Stanford-Cal Battle of the Bay

It’s the middle of the Pac-12 season, so you know what that means, dear readers. The annual Battle of the Bay for the Stanford Women’s Basketball team with arch rival Cal.

Stanford rode Erica McCall’s 11 points (plus 13 boards for her 13 th double double) and Karlie Samuleson’s three-pointers to beat Cal 53-46. Karlie was 4-5 from three-point land.

Stanford hats off to Lili Thompson. She had tape on her shooting hand, holding her fingers together, and it was clear it affected her shooting touch. When her three wasn’t falling, she moved inside to jumpers, when that didn’t work, she started going in for lay ups. And they were not easy shots. She kept herself in the game and found a way to contribute to her team. And although she was 3-15, she chipped in 11 points.

Stanford D also held Cal’s outstanding freshmen, Kristine Anigwe (who reminds C and R an AWFUL lot of an Ogwumike), to 17 points. She usually scores around 20. She had nine in the first quarter, until Stanford stifled her for only eight points over the next three quarters.
Couple that with only seven active players for Cal (injuries, people leaving the program) and it was hard for Cal to bounce back.

So Stanford won the first one, and it was weird, Stanford players did not seem happy with the win, perhaps they knew they did not play well. Their demeanor as they left the court was not one of a jubilant team. They did have 15 turnovers. However, Cal had it worst, only shooting 28% for the game, with 2-11 from three-point land. Would that hold for game two?


Lili Thompson looks intense in the Battle of the Bay.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site. Part II
In this one, Stanford players got the green light to drive and go 1 on 1, be selfish and create their own shot, a little different from other games where they pass and pass until they find an open player. Or maybe head coach Tara VanDerveer said only the Johnsons are allowed to score in the first half?

At one point Kaylee Johnson put the ball on the floor and got a layup. Even the Pac-12 announcers noticed, saying she was not shying away from contact around the basket. Then Kailee Johnson got in to the act, and when she put the ball on the floor, Cal was so surprised no one stopped her and she got a layup.

C and R are sorry to report that Lili was cold again. And yes, her fingers were taped again, which affects her shooting touch. Karlie Samuelson got in to foul trouble, picking up three before the first half ended and sat. The most disturbing fact of the first was that Lili and KSam had zero points in the first.

Luckily for the Johnson and Johnson show in the first, with them scoring 10 and 9 points respectively. You have to figure out which is which. However Stanford found themselves down seven, 27-34. Cal kept themselves in the game by out rebounding Stanford, especially on the O boards.

Another interesting tidbit, walk on Kiran Lakhian got in to the game for four minutes in the first. She usually does not play or only goes in the final seconds. With such a deep bench, we wonder why Tara called her number?

Then, the start of the second and everything went sideways for Cal. Stanford, possible fired up from a pep talk/scolding in the locker room went on an 11-0 run. Annnnd, held Cal to four points in the third quarter while scoring 15. Stanford got the lead for the first time and did not let go.

In the fourth, Stanford had 5 players in double figures. Erica McCall had another double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brittany McPhee had 12 points, and a lot of hustle plays that won’t show up in the stat line. Kaylee Johnson had 11, and Kailee Johnson and Lili Thompson each had 10: Lili’s were all in the second.

Still, Stanford uncharacteristically made many mental mistakes in the last minute to keep Cal around, and it was a frantic finish. Cal’s Courtney Range hit a three with 26 seconds left to make it an exciting 56-53 Stanford lead. However Cal had to foul and Stanford hung on to win 60-55.
Stanford gets its 22nd regular-season sweep of Cal and keeps chugging to get back into the Pac-12 hunt.

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Stanford Women’s Basketball Team Tours Italy

The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team started their season early with a trip to Italy for sight seeing and some basketball. The nice thing for the program was the ability to start practice earlier in the season. The nice thing for the students is they get to tour Italy and soak up some different culture and taste some wonderful food.

All this is evidenced in a great video edited by Stanford player Sara James. She has a future in video any time she wants it.


Her description:
Stanford women's basketball took a trip to Italy before their 2013-14 season. They visited four cities, including Rome, Siena, Florence, and Venice. They played three games against European teams. The trip began on August 27th 2013 and ended on September 5th 2013. Go card!

Stanford has taken advantage of these NCAA sanctioned trips in the past, as it always them to get in some extra practice before the fall season. Others teams did as well, as Cal went to China this year (photos from the Great Wall were cute!). This year the early play might not be as impactful due to a new NCAA rule that a coach can workout with their players eight hours a week, two on the court, if the athletes are enrolled in summer school or have met certain academic benchmarks. Either way, glad to see Stanford back at it.

Looking forward to the upcoming season!

More Stanford Video at the original C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog

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Stanford Survives Colorado, in Pac-12 Finals against UCLA

Wow, that was a close call. With the air in KeyArena still heavy with upset vibes from UCLA smacking Cal out of the pac-12 tournament, Stanford looked like they might suffer a similar fate in the semi-final round against Colorado. Although to be fair, Cal only scored 14 at the half and was down by as much as 22 points. Stanford was never down more than four, and went on a 9-0 run in the second with 14 minutes left in the game to get some breathing room and keep the lead for good.

Chiney Ogwumike struggled, yet still scored 25 and had 19 rebounds (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Colorado played a physical game, and the refs all tournament long have been “letting them play.” Colorado tried to take advantage of that by pushing on All-Everything Chiney Ogwumike. She missed shots, she was blocked (never seen so many blocks on her), she was knocked to the ground, she was harassed. She was held scoreless for the first 11 minutes of the game, and that has to be some kind of record. 

Usually, Stanford will respond to Chiney getting double and tripled-teamed with others stepping up to score, maybe some three-point shots to open things up for her, but not this time. Stanford made one three-pointer ALL game. Senior starter Joslyn was quiet (six total points). Sara James, who had five three-pointers last night, made only one this game and had five total points. She was held scoreless in the first half, and that’s never good.

Thank goodness for guard Amber Orrrrange. She might not get a lot of assists per game, but her specialty is driving in and hitting pull up jumpers. And that she did. She would score 13 points for the game, and kept Stanford in it when Colorado would go up by a bucket or two. Then, you can only keep an Ogwumike down for so long, especially after she loses a contact.

After Chiney got her first points of the game at the 11:04 mark in the first, she would go on to score 14 points and grab 10 rebounds, another double-double at half time. Stanford as a team was shooting just 28 percent in that half. Colorado had a slight one-point lead going into the locker room, where Stanford coach Tara Vanderveer could yell at her team for not playing good defense. That was only the fourth time all season Stanford was not leading at half. The last time was in January. Against Cal. And Stanford lost. And Cal had just lost. Hate to admit it, but C and R were a little nervous.

However, Colorado had their physical strategy back fire. They got seven fouls within 10 minutes in the first and Stanford shot bonus all night long. Stanford was 22-29 from the line for the game. Colorado, by contrast, did not get to the line much, and was only 3-4 from free-throw land.

In the second, Amber Orrrrange got a three-point play at the 15:51 mark to put Stanford ahead by three, for their first lead since the first half. Colorado’s Chucky Jeffrey, who had an outstanding game with 19 points but no supporting cast, kinda like Chiney sometimes, hit a three to tie it up for the tenth time in the game shortly after. Then Stanford went on that 9-0 run, clamped down on defense, and never looked back. The final score was 61-47.

Stanford’s Mikaela Ruef was a big part of that 9-0 run and had strong play in the final minutes. With Colorado keying on Chiney, she could drive to the basket before someone would pick her up and she finished some tough shots. She finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and a team-high four assists.
Chiney would end up with 25 points and 19 boards, just short of a 20-20 game again. Although looking closer at the stats, she was 9-24 from the floor. That’s a lot of misses, especially for her, who shoots something like 60% from the floor. She made her shots in the second, but Colorado did not make it any easier on her. She earned every shot. Several times we saw her miss on the blocks, sometimes twice in a row. That was a rare sight indeed.

Three Stanford players in double figures, yay. Now, Stanford will meet a tough, physical UCLA team on ESPN2, where the rest of the nation can see them play. And what’s a Pac-10 or 12 final without a Stanford in it? Because they have been in every single time. Let’s hope for another positive outcome and that Stanford is well rested.

