Time has a way of slipping away when there is no schedule of women’s basketball games to follow. But since Stanford lost (again) in the Final Four to eventual National Championship Baylor, lots of basketball things have happened.
One, Stanford’s Nneka Ogwumike was drafted number one by the LA Sparks. It was fun to follow her and her sister Chiney on twitter and practically get a blow by blow account of everything back stage that lead up to the draft. We knew when Nneka was shopping for her draft dress (she selected orange, because she heard orange pops on camera), we knew when she was traveling to ESPN studios (yes, she HAD seen bigger satellites on the run up one of Stanford’s hills to the “dish”) and where she was and how she felt (nervous, calm, excited). It added a special touch to the pride all Stanford fans felt (first time Stanford alum went number one) when her name was called, even though it was a little bit anti-climactic in the sterile studio.
On the other hand, all the articles leading up to the draft, literally said, “Nneka, then who?” They really insulted the rest of the draft prospects. Then ESPN cut away televised coverage after the allotted hour had been reached even though there were still names to be called not Ogwumike. No respect.
Andrew Luck, another former Stanford player was also drafted number one, this time in the NFL, and congratulations to him. Projected income for him is $20 Million over, say, 5 years. Nneka and the other top three draftess will make $48,000 this year. Number 5 and down will earn less. Sigh.
To make matters worse, if you were drafted in the second or third round of the WNBA, your chances of making the team are slim to none. UConn coach Geno Auriemma said it took a number of years, but finally the WNBA has youngish, seasoned veterans that are not retiring, and with 11 roster spots, teams could conceivable take zero rookies. Wish there was more teams out there for women who still want to play in the US.
Nneka has said since she is in California, she wants to go back to Stanford in the off season for her MBA instead of overseas to make more money. After reading between the lines for Jeanette Pohlen, Jayne Appel and Kayla Pedersen, it didn’t seem like they enjoyed their time overseas, anyway. With Nneka’s $48,000 salary, though, she might need to make more money to pay for grad school. Luckily, Lisa Leslie is a part Sparks owner and Nneka’s new mentor. Let’s hope she helps Nneka get endorsements, commercials and or modeling jobs to pay the bills.
In other news:
Legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summit, who was diagnosed last year with early onset dementia retired from UT. She preserves her dignity and win loss record, lets head coach Holly Warlick officially put her stamp on things, gets the cameras and focus off her condition, and allows her son to graduate and leave home to accept a women’s basketball assistant coaching position. Tennessee gave Pat a title (professor emerits) and a position to stay and help mentor players as long as she wants. Very cool of them.
C and R were rankled by a blogger posting a headline stating Pat Summit was “forced out” by Tennessee. We have seen no evidence of that in any other media. Irresponsible blogger publishing things without checking facts and just going on opinions (hey wait a min…no it wasn’t us, we checked).
We wish Pat well even though we have rooted against her orange-tinged team forever.
Well, WNBA starts in like, five days, summer Olympics are right around the corner, so plenty more women’s basketball and women’s sports to watch and be dazzled, captivated and pleased by. Stay tuned.
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Stanford Falls in Final Four Semi Game
Making it to the Final Four is one big party, a parade of awards, a chance to play dress up, and get sized for rings. Pretty heady stuff. Too bad they still have to play the games. Stanford came up short in the semi-final game, losing to Baylor 59-47. Let’s face it, Stanford had the game plan, they just couldn’t execute on offense.
After much secrecy, ESPN reportors reported just before the tip off that Stanford would play a 54 defense against 6’8 Brittney Griner, who had won the Player of the Year Award the day before. To Stanford fans, this defense was not new, having seen it done to Cal and a couple other teams this year. It has five Stanford players surrounding the paint and the four better scorers and leave one Baylor player open. It worked for a half. Jordan Madden was the first victim to find herself surprisingly open. She missed a lot, going 2-8 for the half. Brittney Griner only had 7 points and went many minutes without touching the ball.
But Stanford could not hit on offense. They could not hit a three. Stanford’s standout player Nneka Ogwumike played away from the basket to pull Brittney Griner away from helping. When Stanford got some back door passes, it worked. When Nneka tried to shoot from out there, she missed. She also would have 7 points at the half. Freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson was brought in off the bench and instantly hit a three. That would be her only one, although she popped a second one and the ref said she stepped out of bounds.
The half time score was 25-23 Baylor, and that was because Lindy LaRocque did not take care of the ball and it got stolen for a lay up. Stanford only had 4 turnovers against Baylor’s quick defense, but they lead to 8 points. That won’t win you games. When Stanford came out of the locker room at the half, they put Nneka back inside where she is most comfortable, which means she had to go right at Brittney Griner, and she did.
Nneka drove in and as she jumped, and Brittney jumped to block, Nneka flew in the air to the other side of the basket for a reverse lay up. Nneka went inside again and was fouled by Griner. Then the third time she attacked the basket and made a high bank shot. And like that she has 13 points. The fourth time she was blocked.
And then the wheels came off. No one else from Stanford was scoring. They stopped going back door. Stanford got it to 34-21 Baylor. Then Chiney got called for an illegal screen and her third foul. Nneka did a screen and SHE got called for an offensive foul.
