaga at 1:00 pm.

The Gonzaga game will be shown on local TV station SWX. If you live in the Spokane area, click here for coverage information. The game will also be streamed live by Gonzaga Athletics. Click here for live stats.

  UC Davis Aggies

In their past four annual encounters, the Aggies have mounted a strong zone defense against the Cardinal. The Cardinal can expect more of the same this season from fifth-year head coach Jennifer Gross. They'll need to have shaken off last week's preseason wobblies to gain a fifth consecutive victory.

The Aggies return a pair of starters and nine players overall from last season's squad that finished in a tie for fifth in the Big West Conference. They are led this season by senior forward Alyson Doherty, who was named to the preseason All-Big West Conference team. She is joined by returning starter senior forward Celia Marfone, sophomore guard Rachel Nagel and sophomore guard Dani Nafekh

Here are UC Davis' 2014-15 statistics and current roster.

  Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Cardinal can expect a tough game in the Kennel, which will be packed full of enthusiastic fans.

The Zags have won the last 11 regular season West Coast Conference (WCC) titles. They've been to the Big Dance in each of the last seven seasons, advanced to the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite 8 once. They just missed their second Elite 8 spot last season with a loss in overtime to Tennessee.

This season, the Zags have been tabbed as the WCC preseason favorite. They aren't nationally ranked, but they have received votes in both of the national polls. Graham Hayes (espnW) picked them as #6 in the mid-majors:

What they have: Let's call it institutional memory. Gonzaga loses stars and still thrives. It even lost Kelly Graves to little ill effect, coming within a whisker of the Elite Eight for Lisa Fortier. So while the Bulldogs lost the leading scorers off that team, Keani Albanez and Sunny Greinacher, they know how to reload. There is still a lot of size [Shelby Cheslek], as well as a quality point guard [Georgia Stirton] and promising shooters.

Name to remember: Elle Tinkle. Not to suggest it was one-to-one cause and effect, but Gonzaga started to look like its old self a season ago about the time Tinkle hit her stride. Younger sister of former Stanford player Joslyn and daughter of Oregon State men's college basketball coach Wayne, her name stands on its own in Spokane, a rare scorer both reliable from long range and able and willing to get to the free throw line.

Here are Gonzaga's 2014-15 statistics and current roster.