Hidey ho, sports and Stanford fans. Apologies all around, C and R have been SO remiss in our blog writing. With the season practically half way over, and Pac-12 play just around the corner, we thought we would make an attempt.
First, let’s back it up. C and R treated themselves to a great Thanksgiving Holiday and took themselves down to warm sunny Cancun, Mexico to see Stanford play in the Cancun Challenge. We thought, sunny warm weather, on the ocean, all inclusive, all you can eat, and watching women’s basketball games, how can we not go, plus we would be surrounded by ALL of our Stanford friends. Well, most of it came true. It was sunny warm, C went in the ocean every day, R did yoga on the beach, but not many Stanford fans came down.
So C was most excited about talking to Stanford player Shannon Coffee. Shannon went to high school in Dayton Ohio. C went to high school in Dayton Ohio. The only difference is C went to high school 30 years before Shannon.
So when C and R went to the first game against Northeastern (in Boston, we had to ask, too), we looked for all the fans. We saw two distinct groups. So shout out to the Kaylee Johnson family and who else was there? The Coffee family! Oh joy! However, come to find out, the Coffees are from the affluent side of Dayton Ohio and Shannon went to the fancy high school and C lived in the unincorporated side of town and went to the “gritty” high school. C’s high school didn’t even have AP classes, so Stanford was never a possibility! But I digress.
So our small party of Stanford supporters sat in the stands and Stanford was winning handily against Northeastern. So C and R hit the all-inclusive, all you can eat, all free food bar. Suddenly Stanford was only up by 10. So C and R began chowing down on chicken wings and Stanford started to pull away. The nice thing about it is head coach Tara VanDerveer played al a lot more of her bench and C and R got to see a lot more of players we don’t usually see, including the freshies. Final score 74-45. Box Score here.
The second game was against Wichita State, which we can’t report on because we were out seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza. A bus came and picked us up promptly at 8:40 AM. And five hours later, we still hadn’t seen any Mayan Ruins. Most of the trip was designed to see how many American dollars they could get out of us. Finally in the sixth hour, after navigating a gantlet of t-shirt vendors and knick-knack providers (of which we did partake on the way out), we saw it, the famous El Castillo, Spanish for "the castle", also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán, sez Wikipedia. Two times a year, the sun would light up triangles on the stairs until they touched a large snake head. Incredible. How did they know how to do that?
But was most impressive was the “ball court,” where special games were played four times a year on the solstice and equinox days. Two rings were embedded high in the stone walls, one on each side. Underneath each rings were raised platform, and then the rings were separated by a huge grass court, similar to a soccer field. Supposedly two teams would propel a ball in the grass court (debate if it was hiops and shoulders only, not feet or hands) up to their captain on the raised platform and the captain would try to get the ball through the hoop. It was so hard to score a goal, so the game would end when the first goal was scored. Then, and this is also much debated, the winning captain had the honor of being scarified to the gods and so was beheaded. Or the losing captain, which even you believe. Well, someone was beheaded, that is for sure. Carved in the stone was someone getting beheaded by another guy with a machete, so someone was getting beheaded because of this game. Have we progressed much in our sports culture?
So long story short, Stanford beat up Wichita State, C and R were amazed by the ancient sites, and everyone got to play. Final score 87-39, box score.
The third game was the game C and R really wanted to see, Purdue v Stanford. Purdue played a zone offense, probably having watched a lot of game film on Stanford. Stanford’s offense is not very well designed for zone. Stanford offense is about setting screens and quick ball movement to get players an open look, especially threes. Throwing the ball to the middle is definitely a second priority. So Stanford had a hard time scoring. All we remember, in between our trip to the all you can eat buffet, was thank goodness for Brittany McPhee. She was only of the few who could drive in create her own shot. We also saw flashes of that from freshie DJ Carrington. Purdue lead most of the game, until Stanford finally caught on that driving in resulted in points or fouls. Once they got some foul calls in the closing minutes, it was all over. Final score 78-69, with the game being MUCH closer than the score indicates. Box score.
One thing that was really cool was meeting and talking to all the players not on Stanford teams. We met a local Palo Alto girl who went all the way to Boston to school. We met an Idaho State player’s aunt and grandmother, and although the player had suffered TWO ACL injuries, she was getting a bachelor’s and two masters degrees for free. We tried to trash talk UCLA, who was in the other division, but they were all so nice it was hard. Really enjoyed talking to an UCLA assistant coach and hearing how her role is different than a head coach’s role (She can be more buddy-buddy where the head coach has to lay down the law).
However after the Stanford game, Purdue was SO dejected. We told them to keep their head up, however, they were in control of that game (and had over 200 fans cheering for them), so to lose it in the final minutes hit especially hard. They truly believed they would win. We don’t normally get to see the other team after a Stanford loss.
After five days of being waited on hand and foot and stuffing ourselves to the gills, plus time in the ocean every day to see real gills, it was hard coming back to the chilly Bay Area. But jobs and mortgages await.
Stanford also rolled on, having games to play. They traveled to Bakersfield to play against Stanford player Erica McCall’s dad Greg. He coaches Cal State Bakersfield. Erica was extra-special hyped up and scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Stanford won handily, 77-59. Highlights here.
The next game was UC Davis at home and Stanford won 68-42. Box score
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Then came Tennessee, and although Stanford jumped out to a 15-4 lead, which we did not see because the SEC channel was still showing a men’s game, thank you very much, Stanford stopped scoring (read what we said about Purdue, Tenn went to different zone looks), and they lost 51-59. Box score.
They continued their trip to the East Coast with a win over George Washington, however Stanford again built a big lead and watched it slip away when GW clamped down in a zone and the threes weren’t following. However they came back late in the 4 th on a 13-2 run. Don’t like seeing them squander big leads. Oh, Erica McCall joined the 1,000-point club. Final score 71-52. Box score.
Still, despite the loss to Tenn, some good things in the first half of the season. The emergence of Bri Roberson at guard. Although she is not a prolific scorer, her quick hands on D help her stay in the lineup. The ability of Brittany McPhee to create her own shot, as we mentioned. Didn’t see much of it last year. The more confident Erica McCall on scoring down low and rebounding. There is a glint in her eye we have not seen before. And of course, love the pure post play of freshie Nadia Fingall. She makes her presence known and will be good in the post in the years to come.
Next game is against Yale, battle of the brains, then starts Pac-12 play, and believe you me, C and R, this is not going to be a cake walk like past years. Just ask undefeated Cal, Washington’s Kelsey Plum, who just broke Chiney Ogwumike’s Pac-12 scoring record and Oregon State's Sydney Wiese, who just broke Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 three-point shooting record (dang, what’s up with Stanford records falling?). The Pac-12 is a good league this year! And is anyone’s for the grabbing. Stanford will have their work cut out for them.
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Showing posts with label Chiney Ogwumike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chiney Ogwumike. Show all posts
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Stanford Players in the WNBA at the All-star Break
The end of July marks the half way point for the WNBA, and that means the All-star game. Hats off to former Stanford Women’s Basketball player Nneka Ogwumike for making her third straight All-star appearance for the West in four years in the league. She was named as a reserve, mostly due to her slow start this season because of injuries.
The other former Stanford players didn’t fare nearly as well. Little sis Chiney Ogwumike, who was drafted number one last year (same spot as Nneka in 2012) and won Rookie of the Year (same as Nneka in 2012), suffered a knee injury while playing overseas (and trying to make more money). She had knee surgery and will sit out this WNBA season. Drat, we really wanted to see her growth from rookie to seasoned vet. She has, however, found ways to occupy her time, making many appearances on TV, including a half time stint at the All-star game (It was on her home court of the Connecticut Sun, and she was photo-bombed by big sis Nneka. We saw you steal a sip of her water, sisters have no boundaries!).
What about other Stanford alum in the WNBA? Jayne Appel, playing for San Antonio started the season injured, and just found her way back into games. Kayla Pederson remains with former teammate Chiney Ogwumike in Connecticut. Nicole Powell retired before the season started, but has landed on her feet coaching for the Oregon Ducks, a Pac-12 foe for Stanford!
Jeanette Pohlen returns to Indianapolis after missing the 2014 season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. She won a WNBA title in 2012 with the Fever, but it was bittersweet as she was injured in the playoffs and did not play in the championship game. Candice Wiggins, also a WNBA champion with the Lync in 2011, started her eighth season in the WNBA (my, how time flies!). It is her first season with the New York Liberty (if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere). Wiggins was the 2008 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, and has averaged 9.6 points in her career while playing for Minnesota, Tulsa and Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, Amber Orrange, drafted by the Liberty with the 23rd overall pick in April of this year, was waived by the team in May.
Overall Stanford has had 27 players play in a regular-season WNBA game since the league's inception in 1997. Tara VanDerveer’s program boasts 11 first-round draft picks and has had six players win a total of seven WNBA titles.
Oh, the West side (the best side) won, 117-112.
Looking forward to seeing basketball in the Fall and Winter.
 photo Courtesy of Chiney Ogwumike |
What about other Stanford alum in the WNBA? Jayne Appel, playing for San Antonio started the season injured, and just found her way back into games. Kayla Pederson remains with former teammate Chiney Ogwumike in Connecticut. Nicole Powell retired before the season started, but has landed on her feet coaching for the Oregon Ducks, a Pac-12 foe for Stanford!
Jeanette Pohlen returns to Indianapolis after missing the 2014 season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. She won a WNBA title in 2012 with the Fever, but it was bittersweet as she was injured in the playoffs and did not play in the championship game. Candice Wiggins, also a WNBA champion with the Lync in 2011, started her eighth season in the WNBA (my, how time flies!). It is her first season with the New York Liberty (if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere). Wiggins was the 2008 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, and has averaged 9.6 points in her career while playing for Minnesota, Tulsa and Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, Amber Orrange, drafted by the Liberty with the 23rd overall pick in April of this year, was waived by the team in May.
Overall Stanford has had 27 players play in a regular-season WNBA game since the league's inception in 1997. Tara VanDerveer’s program boasts 11 first-round draft picks and has had six players win a total of seven WNBA titles.
Oh, the West side (the best side) won, 117-112.
Looking forward to seeing basketball in the Fall and Winter.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Stanford Shines in Preseason
Stanford women’s Basketball Fans got a look at what we have been waiting for: The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team. More specifically, this offense that is dubbed “not the triangle.”
Stanford played NAIA Vanguard University, and despite the lack of height (although Vanguard was even smaller), ran all over them to the tune of 105-50. And boy do we mean run. Sophomore Briana Roberson is so, so quick.
Sophomore guard Lili Thonpson is picking up right where she ended her freshmen year, hitting killer shots, pushing the ball, seeing the floor well, and not backing down. She was a bright spot among many (four Stanford players in double figures). Lili scored 26 points. Fellow sophomore Erica McCall had 15 points and 10 boards, one of the players in double figures but she hit hers in the first half! Karlie Samuelson (KSam) added 17 points in 19 minutes. Her specialties are threes and she was 3-6 behind the line. Freshmen Kaylee Johnson had 12 points and 16 boards.
