Throwing elbows with the guys

Michelle Smith (espnW) reports on part of the reason why Nneka and Chiney and Joslyn are so good at coping with double and triple-teams ... and a couple of Valentine's Day treats for the Cardinal. Read here...

Cardinal crushes the Beavers

Updated Dec 17: Added links to stories from Palo Alto Online, Corvallis Gazette-Times and Stanford Athletics

No need for halftime adjustments tonight. The Cardinal put the pedal down as they stepped on the court and never let up. They led 4-0 after four minutes, were ahead by 20 points at the half and by 33 at the end. Stanford 78, OSU 45.

The Beavers employed the same clog-the-paint and close-the-perimeter zone defense that almost downed the Cardinal in January. Not so tonight. It worked pretty well for a while, but then Nneka broke through on the inside and Toni, Bonnie, Lindy and Sara got hot beyond the arc.

The Cardinal defense was as strong as I've ever seen. Time after time, a Beaver tried to penetrate to the basket and came smack-up against one or several cardinal jerseys. The defense from every Cardinal on the court held the Beavers to 33.3% shooting, far below their season average of 43.7%, and forced 18 turnovers.

Nneka was amazing again. She forced her way around, over, and seemingly through her defenders and got the ball into the basket ten times. She drew six fouls and made seven of her eight free throws. Total: The game-high 27 points. She needs just 21 more to move past Kate Starbird into second place on the Stanford career scoring list.

Toni led the offense superbly again. She had seven assists with zero turnovers, stole the ball three times, and scored nine points on three from beyond the arc.

Joslyn was a rebounding machine. She grabbed a career-high 14 — more than a third of the Cardinal total. She also scored seven points.

Toni, Bonnie, Lindy and Sara found their outside game tonight. They made ten of 18 three-points attempts – a very handsome 55.5%! Toni and Bonnie each sank three of them. Lindy and Sara got two apiece.

Here are game reports:

• No. 3 Stanford Cruises Past Oregon State, 78-45 from the Associated Press
• No. 3 Stanford blows away Oregon State 78-45 in women's basketball by Paul Buker (The Oregonian)
• Beaver bashing in Corvallis by Wally Mersereau
• Smooth sailing for Stanford's 12th consecutive title from Palo Alto Online
• Stanford too much for Beavers as Cardinal cruise to lopsided win by Steve Gress (Corvallis Gazette-Times/)

The box score and play-by-play,

Hitting The Road With Stanford Women's Basketball by Aaron Juarez (Stanford Athletics), an account of the team's travel from Maples Pavilion to the hotel in Eugene.

And photos by Don Ryan (AP Photo):

Joslyn and Nneka trap a couple of Beavers Chiney is quadruple-teamed Tara applauds the team Chiney on defense A disappointed bench A happy bench Chiney & Nneka wave to the Cardinal fans

Bay Area vs Oregon

Here are stories about the participants in this weekend's games in Oregon:

• Stanford on verge of another conference title by Tom Taylor (The Stanford Daily)


• Cal seeks to find groove against speedy, rejuvenated Ducks by Seung Y. Li (The Daily Californian)


• Oregon State women on NCAA Tournament bubble 18 months after holding open tryouts by Linksay Schnell (The Oregonian)
• OSU women's basketball: It has taken a team effort to keep win streak alive by Steve Gress (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
• Scott Rueck has Oregon State believing by Michelle Smith (espnW)


• Oregon women’s basketball prepares to host California and Stanford by Isaac Rosenthal (Oregon Daily Emerald)
• Oregon in need of a rebound by Rob Moseley (The Register-Guard)

The last road trip

The Cardinal heads north on its last real road trip of the season (across the bridge doesn't really count) to play two teams that look way better than they did a month ago:

• Oregon State on Thursday at 7:00. Watch on OSU All-Access. Listen on KZSU.
• University of Oregon on Saturday at 1:00. Watch on Oregon OZone. Listen on KZSU.

  Oregon State Beavers

No-one would have predicted that a team that was holding open try-outs 18 months ago would have sole possession of third place in the Pac-12. But that's what head coach Scott Rueck and his Beavers have accomplished.

Rueck described OSU's loss to Stanford in January as an "awesome game" and added, "This was a significant moment we can learn from and grow from."

Since then the Beavers have won seven games, losing only to Arizona (by one point) and to UCLA. They've won their last six games. That's the longest winning streak for an OSU team since Aki Hill's Beavers won seven in a row in 1994-95.

The Beavers are an unusually well-balanced team with no real standout player. Eight players play from 14 to 32 minutes per game and score 3.5 to 12.5 points. In the Beavers' six-game win streak, five different players scored the most points, and five different players grabbed the most rebounds. Only senior guard Earlysia Marchbanks repeated – in both categories.

Marchbanks, who leads the Beaver offense, dishes out the most assists (3.58) and grabs the most rebounds (7.0).

Freshman guard Aly Gibson is the top scorer (12.5), sinks the most three-pointers (1.71) at the highest rate (38.3%) and gets the most steals (2.29).

Junior center Patricia Bright leads the conference and is #6 in the nation with 3.4 blocks per game. As a team, OSU leads the conference with 5.88 blocks per game.

OSU has the second-best field goal percentage in the conference (43.7% to Stanford's 46%).

