Ros and Jayne and the WNBA

Swish Appeal reports that Ros and Jayne are two of four Pac-10 players that have WNBA aspirations. Read more...

In case you overlooked the links in the article, see also Ros' evaluation and Jayne's evaluation

Jayne & Nneka are finalists for Wade Trophy

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has announced that Jayne and Nneka are two of the 12 finalists for the 2010 State Farm Wade Trophy. Read more...

Congratulations, Jayne and Nneka!

Jayne is finalist for Naismith Trophy

The Atlanta Tipoff Club has announced that Jayne is one of the four finalists for the 2010 Naismith Trophy for the Women's College Basketball Player of the Year. Read more...

Congratulations, Jayne!

Round 2: Cardinal outshoots the sharpshooters

The Iowa Hawkeyes live and die by their 3-point shooting. Tonight they died:

• The Hawkeyes made seven threes – 30.4% of their attempts.
• The Cardinal made eleven threes – 61.1% of their attempts.
• Ros made seven threes – 77.8% of her attempts.

Yes, Ros, our defensive specialist, led the Cardinal in a spectacular display of offense. Her seven threes are her career high, as is her total of 26 points. She also had five assists, a rebound, a block, and a steal.

She sparked the team to their best half of the season. They made 68.8% of their field goals and 75% of their 3-pointers. The Cardinal didn't miss a 3-point attempt until the 3:12 mark in the first half. By then, they were ahead 55-33. The final score was 96-67.

The Hawkeyes had no answer for Nneka and Jayne, who owned the paint. Nneka had 23 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a block. Jayne had 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Jeanette had hot hands tonight too – 67.8% shooting and 100% beyond the arc – three of them. She also had seven assists and two steals.

In other action tonight, #5 Georgia defeated #4 Oklahoma State 74-71 in overtime. They will play the Cardinal in Sacramento on March 27.

Here are the Stanford/Iowa game reports:

• Women's Basketball Rolls Iowa In Second Round, 96-67, Associated Press
• Stanford erupts, blows Iowa out of NCAA tourney by Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette
• Senior's hot streak helps ice it early by Tom FitzGerald, San Francisco Chronicle
• Rosalyn Gold-Onwude Propels Stanford to Sweet 16 by Michelle Smith, FanHouse
• Gold-Onwude's shooting just what Stanford women needed in second-round win by Jake Curtis
• Stanford Iowa - A good first half by Viking_Guy, The CARDboard

The box score and play-by-play,

Postgame quotes by Tara, Ros, Jayne and Nneka,

The press conference video,

A galllery of photos by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE,

A slide show from Stanford Photo

And more photos by Paul Sakuma/AP Photo:

Ros celebrates one of her 3-pointers Ros on defense Jayne shoots Nneka puts up a shot Jayne puts up a shot "Good job, Ros!" Ros celebrates Nneka celebrates

This 'n that between rounds

There's no new news today about tonight's game, but there are several interesting stories:

The New York Times has an excellent story about the Ogwumike family: Education First, Beating UConn a Close Second

Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle) writes about JJ and Melanie and their hopes for next season: Junior guards need surgery for one last chance

Our Pac-10 friends, the Bruins, played a great game in their first round. I was frustrated by ESPN's lack of coverage of their game yesterday. ESPN2's whip-around showed just the first few minutes and never gave the final score. If you had the same experience and want to know more, here's a game report from the LA Times: UCLA women rout North Carolina State, 74-54

Remember last year's tournament when San Diego State gave the Cardinal an exciting tough game in the second round? Remember their dazzling point guard, Jene Morris? She was named the ESPN Player of the Day yesterday, and the #11 Aztecs upset the #6 Texas Longhorns: Morris hits four 3s en route to 32 points as Aztecs surprise Longhorns

Stanford/Iowa anticipations

Janie McCauley (Associated Press) writes that although Stanford boasts one of the most imposing front lines in women's basketball, Stanford's guards know they will have to come to play from the opening tip vs. Iowa — the Hawkeyes are just too dangerous from the perimeter if they get on a roll. Ros says, "We're going to have to make stops early. We don't want them hanging around." Read more...

Jeff Linder (Cedar Rapids Gazette) reports that the Iowa Hawkeyes concede that Stanford is the better team. But, says Hawkeyes star player Kachine Alexander, “[we don't ] have to be the best team overall, it’s whoever is the best team on that night. That’s the greatness of the NCAA tournament." Read more...

In today's NCAA press conference, Tara, Ros and Kayla answer questions about their upcoming game against Iowa.

Round 1: Stanford crushes UC Riverside

UC Riverside coach John Margaritis may have thought about calling in sick today, but his team came out and gave it all they had. However, the Cardinal was just too big and too strong and defeated them 79-47.