Yes, we have two players with the same last names, and no they are not sisters. One is Sophomore Kailee Johnson and one is Freshmen Kaylee Johnson. One is pronounced Kay-lee and one is pronounced Ki-lee, but we can’t tell you which one is which. Not to be confused with two players with the same last name of Samuelson, who ARE sisters. Senior Bonnie and sophomore Karlie, hence the BSam and KSam nicknames. Maybe for the Johnsons, KJ1 and KJ2 for the freshie? Or thing 1 and thing 2? What do they do in practice?
Speaking of freshmen, C and R were hoping to get a good look at all the freshies, but one stayed under wraps and on the bench. Kailee Johnson started and scored (See above), Taylor Rooks came in the second half but did not score. We did not get to see freshie Brittany McPhee.
So Stanford proved they were able to score without a triangle or a super tall person. There were a couple of times where they did all the right things, cut to the basket, passed, hit the open man, but the ball did not fall. That is fixable and will come later. C and R were a little leery of the defense. When a Vanguard guard drive by our guards, other Stanford players had trouble picking them up and impeding their path to the basket. Something super all-everything Chiney Ogwumike was very, very good at doing. But it is still early…. And preseason.
Looking forward to more.
Follow C and R for more inane nicknames on Facebook and Twitter, too!
Stanford played NAIA Vanguard University, and despite the lack of height (although Vanguard was even smaller), ran all over them to the tune of 105-50. And boy do we mean run. Sophomore Briana Roberson is so, so quick.
Sophomore guard Lili Thonpson is picking up right where she ended her freshmen year, hitting killer shots, pushing the ball, seeing the floor well, and not backing down. She was a bright spot among many (four Stanford players in double figures). Lili scored 26 points. Fellow sophomore Erica McCall had 15 points and 10 boards, one of the players in double figures but she hit hers in the first half! Karlie Samuelson (KSam) added 17 points in 19 minutes. Her specialties are threes and she was 3-6 behind the line. Freshmen Kaylee Johnson had 12 points and 16 boards.
 Lili Thompson goes for two (Photo Courtesy of GoStanford -Stanford Official Site) |
Yes, we have two players with the same last names, and no they are not sisters. One is Sophomore Kailee Johnson and one is Freshmen Kaylee Johnson. One is pronounced Kay-lee and one is pronounced Ki-lee, but we can’t tell you which one is which. Not to be confused with two players with the same last name of Samuelson, who ARE sisters. Senior Bonnie and sophomore Karlie, hence the BSam and KSam nicknames. Maybe for the Johnsons, KJ1 and KJ2 for the freshie? Or thing 1 and thing 2? What do they do in practice?
Speaking of freshmen, C and R were hoping to get a good look at all the freshies, but one stayed under wraps and on the bench. Kailee Johnson started and scored (See above), Taylor Rooks came in the second half but did not score. We did not get to see freshie Brittany McPhee.
So Stanford proved they were able to score without a triangle or a super tall person. There were a couple of times where they did all the right things, cut to the basket, passed, hit the open man, but the ball did not fall. That is fixable and will come later. C and R were a little leery of the defense. When a Vanguard guard drive by our guards, other Stanford players had trouble picking them up and impeding their path to the basket. Something super all-everything Chiney Ogwumike was very, very good at doing. But it is still early…. And preseason.
Looking forward to more.
Follow C and R for more inane nicknames on Facebook and Twitter, too!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Stanford Basketball Alums in the News
Before the 2015 Stanford Women’s Basketball Season starts, (or as C and R call it, the era after the Ogwumikes), we wanted to highlight some notable accomplishments of Stanford basketball alums. Well, as it so happens, we wanted to honor two of them, both with the last name Ogwumike.
Okay, not that we want to exclude anyone, but older sister Nneka and younger Chiney have been on a rocket ship of a ride. And it’s funny, because younger sister Chiney has always followed in Nneka’s footsteps.
Chiney followed her to Stanford, where the sisters were an unstoppable dynamic duo who had court ESP and always knew where the other was, or were rebounding each other’s misses. They also took Stanford to two Final Fours together, and in Nneka’s case, two before Chiney and Chiney got one more after Nneka graduated.
In Nneka’s senior year, she worked on the transition to the WNBA, working on an outside shot and playing away from the basket. She was the number one pick in the WNBA and won rookie of the year honors.
Chiney also followed that blueprint, working on scoring away from the basket (although her jump shot is a little flat and not all there). Her hard work rewarded her with the number one pick in the WNBA, the first sisters to accomplish that in the WNBA, and the second pair of siblings since Peyton and Eli Manning did it in the NFL. Oh, they also were the first sisters to play in the same WNBA All Star game. And they ended up guarding each other!
So it is no surprise that Chiney also won Rookie of the Year honors. C and R just want to point out that…well, that is so hard to do! She was just a few weeks out of Stanford when she reported to the Connecticut Sun in the wake pf Tina Charles demanding a trade (Ciney had to get special permission to miss a game to attend the Stanford graduation ceremony.) In just four short months she was selected for the All-Star game and kept up against the best in the world to win Rookie of the Year barely six months removed from college. That is so tremendous.
So Nneka didn’t take the time after the WNBA. In fact, both Nneka and Chiney were invited to the Team USA training camp to try out for the World Championship team. Alas, only Nneka was chosen (Chiney’s day will come), and she helped Team USA win the Gold Medal in the Worlds that was held in Turkey.
Not a bad few months for these two Stanford alums.
Looking forward to 2014-15 season and seeing who will make history.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Okay, not that we want to exclude anyone, but older sister Nneka and younger Chiney have been on a rocket ship of a ride. And it’s funny, because younger sister Chiney has always followed in Nneka’s footsteps.
Chiney followed her to Stanford, where the sisters were an unstoppable dynamic duo who had court ESP and always knew where the other was, or were rebounding each other’s misses. They also took Stanford to two Final Fours together, and in Nneka’s case, two before Chiney and Chiney got one more after Nneka graduated.
In Nneka’s senior year, she worked on the transition to the WNBA, working on an outside shot and playing away from the basket. She was the number one pick in the WNBA and won rookie of the year honors.
Chiney also followed that blueprint, working on scoring away from the basket (although her jump shot is a little flat and not all there). Her hard work rewarded her with the number one pick in the WNBA, the first sisters to accomplish that in the WNBA, and the second pair of siblings since Peyton and Eli Manning did it in the NFL. Oh, they also were the first sisters to play in the same WNBA All Star game. And they ended up guarding each other!
So it is no surprise that Chiney also won Rookie of the Year honors. C and R just want to point out that…well, that is so hard to do! She was just a few weeks out of Stanford when she reported to the Connecticut Sun in the wake pf Tina Charles demanding a trade (Ciney had to get special permission to miss a game to attend the Stanford graduation ceremony.) In just four short months she was selected for the All-Star game and kept up against the best in the world to win Rookie of the Year barely six months removed from college. That is so tremendous.
So Nneka didn’t take the time after the WNBA. In fact, both Nneka and Chiney were invited to the Team USA training camp to try out for the World Championship team. Alas, only Nneka was chosen (Chiney’s day will come), and she helped Team USA win the Gold Medal in the Worlds that was held in Turkey.
Looking forward to 2014-15 season and seeing who will make history.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Friday, July 18, 2014
WNBA All-Star Sister Weekend
Back in April when Chiney Ogwumike was drafted number one by the Connecticut Sun, she and her sister, Nneka Ogwumike made history. They were the first pair of siblings in the WNBA to be drafted number one. Heck, let’s take that a step further to show how rare that is. The feat has only been accomplished one other time in any major sport, men’s or women’s, when Peyton and Eli Manning did it in football. And that is some great company!
So leave it to the intrepid Ogwumike sisters to make history again when they became the first pair of sisters to be chosen to participate in the WNBA All-Star game. Granted, both go in as reserves, but it is still a pretty cool feat. And not even Nneka can say she got the All-Star nod her rookie season, as Chiney has done. Nneka had to wait a year, when she went for the first time last year. This is her second nod.
The sisters also made personal history when they played against each other July 15th of this year. In the sisters' first WNBA meeting, Nneka scored 24 points and got the win, while Chiney contributed 18 points in the loss.
Why is that noteworthy, their first time playing against each other? The famous story around the Stanford campus is that the two did not play each other in practice. Well, they did in an early practice in Chiney’s freshmen year, when Nneka was the wise junior. Chiney elbowed Nneka, the story goes, and Nneka threatened revenge, so Chiney excused herself to stand by coach. And that’s when Stanford Women’s Basketball coach Tara VanDerveer said that’s it, you two will never be on opposite sides. And they weren’t. Whether on the court or off it. Each is the others biggest cheerleader.
So the all-star game, while sharing the pre-game stuff together, will mark the second time they have to play each other. The third time will be when Chiney’ Sun goes to LA in August.
While the All-Star game is fun to watch the best of the best, when the sisters play each other, it is so conflicting to C and R. Who to root for? Although we all know West side is the best side.
Follow C and R for more WNBA action on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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So leave it to the intrepid Ogwumike sisters to make history again when they became the first pair of sisters to be chosen to participate in the WNBA All-Star game. Granted, both go in as reserves, but it is still a pretty cool feat. And not even Nneka can say she got the All-Star nod her rookie season, as Chiney has done. Nneka had to wait a year, when she went for the first time last year. This is her second nod.
The sisters also made personal history when they played against each other July 15th of this year. In the sisters' first WNBA meeting, Nneka scored 24 points and got the win, while Chiney contributed 18 points in the loss.
Why is that noteworthy, their first time playing against each other? The famous story around the Stanford campus is that the two did not play each other in practice. Well, they did in an early practice in Chiney’s freshmen year, when Nneka was the wise junior. Chiney elbowed Nneka, the story goes, and Nneka threatened revenge, so Chiney excused herself to stand by coach. And that’s when Stanford Women’s Basketball coach Tara VanDerveer said that’s it, you two will never be on opposite sides. And they weren’t. Whether on the court or off it. Each is the others biggest cheerleader.
So the all-star game, while sharing the pre-game stuff together, will mark the second time they have to play each other. The third time will be when Chiney’ Sun goes to LA in August.
While the All-Star game is fun to watch the best of the best, when the sisters play each other, it is so conflicting to C and R. Who to root for? Although we all know West side is the best side.
Follow C and R for more WNBA action on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Saturday, May 24, 2014
Looking Back at Stanford’s Season
Even though summer is just starting, C and R would be remiss if we did not have a recap of The Stanford Women’s Basketball 2013-14 season (more from the official Stanford site). And 2013 started out the year of “13.” Or say we say the year of Chiney Ogwumike. Chiney Ogwumike took the team on her back and propelled them to the Final Four, their sixth appearance in seven years. Unfortunately they had a date with UConn and lost in the semis, but it was a great ride.
Stanford’s overall record was 33-4. Notable wins included Tennessee (for the third straight season) and both times against Cal in a week. They won the Pac-12 regular-season title, for the 14th time in a row. They did lose in the semis of the Pac-12 tourney to eventual winner USC, thus earning them a number 2 seed in the NCAA tourney. You can read a year in review for the Pac-12.
Chiney Ogwumike had some help. A pleasant surprise was freshmen guard Lili Thompson. Her aggressiveness and confidence also rubbed off on junior guard Amber Orrrrange and she upped her game as well. Another pleasant surprise of the season was the return of fifth year veteran Mikalea Ruef. She has her best year and peaked during the NCAA regional finals, ultimately being named the MVP of the region over buddy Chiney.