Follow March Madness with C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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Battle of the Bay Part I

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team traveled across the Bay Tuesday to Haas Pavilion to take on Cal. By a quirk of the schedule, Cal will return the favor at Maples on Sunday. Both coaches will be studying this game to get ready for the next. Let’s look at what the teams did, and did not, do well.

Things Stanford did well:
When Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike was double teamed, people cut to the basket and made themselves available for a pass. A memorable play was Toni Kokenis cutting weakside and was wide open and Chiney got her the ball where she could score.

Things Stanford did not do well:
When Chiney was double teamed, people stood around and did not cut to the basket. In one replay (and thanks to the Pac-12 Channel for televising) four, count ‘em four white-jerseyed players were on Chiney and not one black jersey cut to the basket or got in a passing lane to help her. She Shot off balance and missed. Stanford did this against UConn with disastrous results.

Chiney Ogwumike gets quadrupled-teamed (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Things Cal did not do well:
Shoot the three. They were 2-21, or 9% completion rate. So they were good at taking the three, it was the making part they had trouble with. 

Things Stanford did not do well:
Shoot the three. They were 0-8. Guess they stopped trying after missing so many. Stanford’s completion rate was 0%, and you don’t have to be Stanford grad to know 9% is better than none.

Things Cal did well:
Rebound

Thing Stanford did not do well:
Rebound

Cal won the rebounding battle 45-31, and was 21-5 on the offensive end. Cal scored 22 points off of second (and third) chances. Yikes.

Things Cal did well:
They drove to the basket to try to score or draw contact and a foul. And if they missed, they seemed to always get the rebound (see rebounds, above). They were very good at these two things, the driving in and the rebounding. They were very good for 3 /4 of the game, and then they stopped driving in. They weren’t making threes, so they stopped driving in and therefore could not get a rebound on an un-taken shot. C and R are sure Cal Coach Lindsey Gottleib is going to look at the game film and not make that mistake twice when they meet less than a week later on Sunday.

Things Cal should have done well:
So Cal breaks out their new and improved vaulted press. They get a steal and a basket, and then don’t try it again for 10 whole minutes (Not sure how many minutes between, but why not press every time?) Well, when they did press again, Stanford easily passed to the half court line, and unlike the UConn game, they took the ball straight to the basket without waiting for the defense to catch up. The result an easy lay up. Now Cal is 1-1 on the press. But they stop trying it until the final minute. C and R are still scratching their heads about that decision. And will Gottleib rethink that for Sunday?

Things Stanford did well:
Their defense held Cal to zero baskets in 9 minutes, really 11 minutes (think Cal got one point off of a free throw in there). This started around the 13-minute mark until the 2 and a half minute mark, and broke the game open. Stanford won 62-51. The game was a seesaw, back and forth affair before that Cal drought. Was it Cal not sticking to their game plan or Stanford’s really tough defense? Maybe a little of both.

Things Stanford did not do well:
Run their offense. We still don’t understand their very static and predictable offense, where one person seems to move at a time. And when there was a shot, not many rebounders, or even no one at all to rebound (see rebounds, above).

Things Stanford did well:
Stanford guard Amber Orrrrange driving in and pulling up for jumpers was very timely. She did that extremely well to the tune of 15 points. Guard Toni Kokenis, back after an unspecified illness, also did this to a lesser degree and contributed seven points. Chiney scored 26 points on 11-16 shooting, but for the second game in a row, did not rebound well, getting six. Could it be teams are more hyper-focused in her and vehemently boxing her out, and boxing her out well? Probably. Tinkle scored eight with only four rebounds, and she needs to step up both if other teams are going to be keying on Chiney and if Stanford wants to be successful in the long run.

Okay, when putting pen to paper (or computer to…bytes?) most writers will try to think, was there one play that broke open the game? And sometimes you can’t really point to one definite moment that turned the game. And sometimes you can. For this game, the pivotal moment came when Stanford had the ball out of bounds at the half court line and two seconds on the shot clock.

Now, last year, whenever the shot clock was three seconds or under and the ball was out of bounds under their basket, Stanford had this standing play where Nneka Ogwumike would shuffle around the key looking like she was lost and as soon as the ball was handed to the out of bounds person, she would whip her body around and the ball would be lobbed in the air to her position and she would jump, catch, and shot all in one motion without touching the ground. There only about one other player in women’s college ball who can do that, and her name is Chiney Ogwumike.

So what do you do when Nneka’s not available or say, graduates? Why, you go to Chiney. Except, the ball was not out of bounds under the basket. It was 40 feet away from the basket. So Jos Tinkle grabs the ball and HEAVES it towards the Stanford basket. It probably was supposed to be a lob to Chiney but it hits the backboard. It banks off the backboard hard to a waiting Chiney. Three Cal players are surrounding her but are so stunned they barely get their hands up a when she catches it and takes it to the basket. The lay up goes in AND she gets the foul call (Although she missed the free throw, and mark that down under things Stanford did not do well as a team, going 10-18 from the free throw line). Still. That quirky, risky play broke Cal’s spirit. Plus, Cal had just missed an easy lap up in transition. So, yeah, that was the turning point. That probably won’t happen on Sunday… or ever. Stanford head coach Tara Van Derveer confirmed that when after the game she said, “that one was a lucky play” and “let’s be honest, we didn’t diagram that one.”

Stanford extended their Pac-12 streak to 81 games. Can they make it 82? It will be a rare opportunity to see how each coach responds to the game just played when the two teams meet on Sunday.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, for Battle of the Bay Part II, too!

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Stanford has UN-Stanford Game, Yet Stanford Results, A Win over ASU

Well the good news was this game was televised. The bad news was maybe it shouldn’t have been. Stanford shot a season-low 29.4 % for the game and held off a uncharacteristic late charge to survive and win 52-43 over Arizona State University. (And 8 of those Stanford points came off of 4 straight intentional fouls within the last minute).

Coming into this Pac-12 tournament semi-final game, ASU only gave up an average of 52.5 points per game. Stanford likes to score. Something had to give there, but let’s also not forget Stanford plays great defense and they only give up 55 or so points a game. And ASU is the team that has 6’5 Kali Bennett, who blocked Stanford Superstar Nneka Ogwumike not once but twice in one possession the last time these two teams met in the regular season, something you don’t see every day.

Kali’s defense and scoring single handedly kept her team in it when they last met. And then she got hurt, a bloody nose I think. She came back I quickly but she wasn’t the same. And then Stanford’s post players, Nneka and sister Chiney went to town. Bennett then fell and hurt her back and was out of the game for good. Stanford cruised to a victory.

In this game, Kali played well but got her third foul with 2 seconds left in the half. She then couldn’t be so aggressive on defense in the second. Stanford is known to play smart and you have to play smarter to beat them, and that was not a smart play. Nneka had head-faked Kali at the three point line and drove past her. When Nneka pulled up, Kali was trying to get back to her and fouled her. Nneka made both shots and took a 29-15 lead in to the locker room. Yes that’s right, that’s not one of C’s infamous typos. ASU only scored a season-low 15 points in the first. We told you Stanford could play some D, too. The sisters combined for 18 at the half, BTW.

Still, ASU held Stanford scoreless for long stretches of time. Most notable was the 8 minutes in the second half where Stanford went without a field goal. Stanford was also 0-10 for threes, and shot a season-low 29.4 % for the game.  Even worse, Stanford’s second half statistics were 15.4% made field goals on 4-26 shooting, and 0 points from the bench. Ye Gods! (Nate the Great from Swish Appeal would have a field day with stats like that!). And that kind of play, Ladies and Gentlemen, will bounce you out of the NCAA tourney quicker than my fat cat eats her kibble.

The announcers hit the nail on the head and said if you hold Stanford, the #2 team in the country to 4-26 shooting, and 8 minutes without scoring in the second, and don’t score points yourself, you are wasting a HUGE opportunity. And ASU did. ASU shot about 29 % from the field, too.

Some highlights. Nneka scored 24 points and had 12 rebounds for a double-double. Sister Chiney had 12 points and 13 rebounds, also a double-double. Coach VanDerveer said after the game she knew Nneka and Chiney would not let this slip through Stanford’s fingers. Yes, but what happened to their supporting cast that had made such strides the last few weeks?