The Beavers and the Cardinal played it close at Maples in January – the Cardinal won by just seven points. Both teams have improved since then and will be ready for a really tough game at Gill Coloseum. With second place in the Pac-12 in sight, the Beavers will surely play their A+ game.

Here are OSU's 2011-12 statistics and their roster.

  Oregon Ducks

The conference season has been very different for the Ducks. They've won just six of 13 conference games and are now sixth in the Pac-12.

They lost much of their offensive power when their star runner-and-gunner, senior forward Amanda Johnson, fractured her thumb early in December and missed the next 11 games.

But Johnson has been back on the court for the last five games. She's been their top scorer in each of those games with an average of 22 points per game.

And senior guard Nia Jackson, who had been playing with sore knees, is apparently feeling better. She's been playing about 25 minutes per game.

So things are looking up for the Ducks and they should be ready to give the Cardinal a fast-paced, high-scoring game at Matt Arena. In spite of their poor win-loss record, the Ducks lead the conference in number of three-pointers (7.22) and steals (10.72). They score the second-most points (74.6 to Stanford's 78.2), but also allow their opponents the most points (75.6)

The Cardinal sank 14 three-pointers at Maples in January. The Ducks lost by 23 points. but should do better with Johnson back and Jackson stronger. Hopefully, the Cardinal will have its outside game back by Saturday.

Here are Oregon's 2011-12 statistics and their roster.

Five Reasons Why Teams Have Struggled To Press The Stanford Cardinal

Nate Parham (Swish Appeal) answers the question, "Why don't teams press Stanford all the time?" Read here...

Stanford will host NCAA 1st & 2nd rounds next year

Stanford University and Maples Pavilion have been selected as one of 16 first- and second-round host sites for the 2013 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee announced Monday. Read more...

So, how weak is the Pac-12?

Perception or fact?

Some Cardinal fans worry about Stanford's being devalued because it plays in such a weak conference.

When asked about this at post-game meetings, Tara replies, "I don't think about that. The only thing we can control is our own game." (or words to that effect)

Last week there was a great brouhaha about Duke's being a stronger team than Stanford because the ACC has four teams in the top 25 and the Pac-12 has just one. Not mentioned was the fact that a team plays all the teams in its conference, not just the good ones.

Based on the NCAA RPI rankings for games through Feb 12th, the ten strongest conferences are:

Conference	Average RPI	Top Team (RPI)
Big 12	40	Baylor (1)
Big East	63	Connecticut (2)
Southeastern (SEC)	64	Tennessee (4)
Big Ten	76	Ohio State (14)
Pac-12	77	Stanford (3)
Atlantic Coast (ACC)	84	Duke (8)
Colonial	121	Delaware (7)
West Coast (WCC)	136	Gonzaga (34)
Atlantic 10	141	St. Bonaventure (16)
Missouri Valley	144	Missouri State (46)

Cardinal beats the Bruins

The Bruins brought their 'A' game to Maples today and kept the Cardinal struggling to keep up all through the first half. The Cardinal played a little harder, a little faster, a little better after halftime, as Cardinal teams are wont to do, and took control in the second half. At the postgame behind-the-bench session, TV commentator Mary Murphy likened it to watching an approaching storm in the Midwest, "You can feel it in the air. You know it's coming." Final: Stanford 82 UCLA 59.

Nneka led the scoring with 25 points. She also had eight rebounds, three assists, a block and three steals. One of her steals came as she was tearing back down the court on defense. She turned, saw the ball coming, leaped impossibly high in the air and intercepted a long Bruin pass.

Chiney had only two rebounds today, but scored 19 points on seven-of-seven field goals and five-of-seven free throws. She also had four assists and two blocks.

Toni scored twelve points, including one three-pointer, against what may be her favorite opponent. She also had three rebounds and an assist.

Joslyn had a big game. She grabbed the most rebounds (nine) and scored 10 points, including a three-pointer. She added an assist, a block and a steal.

Amber got a lot of good experience today. She led the offense for 28 minutes during with she had four points, four rebounds, three assists and two turnovers.

Taylor sank two from beyond the arc. She's become our most reliable long-range shooter. She makes on average 38.1% of her three-point attempts — fourth-best in the Pac-12.

Lindy didn't score today, but she was the best ball-handler. She dished out five assists and had just three turnovers.

Here are game reports:

• No. 4 Stanford Pulls Away From UCLA, 82-59 by Janie McCauley (Associated Press
• Stanford women cruise to 82-59 win over UCLA by Elliott Almond (Mercury News)
• WBB: Stanford 82 UCLA 59 from The CARDboard

The box score and play-by-play,

The game highlights video,

A gallery of photos by Bob Drebin (Stanford Photo),

And photo by Paul Sakuma (Associated Press):

Toni caught in a Bruin sandwich Lindy looks for a way out Joslyn works against Markel Walker Waiting for the rebound Cardinal defense lets one get away A perfect block Foul! Mutual appreciation?

Toni providing leadership at guard spot

John Reid (Palo Alto Daily News) tells us all about Stanford's other star.

While the Ogwumike sisters -- Nneka and Chiney -- get much of the publicity, Kokenis has been busy making a name for herself this season, both offensively and defensively.

Read more...

Joslyn striving for consistency

In the latest installment of espnW Total Access, Michelle Smith writes of Joslyn's struggle to earn the starting spot she coveted.

Read here...