The Cardinal bigs dominated in the paint. Stanford out-rebounded UC Riverside 44-25. Nneka had her 14th double-double of the season – 19 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla had her 13th double-double of the season – 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jayne played just 15 minutes and had seven points and two rebounds. Joslyn came off the bench for 15 minutes and had four points, five rebounds and a block.

Jeanette was hot beyond the arc. She sank four of five 3-pointers and had a total of 16 points. Ros and Lindy hit from beyond the arc too – one apiece.

Maples was packed, which added to the excitement of the evening. The attendance is officially reported to be 5645, but it looked like a near sell-out – at least 1,000 more than that.

In tonight's first game, Iowa's sharpshooting trumped Rutgers' relentless defense, and the Hawkeyes won 70-63.

Here are the Stanford/UC Riverside game reports:

• Cardinal too big and too powerful by Tom FitzGerald, San Francisco Chronicle
• No big surprise by Allan Steele, Riverside Press-Enterprise
• Stanford Starts Tournament With 79-47 Thumping Of UC Riverside by Janie McCauley, Associated Press
• VanDerveer says Pohlen was the story of Stanford's opening win by Jake Curtis
• Stanford women open tournament with big win by Rick Eymer, Palo Alto Online

The box score and play-by-play,

Press conference quotes from Tara, Nneka, Jeanette and Kayla,

The press conference video,

The game highlights video,

A gallery of photos by Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE,

A gallery of photos by Silvia Flores/The Press-Enterprise

And more photos by Tony Avelar/AP Photo:

Jayne takes a shot Kayla goes to the basket Nneka pulls up for a shot Lindy on defense Mel on defense Jeanette on defense Nneka battles for a rebound "Yep, I should've called in sick."

Getting ready for the dance

Maples Pavilion was busy all Friday afternoon as Iowa, Rutgers, UC Riverside and Stanford practiced before the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.

There was a press conference with Jayne, Nneka and Tara before the open practice. You can watch it here. There are quotes from the press conference in the report of the practice session from Stanford Athletics.

There were many photographers present. Two of them have posted their photos on the internet:

• A slide show of Stanford and UC Riverside activity from Silvia Flores (Riverside Press-Enterprise).
• A collection of photos from Paul Sakuma (Associated Press) of all four practice sessions.

A popular story line this weekend is the ties between Tara, C. Vivian Stringer, Lisa Bluder (Iowa head coach) and Bob Bowlsby (Stanford A.D. and former Iowa A.D.). It's the basis of Michelle Smith's story Stringer takes no pleasure in facing Iowa.

Rick Eymer (Palo Alto Online) writes about those ties and about the Iowa team in Iowa, Rutgers, Stanford women basketball coaches are 'reunited' at Maples.

Here are stories about three of the teams' leading players:

• Stanford center dominating, bubbly, mischievous by Tom FitzGerald, San Francisco Chronicle
• Alexander Leads Iowa Into NCAA Tourney by Michelle Smith, Fan House
• Rivera’s experience propels Riverside by Michelle Smith, LeftCoastHoops.

Here are articles about the Stanford/Riverside game:

• For UCR, Stanford looms large by Allan Steele, Riverside Press-Enterprise
• UC Riverside-Stanford Preview from the Associated Press

Here are a few of the photos from the collections linked to above:

The Cardinal relax in the locker room before practice The Cardinal gather at center court Tara enjoys practice sessions Jayne drives to the basket Nneka applauds her teammates

RGO, the Stopper

Rick Eymer (Palo Alto Online) writes that Ros brings tough defense and a like-minded attitude to the Cardinal's postseason hopes. Kate Paye says, "Ros probably thinks she can take Kobe Bryant one-on-one. She's fearless and one of a kind. When she sets her mind to something she'll get it done." Read more...

Basketball bonanza by the Bay for Tinkles

Wed, March 10: Montana Grizzlies, coached by Wayne Tinkle, win the Big Sky Conference championship with a 66-65 upset of #1 Weber State

Sun, March 14: Stanford Cardinal win the Pac-10 championship

Sun, March 14: Grizzlies are selected as #14 seed in East region

Mon, March 15: Cardinal are selected as #1 seed in Sacramento region

Thu, March 18, 6:40 pm: Grizzlies play #3 New Mexico at HP Pavilion in San Jose

Sat, March 20, time tbd: Grizzlies may play #6/#11 winner at HP Pavilion

Sat, March 20, 7:30 pm: Cardinal play #16 UC Riverside at Maples Pavilion

Lisa Tinkle, Joslyn's mother, who has had many tremendous basketball memories says, "I don't know if you can beat this one." Read all about it:

• Feels like home: At Stanford, Wayne and Joslyn Tinkle prepare for big tournament games , Missoulian