Why was it so bad?  C and R theorize that one, good ASU defense and and two, playing two games in a row took a toll on both teams. ASU did not let Stanford run or get baskets in transition. Nneka and Chiney were pushed around a lot inside, coupled with really bad refs not calling obvious contact down low and that made for a lot of missed shots.

Stanford has not played back-to-back games all year without a night’s rest, and now they have to play 3 games in a row without a night’s rest? What’s up with that Pac-12? Didn’t they get at least one day’s rest in the old format? (And please move the tourney to Vegas, where the men are thinking of going).

After the game, Tara V said sometimes you got to win ugly and that was ugly, but you learn from it. When teams are that aggressive we have to pass, screen and move and go hard, cutting quicker.. Oh here, listen for yourself.



Tomorrow is the Championship at 11:30 AM Stanford time, on TV again. Stanford’s opponent? Cal

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Battle of the Bay is One-Sided, Stanford Beats Cal by 25

Cal did its best to try and intimidate the “Nice Girls from Stanford.”  The Stanford women’s Basketball team, on the other hand, would have none of it. They showed up in the enemy territory of Haas Pavilion in their black uniforms and gave as good as they got.

Well, Cal did intimidate a little in the first few minutes. They did have a loud crowd and scored the first four points. All four came courtesy of Cal’s Brittany Boyd. The media (okay, C and R and Cal Golden Blogs) played up the freshmen match up of guards, Cal’s Boyd and Stanford’s Amber Orrrrange. They did indeed match up across from each other and Boyd was fired up. She hit two free throws to open the game and then got a steal and just took it down Stanford’s throat for a lay up. Amber took her shots, too, and they were good looks, but nothing fell. It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Cardinal.

To make mattes longer, er harder, Cal opens with a full court press, and Stanford can get easily rattled. Stanford would turn it over seven times in the first half alone.

But then Stanford gave Cal notice that they had a different weapon then their inside game, namely the outside game. Jos Tinkle hit a three, all 6’3 of her. Then they went inside to all-everything Nneka Ogwumike, who got Cal’s centers into foul trouble. A couple of free throws later and Stanford is up 8-6 with 14 minutes to play. Then Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer unleashed the big guns, and subs in freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson. She quickly hits a three. Toni Kokenis follows shortly after, then Bonnie again and in the space of 3 minutes Stanford is up 24-13. Stanford already had more made threes at this point (3 of them) then made all game the first time these two teams played.

A word about Bonnie’s threes. They ain’t pretty. They have no arch and she releases more from the shoulder with a little hop than a pure straight-up jump and shot from the shoulder. C and R are always worried it would be easy to block, but here’s the thing: she releases so darn quickly no one can block her. And Cal did keep leaving her open, much to Cal head Coach Lindsey Gottleib’s dismay.

Then Cal couldn’t stop Toni. At one point her defender played off of her and begged her to shoot the three. She did and she made it. She also had some nice drives to the basket and some nice pull-ups. She kept Cal off balance, and had 11 points at the half.

The half time score was 43-24. Granted, Cal’s post players went to the bench and let Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike get some baskets. However, Cal did not play team ball. When they got a defensive rebound, which they got a lot of, hats off to them for keeping Chiney Ogwumike off the O boards, Cal would put their head down and go coast to coast. Trouble is 2 or 3 black uniforms were back there waiting, forcing bad shoots instead of an easy lay up. Cal really dug themselves a big hole. Cal would shoot 9-32 in the first half. And Brittany Boyd, who scored the first four points for Cal, held scoreless the rest of the half.

Okay, we have heard of the three-point play (foul, made basket, made free throw) and a four-point play (fouled on a three point shot, made the three, made the one foul shot), but a five-point play?  In the first, Toni made a two point shot and Cal got called for throwing Nneka around, so Stanford got the basket and the ball out of bounds under their basket. Nneka fought off her man and caught the inbound pass at the block and put it back for two more points, and was fouled. She made the free throw. Five total points.

Also in the first, Nneka blocked a Brittany Boyd lay up so hard the ball flew off the court and down the exit aisle, heading for the door, along with Cal’s hopes of winning this game. No soup for you! Now that’s intimidation! The announcers said the first time these two teams played at Maples, Nneka had the flu and had been in bed for four days before the game, no practice. She played and only scored 12 points and didn’t look like “Nneka.” Tonight, they concluded, she looked like Nneka.

Speaking of blocks, Stanford had 10 total. Jos Tinkle had five, two coming on one play, although how did the Cal player get the ball so many times.

Being down by 19 is hard to come back from, and Cal did a better job in the second half with their centers taking it to the Ogwumikes on offense and getting them in foul trouble. But it was too little, too late. Brittany Boyd did not score in the second half. Cal also stuck with the full court press, and this time Stanford solved it with long passes down court. Stanford then had three-on-one type numbers and easy lay ups.  Stanford would limit their turnovers this half to five. The final score would be 86-61.

Nneka would finish the game with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 blocks. For once, she is not Stanford’s high scorer, and no, the high scorer was not also named Ogwumike, which is often the case. High scorer was guard Toni Kokenis, with 23. As we mentioned, she had a wide variety of moves to go to, including three from behind the line. (Stanford would make 8-14 of their threes for the night. Cal by contrast would make 1 on 9 attempts.). Toni might have scored more, but had to leave the game with a few minutes left due to collision with a Cal player’s shoulder and subsequent bloody nose. Chiney would square out at 12 points and 12 rebounds, for her 14th double-double of the season. Jos Tinkle rounded out the quartet of Stanford players in double figures with 16 points. And Bonnie? She made 3 threes for 9 total points.

The announcers said Stanford looked like a #2 team, and that they came out and owned this game, they took control and they never let it out of their grasp. Pretty intimidating.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too, just in time for the Pac-12 tourney!

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Cal Golden Bears vs C and R's Stanford Women's Bball Blog

Today's Blog is brought to you courtesy of  Nate the Great at Swish Appeal. He posed questions to Cal Golden Blogs and C and R. Results are below. In fact, this is really his article we copied and pasted from Swish Appeal. Enjoy!

Cal Golden Bears vs Stanford Cardinal: Battle Of The Bay Q&A With California Golden Blogs and C and R
by Nate Parham on Mar 3, 2012 6:00 PM EST in NCAA: Pac-12

Although rivalries are certainly born under the pressure of high stakes competition, the UC Berkeley - Stanford women's basketball rivalry should hold a special place in women's basketball history: it was the first college rivalry game in women's basketball history by virtue of being the first intercollegiate women's basketball game 116 years ago. (In which Stanford won 2-1--C and R).

Yet the not-so-subtle underlying theme of Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer's point that Cal should have been ranked during 2011-12 season is that either people don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the Pac-12.

There are obviously perfectly good reasons for this problem, but with the Battle of the Bay coming up tomorrow (6 p.m. PST on FSN), I figured I'd enlist the help norcalnick of SB Nation's California Golden Blogs and C and R of the Stanford Women's Basketball Blog to help shed some light on their teams before jumping into a more detailed preview.

1. Swish Appeal: Although these two teams are already locked in at #1 and #2 in the conference at this point, every Big Game is a big game because it's a rivalry game with bragging rights on the line. But with Cal arguably the closest it has been to Stanford in years, where does your anticipation for this particular game rate in the larger context of this ongoing rivalry?

C and R: This game has huuuuge implications. The thinking goes if Stanford loses to Cal, they lose the number 4 seed in the NCAA tourney. If Cal loses, they get seeded 8th and will meet a team like Baylor in the early round, yet a win would give them a more favorable draw throughout the tourney (we just learned that from norcalnick). This is going to be a nail-biter.

norcalnick: It's difficult to precisely place this game, in part because there have been bigger Cal/Stanford games in terms of conference standings, rankings, etc. But I think it's a chance for Cal to send a HUGE message not just for this season, but for next season. With a win, Cal can claim that they have perhaps caught up with Stanford. The Cardinal losing Nneka Ogwumike and Cal doesn't have a single senior. A win on Sunday night would be a statement that the conference race next year is going to be a battle.

2. SA: For people who haven't seen these two teams often, what is something that is really important to know about your team that doesn't show up in the box score?

C and R: Stanford sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike really enjoy playing the game with each other. Really, they are a joy to watch as they rack up 7/8ths of Stanford's points. Although a huge box score statistic in this game will be rebounding. The sisters are used to jumping over everyone, and Chiney makes her living on weak side rebounds and easy put backs for points. Cal prides itself on its rebounding and is one of the top teams in the nation statically, or something like that. Something's gotta give. Norcalnick pointed out that if Stanford freshman guard Amber Orrrrange goes against Cal freshman guard Brittany Boyd, there's going to be contact, good or bad. Also, he predicts BB will harass Stanford's playmaker.

(This just kills us, posting a video where Cal's Brittany Boyd talks about swagger. But Cal Golden Blogs posted the “Got Bounce Video, so turn-about’s-fair-play-- C and R.)

norcalnick: I think Cal has a certain level of versatility to their style of play. Like most teams, they want to beat you in a certain way, and for Cal that means pushing the tempo, getting out in transition, occasional pressure defense and clobbering teams on the boards. But they have the depth and versatility to win games when they can't play their preferred style. The addition of Brittany Boyd, improvements from Eliza Pierre, a deeper post rotation - all of these things have allowed Cal to be more successful in the half court set and the personnel flexibility to match up well with most teams. They don't want to get bogged down in a slow down game with Utah or Oregon State, but they'll still pull out the win.

Also: I suppose this is reflected in the box scores, but Cal took Rutgers, Ohio St., Texas and Stanford down to the final possession. Allow me to be a homer and humbly suggest that the Bears are the best unranked team in the country.

3. SA: When Cal beat Stanford on January 18, 2009, it was at Haas but required a rather epic game from Alexis Gray-Lawson. Who might be that player who steps up big to pull off the upset this time?

C and R: Sorry, we haven’t seen much of Cal this season (no offense meant, really), but we have been super impressed with Brittany Boyd. She certainly didn’t back down at Maples. C and R will definitely have their eye on her. Also Cal’s Layshia Claredon. And, this is between you, me, and the tree, but the media has said Stanford’s Taylor Greenfield and Sarah Boothe are going to be reinserted into the lineup. Both have been out with injures. However in their absence, Jos Tinkel has stepped up. C and R would almost hate for coach Tara to mess with a good thing, ya know?

norcalnick: That's hard to answer in part because Cal's attack is deep and balanced. But it will probably be a guard, which means it would probably be Layshia Clarendon. She's Cal's best shooter, she's Cal's most consistent penetrator, and she's our tough, grizzled veteran. Layshia brought Cal back when they trailed Stanford late in regulation at Maples, and she's been playing her best basketball late in the season. The Ogwumike sisters make it hard to earn a win with post play, and that means Layshia and the rest of the guards have to step up.

4. SA: As hard as it is to neutralize the Ogwumike sisters on the boards (a combined 27 rebounds in their overtime win on January 28 this season), is it possible for Cal to win this game if they don't win the rebounding battle?

norcalnick: Yes, and I say that mostly because Stanford won the rebounding battle earlier in the season and Cal still almost won. But they won it by a slim margin, and Cal stands a much, much greater chance if they do out-rebound Stanford. like they do most teams.

If Cal can't out-rebound Stanford then they need the Cardinal to have an unusually poor shooting game and/or the Bears need to shoot particularly well. Both of those things happened earlier in the year, which is why Cal kept it close despite getting out-rebounded. I wouldn't expect Stanford to shoot 3-20 from three again, so Cal probably needs to do better on the glass. But it's college basketball. Weird things happen!

C and R: In a word, no.

In more words, rebounding, smebounding, you have to stop Nneka and Chiney from SCORING if you want to win this game.

SA: What development (positive or negative) since the first game between these two teams might have the biggest impact on this second game?

C and R: Hmm, I think the emergence of Amber Orrrranges and Jos Tinkle’s confidence and playing time is a positive. Negative is Stanford’s other guard Toni Kokenis is hurt. Will she be full strength on Sunday? Also, Cal has gone 13-2 in the last 15 games and their coach seems to have solved some of the chemistry issues they had last year. She also has them believing they can win, whether it’s true or not, it’s the mark of a good coach. Also, Cal is giving away free tickets to employees and selling others for $1 to pack the house and intimidate the "Nice girls from Stanford". That doesn’t’ seem fair! LOL!

norcalnick: I think the biggest change for Cal might just be the psychological knowledge that they can play right with Stanford. Since Cal's last win in 2009, the Bears have lost to Stanford seven straight times, and until this year none of them were especially close - the smallest margin of victory was 15. When Alexis Gray-Lawson graduated there wasn't a player left who had beaten Stanford.

The Cardinal may very well make it eight in a row, but I don't think they have that psychological advantage that they do over most teams where when they run on the court you know the game is already over. The Bears believe they can beat Stanford, and taking them to overtime at Maples is one of the reasons.

SA: This game is televised, which is great (especially after how amazing the first game was). But what excites you most about next season's new Pac-12 television network as a women's basketball fan?

C and R: Being able to see all the Pac-12 women’s basketball games, of course. Although… we were reading a Pac-12 release recently and it proudly boasted that the new Pac-12 channel would show over 40 women’s basketball games. Uh, wait a minute. Didn’t they promise they would show EVERY single Pac-12 woman’s basketball game? C and R are a little math-challenged, but we think that’s more than 40. Hope they are not "revising" their promise. And then again, the start of every new women’s basketball season excites us.

Thanks for your questions and taking the time to listen. Love the work you do on Swish Appeal (Shameless plug fro Nate!)

norcalnick: From a writer's perspective, it will be so much easier and so much more fun. It gets very frustrating and repetitive to try to draw insights from a radio broadcast or a box score. And as a fan of basketball in general, it means I can watch a game between Utah and Arizona St. if I so desire (and I do!) I also think that the Pac-12 has always lagged ever so slightly behind other conferences in women's basketball, and this kind of exposure could be a huge step forward for recruiting and marketing.

But mostly, I get to watch every game my team plays! It's what being a fan is all about!

For far more on this game, visit California Golden Blogs for their questions of C and R and the Stanford Women's Basketball Blog for their questions of norcalnick.

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Q and A with Cal Golden Blogs, Part II

NorCalNick, from Cal Golden Blogs, steps up to the plate and answer's C and R's hard hitting questions for the annual Battle of The Bay (and proves he is one witty guy!)

1. Cal is 13-2 in the last 15 games, and won their last 4 in a row. They are definitely surging. What explains said surge?

Well, like Carolyn Peck would say, there aren't any teams out in the Pac-12 that present any kind of challenge, right?

Nah, it's mostly a matter of the Bears playing consistently to their own potential. Last year's struggles obscured the talent that the team has, and the infusion of a few more highly rated freshmen provided some missing pieces. Now those four freshmen have been integrated into the lineup and the whole is starting to become greater than the sum of the parts.

Also, those two losses were both in overtime - Cal hasn't lost in regulation since they visited L.A. on New Years weekend!

2. Cal has been projected as a number 7 seed for the NCAA tournament (Yay!) and if they win their first game would meet Tennessee (Boo!).  What does Cal need to do to have a deep run in the tourney? 

A good draw, probably. As both a Cal fan and a Pac-12 fan, I'm always wary of getting screwed. This year that would be getting an 8 seed across from Baylor or Notre Dame. That's part of the reason why we want to beat Stanford (even more) badly - it would presumably clinch at least a 7 seed, if not higher.

If Cal could get matched up against a few teams that have trouble rebounding, or lack depth inside, they could pull off a few upsets. We'll have to do it on the road, since only one regional is east of Texas. It's rare that east-coast bias is so geographically obvious!

3. Now that Stanford freshmen Amber Orrrrange (no really, it’s not typo, it’s spelled with 4 “r”s, just like you pronounce it), has been inserted into the Stanford lineup. Do you anticipate Amber going up against Cal’s freshmen guard Brittany Boyd? And if so, what will the outcome be? 

Probably lots of fouls. Brittany has the ability to both draw and get called for many of them, and if Ms. Orrrrange's intent is to stop her from getting into the lane the result will be lots of contact from both teams.

I'll be interested to see if Amber can maintain her 2:1 assist to turnover ratio against one of the best thiefs in the conference. If she can, Cal is in a world of trouble. But if Brittany can pick her pocket a few times and score going the other way the Bears should be able to hang right with Stanford.

4. Tara VanDerveer has publicly stated she thinks Cal should be a top-25 team after the Overtime victory over Cal, and went to the media to blast the Pac-12 against detractors. Why didn’t Coach Gottleib chime in on the record to defend the Pac-12 honor and call out the haters?

I would imagine that Coach G agrees whole-heartedly with Tara - Cal should be a Top 25 team!

I do appreciate and agree with Tara's statements, even though they are pretty clearly self-motivated. Lucky for her, Stanford has been so successful for so long that they have earned the benefit of the doubt, at least from the selection committee. And lucky for Cal, they'll have the chance to prove they belong in March.

5. For senior day, Cal has no seniors. First of all, why? And second, Coach Gottleib has said she will enjoy giving Nneka a big bouquet of flowers. What are the chances she will offer, say an Ipad or a car to convince Nneka to fake a sore throat and sit? 

Cal brought in two freshmen in the recruiting class that would have graduated this year, but both players elected to transfer (one, interestingly, went to UC Santa Barbara, where Coach Gottlieb had left for the head coaching position at the time). Their transfers led to the need for a seven player recruiting class (since reduced to four players available to play due to transfers and heart conditions). It's been a somewhat difficult roster to manage, and this is really the first year in which there's been any kind of reasonable class balance since 2009.

I think the bouquet of flowers will be sufficient for Nneka, but perhaps the car can be offered to Chiney . . . would that count as an illegal benefit? Somebody get the NCAA on line 2!

6. A train leaves Palo Alto at 6:00 PM traveling East at 80 MPH. A second train leaves Berkeley 3 hours later at 100 mph heading West on the same track. How big will the explosion have to be to get the East Coast Media to recognize we play basketball out here in California?

There are other factors to be taken into account. Will the explosion be aired on ESPN2 or CSNBA? Will Baylor be in the middle of another 30 point win at the same time? Does Geno Auriemma have an opinion on the explosion? And, if possible, can Rebecca Lobo be brought in to ensure that Geno offers his take?
Okay, that last answer was gooooood!
Now all they have to do is play the game! See ya Sunday!

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Q and A with Cal Golden Blogs, Part I

NorCalNick, from Cal Golden Blogs, once again asks the hard questions for our 1289th annual Battle of The Bay question-a-thon. Here are his Q’s and C and R’s answers. Questions to CGB are below, answers tomorrow.


1. Stanford is the #2 team in the country and in the RPI. They're basically a stone-cold lock for the #1 seed in the Fresno region of the NCAA tournament. Since there's nothing on the line, wouldn't it be nice to do us Cal fans a favor and maybe rest up an Ogwumike or two on Sunday in preparation for the tourney?

C and R: Sure, I can guarantee two of the Ogwumikes will rest and won’t play the Cal game. They are Erica and Olivia, the younger high school sisters! No, we think Tara wants to make a statement, every game, so the college Ogwumikes will play. She’s been especially testy after the whole East Coast-West Coast Bias thing. And according to ESPN’s Carolyn Peck, Stanford is not necessarily a lock for the number one seed in the west.

2. At Maples, Stanford's defensive strategy seemed to be to pack the paint and hope that Brittany Boyd and Layshia Clarendon wouldn't make jump shots. Do you expect Tara to employ a similar strategy, or shake things up?

C and R: Well, Tara VanDerveer is a basketball genius and likes to deploy different defenses at various times. Look for what C and R call man-to-man help. The defense is a straight up man-to-man, and if your player blows by you, you yell for help from Nneka or Chiney Ogwumike! Anyone can play D when Nneka has your back.

3. Stanford has been followed all season by ESPNW, who has given the team the 'all-access' treatment. Has the harsh glare of the camera lens transformed the players into divas too distracted to focus on the court yet? If not, it's going to happen soon, right?

C and R: Divas!! Chiney Ogwumike was born with a microphone in her hand. Her tribute to her older sister after the game on senior night had everyone rolling on the floor
(apparently Nneka’s exuberant energy landed them in private school). If ESPN wasn’t following Stanford around, Tara would have to invent some ways for Chiney to “express” herself. Oh, wait, Stanford has, with these Real Ladies of Maples Videos, and occasional music videos. Got Bounce was last year and this year’s musical selection is being edited and is tentatively titled “Revenge of the Nerds.

4. Since winning in OT over Cal, Stanford has won every single game by at least 13 points. Did those blowouts tell you anything new about your team?

C and R: It’s weird, and this may sound like spoiled fans, but the blowouts really weren’t. Most of  the games were always close at the half, and until Nneka and Chiney took over in the second, the game was in doubt. However, we are happy to say the last few games Jos Tinkle has stepped up and provided some much needed scoring, along with great guard play from Toni Kokenis and freshman Amber Orrrrange. Double however we are unhappy to say this new offensive look we have seen in the last few games looks weird and causes the Cardinal to have a slow start.

5. How worried are you about losing Nneka for 2013? On one hand, Stanford loses great players more or less yearly without skipping a beat. On the other hand, the Cardinal seem just a bit more reliant on Nneka than some of the other stars of the past.

C and R: We are sooooo worried. See question 4. Nneka really has, at times, carried the team this year. Chiney is a great weak side rebounded and scorer, but she needs someone to take good shots, which she gets in Nneka. Plus there is some sort of sister ESP-thing going on that allows Chiney to be in just the right spot at the right time and know exactly where the ball is going to go on a rebound when Nneka shoots. She won’t have that comfort next year. It’s been a bit of a relief to see others step up in scoring, and hope that continues to next season.

6. Any predictions (about the game or otherwise?)

C and R: Well we think the Ground Hog saw his shadow so we predict six more weeks of winter. We also predict Nneka and Chiney will rise to the occasion and pull out the win! Sorry CGB.
Questions for Cal Golden Blogs:

1. Cal is 13-2 in the last 15 games, and won their last 4 in a row. They are definitely surging. What explains said surge?

2. Cal has been projected as a number 7 seed for the NCAA tournament (Yay!) and if they win their first game would meet Tennessee (Boo!).  What does Cal need to do to have a deep run in the tourney?

3. Now that Stanford freshmen Amber Orrrrange (no really, it’s not typo, it’s spelled with 4 “r”s, just like you pronounce it), has been inserted into the Stanford lineup, do you anticipate Amber going up against Cal’s freshmen guard Brittany Boyd? And if so, what will the outcome be?

4. Tara VanDerveer has publicly stated she thinks Cal should be a top-25 team after the Overtime victory over Cal, and went to the media to blast the Pac-12 against detractors. Why didn’t Coach Gottleib chime in on the record to defend the Pac-12 honor and call out the haters?

5. For senior day, Cal has no seniors. First of all, why? And second, Coach Gottleib has said she will enjoy giving Nneka a big bouquet of flowers. What are the chances she will offer, say an Ipad or a car to convince Nneka to fake a sore throat and sit?

6. A train leaves Palo Alto at 6:00 PM traveling East at 80 mph. A second train leaves Berkeley 3 hours later at 100 mph heading West on the same track. How big will the explosion have to be to get the East Coast Media to recognize we play basketball out here in California?

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Exciting Finish to Stanford-Cal game

Finally, a well-hyped game that lived up to its promise! C and R, are of course, talking about the Stanford-Cal women’s basketball game. It featured freshmen vs. freshmen, a career high scoring and rebounding night for one player, tough rebounding, one team clawing back to force overtime and one Hall of Fame coach and one who executed a great game plan and put her team in position to win. Of course, it’s easier to enjoy the game after the fact when your team wins, as Stanford did, beating Cal 74-71 in OT. Let’s get to the highlights (or low lights, in some cases).

Freshmen vs. Freshmen:
This game featured two starting freshmen guards, one for each team. For Stanford, Amber Orrrrange and for Cal Brittany Boyd. Brittany Boyd was talked about the most in the press, and they kept emphasizing she is not a scorer but a playmaker, she gets others involved and leads the way with assists. Today she channeled another great Cal guard, Alexis Grey Lawson, who was a point guard who drove to the basket and scored, sometimes to the detriment of a pass. Today Boyd was that scorer. She drove the lane and went inside and scored 14 first half points. The two freshmen were guarding each other for the first few minutes but then Orrrrange fouled and went to the bench. She came back in and fouled again and went to the bench again, where she stayed for the rest of the first half. She came in briefly in the second half, disappeared and then came in to a tight game with a minute and a half left where she got a block but made a crucial turnover, then got yanked and did not return for the rest of the game. Her stat line, 10 minutes, no points, one assist, one block. C and R wonder had she stayed in longer, she could get into a rhythm. In the second half, Brittany Boyd drove the lane but pulled up and made some impressive shots. She would finish with 19 points. She was full of confidence and shot the ball almost every time she touched it, and kept Cal in the game.

Career high scoring night and rebounding night for one player:
First, let’s talk about who it was not. It was not Stanford’s all-everything Nneka Ogwumike. She had what you might call an off night, and we will get to why she had such an off night in a moment. She “only” scored 12 points for the game, 8 in the first half. More importantly, she shot 6-18, read, she missed a lot of shots she normally makes. And she “only” got 9 rebounds (we say only because that would be a great night for a sixth man, but all year Stanford has lived by Nneka’s ability to rebound and score in the 20’s, and not many have stepped up to help her). Would someone tonight? Yes they would, enter her sister, Chiney. Or as C and R like to say, Chin-nay saves the day.
Chiney scored a career high 27 points, 13 in the first half, and most importantly, was the only Stanford player to score a basket in the five minute overtime period. She also was a beast on the boards, grabbing a whopping 18 of them. Which leads us to…

Tough rebounding:
Cal came into the game second in the nation in rebounding and first in the conference during conference play, according to Nate at Swish Appeal, which surprised the heck out of C and R. Because every Stanford game we’ve seen, including conference play, Stanford out rebounded everyone, especially the sisters Ogwumike (Ogwumikii, nicknamed by Cal Golden Blogs). Something had to give. Cal did an outstanding job boxing out and establishing position under the basket on both ends and keyed on keeping Nneka off the boards. When she did grab a rebound on offense, two players swarmed her and stripped her of the ball numerous times, taking away her ability to score. But Cal did such a great job keying on her, they left Chiney open to gobble up boards and put them back for points, hence the 27 points and 18 boards. The rebounding totals for the game were 47 for Cal and 51 for Stanford. From the stands, we thought Cal had the rebounding edge.

One team clawing back to force overtime:
That team was Cal, if you haven’t figured that out. The game was back and forth, and around the 12-minute mark in the second half, Stanford did their usual “take over” at Maples. Toni Kokenis hits a three pointer, the crowd of 6,000 goes crazy, steal and quick pass to Chiney for a lay up, crowd on their feet, time out by Cal Coach Lindsey Gottlieb, now fans giving energy and love communicating, oh yeah, we go this! But red Stanford hats off to Cal, they didn’t back down. Brittany kept driving and now she got help from Layshia Clarendon, who would drive in and pull up for a jumper near the foul line. In fact, that seemed to be the only play Cal could make, but it worked every time. And our guards can’t seem to jump to contest that shot, so they both scored that way. Clarendon scored 17, including a three-pointer with 36 seconds left to evaporate Stanford’s 11-point lead down to 2, 69-67. She also hit 2 free throws to send the game into overtime at 69.

But it was only her and Brittany in double figures; they needed one more scorer. Ditto for Stanford, the Ogwumikes were doing their part, and Toni Kokenis used her quickness to drive in and hit pull-up Js of her own and she scored 18. Again, 3 players scoring 57 of 74 points is troublesome. We need more balance. Quick side note, Stanford’s Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer inserted freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson at the five-minute mark in the second half and she hit two three-pointers in a span of 30 seconds to put Stanford up by 9 with 3:14 left. Unfortunately, it would be the last basket of the half for Stanford, letting Cal come back to force overtime, where Chiney’s basket and a free throw by her and one by Toni would hold up to just a 2-point basket for Cal. ‘Nother side note, why did Claredon get off two three-point shots in 9 seconds that would have forced a second over time? Someone guard her, please.

Cal’s rookie coach impresses:
Her game plan was to limit all-star Nneka Ogwumike and dare Stanford to beat them with other players. It almost worked. It wasn’t so much that Nneka had a bad game; it was that three blue shirts surrounded her at all times. They also stripped her off the ball if she grabbed a rebound, as we mentioned, and they did not let her get untracked near the basket on offense. Thank goodness for Chiney doing the heavy scoring and Toni being our third scorer. Third side note, Nneka came out for autographs and we asked her what Cal did to limit her game. She said they had three people on her at all times, but she was proud of the way Chiney stepped up. Then she said, she would rather take Chiney scoring all the points then a loss any day. Oh, BTW, Nneka moved past Val Whiting into fourth place on the Stanford all-time scoring list.

Whew, great win at Maples, but we can’t help but feel anxious for when we play Cal at their home the last game of the season.

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Stanford-Cal Preview, Q & A Part II

And now, here is NorcalNick from Cal Golden Blogs with his answers to C and R’s Q’s:  (Oh, check out his blog with his questions about Cal-Stanford WBB and our answers plus Scott from Stanford’s Rule of Tree. Very informative. And Rule of Tree did their own Q and A with Cal Golden Blogs. C and R are getting dizzy.)

C & R Q: You have a new head coach, Lindsey Gottlieb (Who likes to use Twitter, no less, her handle is @CalcoachG), what type of energy does she bring to this team?
A: Well, in the literal sense she brings the energy of a new, fast-paced style of basketball that has the Bears racing up and down the court when given the chance. But in a metaphysical sense (that's what it's all about, right?) Coach Gottlieb seems to have brought a renewed sense of fun and confidence to the Bears. There were some chemistry issues last year, but team camaraderie and cohesiveness seems improved. Maybe the old adage about winning making everything better applies here.

The twitters and other social media outreach has been a fun bonus for the fans. We Bears don't have an embedded ESPN reporter like Stanford (so jealous!) but the staff has done a remarkable job keeping the fans informed and engaged to a team and sport that doesn't get much attention from mainstream media.

C & R Q: We’ve been hearing all about the one and only Brittany Boyd (her twitter handle no less, is @ONEandONLYbboyd, and we are sensing a theme). Just how good is she, and is she really Alexis Gray Lawson in disguise trying to have four more years of college eligibly?

She's an unbelievable amount of fun, because she plays with a flair and excitement that I find very infectious. Obviously as a freshman she presumably has not reached her full potential, but she has already shown a gifted ability to pass the ball, and her ability to get to the basket has added a dimension the Cal offense has generally lacked over the last few years.

The Alexis Gray-Lawson comparison is hard to avoid because of similar statures (Boyd is one inch taller), positions (guard), and backgrounds (East-Bay locals) but the main similarities they share is the aforementioned ability to drive to the basket. The point guard Boyd is a better passer while shooting-guard Gray-Lawson is the more gifted shooter. But despite the differences it warms the cockles of my heart to see a 5'7''/8'' guard barrelling through the lane with no fear.

C & R Q:  Nneka and Chiney clean up any and all rebounds. What do you see Cal doing to keep them off the boards? (Short of breaking legs?)

Frankly, this issue concerns me - not as a basketball fan, but as a member of the human race. If Gennifer Brandon and Nneka Ogwumike both jump for the same rebound, I fear the extreme physics involved may rip some kind of hole in the space-time continuum or create some kind of quantum vortex. Physicists from both campuses are researching preventative measures as we spea. From meta-physics to actual physics we go!

I think the reality is that both Cal and Stanford will get their fair share of rebounds, which probably benefits Stanford. I fear that Cal is much more dependant on their ability to control the boards to earn a win. But watching these two teams battle for missed shots is worth the price of admission alone.

C & R Q:  What’s with no last names on the home shirts? Can your uniform maker not spell? How will we tell whom Nneka is dunking over?

Well, being a public school, I'm guessing that the players huddled up and decided to forego names to save the taxpayers of our great state a few bucks on stitching. It's tough fiscal times and the Bears are nothing if not conscientiuos California citizens! (hee hee, good one, C and R).

C & R Q: Down by one against Washington State, Brittany Boyd loses her shoe but continues playing, passes and Cal scores, she gets an assist. Was that a planned ploy to distract the other team? (An our Toni Kokenis beat her to it last year, she ran so fast she ran right out of her shoe yet had the presence of mid to throw it back to the bench).

I think Brittany's game is all improv. If, in a split second decision, she decides her shoe needs to come off to make a play, then that shoe is coming off. Although now that I hear that Stanford has a similar issue, I think we may need to launch a shoelace investigation to prevent the scourge of loose laces from ever again terrorizing our basketball playing youth!

C & R Q:  Breaking news, Cal players campaigned on Twitter to get disco ball on bus on way to Stanford (no really, we saw it on Twitter, look in Coach G’s timeline!). Do you see that as a help or distraction?

My guess is that it depends on the song choices. If the team is getting properly pumped up it could be an advantage. Of course, my choice of pump up music is likely vastly different from your typical 19 year old woman, and also isn't the type of music that generally matches with a disco ball. My guess is that they coaches and players will take the chance to remind themselves of 'this is how we do it,' and then hopefully proceed to then 'do it.' It being winning, I would presume.

C & R Q: See ya at the game!

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Stanford-Cal Preview, Q & A Part I

And now, in honor of the Big Game, C and R present the 158^th annual Q & A with Nick from Cal Golden Blogs. He asks the Q’s, C and R answer them. (Secretly, we think he just wants our Stanford blog to mention his Cal blog, hoping for bad karma or ju-ju or what have you, but I digress). Our questions to him are at the bottom, and we will publish tomorrow or whenever we get around to it. One note, usually his questions are funny and silly, so that's how we wrote ours. Then he writes these scholarly and insightful questions, like he’s been studying basketball or something. Ours look stupid by comparison. Oh well, when have we ever let that stop us! Enjoy.

1. I don't really think anybody has effectively slowed down the elder Ogwumike, but if it can be done, how would a team go about doing so?

A: Break her legs? Just kidding. No really, we kid, cuz then we would have to hunt you down and return the favor. Okay, real answer, and not that we are totally biased or anything, but Nneka is an unstoppable force! LOL. She has always been good around the basket, with an incredible vertical leap. This year she has gone out and got a soft-touch shot from about 15 feet or so. She has so many ways to score it’s not funny. She can drive to the basket, hit a pull up jumper, break your ankles with a move or just jump over your head. (She can grab a rebound and put it back up without touching the ground! Oh, and she can catch and shoot an alley-oop pass without touching the ground, too. Not very many women’s players can do that). C and R’s recommendation to stop her? Go out and kidnap Britteny Griner.

2. After the Ogwumikiis there hasn't been a ton of production (by Stanford's lofty standards, at least). Is that a case of a lack of opportunity, or a lack of the type of depth usually seen on the farm?

A: Haven’t you been reading our blog? All season long it has been the Nneka and Chiney show (no complaints here) and three warm bodies (tons of complaints here). There has been hardly any scoring production from anyone! Jos Tinkle was demoted this year and then cracked the starting lineup the last 3 games and is taking nothing for granted and playing much better. She is averaging about 8 points. Why isn’t anyone else scoring? We have been scratching our heads all year. Could it be the case of watching a talented superstar like Nneka and depending on her too much? Chiney is wily and creates most of her own opportunities and points on offensive rebounds. Not a lot of people can wrestle a rebound like Chiney, not even Tinkle. We hope this lack of scoring by others is something super-genius Tara VanDerveer can solve. BTW, Sisters Ogwumikii? We like that, patent pending.

3. What's the best way to attack Stanford's defense? Drive-and-dish? Entry passes to the post? You have to give us something!

A: Well geez, why should we help Cal? Hee hee. Okay, you twisted our arm. This year, super genius Tara VanDerveer has been experimenting with different defenses, so that makes it harder for teams to prepare for what might happen, as opposed to relying heavily on man to man. Heck, we have even seen some1-3-1, and against one of the Washington schools, they used some sort of “Buzz” defense. So Cal needs to be prepared for many looks, not just one or two. Okay, that was a cop out. Here’s a better hint, attack the weakest player on the floor.

4. Stanford has their usual crop of highly rated freshmen, but I haven't seen any of them yet because they're too young to play much in the biggest televised games. What are your thoughts on the freshmen?

A: Well, two are hurt and gone for the season (Alex Green and Jasmine Camp). Jasmine Camp was the “it” freshmen for a while before she was hurt, now it is Amber Orrrrange (just kidding on the spelling, it’s really just 2 “R”s). She is a good playmaker, but not a huge scoring threat. Bonnie Samuelson has this CRAZY 3-point shot with a super fast release, but only goes in the hoop in games that are not close. Not so much when the game is on the line. Taylor Grenfield and Erica Payne play forward and although they look good, they don’t score and look like they are still trying to figure out the game. Don’t expect to see much of them if the game is close. Tara trusts Ogwunikiis, Tinkle, Toni, and subs out the fifth spot.
5. Any predictions? (Score or otherwise.)
A: Um, Stanford is going to win?

Sorry, that was cheesy, but it is Maples and if you can’t stop Nneka (one team triple teamed her and she still scored!!), it’s all over but the shouting. We predict Nneka will throw us a victory ball (hint, hint!).


Questions for Cal Blog:

You have a new head coach, Lindsey Gottlieb (Who likes to use Twitter, no less, her handle is @CalcoachG), what type of energy does she bring to this team?

We’ve been hearing all about the one and only Brittany Boyd (her twitter handle no less, is @ONEandONLYbboyd, and we are sensing a theme). Just how good is she, and is she really Alexis Gray Lawson in disguise trying to have four more years of college eligibility?

Nneka and Chiney clean up any and all rebounds. What do you see Cal doing to keep them off the boards? (Short of breaking legs?)

What’s with no last names on the home shirts? Can your uniform maker not spell? How will we tell whom Nneka is dunking over?

Down by one against Washington State, Brittany Boyd loses her show but continues playing, passes and Cal scores, she gets an assist. Was that a planned ploy to distract the other team? (An our Toni Kokenis beat her to it last year, she ran so fast she ran right out of her shoe yet had the presence of mind to throw it back to the bench).

Breaking news, Cal players campaigned on Twitter to get disco ball on bus on way to Stanford (no really, we saw it on Twitter, look in Coach G’s timeline!). Do you see that as a help or distraction?

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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Cal’s DeNesha Stallworth to Transfer

No April Fools Joke, DeNesha Stallworth is leaving Cal, according to her father.
From the ESPN site:
"She has a signed release and we're communicating with some schools and setting up some visits," Chris Stallworth said. "It wasn't a bad break, it just wasn't a good fit."

Uh Oh, what’s going on across the Bay?

Stanford Celebrates Senior Night, Final Home Game Vs. Cal

The Cal-Stanford game is ramping up nicely. It will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Stanford’s very own Ros Gold-Onwude will be providing color commentary for the TV! Set your Tivos.
Help celebrate Senior Night. Ashley Cimino, Hannah Donaghe, Melanie Murphy, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen will be honored. The official Stanford Women’s basketball website says their will be a celebration after the game, but with the game starting at 8 PM and being on TV, the game will be waayyy late, so we’ll see if the tribute is long.

Oh, check out the Cal Golden Bears Blog. They have a write up about the first Stanford-Cal game (Psst, Stanford won 2-1) and tie it in nicely with the history of women’s basketball at Cal and Stanford.

See ya there!

Stanford Rebounds to Beat Cal

C and R have a plan. Our plan is to drive almost to the Berkeley campus, where the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team is playing Cal, and park on the street. R has gotten the inside dope from a friend who is a Cal fan that the meters don’t require feeding on Sunday. Yes, that is the focus of C and R’s worry on Sunday, and yes, R has another friend and can you believe she is a Cal fan? Stanford, on the other hand, became everyone’s friend by knocking off UConn and has to worry about a big post game let down since they had their biggest victory in years and make sure they don’t overlook a young up and coming team in Cal.

Speaking of feeding the meter, tip off is right around lunchtime so C and R need to feed their faces so they also have a plan surrounding that. Their favorite Greek café is right on the way to Cal’s Gym and they stop and order falafels (only in Berkeley) but we want our food to go so they make falafel burritos, double only in Berkley.

So the third thing we have to accomplish is tickets and as of Sunday morning we don’t have a plan, we were just going to show up and get tickets at the box office, but late Sunday morning R’s other two friends named D & C, who, gasp, are also Cal fans call and offer her two free tickets. So C and R are set.

With the car successfully parked on the street for free, falafel burritos in hand, we find our Cal friends with their friend J on the steps of Haas Pavilion and skip the long long lines at the ticket booth. The attendance is 5,198 and quite a few are Stanford fans. The Cal fans give us their tickets for free, and that is a class act right there, and inform us we won’t be sitting by them. C suspects they thought we would be insufferable after the UConn win and banished us to Siberia. R ferrets out that they bought the tickets at a later date for their parents who decided at the last minute not to make the trip so their was no ulterior motive for giving us tickets away from them We promise to meet up with them after the game and go celebrate either way. And the seats were NOT in Siberia, they were fantastic, right behind the Stanford bench. We saw the Ogwumike family and JJ Hones again. Once we get situated in our great seats we dive into the falafel burrito; they are good. C likes hers so much she bites into the foil. Twice.

Oh yeah, there was a game, wasn’t there?

Cal introduces its player NBA style with spotlights and smoke and everything. It is fun to see, especially because C and R know straight-laced Stanford would never do that. Eventually the game starts…

Cal comes out with a lot of energy and very aggressive and makes the first basket. C and R worry. Stanford responds like a brick wall returning a tennis ball, that is they match their energy and take it inside with much success. Jeannette Pohlen drives inside, posts up, and in short is continuing her game from Xavier and UConn. What has gotten into her and how can we spread it to the rest of the team?

Once again Stanford coach Tar VanDerveer has a tailored game plan for Cal. Kayla Pedersen, who is 6-3, is on Cal’s 5-8 guard Eliza Pierre. Eliza is super fast and likes to slash and drive to the basket. We are worried she will totally blow by Kayla. We watch as Kayla often leaves Pierre to help double team and lays off her on the three point line, daring her to shoot. Pierre is reluctant to shoot the three and misses the only one she attempts. The gamble works. She does not burn Kayla driving inside, nor does she burn them with threes. Once again, what do C and R know?

Cal goes flat and Stanford curiously does too, almost like an echo effect. We are slow and plodding against slow teams and try to out-energize the energetic teams. We also stop taking the ball inside in this game and do not compensate with threes.

We pick it back up again, mostly thanks to Nneka Ogwumike and at the half it is Stanford 38-17, and we meet up with D & C & J. They also noticed how flat Stanford was in the middle of the first half and it was too bad Cal couldn’t take advantage of them. Well observed. We need Cal to get back up so Stanford can get back up!

Early into the start of the second half, around the 17:52 mark, Nneka hits the ground hard after a foul while shooting. R saw her head bounce. She stays down and clearly is in pain. Little sis Chiney checks in on her on the floor as they are helping her up. After she gets helped up and moved to the bench, the way she is moving so gingerly, C and R are worried she has a concussion. She did not return to the game. The internet would say she hurt her shoulder, and has a headache.

Tinkle comes in and is holding her head up high ever since that UConn game. She makes a steal around the foul line and instantly looked down court, but because Stanford was on D, no one is down there so she takes off down court for a fast break, and no, she decides, no fast break and slows up for everyone and then sees Jeannette Pohlen pull ahead so finally decides, yes let’s run and does and passes to JP for the lay up and that has to have been the slowest fast break C and R have ever witnessed!

Tara does a good job emptying their bench. Cal matched up size-wise with Stanford having two players as tall as Kayla an Sarah Boothe, but Stanford won the rebounding battle 49-26. Cal is sorely missing a “go to” player who can take charge and ultimately score. The team is mostly made up of frosh and sophs, so expect Joanne Boyle to bring them along every year. The final score is 78-45. Our Cal friends invite us out for salty snacks at a yummy taco bar that had the most impressive salsa bar! They actually watch a lot of different women’s basketball games, not just Cal and Stanford and it is great to get the inside scoop from them. Hopefully they will travel to Stanford when Cal comes to town!

Saturday in the Park with Stanford Players

Well, by miracles of miracles, both C and R were available and able to get away from our shabby lives and puny responsibilities and make the pilgrimage to San Francisco to see the baby Stanford players and… Chiney Ogwumnike.

Yes, yes C and R were excited to see ALL the incoming Stanford women’s basketball players who are here taking summer school and playing in the San Francisco Pro-Am league, and the second year players as well, but really, we wanted to get a look at the National Player of the Year up close and personal. (BTW, she won so many awards and Gatorade kept giving her something every month so C and R are not exactly sure what her official title is, but we hear she can play).

So after getting a little lost and having several battles with either each other or C’s GPS, we finally make it to Kezar Pavilion. (So small, we were expecting bigger.) We get there half an hour before the game and no one is warming up. See lots of familiar faces in the stands. Finally with about 20 minutes left the players start to trickle in. Can you say “casual?” We see the Stanford players and elbow each other several times for each player. “There’s Chiney,” we announce to each other as if neither of us has eyes. And she just looks like a baller, too. Figured out who Sara James and Toni Kokenis were (quick someone, email us and tell us how to pronounce her last name) to mark the three incoming freshmen. Then spy second year players Mikaela Ruef and Sarah Boothe. The other team is non-existent. Courtney Paris is listed on the other team’s roster, but she was not “In Town”. Too bad, C and R have never seen Courtney play live so we were bummed.

Not much warming up, which is a little bit of a shock to C and R as we are used to seeing the Stanford players go through elaborate warm up and stretching and drills before every Stanford game. Only Sarah Boothe takes the time to do elaborate stretching moves while most just shoot around. Finally the other team has at least five and we can begin.

When the game starts, C and R are very impressed with Sarah Boothe. She red-shirted last year and lost a lot of freshmen weight and re-sculpted her body. She was aggressive and hungry, calling for the ball, and running on fast breaks. Her teammates trusted her and got her the ball whenever they could. Opposite her was DeNasha Stallworth, Cal’s center, and although she had more meat on her and tried to push Sarah around, Sarah fought back and showed her a thing or two. Sarah was all business. Which made a thought pop into C and R’s head (yes, we do have them every once in a while). Sarah could be the X factor for us next year. Everyone knows we will be missing Jayne Appel and everyone knows who the established stars are and what they can do. Everyone will also look to Chiney to have an immediate impact. This preseason, none of the experts mentions Sarah Boothe and we think she is going to contribute greatly, and half way through the year everyone outside of Stanford will be scratching their heads saying, “Where did she come from?”

Sara James also impressed us. Played the guard spot, good court vision, had a nose for the ball and knifed in for offensive rebounds. She shot threes and when she missed, got her own rebound. Toni and Mikeala still look like they need more practice, especially at court vision and knowing where everyone was and when to shoot or pass. There were a few times Mikeala launched some threes but rebounders weren’t in place and to C and R, we thought she should have shown more patience.

And then there was Chiney. Okay, let’s just put it on the table and sum it up. The first half she played uninspired. And her defense was still in a high school mind set. Her team was playing man-to man, yet she would often leave her man and play the ball, counting on her athletic ability to either steal the pass to her man or get back in time if she can’t get to the ball. That ain’t going to happen in college and besides, Tara will beat that out of her when official Stanford practice starts.

And then sister Nneka came in. She arrived with Stanford buddies, Kayla Pedersen and Lindy LaRoque. They showed up close to the end of the first half (and yes, C and R fans, we went and sat behind them after half time to, um, you know, sit by them, shh.... don’t tell them.) So anyway, at the start of the second half Chiney was a different player! She had more intensity and you should have seen her go up and grab, and we mean snatch, a rebound out of the air. (And to the coach of the Golden State team, why was Chiney playing point guard in the second half?)

At one point, Nneka in the first row called out some coaching advice and Chiney stopped and made sure she got whatever it was Nneka pointed out. Maybe she needs that sisterly rivalry/admiration to get her going? Because before Sis Nneka came in, the rest of the Ogwumike family came in, Mom, Dad, all the other Ogwumike sisters who are going to go to Stanford for basketball and build an Ogwumike dynasty over the next 10 years. That wasn’t enough to get her going, it was Nneka. Wow, this should be an interesting year.

Other notes:
We were impressed with Eliza Peirre, who played on the opposite team and goes to Cal. She will be one to watch out for next year. We thought the PAC-10 refs were bad, but these refs were really bad. We think everyone one of the Stanford players attempted a three, the two guards of course, and Ruef, Chiney. Maybe not Sarah Boothe, although she brought out this great hook shot in the second half reminiscent of Brooke “The Hook” