Photo by Dave Cortesi
With senior forward Erica “Bird” McCall absent, SWBB freshman forward Nadia Fingall found herself on the losing side of an unusual San Francisco Pro-Am game on July 30.
Their Palo Alto TnT team lost 86-79 to undefeated Mission Recreation Center.
The Palo Alto team started at a disadvantage with only five players to Mission Rec’s seven. Nevertheless, Palo Alto led 22-18 after the first quarter, and the two teams tied 39-39 and 59-59 after the half and third quarter, respectively.
With slightly more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, however, a Palo Alto player fouled out, leaving her team even more shorthanded. That’s when fatigue apparently took its toll, giving Mission Rec a chance to go ahead.
Game ends early
Besides the unusual aspect of four against five in the final minutes, the outcome was so readily apparent that the referees allowed the game to end with 12.8 seconds left and Mission Rec in possession.
My unofficial tally shows Nadia with 9 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. It wasn’t clear how many fouls she had because there was no announcer to pass along that information.
The previous game saw Bay City defeating San Francisco 80-69. Stanford graduate Markisha Coleman, ’07, plays guard for San Francisco.
Although dozens of high school, college and other players sign up for Pro-Am teams every year, the actual turnout for each game is far lower.
Some Stanford women missing
For example, sophomore guard Marta Sniezek and sophomore forward Shannon Coffee are both on the Bay City roster, but neither played at all. Bird and Nadia have played only two games together.
Another no-show, this one on the Palo Alto team, is Stanford forward Taylor Greenfield, ’15. Palo Alto coach John Paye (assistant coach Kate Paye’s brother), said the Iowa native is back in the Bay Area looking for a job but hasn’t been able to make it to the games.
With its record of 1-4, the Palo Alto team will again face 5-0 Mission Rec in the playoffs starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. That game will be followed at 3:30 p.m. by San Francisco vs. Bay City, both with 3-2 records.
The winners of those games will face each other for the championship at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7.
All games are at Kezar Pavilion at the east end of Golden Gate Park, 755 Stanyan St., San Francisco. Admission is free. There’s paid parking next door.
P.S. Jeanette Pohlen, ’11, was married to Julian Mavunga on July 30 in Southern California. See a photo of their Stanford guests under Alumnae News on this website. More photos from the wedding can be seen on various tweets.
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