And what can we say about Chiney? Well, a lot actually, so here goes:
She led Stanford to three Final Fours during four year career. Her senior season, she was unanimous All-American, named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, (the nation’s top academic honor and first from Stanford) was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Team for the second straight year annnnnnnddddddd….was awarded the John R. Wooden Award winner as the national player of the year, She became the first Stanford and Pac-12 women’s basketball player to claim the John R. Wooden Award.
As for the Pac-12 conference Awards, she leaves as one of the most decorated players in the history of the Pac-12. She now holds the Pac-12 all-time scoring and rebounding record, while claiming eight single-season or career records including tying the scoring average record, a mark set in 1989. She scored 2,737 points, besting fellow alum Candice Wiggins and grabbed 1,567 rebounds, besting fellow alum Kayla Pedersen, in addition to setting the single-season conference record for points scored at 967, passing fellow alum and her sister, Nneka Ogwumike. She swept the Pac-12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the second straight season, with the defensive honor being her third in a row. That makes her a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, three-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time all-Conference. No one, man or woman has ever won the Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive player of the year award, and she has done it twice! Lastly, she set a record for being named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the ninth time this season and the 18th time in her career.
She finished the season as the only player to rank in the national top 10 in scoring (26.1 ppg - fourth), rebounding (12.1 rpg - ninth), field-goal percentage (60.1 - fourth), and double-doubles (27 - third).
After being named to every major award’s preseason watch list as well as to every preseason All-America Team, Ogwumike went on to a season in which she averaged 26.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting 60.1 percent from the field. Those numbers helped Ogwumike earn her second straight selections to the ESPN, USBWA, John R. Wooden Award, and Associated Press First Teams, with the AP nod being her third overall after being named to the second team in 2012. Additionally, Ogwumike was honored at the Final Four in Nashville by being named to the WBCA Coaches’ All-America Team for the third straight season, joining Candice Wiggins (2005-08), Nneka Ogwumike (2010-12) and Nicole Powell (2002-04) as Stanford’s only three-time WBCA All-Americans. She was honored by the Stanford Alumni Association as one of two graduating seniors to receive the 2014 J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for outstanding service to Stanford.
She also had wrote the lyrics to this song:
Coach Tara Vanderveer got her 900th career victory this season, and in her understated style, no one got to see it, which was fine by her. The win came at the Puerto Vallarta gave tourney that clearly was not ready for prime time. No televised games, or even videotaped for later. Official score keepers and statistician had to be borrowed from the teams. She now stands alongside legends Pat Summitt, Sylvia Hatchell, C. Vivian Stringer and Jody Conradt in the exclusive 900 club.
The pinnacle of the season was Stanford clinching their trip to the final four at Maples Pavilion and getting to see their inspiring win in person. C and R are still smiling. What will next year hold?
Season tickets are now on sale!
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Stanford’s overall record was 33-4. Notable wins included Tennessee (for the third straight season) and both times against Cal in a week. They won the Pac-12 regular-season title, for the 14th time in a row. They did lose in the semis of the Pac-12 tourney to eventual winner USC, thus earning them a number 2 seed in the NCAA tourney. You can read a year in review for the Pac-12.
Chiney Ogwumike had some help. A pleasant surprise was freshmen guard Lili Thompson. Her aggressiveness and confidence also rubbed off on junior guard Amber Orrrrange and she upped her game as well. Another pleasant surprise of the season was the return of fifth year veteran Mikalea Ruef. She has her best year and peaked during the NCAA regional finals, ultimately being named the MVP of the region over buddy Chiney.
And what can we say about Chiney? Well, a lot actually, so here goes:
She led Stanford to three Final Fours during four year career. Her senior season, she was unanimous All-American, named the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year, (the nation’s top academic honor and first from Stanford) was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Team for the second straight year annnnnnnddddddd….was awarded the John R. Wooden Award winner as the national player of the year, She became the first Stanford and Pac-12 women’s basketball player to claim the John R. Wooden Award.
As for the Pac-12 conference Awards, she leaves as one of the most decorated players in the history of the Pac-12. She now holds the Pac-12 all-time scoring and rebounding record, while claiming eight single-season or career records including tying the scoring average record, a mark set in 1989. She scored 2,737 points, besting fellow alum Candice Wiggins and grabbed 1,567 rebounds, besting fellow alum Kayla Pedersen, in addition to setting the single-season conference record for points scored at 967, passing fellow alum and her sister, Nneka Ogwumike. She swept the Pac-12 Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards for the second straight season, with the defensive honor being her third in a row. That makes her a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year, three-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time all-Conference. No one, man or woman has ever won the Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive player of the year award, and she has done it twice! Lastly, she set a record for being named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the ninth time this season and the 18th time in her career.
She finished the season as the only player to rank in the national top 10 in scoring (26.1 ppg - fourth), rebounding (12.1 rpg - ninth), field-goal percentage (60.1 - fourth), and double-doubles (27 - third).
After being named to every major award’s preseason watch list as well as to every preseason All-America Team, Ogwumike went on to a season in which she averaged 26.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting 60.1 percent from the field. Those numbers helped Ogwumike earn her second straight selections to the ESPN, USBWA, John R. Wooden Award, and Associated Press First Teams, with the AP nod being her third overall after being named to the second team in 2012. Additionally, Ogwumike was honored at the Final Four in Nashville by being named to the WBCA Coaches’ All-America Team for the third straight season, joining Candice Wiggins (2005-08), Nneka Ogwumike (2010-12) and Nicole Powell (2002-04) as Stanford’s only three-time WBCA All-Americans. She was honored by the Stanford Alumni Association as one of two graduating seniors to receive the 2014 J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for outstanding service to Stanford.
She also had wrote the lyrics to this song:
Coach Tara Vanderveer got her 900th career victory this season, and in her understated style, no one got to see it, which was fine by her. The win came at the Puerto Vallarta gave tourney that clearly was not ready for prime time. No televised games, or even videotaped for later. Official score keepers and statistician had to be borrowed from the teams. She now stands alongside legends Pat Summitt, Sylvia Hatchell, C. Vivian Stringer and Jody Conradt in the exclusive 900 club.
The pinnacle of the season was Stanford clinching their trip to the final four at Maples Pavilion and getting to see their inspiring win in person. C and R are still smiling. What will next year hold?
Season tickets are now on sale!
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Sunday, May 4, 2014
A Look Back at Stanford Draft Day
Hey hey, two Stanford, basketball players, or should we say former players were drafted by the WNBA. It was not surprise that Chiney Ogwumike was drafted number one by the, dare we say it, Connecticut Sun. She and sister Nneka join Peyton and Eli Manning as the only two siblings in pro sports to be drafted #1. Cool. Hope Chiney does as well as Nneka, who won rookie of the year her first year. Although it will be the first time they have ever played on opposing teams.
 Chiney Ogwumike, front right, hugs forward Mikaela Ruef after Stanford defeated Nortth Carolina in a regional final of the NCAA's (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) |
To quote the Stanford official site: Ruef is the 23rd Stanford player to be selected in the WNBA Draft (Chiney was 22nd). Ruef’s and Ogwumike’s selections give Stanford multiple picks in a single WNBA Draft for the seventh time (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2014), and the first since Kayla Pedersen (seventh, Tulsa Shock) and Jeanette Pohlen (ninth, Indiana Fever) both went in the 2011 first round.
Looking forward to following the summer!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Stanford Gets the Same Results Against UConn
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. With Stanford going to the Final Four six times in seven years and coming up empty handed, you could call head coach Tara Vanderveer Insane… or insane like a fox. (I don’t know, I am mixing my metaphors.) So when Stanford played #1 UConn in November and “only” lost by 19, Tara also expected a different result when she met them again in the Final Four in April. It was the same 19-point margin of victory. Just insane.
Not very many people thought Stanford would even make it to the Final Four this year. They lost in the Sweet Sixteen last year with much of the same cast, and didn’t even get the number one seed in their region. Just getting to the Final Four this year, with the parties, the red carpets, the autograph signing sessions and the line dancing, was a huge victory for Stanford. Too bad they had to meet #1 UConn in the Final Four.
Yes, yes Tara was playing to win. She is the master of scouting other teams and finding an exploiting their weaknesses, and figuring out who is the worst shooter and then not guard her. Turns out, UConn doesn’t have many weaknesses to exploit.
And hats off to UConn. Their defense won this game for them. They started out cold, offensively. Stanford had the lead for 12 and a half minutes in the first half, the longest time any opponent had the lead all year against UConn. But UConn’s defense took away All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike. Stanford thought they had an answer for that, in their outside shooting. Turns out UConn knows how to scout, too. UConn took away Stanford’s three ball. They guarded the perimeter so Stanford three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson, with the quick release, could not get a good shot off. Coupled with the fact Stanford cold not penetrate on the drive and it was game over.
Right around the last few minutes if the first half, UConn went on a 12-0 run and took the lead back for good. At the half it was 24-28. The good news was UConn’s shooter, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had zero points at the half. The bad news is Chiney Ogwumike only had four.
UConn would go on a 20-5 run spanning both halves. UConn came out in the second and before you could blink it Huskies led 44-27. The lone three points in that period was inside player Chiney Ogwumike hitting a outside three. And that is not a good game plan. UConn took away what Chiney does best, inside points and rebounds. And Stanford’s outside shooters went 6-25 from three-point territory. Add 13 Stanford turnovers and it was not a pretty game for Stanford.
Chiney did not try much inside in the first half, and consequently, Stanford did not shoot any free throws in the first. Stanford drove more in the second half and did pick up some fouls, but it was too little, too late. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored all of her 15 points in the second half. The truth of the matter was Stanford could not get stops and did not trade baskets.
Although Chiney would score 15 points and 10 rebounds for her 27th double-double of the year, eight of those 15 points came after UConn had already established a solid double-digit lead. POY Breanna Stewart helped hold Stanford's All-American to just 5-of-12 shooting.
More Box Score:
-Amber Orrange had16 points to lead three Stanford players in double figures.
-Lili Thompson chipped in with 12 points for Stanford, although ten were in the first half.
Still, congratulations to Stanford on a great, great season. So much effort and intensity and emotion. And no, C and R don’t think Tara VanDerveer is insane. We think she is genius. To go to six Final Fours in seven years means you are consistently doing something right.
Cry with C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Not very many people thought Stanford would even make it to the Final Four this year. They lost in the Sweet Sixteen last year with much of the same cast, and didn’t even get the number one seed in their region. Just getting to the Final Four this year, with the parties, the red carpets, the autograph signing sessions and the line dancing, was a huge victory for Stanford. Too bad they had to meet #1 UConn in the Final Four.
Yes, yes Tara was playing to win. She is the master of scouting other teams and finding an exploiting their weaknesses, and figuring out who is the worst shooter and then not guard her. Turns out, UConn doesn’t have many weaknesses to exploit.
 Chiney Ogwumike dives for a loose ball over Stephaine Dolson. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) |
And hats off to UConn. Their defense won this game for them. They started out cold, offensively. Stanford had the lead for 12 and a half minutes in the first half, the longest time any opponent had the lead all year against UConn. But UConn’s defense took away All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike. Stanford thought they had an answer for that, in their outside shooting. Turns out UConn knows how to scout, too. UConn took away Stanford’s three ball. They guarded the perimeter so Stanford three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson, with the quick release, could not get a good shot off. Coupled with the fact Stanford cold not penetrate on the drive and it was game over.