Then Chiney got her fourth and then a short time later, her fifth at the 7:48 mark. Although, it wasn’t that big of a loss as she was ineffectual against Griner inside. She could hardly rebound, and she certainly didn’t get any put-back points. She would leave the game with just 4 points. But at that point, the game was not lost, if someone else could step up and make threes. Jos Tinkle, who has a steady hand the latter part of the season, only scored 2 points and missed all three of her three-point attempts.
Stanford was limiting Brittney Griner, but now Jordan Madden and a bench player by the name of Terran Condrey were making their shots. If you would have said to Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer that Brittney Griner would get one field goal in the second, half, and Nneka would lead all scores with 22, AND Stanford would win the block-battle with 5 team blocks to Brittney Griner's 2, she would have thought the game was in the bag.
But no one, not even Baylor counted on Madden scoring 9 and Condrey scoring 13. Baylor point guard Odessey Simms had a better second half, scoring 11 for the game. And Tara would not have liked Stanford going 2-17 from three-point land. And the fact everyone else not named Ogwumike combined for 21 points.
Like we said, the game plan was there, but the other players did not step up and score. The second half ended 59-47, and like that, Stanford’s stellar season was done.
Yes, it was stellar season. That was only their second loss, going 39-2 for the year. They made it to the Final Four. Nneka was in the running for Player of the Year. She got to share this amazing journey with her sister Chiney. She sometimes single-handly put Stanford on her back and won games by herself. It was as much fun to watch as it must have been for Nneka and Chiney to share, and the other Stanford team members to experience.
Although they did not win a championship, we will always remember this season with joy. Congratulations to the coaching staff, players and support system of Stanford on a great year!
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After much secrecy, ESPN reportors reported just before the tip off that Stanford would play a 54 defense against 6’8 Brittney Griner, who had won the Player of the Year Award the day before. To Stanford fans, this defense was not new, having seen it done to Cal and a couple other teams this year. It has five Stanford players surrounding the paint and the four better scorers and leave one Baylor player open. It worked for a half. Jordan Madden was the first victim to find herself surprisingly open. She missed a lot, going 2-8 for the half. Brittney Griner only had 7 points and went many minutes without touching the ball.
But Stanford could not hit on offense. They could not hit a three. Stanford’s standout player Nneka Ogwumike played away from the basket to pull Brittney Griner away from helping. When Stanford got some back door passes, it worked. When Nneka tried to shoot from out there, she missed. She also would have 7 points at the half. Freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson was brought in off the bench and instantly hit a three. That would be her only one, although she popped a second one and the ref said she stepped out of bounds.
The half time score was 25-23 Baylor, and that was because Lindy LaRocque did not take care of the ball and it got stolen for a lay up. Stanford only had 4 turnovers against Baylor’s quick defense, but they lead to 8 points. That won’t win you games. When Stanford came out of the locker room at the half, they put Nneka back inside where she is most comfortable, which means she had to go right at Brittney Griner, and she did.
Nneka drove in and as she jumped, and Brittney jumped to block, Nneka flew in the air to the other side of the basket for a reverse lay up. Nneka went inside again and was fouled by Griner. Then the third time she attacked the basket and made a high bank shot. And like that she has 13 points. The fourth time she was blocked.
And then the wheels came off. No one else from Stanford was scoring. They stopped going back door. Stanford got it to 34-21 Baylor. Then Chiney got called for an illegal screen and her third foul. Nneka did a screen and SHE got called for an offensive foul.
Then Chiney got her fourth and then a short time later, her fifth at the 7:48 mark. Although, it wasn’t that big of a loss as she was ineffectual against Griner inside. She could hardly rebound, and she certainly didn’t get any put-back points. She would leave the game with just 4 points. But at that point, the game was not lost, if someone else could step up and make threes. Jos Tinkle, who has a steady hand the latter part of the season, only scored 2 points and missed all three of her three-point attempts.
Stanford was limiting Brittney Griner, but now Jordan Madden and a bench player by the name of Terran Condrey were making their shots. If you would have said to Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer that Brittney Griner would get one field goal in the second, half, and Nneka would lead all scores with 22, AND Stanford would win the block-battle with 5 team blocks to Brittney Griner's 2, she would have thought the game was in the bag.
But no one, not even Baylor counted on Madden scoring 9 and Condrey scoring 13. Baylor point guard Odessey Simms had a better second half, scoring 11 for the game. And Tara would not have liked Stanford going 2-17 from three-point land. And the fact everyone else not named Ogwumike combined for 21 points.
Like we said, the game plan was there, but the other players did not step up and score. The second half ended 59-47, and like that, Stanford’s stellar season was done.
Yes, it was stellar season. That was only their second loss, going 39-2 for the year. They made it to the Final Four. Nneka was in the running for Player of the Year. She got to share this amazing journey with her sister Chiney. She sometimes single-handly put Stanford on her back and won games by herself. It was as much fun to watch as it must have been for Nneka and Chiney to share, and the other Stanford team members to experience.
Although they did not win a championship, we will always remember this season with joy. Congratulations to the coaching staff, players and support system of Stanford on a great year!
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Monday, March 26, 2012
Stanford Victory Over Duke Propels them Into Fifth Straight Final Four
The Stanford Women’s Basketball team is going to the Final Four for the Fifth time in five years. Stanford seniors have gone to four straight Final Fours. There was the net cutting and the trophy hugging, and lots of smiles all around at the regionals, especially for the Stanford Faithful who made the trek back to Fresno. But…
C and R hate to bring up what everyone is trying hard not to say. Stanford is 0-4 in Final Fours from the last four years. Their opponent they have to play to get to the championship game is the number one ranked team in the nation, Baylor. They feature an athletic, dunking 6’8 Brittney Griner. They are undefeated this year. All the bigs had their shot, Tenn, UConn, Notre Dame, and lost. But…
Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike was gracious in her interview after her team easily dispatched Duke 81-69. She said she is excited to play Baylor, and she knows Brittney and thinks she is nice and Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey is a good coach, but she is looking forward to it (as opposed to C and R who are dreading it). But…
Yes, we know Baylor has other weapons besides Brittney, namely Odyssey Sims. But Baylor has not seen the likes of two Ogwumikes who play as one. This year they have been a perfect compliment to each other. Nneka has developed an outside scoring touch and Chiney gets any rebounds she misses and puts them back. If anyone can do it, bet on these sisters (and thank you Obama for betting against them, picking St. John’s to go to the Final Four. They didn’t even make it to the Elite Eight).
Stanford controlled this game from the first lob from freshmen Amber Orrrrange to Nneka. When Duke went to a zone early on to try to limit Nneka, Amber drove and good ball movement got to open players, who hit some threes. Amber would have 13 for the game.
After Stanford got out-rebounded in their last game against a shorter South Carolina team, they made it a priority to get the ball. Chiney, with bulky knee and brace got 17 of them all by herself. She chipped in 12 points. Nneka once again saved the day when Chiney went to the bench with three fouls and she herself had three fouls, she scored 29 timely points and grabbed 9 boards.
Memo to the rest of the team: When Nneka and Chiney each have three fouls and Duke knows it and drives into the lane right at the sisters, one of you not named Ogwumike have to step up and either stop the drive or take the foul to save them. Because as much as anyone attached to Stanford hates to admit it, without the sisters, Stanford is sunk. Although…
Stanford did hit some threes tonight as we mentioned, seven of them to be exact. Tinkle had three of them and finished with 13 points. Having four starters in double figures helps the Stanford cause a lot, and takes pressure off of the sisters.
As we mentioned, Baylor is also going to the Final Four. They beat Tennessee earlier this evening and a lot of chatter if this was Tennessee coach Pat Summit’s last game. There was a scuffle on the court near the end of the game, and three Baylor players left the bench to see what was going on. Trouble is, rules state if a player leaves the bench to enter the court, they are assessed a technical foul and ejected from the game. Both teams got the technical foul, so no shots, but one of the three Baylor players ejected was Brittney Griner. Then the twitter-sphere erupted as to would she and the others be suspended for the next game? The Final Four game with Stanford? Rules said since there was no fight and the bench players did not fight then there is no suspension. R said she would not want to beat Baylor that way, and we all know she has a point. Still…
Final Four game is set for April Fools Day on ESPN. If anyone can solve the Brittney puzzle, it’s Tara VanDerveer, who recruited a 6’8 inch guy to be her in their practices. I bet his phone is ringing off the hook right now with Stanford coaches trying to get him into practice for the next 6 days!
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C and R hate to bring up what everyone is trying hard not to say. Stanford is 0-4 in Final Fours from the last four years. Their opponent they have to play to get to the championship game is the number one ranked team in the nation, Baylor. They feature an athletic, dunking 6’8 Brittney Griner. They are undefeated this year. All the bigs had their shot, Tenn, UConn, Notre Dame, and lost. But…
Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike was gracious in her interview after her team easily dispatched Duke 81-69. She said she is excited to play Baylor, and she knows Brittney and thinks she is nice and Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey is a good coach, but she is looking forward to it (as opposed to C and R who are dreading it). But…
Yes, we know Baylor has other weapons besides Brittney, namely Odyssey Sims. But Baylor has not seen the likes of two Ogwumikes who play as one. This year they have been a perfect compliment to each other. Nneka has developed an outside scoring touch and Chiney gets any rebounds she misses and puts them back. If anyone can do it, bet on these sisters (and thank you Obama for betting against them, picking St. John’s to go to the Final Four. They didn’t even make it to the Elite Eight).
Stanford controlled this game from the first lob from freshmen Amber Orrrrange to Nneka. When Duke went to a zone early on to try to limit Nneka, Amber drove and good ball movement got to open players, who hit some threes. Amber would have 13 for the game.
After Stanford got out-rebounded in their last game against a shorter South Carolina team, they made it a priority to get the ball. Chiney, with bulky knee and brace got 17 of them all by herself. She chipped in 12 points. Nneka once again saved the day when Chiney went to the bench with three fouls and she herself had three fouls, she scored 29 timely points and grabbed 9 boards.
Memo to the rest of the team: When Nneka and Chiney each have three fouls and Duke knows it and drives into the lane right at the sisters, one of you not named Ogwumike have to step up and either stop the drive or take the foul to save them. Because as much as anyone attached to Stanford hates to admit it, without the sisters, Stanford is sunk. Although…
Stanford did hit some threes tonight as we mentioned, seven of them to be exact. Tinkle had three of them and finished with 13 points. Having four starters in double figures helps the Stanford cause a lot, and takes pressure off of the sisters.
As we mentioned, Baylor is also going to the Final Four. They beat Tennessee earlier this evening and a lot of chatter if this was Tennessee coach Pat Summit’s last game. There was a scuffle on the court near the end of the game, and three Baylor players left the bench to see what was going on. Trouble is, rules state if a player leaves the bench to enter the court, they are assessed a technical foul and ejected from the game. Both teams got the technical foul, so no shots, but one of the three Baylor players ejected was Brittney Griner. Then the twitter-sphere erupted as to would she and the others be suspended for the next game? The Final Four game with Stanford? Rules said since there was no fight and the bench players did not fight then there is no suspension. R said she would not want to beat Baylor that way, and we all know she has a point. Still…
Final Four game is set for April Fools Day on ESPN. If anyone can solve the Brittney puzzle, it’s Tara VanDerveer, who recruited a 6’8 inch guy to be her in their practices. I bet his phone is ringing off the hook right now with Stanford coaches trying to get him into practice for the next 6 days!
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Sunday, March 25, 2012
Stanford Gets Sweet Sixteen Win over South Carolina
Stanford prevailed in the Sweet Sixteen over South Carolina 76-60, but it was a hard fought contest. South Carolina was undersized, yet they wanted to minimize Stanford’s second chance points, so they won the rebounding game 38-36. They planned on being physical with Stanford sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike, and they were, twice knocking Chiney to the ground in obvious pain on her already wobbly knee. They keyed on the inside players wanting to make the outside (read other players not named Ogwumiek) try to beat them. Two out of three ain’t bad.
South Carolina was physical and they keyed on the sisters, but they still could not stop Nneka. Nneka scored 39 and grabbed 10 rebounds, and stayed in the game with 3 fouls. Chiney, not her usual self on rebounds and put-backs due to her knee, had four blocked shots and contributed 11 points, and still managed to get 10 boards. In fact, the sisters scored Stanford’s first 14 points, and 50 of Stanford's 76.
A the start of the game, Chiney came out of the locker room wearing a huge knee brace, which had C and R speculate there might be a tear in there somewhere. After the game Chiney called the brace more cautionary then necessary, and Tara VanDerveer is paranoid to a fault about knee injuries to players, so we will see. Still, Chiney went down twice. The first time she was undercut as she went up for a rebound and fell hard. The second time she was knocked to the ground and hit the knee full on, which caused obvious pain on her face.
Luckily, the refs called a foul on that play, which was always in question as they let obvious brutal contact go and then would call strange non-fouls. In a word they were horrible. Bonnie Samuelson came in to take Chiney’s shots as she went to the bench with ice on her knee, and made both. Nneka had three fouls, and South Carolina was licking their chops thinking she was going to go to the bench for a long stretch but if there is anyone Tara can trust to not foul, it’s Nneka. She would make her coach look good.
C and R got to see a lot of the contact up close. We did make the pilgrimage to Fresno, and our original seats were up high and off to the side of the basket, behind all the action, so we went down behind the basket where apparently they didn’t sell any seats and had the section to ourselves (we did share with the Stanford band). Unfortunate for us, Tinkle’s wild throw for a three to end the half and make Stanford go into the locker room 36-30 was at the opposite end. BTW, that was Stanford’s only three of the night. We did see Chiney’s second fall and grimaces of pain and Nneka’s concerned handholding. Also saw Chiney get bandaged up twice and blood removed from her jersey as she had actually claw marks on her arm. Guess what, no foul was called.
Then C got food poisoning (thanks Fresno) and barely survived the night.
Monday’s Elite Eight is against Duke, the team the East Coast media at one point said should be seeded higher than Stanford. Duke’s outstanding guard Chelsea Gray is a sorta hometown girl and had 50 of her fans there Saturday. The announced crowd was 3,754, but it seemed like more, still off the type of crowds we see on the East Coast. We can’t go back to Fresno for Monday’s game, what with life and work getting in the way, however the game is televised, and starts at 6:00 PM Stanford time. Go Card, fifth final four and Nneka last are on the line!
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South Carolina was physical and they keyed on the sisters, but they still could not stop Nneka. Nneka scored 39 and grabbed 10 rebounds, and stayed in the game with 3 fouls. Chiney, not her usual self on rebounds and put-backs due to her knee, had four blocked shots and contributed 11 points, and still managed to get 10 boards. In fact, the sisters scored Stanford’s first 14 points, and 50 of Stanford's 76.
A the start of the game, Chiney came out of the locker room wearing a huge knee brace, which had C and R speculate there might be a tear in there somewhere. After the game Chiney called the brace more cautionary then necessary, and Tara VanDerveer is paranoid to a fault about knee injuries to players, so we will see. Still, Chiney went down twice. The first time she was undercut as she went up for a rebound and fell hard. The second time she was knocked to the ground and hit the knee full on, which caused obvious pain on her face.
Luckily, the refs called a foul on that play, which was always in question as they let obvious brutal contact go and then would call strange non-fouls. In a word they were horrible. Bonnie Samuelson came in to take Chiney’s shots as she went to the bench with ice on her knee, and made both. Nneka had three fouls, and South Carolina was licking their chops thinking she was going to go to the bench for a long stretch but if there is anyone Tara can trust to not foul, it’s Nneka. She would make her coach look good.
C and R got to see a lot of the contact up close. We did make the pilgrimage to Fresno, and our original seats were up high and off to the side of the basket, behind all the action, so we went down behind the basket where apparently they didn’t sell any seats and had the section to ourselves (we did share with the Stanford band). Unfortunate for us, Tinkle’s wild throw for a three to end the half and make Stanford go into the locker room 36-30 was at the opposite end. BTW, that was Stanford’s only three of the night. We did see Chiney’s second fall and grimaces of pain and Nneka’s concerned handholding. Also saw Chiney get bandaged up twice and blood removed from her jersey as she had actually claw marks on her arm. Guess what, no foul was called.
Then C got food poisoning (thanks Fresno) and barely survived the night.
Monday’s Elite Eight is against Duke, the team the East Coast media at one point said should be seeded higher than Stanford. Duke’s outstanding guard Chelsea Gray is a sorta hometown girl and had 50 of her fans there Saturday. The announced crowd was 3,754, but it seemed like more, still off the type of crowds we see on the East Coast. We can’t go back to Fresno for Monday’s game, what with life and work getting in the way, however the game is televised, and starts at 6:00 PM Stanford time. Go Card, fifth final four and Nneka last are on the line!
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Monday, March 19, 2012
Stanford Roughs up West Virginia in Round Two
Stanford Women’s Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer won this game against West Virginia the day before it was played. Tara is not one to toot her own horn or run to the media, so when she DOES talk to the media, Stanford fans notice. She did it a few weeks when she thought the Pac-12 was getting slighted, and she did it yesterday when she found out she was playing a defensive-minded team that liked to win, in their coaches words, “ugly.”
Tara implored the media that while she doesn’t mind a physical game, she hoped the refs would call it fairly. And no one likes wrestling matches on the floor, she continued, or when there is holding or bodies flying. She planted that subliminal seed in the ref’s head that they had to call contact. And who was one of the trio of refs? None other than Pac-12’s own Melissa Barlow.
Now, Stanford fans are chuckling at that, as we see her about every other game and we think she is horrible, making bad calls. But hey, everyone has pride in their work, so just maybe she was tired of hearing the East Coast trash the Pac-12, so maybe, just maybe, she had a little Pac-12 chip on her shoulder and some extra love for a team she sees about once a week. Coupled with the fact her crew has just been called out to call the game fairly, and boom, Stanford got some home-cooking calls 3,000 miles away from home. Just like Tara VanDerveer planned it.
Let’s looks at the highlights. Stanford came ready to play. They were fast and they were quick. Sweat was gleaning off their bodies at each time out. Announcer Mary Murphy said you can’t hit what you can’t catch, meaning it’s hard to be physical when Stanford is stealing the ball and making points in transient. Stanford would score 19 points off of West Virginia’s turnovers, as opposed to 2 points off of Stanford turnovers for WVU.
Tara also won this game by her advance scouting. She broke out that new offense C said she hated. You know, the one where the guard brings up the ball and the four other Stanford players are standing even with the foul line. No one is under the basket. And then Stanford did back door cuts to an unguarded basket the whole 1st half. West Virginia didn’t know what hit them.
WVU defense was playing out of position. Their posts were near the free throw line and no one to help them when their player did the back door cut. When you are scoring uncontested lay-ups, it just looked too easy. Stanford was up to a 22-point lead in the first, after rattling off a 17-0 run. And here’s where the other coach lost the game. He never adjusted his defense in the first half to counter Stanford’s back door play. Both teams went into the locker room with the score 38-17.
Surprisingly it wasn’t the sister act of Player of the Year contender Nneka Ogwumike and her sister Chiney scoring all the points. WVU had the game plan to try and contain them. They didn’t count on freshmen Amber Orrrrange. Amber sliced her way to the basket and when that was taken away, she hit some pull up leftie jumpers. She had 12 points in the first half and a career high 18 points for the game. Plus no turnovers against a “physical” defense. Nneka scored a quiet 16 and Chiney 13. Toni Kokenis added 10 and Tinkle had 9, with 2 three pointers, so the starting five all contributed. A good sign instead of the usual Nneka and Chiney show. Final score was 72-55.
West Virginia also tried to get the sisters in foul trouble. That worked in the second half, with Nneka going to the bench with 3 fouls with 16 minutes still left to play in the second. However, West Virginia couldn’t capitalize. Then Chiney got her third foul four minutes later and went to the bench. Nneka came in and got her fourth. Much was made about WVU players fouling out 13 times this season to none for Stanford, so Nneka had to play it cool to avoid getting tossed. But with a 20-point lead, it was not hard.
Speaking of Chiney, she was playing with a taped-up knee after falling hard in the first round game. At one point she had a great burst of energy to lead the fast break while West Virginia was lulled into compliancy on defense. Then she was limping. I hope she is able to rest it for the next 5 days until Stanford plays again in Fresno.
Stanford plays South Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen in Fresno on Saturday. Let’s show those East Coasters we like women’s basketball and pack the house.
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Tara implored the media that while she doesn’t mind a physical game, she hoped the refs would call it fairly. And no one likes wrestling matches on the floor, she continued, or when there is holding or bodies flying. She planted that subliminal seed in the ref’s head that they had to call contact. And who was one of the trio of refs? None other than Pac-12’s own Melissa Barlow.