Right around the last few minutes if the first half, UConn went on a 12-0 run and took the lead back for good. At the half it was 24-28. The good news was UConn’s shooter, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had zero points at the half. The bad news is Chiney Ogwumike only had four.
UConn would go on a 20-5 run spanning both halves. UConn came out in the second and before you could blink it Huskies led 44-27. The lone three points in that period was inside player Chiney Ogwumike hitting a outside three. And that is not a good game plan. UConn took away what Chiney does best, inside points and rebounds. And Stanford’s outside shooters went 6-25 from three-point territory. Add 13 Stanford turnovers and it was not a pretty game for Stanford.
Chiney did not try much inside in the first half, and consequently, Stanford did not shoot any free throws in the first. Stanford drove more in the second half and did pick up some fouls, but it was too little, too late. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored all of her 15 points in the second half. The truth of the matter was Stanford could not get stops and did not trade baskets.
Although Chiney would score 15 points and 10 rebounds for her 27th double-double of the year, eight of those 15 points came after UConn had already established a solid double-digit lead. POY Breanna Stewart helped hold Stanford's All-American to just 5-of-12 shooting.
More Box Score:
-Amber Orrange had16 points to lead three Stanford players in double figures.
-Lili Thompson chipped in with 12 points for Stanford, although ten were in the first half.
Still, congratulations to Stanford on a great, great season. So much effort and intensity and emotion. And no, C and R don’t think Tara VanDerveer is insane. We think she is genius. To go to six Final Fours in seven years means you are consistently doing something right.
Cry with C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Stanford Beats North Carolina, Back in the Final Four
There is a cheer the Stanford band does. Two X plus 4, where X is your score. It is a brainiac cheer. It would be chanted, for example, when one team has 9 points and the other team has 22 points. Two times 9 is 18, add four and you get 22. It is pointing out that the team with 22 has more than doubled your score, and it rhymes. The band has used it against many, many Stanford opponents over the years. C and R have never, ever seen it used against Stanford. Cue a dark and stormy night at Maples.
The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team was playing North Carolina in the Elite Eight with the winner going on to the Final Four. As C and R mentioned, it was raining outside, and raining threes inside Maples. Just it was North Carolina making it rain. They popped 5 of 6 threes early in the first half, Stanford had four straight turnovers, and before you could dry off, it was 9 to 22 with 12:46 left in the first half (Two X plus four indeed!).
To Stanford’s credit, they did not panic. UNC did their job and was taking All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike out of the game. They were double and triple teaming her in the paint and not letting her get an offensive rebound. She was not touching the ball.
Stanford responded by hitting some threes of their own. By the end of the half, both teams combined for 15 made threes. Seven for UNC, eight for Stanford. Stanford was lucky to be down only 30-36. And they were hoping and praying UNC could not keep making those threes, or else head coach Tara Vanderveer told her team to guard the 3-point line. Either way, UNC only made two more 3-pointers in the second half.
Give an assist to older sister Nneka Ogwumike giving Chiney a pep talk at the half, too. Also keeping Stanford in the game was Mikaela Ruef, the fifth year senior who did not want to remember last year’s loss in the Sweet Sixteen. She hit three 3-pointers, a career high. She has never hit more than one in a game before. Before this game, her career total for threes was seven for all five years. She scored a career high 17 and grabbed nine rebounds.
With Stanford hitting threes, UNC came out on the perimeter and left Chiney Ogwumike alone one-on-one in the paint. And what, Stanford fans, do C and R say when they leave Chiney alone one-on-one in the paint? Chin-nay all day. That was the turning point. Chiney Ogwumike scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, and added 10 rebounds for her 26th double-double of the year. Mikaela Ruef does the things not noticed in the box score. Someone must have noticed, though because she was awarded the regional MVP. A shocker it was not Chiney, but we are sure Chiney does not mind Ruefie picking up some hardware.
Stanford had five players in double figures, and when has that happened? Never? Amber Orrange scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half to help Stanford stay close. Bonnie Samuelson made three 3-pointers for 13 points off the bench. Freshman Lili Thompson, who doesn’t play like a freshman, scored ten points.
Lili only scored ten because she had her hands full guarding UNC’s shining freshmen Diamond Deshields (get it, shining). Diamond was limited to 13 points (she averages about 19) and only made one three pointer. To be fair, she was injured with a sprained ankle, knee and wrist and you could tell she was bothered. She said her ankle was hurting in warm-ups but like a warrior, did not want to miss this game. She has a very accurate pull up jumper, but clearly the ankle was affecting her. We have not seen the last of that Freshman.
The lead see-sawed back and forth and it was a one-point game with 1:48 left and a three-point lead for Stanford with 22 seconds left when Bonnie (Miss Automatic) was fouled. She made both of them and Chiney added two free throws and Amber a lay up and Stanford would hold on to win 74-65. The score was not indicative of how close this game was.
Don’t know if we have ever seen Stanford come back from so far down. All those Pac-12 blowouts didn’t help them prepare. But we have Chiney Ogwumike (and Mikalea Ruef), and a supporting cast that did their role jobs well. Stanford going to the Final Four. Let’s just enjoy this before we look to see whom Stanford is playing (Hint: It’s UConn).
Follow C and R for Final Four action on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team was playing North Carolina in the Elite Eight with the winner going on to the Final Four. As C and R mentioned, it was raining outside, and raining threes inside Maples. Just it was North Carolina making it rain. They popped 5 of 6 threes early in the first half, Stanford had four straight turnovers, and before you could dry off, it was 9 to 22 with 12:46 left in the first half (Two X plus four indeed!).
To Stanford’s credit, they did not panic. UNC did their job and was taking All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike out of the game. They were double and triple teaming her in the paint and not letting her get an offensive rebound. She was not touching the ball.
Stanford responded by hitting some threes of their own. By the end of the half, both teams combined for 15 made threes. Seven for UNC, eight for Stanford. Stanford was lucky to be down only 30-36. And they were hoping and praying UNC could not keep making those threes, or else head coach Tara Vanderveer told her team to guard the 3-point line. Either way, UNC only made two more 3-pointers in the second half.
Give an assist to older sister Nneka Ogwumike giving Chiney a pep talk at the half, too. Also keeping Stanford in the game was Mikaela Ruef, the fifth year senior who did not want to remember last year’s loss in the Sweet Sixteen. She hit three 3-pointers, a career high. She has never hit more than one in a game before. Before this game, her career total for threes was seven for all five years. She scored a career high 17 and grabbed nine rebounds.
With Stanford hitting threes, UNC came out on the perimeter and left Chiney Ogwumike alone one-on-one in the paint. And what, Stanford fans, do C and R say when they leave Chiney alone one-on-one in the paint? Chin-nay all day. That was the turning point. Chiney Ogwumike scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, and added 10 rebounds for her 26th double-double of the year. Mikaela Ruef does the things not noticed in the box score. Someone must have noticed, though because she was awarded the regional MVP. A shocker it was not Chiney, but we are sure Chiney does not mind Ruefie picking up some hardware.
 Mikaela Ruef, regional MVP (Photo: Don Feria/isiphotos.com ) |
Stanford had five players in double figures, and when has that happened? Never? Amber Orrange scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half to help Stanford stay close. Bonnie Samuelson made three 3-pointers for 13 points off the bench. Freshman Lili Thompson, who doesn’t play like a freshman, scored ten points.
Lili only scored ten because she had her hands full guarding UNC’s shining freshmen Diamond Deshields (get it, shining). Diamond was limited to 13 points (she averages about 19) and only made one three pointer. To be fair, she was injured with a sprained ankle, knee and wrist and you could tell she was bothered. She said her ankle was hurting in warm-ups but like a warrior, did not want to miss this game. She has a very accurate pull up jumper, but clearly the ankle was affecting her. We have not seen the last of that Freshman.
The lead see-sawed back and forth and it was a one-point game with 1:48 left and a three-point lead for Stanford with 22 seconds left when Bonnie (Miss Automatic) was fouled. She made both of them and Chiney added two free throws and Amber a lay up and Stanford would hold on to win 74-65. The score was not indicative of how close this game was.
Don’t know if we have ever seen Stanford come back from so far down. All those Pac-12 blowouts didn’t help them prepare. But we have Chiney Ogwumike (and Mikalea Ruef), and a supporting cast that did their role jobs well. Stanford going to the Final Four. Let’s just enjoy this before we look to see whom Stanford is playing (Hint: It’s UConn).
Follow C and R for Final Four action on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Sunday, March 30, 2014
Stanford in the Elite Eight
By now, everyone has heard the story of the Penn state coaches hanging out with Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer in the offseason to pick her brain on the triangle offense. Guess Tara forgot to show them the back door option.
Stanford played their best ball in a long, long time. Perhaps the long season wore on them, but the last quarter of the Pac-12 season was a little lackluster. Not today. And not when playing in Maples.
Penn State and the Stanford Women’s Basketball team were playing in the Sweet Sixteen, held on Stanford’s home court. Much has been written about having neutral sites, but the truth is fans don’t come out if their home team is not playing, the site loses a lot of money, and a lot of empty seats happen. So while this is an inelegant solution, the powers that be are still scratching their heads on how to make this better.
Penn State came out powerful and athletic, and kept it close for about half of the first half. Then Stanford got hot, All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike got going, and Stanford played shutdown defense. Stanford outscored Penn State 25-7 to end the half and held Penn State without a field goal for nearly six and a half minutes.
Stanford’s Lili Thompson got the assignment to guard Penn State’s great scorer, Maggie Lucus. She averages about 21 points a game. Lili held her to 6 points in the fist half. And for the game? Six points. That’s right they shut her down in the second half. Lucas was scoreless. Tied her career low, too. She was 3-for-14 from the floor, including 0-for-5 on 3-pointers. Her last points were nine and a half minutes left in the first. Wowsa!
Penn State set screens, and even double screens, to try to free up their outside shooter Lucas, but nobody prepares for a game like Tara Vanderveer. Stanford knew the screens were coming and either got over them or switched personal on her so she never got an open look.
Shout out to Mikeala Ruef. Ruefie helped on a lot of those switches on Lucas and played intense defense. She also contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals. She was one of two Stanford players that got a double-double. The other was that beast Chiney Ogwumike. She had 29 points and 15 rebounds. That marked her 25th double-double of the season, and 83 for her career. Double Wowsa! Amber Orrrrange was second in scoring for Stanford with 18 points. Lili Thompson and Mikaela Ruef both finished the game with 11 points. That’s four, count-em, four in double figures. Stanford will need that kind of effort from everyone from now on.
Shout out to former Stanford alums Nneka Ogwumike, Jayne Appel, Kayla Pedersen, Lindy Larocque and Sarah Boothe in the house. Noticed Toni Kokenis was sitting in the stands with them. Wonder if it was a NCAA rule she couldn’t be on the bench?
Come back to Maples Tuesday night at 6PM Stanford time when they take on North Carolina (Oh yeah, number one seed South Carolina didn’t even make it to the elite eight, go figure).
Stanford played their best ball in a long, long time. Perhaps the long season wore on them, but the last quarter of the Pac-12 season was a little lackluster. Not today. And not when playing in Maples.
Penn State and the Stanford Women’s Basketball team were playing in the Sweet Sixteen, held on Stanford’s home court. Much has been written about having neutral sites, but the truth is fans don’t come out if their home team is not playing, the site loses a lot of money, and a lot of empty seats happen. So while this is an inelegant solution, the powers that be are still scratching their heads on how to make this better.
Penn State came out powerful and athletic, and kept it close for about half of the first half. Then Stanford got hot, All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike got going, and Stanford played shutdown defense. Stanford outscored Penn State 25-7 to end the half and held Penn State without a field goal for nearly six and a half minutes.
 Bonnie Samuelson, Mikaela Ruef and Lili Thompson play good D on Lucas (Photo Courtesy of Kelley L Cox ) |
Penn State set screens, and even double screens, to try to free up their outside shooter Lucas, but nobody prepares for a game like Tara Vanderveer. Stanford knew the screens were coming and either got over them or switched personal on her so she never got an open look.
Shout out to Mikeala Ruef. Ruefie helped on a lot of those switches on Lucas and played intense defense. She also contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals. She was one of two Stanford players that got a double-double. The other was that beast Chiney Ogwumike. She had 29 points and 15 rebounds. That marked her 25th double-double of the season, and 83 for her career. Double Wowsa! Amber Orrrrange was second in scoring for Stanford with 18 points. Lili Thompson and Mikaela Ruef both finished the game with 11 points. That’s four, count-em, four in double figures. Stanford will need that kind of effort from everyone from now on.
Shout out to former Stanford alums Nneka Ogwumike, Jayne Appel, Kayla Pedersen, Lindy Larocque and Sarah Boothe in the house. Noticed Toni Kokenis was sitting in the stands with them. Wonder if it was a NCAA rule she couldn’t be on the bench?
Come back to Maples Tuesday night at 6PM Stanford time when they take on North Carolina (Oh yeah, number one seed South Carolina didn’t even make it to the elite eight, go figure).
Monday, March 24, 2014
Stanford in Sweet Sixteen
Give credit to Florida State University. They had a definite game plan on defense that gave Stanford trouble. But credit Hall of Fame and Olympic coach Tara VanDerveer with a better defensive game plan, even if her assistants all thought she was crazy.
To recap, the Stanford Women’s Basketball team was playing Florida State for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen that just happens top be held at Maples in PA CA (Palo Alto, California) and is Stanford’s home court.
A very athletic Florida State came out in what is called a pressure half zone. Around the three-point perimeter. Stanford couldn’t get the ball inside to all-everything Chiney Ogwumike and Stanford certainly couldn’t get open for a three. And oh, they were committing turnovers left and right that were resulting in easy scores for FSU. Soon Stanford was down 14-6.
Then Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said, let’s go to a standard 2-3 zone even though we have lived on playing man-to-man all year long. Well, we don’t know what she said exactly, but the Associated Pres reported that her assistants wanted to say in man and Tara insisted on the little used zone. Guess what, she outranked them.
Then Stanford went on 26-2 run to end the half 32-16. Really, it was a 30-2 run if you count the start of the second. FSU was held scoreless for nine and a half minutes in the first. Still not impressed? FSU only scored ONE basket in the final 12 and a half minutes. FSU was 7-28 in the first, missing 20 of 22 shots to end the period. Chalk that up to good Stanford defense and a coach who knows to stick to her guns when she is right.
Stanford’s unsung hero of the season, Mikaela Ruef, was matched up with FSU high scoring post player, Natasha Howard, even when in the zone. She was held scoreless in the first and scored her first basket of the game with 17 minutes left in the second. Howard ended up with nine points for the game, usually averaging 21.
Speaking of Ruef, she banged her head last game and was held out as a precaution. This game, she wanted it. She was diving after balls, taking charges and hitting the deck often and with abandon. She scored eight and grabbed seven tough boards.
Stanford’s leading scorer, Chiney Ogwumike, did not disappoint when she was left one on one, or alone under FSU’s basket. She had 21 points and nine rebounds. She also got help from her supporting cast. Freshman guard Lili Thompson added 14 points and Bonnie Samuelson had 11 with three 3-pointers (she even made a rare two). Team-wise, Stanford had 17 assists on 22 field goals. Now that’s good teamwork.
See everyone back at Maples on Sunday and Tuesday, rain or shine.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
To recap, the Stanford Women’s Basketball team was playing Florida State for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen that just happens top be held at Maples in PA CA (Palo Alto, California) and is Stanford’s home court.
A very athletic Florida State came out in what is called a pressure half zone. Around the three-point perimeter. Stanford couldn’t get the ball inside to all-everything Chiney Ogwumike and Stanford certainly couldn’t get open for a three. And oh, they were committing turnovers left and right that were resulting in easy scores for FSU. Soon Stanford was down 14-6.
Then Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said, let’s go to a standard 2-3 zone even though we have lived on playing man-to-man all year long. Well, we don’t know what she said exactly, but the Associated Pres reported that her assistants wanted to say in man and Tara insisted on the little used zone. Guess what, she outranked them.
 Stanford traps a Cheetah (Photo: Associated Press ) |
Then Stanford went on 26-2 run to end the half 32-16. Really, it was a 30-2 run if you count the start of the second. FSU was held scoreless for nine and a half minutes in the first. Still not impressed? FSU only scored ONE basket in the final 12 and a half minutes. FSU was 7-28 in the first, missing 20 of 22 shots to end the period. Chalk that up to good Stanford defense and a coach who knows to stick to her guns when she is right.
Stanford’s unsung hero of the season, Mikaela Ruef, was matched up with FSU high scoring post player, Natasha Howard, even when in the zone. She was held scoreless in the first and scored her first basket of the game with 17 minutes left in the second. Howard ended up with nine points for the game, usually averaging 21.
Speaking of Ruef, she banged her head last game and was held out as a precaution. This game, she wanted it. She was diving after balls, taking charges and hitting the deck often and with abandon. She scored eight and grabbed seven tough boards.
Stanford’s leading scorer, Chiney Ogwumike, did not disappoint when she was left one on one, or alone under FSU’s basket. She had 21 points and nine rebounds. She also got help from her supporting cast. Freshman guard Lili Thompson added 14 points and Bonnie Samuelson had 11 with three 3-pointers (she even made a rare two). Team-wise, Stanford had 17 assists on 22 field goals. Now that’s good teamwork.
See everyone back at Maples on Sunday and Tuesday, rain or shine.
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Saturday, March 22, 2014
Stanford Beats South Dakota, Advances
Well round one is done and in the books. The Stanford Women’s Basketball team with the #2 seed, beat #15 seed South Dakota 81-62 to advance to the round of 32 (which needs a cute nickname). One more win puts them back in the familiar territory of Maples for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.
Stanford’s all everything Chiney Ogwumike scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. For Stanford to do well, she needs her supporting cast to help her. She did get some help from her starting guards. Amber Orrrrange had 10 points and nine assists and freshman Lili Thompson, playing in her first NCAA tournament game, added 11 points. Bench player and three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson scored 18 points, all of them threes.
Things you won’t see in the box score:
The really bad news is that the game is set for Monday and might be on during work hours here on the Pacific Coast. Might have to BYOD. Bring your own device to work to watch Stanford.
Only five more games to go…
Follow C and R for more Women’s NCAA action on Facebook and Twitter, too!
Stanford’s all everything Chiney Ogwumike scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. For Stanford to do well, she needs her supporting cast to help her. She did get some help from her starting guards. Amber Orrrrange had 10 points and nine assists and freshman Lili Thompson, playing in her first NCAA tournament game, added 11 points. Bench player and three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson scored 18 points, all of them threes.
 Chiney Ogwumike helps Stanford to a first round victory (Photo: Associated Press ) |
Things you won’t see in the box score:
- With her first basket of the game, Chiney set the Pac-12 record for scoring. Then she fought for an offensive rebound and put it back up in traffic. She also holds the Pac-12 record for rebounding, too. In case you are wondering who she passed for the scoring record, it was former Stanford great Candice Wiggins (Still a Sentimental fave). Chiney now has 2,652 points and counting.
- Fifth year senior Mikaela Ruef went to the floor hard and hit her head on the court with five minutes left in the first half. She did not return. She was shown on the bench looking lucid and cheering. Hope there is not a concussion and she can play on Monday.
- Sara James, in a rare display of emotion, got a technical foul. Refs were not calling much contact during this game and when she was whistled for a foul that she thought should have been on South Dakota, she slammed the ball in frustration. She got T’ed up.
- Stanford did a good job defensively on South Dakota except for Australian guard Nicole Seekamp. She scored 22 points. Can't let the other team's star score.
- Lili had to play with three fouls from early on in the second half. The freshie will need to play smarter and avoid foul trouble in the coming games.
- Amber Orrange’s great pass to an open Chiney all alone under the basket on a fast break. Awesome.
- Bonnie's threes…well you can get that in a box score but still...Bonnie matched her career high with six 3-pointers. All her points came off of threes.
The really bad news is that the game is set for Monday and might be on during work hours here on the Pacific Coast. Might have to BYOD. Bring your own device to work to watch Stanford.
Only five more games to go…
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Saturday, March 8, 2014
Stanford Upset by USC in Pac-12 Tourney
For the first time in the history of the Pac-12 Women’ Basketball tournament, the championship game will not include a Stanford team. Stanford fell to USC 72-68 in the semis of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Other records that fell:
First time in 13-year history of the Pac-12 Tourney, no Stanford in the finals.
Stanford had not lost a conference tournament game since 2006.
(And will this affect their NCAA seeding?)
How maddening was this game?
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 Stanford Loses to USC in the Pac-12 Tourney (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) |
Other records that fell:
First time in 13-year history of the Pac-12 Tourney, no Stanford in the finals.
Stanford had not lost a conference tournament game since 2006.
(And will this affect their NCAA seeding?)
How maddening was this game?
- Stanford held USC’s best player center Cassie Harberts to three points all game, until she scored 10 straight points in the final three minutes.
- Cassie Harberts even fouled out with 23 seconds left but Stanford could not take advantage.
- Mikaela Ruef was held scoreless for the first time in a long time, and her extra points could have helped.
- Stanford was up by as much as six points in the second, but this time could not close the door.
- Stanford shot 28% from the 3-point line (4-14) and USC was 50% (8-16). At one point they were shooting 60% from behind the arc.
- Chiney Ogwumike scored 30 points and grabbed 21 rebounds to break her sister Nneka’s Pac-12 Tournament record of seven double-doubles, yet USC held Ogwumike scoreless over the final seven minutes. To make it worse, she tied Candice Wiggins’ school and Pac-12 career scoring record of 2,629 points, but she could not get that last bucket to pull ahead. Story of the game.
- Guards Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange scored 13 and 11 points, Bonnie Samuelson added nine but Stanford only got five points from their bench. Taylor Greenfield scored all five, so only one bench player scored.
- Stanford got it within two twice in the final minutes and had a chance to tie when the score was 71-68, but Stanford could not find their three point shooters and with time running down, only Chiney Ogwumike was able to shoot the 3-pointer with about two seconds left. It missed and game over. No bashing of Chiney, just other Stanford players could not get open or get the ball to the right people when it counted.
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Friday, March 7, 2014
Stanford Survives, Beats Colorado
This was an ugly game. The only consolidation was the score, with The Stanford Women’s Basketball team putting together a better second half then the first, beating Colorado in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal by a score of 69-54 Stanford is lucky, though, every team so far (Utah Oregon still playing) that had the bye started out slow, and everyone lost except for Stanford (and what is with the 12 noon start?)
How ugly was it? Stanford was losing at the half and had a season-low 21 points in the first. That’s right. Usually Chiney Ogwumike has 25 points by half time. She was double-teamed virtually every time she touched the ball in the post, and was held to five-first half points. Good thing Colorado only had 23 points at the half. Both teams shot poorly in the first, Stanford at 24% and Colorado at 27%. Stanford only made one of ten 3-pointers in the first, too and went 6-19 for the game. They will need to step up that percentage.
The play of the game that started the rally in the second half? Probably Chiney Ogwumike’s three! LOL! That’s right ,the inside player got her third three of the year (her career?) and gave them the lead at 30-28. Stanford went on a 16-2 run and never looked back.
Spark plug of the game: Lili Thompson. She scored the next eight points for Stanford during that huge run after Chiney’s three, including a fallaway prayer while being fouled. The basket went in and so did the free throw, and everything went Stanford’s way.
Defensive spark plug was Alex Green, who came of the bench and got some key stops.
Colorado had confidence they could win, which helped them stay in the game in the first. They were also physical, which hurt them in the second. They committed 28 fouls, the most by an opponent all year. The foul shot difference was huge. Colorado made 6 of 9 free throws, and Stanford made 21 of 30 attempts.
For starting out so slowly, Stanford had four players in double figures, and two players in double-double figures. Chiney Ogwumike had 19 points, 11 rebounds and Mikaela Ruef had 10 points, 16 rebounds. Freshie Lili Thompson added 16 points with two made threes and Bonnie Samuelson had 15 points and three made threes. Chiney recorded her seventh career double-double in Pac-12 tournament play, tying the record. Who is that record holder? None other than older sister Nneka Ogwumike, who we should see in the Pac-12 studios starting Saturday.
Pac-12 note: Chiney Ogwumike’s 19 points increased her career scoring total to 2,599, bringing her to 31 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629. AND Chiney’s 11 rebounds brought her Pac-12-leading career rebounding total to 1,494. All kinda crazy records in this hear Pac-12 tourney.
Next: Stanford plays USC at 6 PM Saturday on the Pac-12 channel.
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 Chiney Ogwumike,and Mikaela Ruef battle with Colorado (Ted S. Warren - AP Photo) |
The play of the game that started the rally in the second half? Probably Chiney Ogwumike’s three! LOL! That’s right ,the inside player got her third three of the year (her career?) and gave them the lead at 30-28. Stanford went on a 16-2 run and never looked back.
Spark plug of the game: Lili Thompson. She scored the next eight points for Stanford during that huge run after Chiney’s three, including a fallaway prayer while being fouled. The basket went in and so did the free throw, and everything went Stanford’s way.
Defensive spark plug was Alex Green, who came of the bench and got some key stops.
Colorado had confidence they could win, which helped them stay in the game in the first. They were also physical, which hurt them in the second. They committed 28 fouls, the most by an opponent all year. The foul shot difference was huge. Colorado made 6 of 9 free throws, and Stanford made 21 of 30 attempts.
For starting out so slowly, Stanford had four players in double figures, and two players in double-double figures. Chiney Ogwumike had 19 points, 11 rebounds and Mikaela Ruef had 10 points, 16 rebounds. Freshie Lili Thompson added 16 points with two made threes and Bonnie Samuelson had 15 points and three made threes. Chiney recorded her seventh career double-double in Pac-12 tournament play, tying the record. Who is that record holder? None other than older sister Nneka Ogwumike, who we should see in the Pac-12 studios starting Saturday.
Pac-12 note: Chiney Ogwumike’s 19 points increased her career scoring total to 2,599, bringing her to 31 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629. AND Chiney’s 11 rebounds brought her Pac-12-leading career rebounding total to 1,494. All kinda crazy records in this hear Pac-12 tourney.
Next: Stanford plays USC at 6 PM Saturday on the Pac-12 channel.
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Sunday, March 2, 2014
Stanford Shines in Senior Night
Senior Night for the Stanford Women’s Basketball team is always emotional. Some get overwhelmed emotionally. Some cry. Some feed off the energy and family in attendance and set a new career high during the game. That someone is Chiney Ogwumike.
A few years ago, Stanford broke with tradition of having the senior ceremony right before the actual game, due to several players being overcome with emotion and then not playing very good basketball. So after Stanford beat Washington by a score of 84 to 64 and officially won the Pac-12 regular season title, Stanford fans stayed behind and the players and families were introduced, speeches were made, and yes, tears were shed. But not from one Chiney Ogwumike. She said she wouldn’t cry, she is too happy, too happy for her four years at Stanford and all the rich and varied experiences it has brought her.
Chiney was honored along with Sara James (must be called Sejjie we learned), Mikaela Ruef, who is a fifth year senior and went through this last year as she was not sure if she was coming back, and Toni Kokenis. Toni retired last year after repeated concussions, yet choose to stay with the team and attend every practice and game even though she could no longer participate. Of course someone asked if she missed the game. The emotional answer was yes.
A big shout out to Mama Ogwumike for an eloquent speech on how thankful she has been for the Stanford family and how they had embraced her daughters. Yes, you can’t talk about Chiney Ogwumike’s Stanford career without mentioning older sister Nneka Ogwumike, who had a stellar Stanford collegiate career and was the number one draft pick in the WNBA and went on to win rookie of the year (and that last year with Nneka as a senior and Chiney as a sophomore was a thing of remarkable beauty to watch unfold). But Mrs. Ogwumike said when it is all said and done, it is the relationships that have been built that will be remembered and treasured forever. Dad Peter was reluctantly prodded into speaking too, and his booming voice showed where Chiney gets her heart and passion for playing. Don’t you want to be adopted by the Ogwumikes?
So in the game, as we mentioned, Chiney scored a career high and Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer let her, meaning she kept her in long enough to get number 37, a point over her old record before Tara took her out for a rousing standing ovation with two minutes left. And truthfully, Stanford needed her points AND her defense. Washington State was not going away, despite being down all game. They have two really good guards in Lia and Tia who did not give up, and really took it to the basket. I am sure WSU and the entire Pac-12 nation is glad Chiney is a senior.
More game facts:
Senior forward Chiney Ogwumike scored a career-high 37 points with 13 rebounds for her 13th 30-point game and 22nd double-double of the season. She scored 21 of those points in the first half. Chiney Ogwumike’s 37 points increased her career scoring total to 2,580, bringing her to 50 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629 career points. Chiney already has the Pac-12 career rebounding record, so every rebound builds the record. She currently stands at 1,483.
Junior point guard Amber Orrange scored 20 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. She came just two points and one rebound shy of her respective career highs.
Junior forward Bonnie Samuelson scored 10 points for her fourth double-digit scoring performance over the past five games. She hit two 3-pointers in the game.
Speedy Freshie Briana Roberson continues her energetic play, scoring eight, which I believe ties her career high.
One disturbing trend, Stanford was 4-23 for 3-pointers. When teams key on inside player Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford must make outside shots to open things up and have a more balanced scoring attack. This will be imperative in the NCAA tournament, especially if Stanford wants to come back to Maples for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.
Stanford is the 14-time Pac-12 champion and the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament for the 13th time this year. They get a bye in Seattle and will start in the quarterfinals, facing the winner of Thursday night’s UCLA-Colorado first-round contest.
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 Stanford Seniors! Sara James, Mikaela Ruef, Toni Kokenis, Chiney Ogwumike (Photo courtesy of Pac-12 Networks ) |
Chiney was honored along with Sara James (must be called Sejjie we learned), Mikaela Ruef, who is a fifth year senior and went through this last year as she was not sure if she was coming back, and Toni Kokenis. Toni retired last year after repeated concussions, yet choose to stay with the team and attend every practice and game even though she could no longer participate. Of course someone asked if she missed the game. The emotional answer was yes.
A big shout out to Mama Ogwumike for an eloquent speech on how thankful she has been for the Stanford family and how they had embraced her daughters. Yes, you can’t talk about Chiney Ogwumike’s Stanford career without mentioning older sister Nneka Ogwumike, who had a stellar Stanford collegiate career and was the number one draft pick in the WNBA and went on to win rookie of the year (and that last year with Nneka as a senior and Chiney as a sophomore was a thing of remarkable beauty to watch unfold). But Mrs. Ogwumike said when it is all said and done, it is the relationships that have been built that will be remembered and treasured forever. Dad Peter was reluctantly prodded into speaking too, and his booming voice showed where Chiney gets her heart and passion for playing. Don’t you want to be adopted by the Ogwumikes?
So in the game, as we mentioned, Chiney scored a career high and Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer let her, meaning she kept her in long enough to get number 37, a point over her old record before Tara took her out for a rousing standing ovation with two minutes left. And truthfully, Stanford needed her points AND her defense. Washington State was not going away, despite being down all game. They have two really good guards in Lia and Tia who did not give up, and really took it to the basket. I am sure WSU and the entire Pac-12 nation is glad Chiney is a senior.
More game facts:
Senior forward Chiney Ogwumike scored a career-high 37 points with 13 rebounds for her 13th 30-point game and 22nd double-double of the season. She scored 21 of those points in the first half. Chiney Ogwumike’s 37 points increased her career scoring total to 2,580, bringing her to 50 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629 career points. Chiney already has the Pac-12 career rebounding record, so every rebound builds the record. She currently stands at 1,483.
Junior point guard Amber Orrange scored 20 points to go with eight rebounds and four assists. She came just two points and one rebound shy of her respective career highs.
Junior forward Bonnie Samuelson scored 10 points for her fourth double-digit scoring performance over the past five games. She hit two 3-pointers in the game.
Speedy Freshie Briana Roberson continues her energetic play, scoring eight, which I believe ties her career high.
One disturbing trend, Stanford was 4-23 for 3-pointers. When teams key on inside player Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford must make outside shots to open things up and have a more balanced scoring attack. This will be imperative in the NCAA tournament, especially if Stanford wants to come back to Maples for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.
Stanford is the 14-time Pac-12 champion and the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament for the 13th time this year. They get a bye in Seattle and will start in the quarterfinals, facing the winner of Thursday night’s UCLA-Colorado first-round contest.
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Friday, February 28, 2014
Stanford Whips Washington
This was supposed to be the grudge match. The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team needed to avenge its only Pac-12 loss vs. Washington, and since Washington was coming to Stanford’s house, no way were they going to let a loss happen again.
One thing you will get after beating a Tara VanDerveer team: the opposite game. Last game, against Washington’s zone, Stanford was nine for 41 on threes or made just 21% of them. This game Washington stayed in the zone and Stanford shot 37% from behind the line, going nine for 24. Last game most of the threes came in the final two minutes when Stanford was furiously attempting a comeback that would end short. This game most of the threes came during runs of 11-0 during the first half and a on a 16-4 run to open the second and Stanford built a 30 point lead and never looked back.
Last game Stanford played uninspired defense that let probable Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year Kelsey Plum get 23 points. This game, well Plum got 21 but Stanford held her in check the first half and frustrated her all night. Stanford also held Washington scoreless for over six minutes in the first.
But one thing is a constant in a Stanford Women’s Basketball game this year and that is the play of senior Chiney Ogwumike, who knows her time is finite. Plus older sis ands WNBA star Nneka Ogwumike was in the house and we know how inspired Chiney can get when Nneka is on or near the court to her.
Last game Chiney had trouble scoring against Washington’s zone, and true to form, they doubled her most of the night. Chiney still scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season. She scored 21 points in the first half, leading Stanford to a 45-32 lead at half time. Chiney was four points shy of tying her career high. She also increased her career scoring total to 2,543, leaving her 87 shy of breaking former Stanford star Candice Wiggins' Pac-12 record.
Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points for Stanford, making four of seven from behind the three-point line. Freshie Lili Thompson had 11 while shooting three of six from behind the line. Fellow guard Amber Orrange added 10 points and four assists. Mikaela Ruef, who grabbed 22 rebounds last game, had a game-high 14 rebounds in this one.
Last game the score was 87-82, with Stanford on the losing end. This game, the score was 83-60. There was no way Stanford was going to let Washington score over 80 points again.
Nneka Ogwumike, who will be commentating for the Pac-12 Networks at the Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle, interviewed her sis after the game.
Last regular season game at Maples Saturday, and senior night for Chiney Ogwumike Sara James, Mikalea Ruef (who went through it last year) and Toni Kokenis, a former All-Pac-12 guard whose career ended as a result of concussions last season. Hope to see you there.
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One thing you will get after beating a Tara VanDerveer team: the opposite game. Last game, against Washington’s zone, Stanford was nine for 41 on threes or made just 21% of them. This game Washington stayed in the zone and Stanford shot 37% from behind the line, going nine for 24. Last game most of the threes came in the final two minutes when Stanford was furiously attempting a comeback that would end short. This game most of the threes came during runs of 11-0 during the first half and a on a 16-4 run to open the second and Stanford built a 30 point lead and never looked back.
Last game Stanford played uninspired defense that let probable Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year Kelsey Plum get 23 points. This game, well Plum got 21 but Stanford held her in check the first half and frustrated her all night. Stanford also held Washington scoreless for over six minutes in the first.
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 Chiney Ogwumike gets interviewed by sister Nneka, then turns the tables (photos courtesy of C and R's smart phones!) |
Last game Chiney had trouble scoring against Washington’s zone, and true to form, they doubled her most of the night. Chiney still scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season. She scored 21 points in the first half, leading Stanford to a 45-32 lead at half time. Chiney was four points shy of tying her career high. She also increased her career scoring total to 2,543, leaving her 87 shy of breaking former Stanford star Candice Wiggins' Pac-12 record.
Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points for Stanford, making four of seven from behind the three-point line. Freshie Lili Thompson had 11 while shooting three of six from behind the line. Fellow guard Amber Orrange added 10 points and four assists. Mikaela Ruef, who grabbed 22 rebounds last game, had a game-high 14 rebounds in this one.
Last game the score was 87-82, with Stanford on the losing end. This game, the score was 83-60. There was no way Stanford was going to let Washington score over 80 points again.
Nneka Ogwumike, who will be commentating for the Pac-12 Networks at the Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle, interviewed her sis after the game.
Last regular season game at Maples Saturday, and senior night for Chiney Ogwumike Sara James, Mikalea Ruef (who went through it last year) and Toni Kokenis, a former All-Pac-12 guard whose career ended as a result of concussions last season. Hope to see you there.
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Sunday, February 23, 2014
Stanford Starts Slow, Beats UCLA
The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team has a new norm in Pac-12 play. Start slow, let the other team build a lead, take the lead mostly on the back of Chiney Ogwumike, and pull out a win.
The latest victim was UCLA, which Stanford beat65-56 at Pauley Pavilion. Can you say defensive struggle? Or sloppy play? UCLA had 18 turnovers and Stanford had 16.
This game Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer shook things up a little regarding the starting line up. Bonnie Samuelson and Briana Roberson made their fist collegiate start. Erica McCall also made her second start of the season. Briana started out well with a three and a drive to the basket. She committed a charge and got subbed out and never really was able to do much afterward.
And when Stanford fell slightly behind, some of the regulars such as Mikeala Ruef and Taylor Greenfield came in. It was also good to see regular starting guard Lili Thompson come into the game after missing last game with an ankle injury.
UCLA made all four of their three point attempts and Stanford fell behind early. Stanford’s inside player Chiney Ogwumike was held without a basket for the first ten minutes. But her first basket was a beauty; a steal and a break away lay up. Finally, with four and a half minutes left, Bombing Bonnie tied the game with a three, making the score 23 all.
Although Chieny was held to just nine points in the first half, she did score the last six points in the half and Stanford found itself with a four-point lead, 29-25, which they would not relinquish.
The second half opened with the usual starters. That must have felt good because with 14 minutes left in the half and UCLA within two (40-38), Stanford went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to build their lead to 14. This was largely due to Chiney Ogwumike and her absolute desire to get to the basket when she catches the ball in the low post.
Chiney ended up with 26 points and 15 rebounds, posted her 20th double-double and 24th 20-point game of the season. She also set a season high with five blocks, just one shy of her career best, and matched her season best with four steals.
BTW, Chiney’s 26 points increased her career scoring total to 2,511, passing older sister Nneka (2,491) for second place on Stanford’s all-time scoring list. Nneka is a good big sis, she probably won’t mind. Chiney is also now 119 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629 career points (and she might mind! LOL). (Does the Pac-12 tourney count?)
Mikaela Ruef scored seven and grabbed 11 boards marking her 14th game this year with at least 10 rebounds. Mikaela’s 11 rebounds along with Chiney’s 15 made for the 10th game this season in which each of them pulled down double-digits in boards.
Amber Orrange scored 13 points and had two steals and some speedy lay ups. Bonnie added seven and made one three in her first start.
With this win, Stanford is the outright Pac-12 regular-season champions, and have a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
Just two more games at home. And Thursdays is a grudge match against Washington!
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The latest victim was UCLA, which Stanford beat65-56 at Pauley Pavilion. Can you say defensive struggle? Or sloppy play? UCLA had 18 turnovers and Stanford had 16.
This game Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer shook things up a little regarding the starting line up. Bonnie Samuelson and Briana Roberson made their fist collegiate start. Erica McCall also made her second start of the season. Briana started out well with a three and a drive to the basket. She committed a charge and got subbed out and never really was able to do much afterward.
And when Stanford fell slightly behind, some of the regulars such as Mikeala Ruef and Taylor Greenfield came in. It was also good to see regular starting guard Lili Thompson come into the game after missing last game with an ankle injury.
 Chiney Ogwumike, right, drives past UCLA (Ringo H.W. Chiu - AP Photo) |
Although Chieny was held to just nine points in the first half, she did score the last six points in the half and Stanford found itself with a four-point lead, 29-25, which they would not relinquish.
The second half opened with the usual starters. That must have felt good because with 14 minutes left in the half and UCLA within two (40-38), Stanford went on a 16-4 run over the next five minutes to build their lead to 14. This was largely due to Chiney Ogwumike and her absolute desire to get to the basket when she catches the ball in the low post.
Chiney ended up with 26 points and 15 rebounds, posted her 20th double-double and 24th 20-point game of the season. She also set a season high with five blocks, just one shy of her career best, and matched her season best with four steals.
BTW, Chiney’s 26 points increased her career scoring total to 2,511, passing older sister Nneka (2,491) for second place on Stanford’s all-time scoring list. Nneka is a good big sis, she probably won’t mind. Chiney is also now 119 points away from breaking Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 record of 2,629 career points (and she might mind! LOL). (Does the Pac-12 tourney count?)
Mikaela Ruef scored seven and grabbed 11 boards marking her 14th game this year with at least 10 rebounds. Mikaela’s 11 rebounds along with Chiney’s 15 made for the 10th game this season in which each of them pulled down double-digits in boards.
Amber Orrange scored 13 points and had two steals and some speedy lay ups. Bonnie added seven and made one three in her first start.
With this win, Stanford is the outright Pac-12 regular-season champions, and have a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
Just two more games at home. And Thursdays is a grudge match against Washington!
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Friday, February 21, 2014
Stanford Comes Back From 19, Beats USC
So, this was little too close for comfort. I know, wisdom says the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team will learn more from falling behind by 19 and coming back and beating USC by five (64-59) then a huge blow out, but what about C and R’s weak hearts.
The game started with some bad news. Starting Freshie guard Lili Thompson was in a walking boot and the Pac-12 Networks announced she had an ankle sprain. Stanford Head Coach Tara Vanderveer was probably thinking that last game they beat USC by nearly 30, let’s try out some other people in Lili’role. The bad news was Stanford didn’t have the 30 point lead yet.
USC came out on fire and jacked up some crazy threes that had no business going in. Stanford looked disjointed with a revolving door of players on the floor. They couldn’t get in a rhythm and many tried to force it to inside player Chiney Ogwumike. Bad passes or great USC defense, either way, turnovers galore. Stanford had more turnovers halfway through the first half then they did the entire game the last time these two teams met. Soon it was a 19-point deficit with 6 minutes left in the first.
While USC was making all their threes in the first, Stanford was busy missing theirs (3-11 for the game). Stanford was shooting poorly everywhere, except free throws, and free throws kept them in the game the first half. When the deficit got to 19 with six minutes left to play, Stanford finally woke up and clawed their way back. They stopped USC from hitting those threes (heck, USC didn’t score in the final four minutes of the first) and Bombing Bonnie Samuleson hit a three with seconds left to send Stanford into the locker room only down by seven.
And you can’t keep an Ogwumike down. Chiney came out on fire. She scored 12 of Stanford's first 17 points in the second half. She stole an inbound pass and drove for a basket to tie it at 43-43. She then scored the next two baskets to give Stanford the lead for good.
Chiney contributed 27 points, 18 in the second half. She only had seven rebounds, so no double-double. Unfortunately, USC got many second chance rebounds. They good news for Stanford is they didn’t actually make the second chances.
Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points, made two 3-pointers, and more importantly made all eight of her free throw tries, including four straight free throws in the closing minute. Which was a good thing because USC swished a three with 18 seconds left and was within three (59-62). Bonnie was fouled again and sank the shots for the final score of 64-59. The 19 point deficit tied a Stanford record for largest comeback in a victory.
With the win, Stanford clinched a share of its 14th straight Pac-12 regular season title.They can become the sole champions with either a California loss, or a win on Sunday over the UCLA Bruins. Stnaford secured the Pac-12 Tournament's #1 seed.
It’s Beat LA on Sunday, at UCLA.
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The game started with some bad news. Starting Freshie guard Lili Thompson was in a walking boot and the Pac-12 Networks announced she had an ankle sprain. Stanford Head Coach Tara Vanderveer was probably thinking that last game they beat USC by nearly 30, let’s try out some other people in Lili’role. The bad news was Stanford didn’t have the 30 point lead yet.
USC came out on fire and jacked up some crazy threes that had no business going in. Stanford looked disjointed with a revolving door of players on the floor. They couldn’t get in a rhythm and many tried to force it to inside player Chiney Ogwumike. Bad passes or great USC defense, either way, turnovers galore. Stanford had more turnovers halfway through the first half then they did the entire game the last time these two teams met. Soon it was a 19-point deficit with 6 minutes left in the first.
 Now that's some D! Amber Orrange and Chiney Ogwumike. (Alex Gallarado - AP Photo ) |
While USC was making all their threes in the first, Stanford was busy missing theirs (3-11 for the game). Stanford was shooting poorly everywhere, except free throws, and free throws kept them in the game the first half. When the deficit got to 19 with six minutes left to play, Stanford finally woke up and clawed their way back. They stopped USC from hitting those threes (heck, USC didn’t score in the final four minutes of the first) and Bombing Bonnie Samuleson hit a three with seconds left to send Stanford into the locker room only down by seven.
And you can’t keep an Ogwumike down. Chiney came out on fire. She scored 12 of Stanford's first 17 points in the second half. She stole an inbound pass and drove for a basket to tie it at 43-43. She then scored the next two baskets to give Stanford the lead for good.
Chiney contributed 27 points, 18 in the second half. She only had seven rebounds, so no double-double. Unfortunately, USC got many second chance rebounds. They good news for Stanford is they didn’t actually make the second chances.
Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points, made two 3-pointers, and more importantly made all eight of her free throw tries, including four straight free throws in the closing minute. Which was a good thing because USC swished a three with 18 seconds left and was within three (59-62). Bonnie was fouled again and sank the shots for the final score of 64-59. The 19 point deficit tied a Stanford record for largest comeback in a victory.
With the win, Stanford clinched a share of its 14th straight Pac-12 regular season title.They can become the sole champions with either a California loss, or a win on Sunday over the UCLA Bruins. Stnaford secured the Pac-12 Tournament's #1 seed.
It’s Beat LA on Sunday, at UCLA.
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Sunday, February 16, 2014
Stanford Rains Threes on Arizona
So this is the story of the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team. During their loss to Washington they shot too many threes (and didn’t make many threes, going 9-41). Then against Arizona State, they didn’t shoot enough (or make enough, going 0-4). Then against Arizona, they shot (and made) just right…you get the idea.
First, on to the downtown party. Let’s set the stage. Stanford’s Lili Thompson hits a three with 15 minutes left in the first to tie the game at 11. Then Stanford three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson came in, she hits all kinda threes (three of them). Stanford goes on a 28-2 run over 10 minutes and it’s now 36-13 with five minutes left. Stanford’s inside player Chiney Ogwumike scores 11 of her 15 points during this period.
Bonnie would also hit three more in the span of one minute and ten seconds towards the end of the half. Freshie Kailee Johnson heaved one with the clock ticking down just before the half and got in on the fun. Lili Thonpson, who scored nine points, and Taylor Greenfield, who scored six points, would each swish two three pointers, and guard Amber Orrrrange would add nine points, all from three pointers. She hit three of four from behind the arc and also passed out nine assists. Over all, Stanford hit making 13 threes on of 24 tries! Ten of them were in the first half! Just right indeed.
And how was Stanford’s defense this game? Also just right. They held Arizona without a basket for a ten-minute period in the first. The half ended with a 49-19 Stanford lead. Stanford would build up a 40-point lead. Not a typo folks, 40 points. How was Arizona’s three point shooting. They were 0-5.
Bonnie Samuelson hit five 3-pointers which is one shy of her career high. All of Bonnie’s 17 points were in the first half, and she scored 17 points in 16 minutes. She also was Stanford’s high scorer. Sister Karlie (KSam) who can also shoot a three was out this with a foot injury but is expected to return next game. ESPN reported it got stepped on Feb 7th.
When the lead got to 40 with 15 minutes left to play in the second, Coach Tara VanDerveer pulled her starters. Chiney Ogwumike, who usually averages in the high 20’s and gets a double-double at the drop of a hat, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes. It was only the second time this season that Chiney Ogwumike wasn’t Stanford’s leading scorer. We know TVD doesn’t care about records and just wants to win, but we hate to see Chiney’s numbers suffer. Those east-coasters are easily swayed by numbers and we want them to vote her player of the year!
Stanford holds a three-game in Pac-12 play with four games left.
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 Bonnie Samuelson Shoots Lights Out (Photo Courtesy Stanford Athletics ) |
First, on to the downtown party. Let’s set the stage. Stanford’s Lili Thompson hits a three with 15 minutes left in the first to tie the game at 11. Then Stanford three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson came in, she hits all kinda threes (three of them). Stanford goes on a 28-2 run over 10 minutes and it’s now 36-13 with five minutes left. Stanford’s inside player Chiney Ogwumike scores 11 of her 15 points during this period.
Bonnie would also hit three more in the span of one minute and ten seconds towards the end of the half. Freshie Kailee Johnson heaved one with the clock ticking down just before the half and got in on the fun. Lili Thonpson, who scored nine points, and Taylor Greenfield, who scored six points, would each swish two three pointers, and guard Amber Orrrrange would add nine points, all from three pointers. She hit three of four from behind the arc and also passed out nine assists. Over all, Stanford hit making 13 threes on of 24 tries! Ten of them were in the first half! Just right indeed.
And how was Stanford’s defense this game? Also just right. They held Arizona without a basket for a ten-minute period in the first. The half ended with a 49-19 Stanford lead. Stanford would build up a 40-point lead. Not a typo folks, 40 points. How was Arizona’s three point shooting. They were 0-5.
Bonnie Samuelson hit five 3-pointers which is one shy of her career high. All of Bonnie’s 17 points were in the first half, and she scored 17 points in 16 minutes. She also was Stanford’s high scorer. Sister Karlie (KSam) who can also shoot a three was out this with a foot injury but is expected to return next game. ESPN reported it got stepped on Feb 7th.
When the lead got to 40 with 15 minutes left to play in the second, Coach Tara VanDerveer pulled her starters. Chiney Ogwumike, who usually averages in the high 20’s and gets a double-double at the drop of a hat, finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes. It was only the second time this season that Chiney Ogwumike wasn’t Stanford’s leading scorer. We know TVD doesn’t care about records and just wants to win, but we hate to see Chiney’s numbers suffer. Those east-coasters are easily swayed by numbers and we want them to vote her player of the year!
Stanford holds a three-game in Pac-12 play with four games left.
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Saturday, February 15, 2014
Stanford Stuffs Arizona
Coming off a rare Pac-12 loss, everyone, including C and R, was curious to see how the Stanford Women’s Basketball team would respond. Well, if it is a Tara VanDerveer coached team, you know it will be with intensity and focus. And Valentine’s Day was a great time for the fans to give their team some extra lovin’, not that they needed it.
So yes, Stanford came out extremely focused on defense against Arizona State University. I am sure the message TVD hounded into them that their defensive efforts the last two games (included a loss to Washington) needed much improvement. So how did Stanford respond? They held ASU without a bucket for the first 8 minutes. ASU scored just 12 points in the first half. Yes, 12 points, tying the Pac-12 record of the lowest point total for a half. The final score was 61-35 and those 35 points ASU scored was one away from tying another Pac012 record for fewest points scored in a game. Stanford also held ASU to 24% shooting for the whole contest. Stanford by contrast shot 53% for 40 minutes.
On the offensive end, Stanford was just as intense. Last game Stanford took 41 three-point shots. That is not necessarily a problem. But when you only make nine of them, really six for the game and three in a final fury in the last two minutes, it really is (a problem, I know long sentences). Couple that with NO one from Stanford driving to the basket and the other team collapsing on your best inside player of Chiney Ogwumike, well, it is no wonder Stanford lost that game. This game, however, the guards showed they received the message and drove and slashed inside to score. The first three-point attempt came many minutes into the game. And maybe they were too tight, as Stanford did not make a single three. They were 0-4 from the field. Interestingly, the San Fran Chron said ASU limited Stanford’s three point attempts, as the stats would bare out, but I honestly think Stanford limited themselves and was in a mode to score off of drives then from threes. Potato, potatoe.
So how did Stanford score? The guards drove and slashed inside, which resulted in ASU leaving Chiney guarded one on one. And what folks, do we say when Chiney is left alone one on one in the Pac-12 or against most other teams? Chiney all day. She scored 20 (18 in the first half) and was only limited by coach TVD who sat her with 12 minutes left to play. And hats off or hearts out to Chiney who can score 20 and grab 13 rebounds for her 19th double-double of the season in just 27 minutes and with ASU clearly holding her, meaning physically holding her for much of the game. And when Chiney came up high to the foul line it opened the back door up for the guards, in particular Amber Orrrrange and Lili Thompson. Lili scored eight and Amber had 14.
And hats and hearts out to guard Amber Orrange (so much we will spell her name correctly. It is with two “R”s). She had one of her best hustle games in a long time. She definitely took the message to heart and amped up every level of her game. She had a career-tying five steals. She was leaping for steals, picking pockets for steals and hustling for steals and one steal and incredibly quick fast break to the basket, wow, hope to see that type of play every game.
Stanford is firmly in the drivers seat for the rest of Pac-12 play and to get that bye in the Pac-12 tournament Game again on Sunday.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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So yes, Stanford came out extremely focused on defense against Arizona State University. I am sure the message TVD hounded into them that their defensive efforts the last two games (included a loss to Washington) needed much improvement. So how did Stanford respond? They held ASU without a bucket for the first 8 minutes. ASU scored just 12 points in the first half. Yes, 12 points, tying the Pac-12 record of the lowest point total for a half. The final score was 61-35 and those 35 points ASU scored was one away from tying another Pac012 record for fewest points scored in a game. Stanford also held ASU to 24% shooting for the whole contest. Stanford by contrast shot 53% for 40 minutes.
On the offensive end, Stanford was just as intense. Last game Stanford took 41 three-point shots. That is not necessarily a problem. But when you only make nine of them, really six for the game and three in a final fury in the last two minutes, it really is (a problem, I know long sentences). Couple that with NO one from Stanford driving to the basket and the other team collapsing on your best inside player of Chiney Ogwumike, well, it is no wonder Stanford lost that game. This game, however, the guards showed they received the message and drove and slashed inside to score. The first three-point attempt came many minutes into the game. And maybe they were too tight, as Stanford did not make a single three. They were 0-4 from the field. Interestingly, the San Fran Chron said ASU limited Stanford’s three point attempts, as the stats would bare out, but I honestly think Stanford limited themselves and was in a mode to score off of drives then from threes. Potato, potatoe.
 Guards Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange were aggressive scorers inside (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo) |
 No, they are not holding Chiney Ogwumike (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Photo) |
And hats and hearts out to guard Amber Orrange (so much we will spell her name correctly. It is with two “R”s). She had one of her best hustle games in a long time. She definitely took the message to heart and amped up every level of her game. She had a career-tying five steals. She was leaping for steals, picking pockets for steals and hustling for steals and one steal and incredibly quick fast break to the basket, wow, hope to see that type of play every game.
Stanford is firmly in the drivers seat for the rest of Pac-12 play and to get that bye in the Pac-12 tournament Game again on Sunday.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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