Now, Stanford fans are chuckling at that, as we see her about every other game and we think she is horrible, making bad calls. But hey, everyone has pride in their work, so just maybe she was tired of hearing the East Coast trash the Pac-12, so maybe, just maybe, she had a little Pac-12 chip on her shoulder and some extra love for a team she sees about once a week. Coupled with the fact her crew has just been called out to call the game fairly, and boom, Stanford got some home-cooking calls 3,000 miles away from home. Just like Tara VanDerveer planned it.
Let’s looks at the highlights. Stanford came ready to play. They were fast and they were quick. Sweat was gleaning off their bodies at each time out. Announcer Mary Murphy said you can’t hit what you can’t catch, meaning it’s hard to be physical when Stanford is stealing the ball and making points in transient. Stanford would score 19 points off of West Virginia’s turnovers, as opposed to 2 points off of Stanford turnovers for WVU.
Tara also won this game by her advance scouting. She broke out that new offense C said she hated. You know, the one where the guard brings up the ball and the four other Stanford players are standing even with the foul line. No one is under the basket. And then Stanford did back door cuts to an unguarded basket the whole 1st half. West Virginia didn’t know what hit them.
WVU defense was playing out of position. Their posts were near the free throw line and no one to help them when their player did the back door cut. When you are scoring uncontested lay-ups, it just looked too easy. Stanford was up to a 22-point lead in the first, after rattling off a 17-0 run. And here’s where the other coach lost the game. He never adjusted his defense in the first half to counter Stanford’s back door play. Both teams went into the locker room with the score 38-17.
Surprisingly it wasn’t the sister act of Player of the Year contender Nneka Ogwumike and her sister Chiney scoring all the points. WVU had the game plan to try and contain them. They didn’t count on freshmen Amber Orrrrange. Amber sliced her way to the basket and when that was taken away, she hit some pull up leftie jumpers. She had 12 points in the first half and a career high 18 points for the game. Plus no turnovers against a “physical” defense. Nneka scored a quiet 16 and Chiney 13. Toni Kokenis added 10 and Tinkle had 9, with 2 three pointers, so the starting five all contributed. A good sign instead of the usual Nneka and Chiney show. Final score was 72-55.
West Virginia also tried to get the sisters in foul trouble. That worked in the second half, with Nneka going to the bench with 3 fouls with 16 minutes still left to play in the second. However, West Virginia couldn’t capitalize. Then Chiney got her third foul four minutes later and went to the bench. Nneka came in and got her fourth. Much was made about WVU players fouling out 13 times this season to none for Stanford, so Nneka had to play it cool to avoid getting tossed. But with a 20-point lead, it was not hard.
Speaking of Chiney, she was playing with a taped-up knee after falling hard in the first round game. At one point she had a great burst of energy to lead the fast break while West Virginia was lulled into compliancy on defense. Then she was limping. I hope she is able to rest it for the next 5 days until Stanford plays again in Fresno.
Stanford plays South Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen in Fresno on Saturday. Let’s show those East Coasters we like women’s basketball and pack the house.
Follow C and R to Fresno and on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
Stanford Wins in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Well, now that the dust has cleared and the letter written about disrespect has been read (Hampton), they actually played the games starting Saturday. And Stanford, as befitting a number 1 seed, beat Hampton University 73-51.
Ya know, it’s tough for a #16 seed. Here you go and win your conference, scrape and scrap and suffer and sweat all season long, and your reward is to play a bigger, better team and lose and go home, which was about 10 miles from the gym in this case. So unfair to Stanford if you want to talk about disrespect, Hampton!
Anyhoo, the game started out close. Here Hampton got their hopes up by hitting a three-pointer to make it a one point game at the 7-minute mark in the first. And then, Nneka Ogwumike runs you over. She scored 28 points, 22 in the first, and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, to overwhelm Hampton (and directed the mop up crew to clean the floor to boot).
Stanford fans have seen this phenomenon all season long. Sometimes it’s the one-two punch of Nneka and her sister Chiney. But not this time. Stanford had some drama of its own.
Early in the first half around the 17 minute-mark, Chiney knifed in for an offensive rebound. To C and R, it looked like the Hampton player fell on Chiney’s ankle, who then toppled into a second Hampton player. Chiney got called for the foul. And stayed down. When she did get up, she was limping.
Stanford fans everywhere stopped breathing. She subbed out and went to the locker room. Social media was all abuzz, bruised knee was the official reading. Dad followed her into the locker room, so it seemed more serious then a bruised knee.
She came back out, rested, sat next to the coaches (See, good as new, put me in, coach), went back in, got burned on defense, came out a minute later, went back to locker room, came back out and rode a stationary bike for the rest of the half. Watched her sister Nneka hit a three-point shot with seconds left to lift Stanford to a 42-27 lead, and went into the locker room to listen to genius coach Tara VanDerveer give her famous half-time adjustments.. Then Chiney played the second half and ended up with 9 points. Whew, had us dizzy with worry and relief.
So, while Chiney’s drama was all going on and Hampton got within one at the 7-minute mark, Nneka took over. Stanford went on a 20-6 run since the one point difference, scoring 14 straight unanswered points after Hampton’s three. Hampton just had the 6 points after the 7-minute mark, and that was with the Pac-12 defensive player of the year riding a bike.
And that three-pointer with 7 seconds left, it was as if Nneka was saying, here, take that into the locker room and chew on that. And, as most teams have found out, there is no answer to Nneka. Stanford went on to win 73-51.
Jos Tinkle scored 16, adding points that Chiney usually provides. It helped that she hit 4 three-pointers. In fact, she was 4-4 from behind the line, we think a career high for made three pointers for her. That certainly helps open things up for Nneka to work inside. Guards Toni Kokenis also added 9 and Amber Orrrrange added 7, with a career high 11 assists. Well, when you are throwing it to Nneka, who can score at will, it helps a lot.
Next up is a very tough defensive team in West Virginia. They are long and tall. Hope Chiney’s knee is up for the challenge. Should be on ESPN2 at 4 PM Stanford time.
Follow March Madness with C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Ya know, it’s tough for a #16 seed. Here you go and win your conference, scrape and scrap and suffer and sweat all season long, and your reward is to play a bigger, better team and lose and go home, which was about 10 miles from the gym in this case. So unfair to Stanford if you want to talk about disrespect, Hampton!
Anyhoo, the game started out close. Here Hampton got their hopes up by hitting a three-pointer to make it a one point game at the 7-minute mark in the first. And then, Nneka Ogwumike runs you over. She scored 28 points, 22 in the first, and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, to overwhelm Hampton (and directed the mop up crew to clean the floor to boot).
Stanford fans have seen this phenomenon all season long. Sometimes it’s the one-two punch of Nneka and her sister Chiney. But not this time. Stanford had some drama of its own.
Early in the first half around the 17 minute-mark, Chiney knifed in for an offensive rebound. To C and R, it looked like the Hampton player fell on Chiney’s ankle, who then toppled into a second Hampton player. Chiney got called for the foul. And stayed down. When she did get up, she was limping.
Stanford fans everywhere stopped breathing. She subbed out and went to the locker room. Social media was all abuzz, bruised knee was the official reading. Dad followed her into the locker room, so it seemed more serious then a bruised knee.
She came back out, rested, sat next to the coaches (See, good as new, put me in, coach), went back in, got burned on defense, came out a minute later, went back to locker room, came back out and rode a stationary bike for the rest of the half. Watched her sister Nneka hit a three-point shot with seconds left to lift Stanford to a 42-27 lead, and went into the locker room to listen to genius coach Tara VanDerveer give her famous half-time adjustments.. Then Chiney played the second half and ended up with 9 points. Whew, had us dizzy with worry and relief.
So, while Chiney’s drama was all going on and Hampton got within one at the 7-minute mark, Nneka took over. Stanford went on a 20-6 run since the one point difference, scoring 14 straight unanswered points after Hampton’s three. Hampton just had the 6 points after the 7-minute mark, and that was with the Pac-12 defensive player of the year riding a bike.
And that three-pointer with 7 seconds left, it was as if Nneka was saying, here, take that into the locker room and chew on that. And, as most teams have found out, there is no answer to Nneka. Stanford went on to win 73-51.
Jos Tinkle scored 16, adding points that Chiney usually provides. It helped that she hit 4 three-pointers. In fact, she was 4-4 from behind the line, we think a career high for made three pointers for her. That certainly helps open things up for Nneka to work inside. Guards Toni Kokenis also added 9 and Amber Orrrrange added 7, with a career high 11 assists. Well, when you are throwing it to Nneka, who can score at will, it helps a lot.
Next up is a very tough defensive team in West Virginia. They are long and tall. Hope Chiney’s knee is up for the challenge. Should be on ESPN2 at 4 PM Stanford time.
Follow March Madness with C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!
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Saturday, March 10, 2012
Stanford Wins Inaugural Pac-12 Basketball Title Over Cal
Now Stanford can say it for reals, they are Pac-12 Champions. They won the Pac-12 regular seasons by going undefeated and earned a number 1 seed in the post-season tournament. Then they had to play the games. And they almost lost to a defense-minded ASU in the semis. And the finals were against the only team to take them to overtime this season, Cal. But it didn’t really matter. Stanford won all of them, and got to cut down the nets.
Again, this was a physical game with inconsistent refereeing. Cal keyed on the inside duo of sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. Stanford perimeter players responded by going 1-8 from three-point land in the first. Cal, on the other hand, which is not known for its outside shooting, made 5-9 three pointers in the first, enabling them to keep the score close at the break, 37-31. Cal had been in the hole by as much as 13 points earlier in the half.
But both teams knew the three point shooting were both anomalies. Cal would go 0-3 on threes in the second, and Stanford would be 4-8 from behind the line. And the biggest surprise of them all was newly minted three-point shooter post player Nneka Ogwumike. She made not 1, not 2, but 3 threes. She missed a 4th attempt somewhere, C and R don’t remember amidst the yelling and the screaming and the cats-running for cover over at SC’s place. The twitter-sphere went crazy. Nneka had not made a three all season! She previous had made 2 threes in her career! It was out of this world!
And also timely. Sister Chiney went out of the game with 4 fouls with 9:37 to play and Stanford with a 10-point lead. Nneka herself had 3 personal fouls. And that’s when she hit it, her first three, for a 13-point lead and it wouldn’t get any closer. The game ended with the score 77-62, Stanford.
So just what got into Nneka to start bombing threes? Apparently, she makes the all the time in practice. Sister Chiney counseled her earlier saying she’s got a great outside shot, but as soon as she steps over that line, she physiologically psyches herself out (Or something like that, Chiney tells the story better). Chiney told Nneka to stop placing such importance on the line and just shoot, especially if the shot clock is winding down. And she did! Three times, and it was a dagger in Cal’s heart.
Let’s look at the records:
Nneka Ogwumike became the all-time scorer in Pac-12 Tournament history. Nneka also equaled Pac-12 Tournament record for most points in a tournament (71). Chiney Ogwumike broke the Pac-12 Tournament record for most rebounds in a tournament with 36. Stanford set a school record with its 28th consecutive victory and extending its win streak over Pac-12 foes to 78 games.
Then let’s look at stats:
Both sisters had a double-double. Nneka had 29 points, and 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and 3 threes! Sister Chiney had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and one flagrant elbow call (Brittany Boyd missed both shots, so there was some justice in the air). The sisters combined for 46 points and 25 rebounds. Freshmen guard Amber Orrrrange added 13 and 3 assists. Nneka averaged 23.7 points 10.3 rebounds during the tourney.
Let’s look at the awards:
Nneka earned the Pac-12 tournament MVP. Nneka and Chiney were named to the all-conference tournament team. Stanford took home a shiny trophy and Nneka wore the net around her neck on the flight home.
Things we learned from twitter:
Mikaela Ruef did not make the trip down to LA. She had surgery on her foot the day before. She plans to make the NCAA tournament, although it is not clear she will play, although that does seem doubtful.
Things we learned from fans that were courtside, of which there were few, (announced attendance was 1,845):
Bonnie Samuelson was hurt. She was seen limping and crying when she left the floor. The thought is Nneka might have landed on her leg. Having the MVP land on you is a small price to pay for a Pac-12 Championship.
Next up:
Selection Monday, where the 64-team field will be set and Stanford will find out how may thousands of miles they will have to travel. It will be on ESPN at 4 PM Stanford time.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe you'll win the Pac-12 championship too!
.
Again, this was a physical game with inconsistent refereeing. Cal keyed on the inside duo of sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. Stanford perimeter players responded by going 1-8 from three-point land in the first. Cal, on the other hand, which is not known for its outside shooting, made 5-9 three pointers in the first, enabling them to keep the score close at the break, 37-31. Cal had been in the hole by as much as 13 points earlier in the half.
But both teams knew the three point shooting were both anomalies. Cal would go 0-3 on threes in the second, and Stanford would be 4-8 from behind the line. And the biggest surprise of them all was newly minted three-point shooter post player Nneka Ogwumike. She made not 1, not 2, but 3 threes. She missed a 4th attempt somewhere, C and R don’t remember amidst the yelling and the screaming and the cats-running for cover over at SC’s place. The twitter-sphere went crazy. Nneka had not made a three all season! She previous had made 2 threes in her career! It was out of this world!
And also timely. Sister Chiney went out of the game with 4 fouls with 9:37 to play and Stanford with a 10-point lead. Nneka herself had 3 personal fouls. And that’s when she hit it, her first three, for a 13-point lead and it wouldn’t get any closer. The game ended with the score 77-62, Stanford.
So just what got into Nneka to start bombing threes? Apparently, she makes the all the time in practice. Sister Chiney counseled her earlier saying she’s got a great outside shot, but as soon as she steps over that line, she physiologically psyches herself out (Or something like that, Chiney tells the story better). Chiney told Nneka to stop placing such importance on the line and just shoot, especially if the shot clock is winding down. And she did! Three times, and it was a dagger in Cal’s heart.
Let’s look at the records:
Nneka Ogwumike became the all-time scorer in Pac-12 Tournament history. Nneka also equaled Pac-12 Tournament record for most points in a tournament (71). Chiney Ogwumike broke the Pac-12 Tournament record for most rebounds in a tournament with 36. Stanford set a school record with its 28th consecutive victory and extending its win streak over Pac-12 foes to 78 games.
Then let’s look at stats:
Both sisters had a double-double. Nneka had 29 points, and 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and 3 threes! Sister Chiney had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and one flagrant elbow call (Brittany Boyd missed both shots, so there was some justice in the air). The sisters combined for 46 points and 25 rebounds. Freshmen guard Amber Orrrrange added 13 and 3 assists. Nneka averaged 23.7 points 10.3 rebounds during the tourney.
Let’s look at the awards:
Nneka earned the Pac-12 tournament MVP. Nneka and Chiney were named to the all-conference tournament team. Stanford took home a shiny trophy and Nneka wore the net around her neck on the flight home.
Things we learned from twitter:
Mikaela Ruef did not make the trip down to LA. She had surgery on her foot the day before. She plans to make the NCAA tournament, although it is not clear she will play, although that does seem doubtful.
Things we learned from fans that were courtside, of which there were few, (announced attendance was 1,845):
Bonnie Samuelson was hurt. She was seen limping and crying when she left the floor. The thought is Nneka might have landed on her leg. Having the MVP land on you is a small price to pay for a Pac-12 Championship.
Next up:
Selection Monday, where the 64-team field will be set and Stanford will find out how may thousands of miles they will have to travel. It will be on ESPN at 4 PM Stanford time.
Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe you'll win the Pac-12 championship too!
.
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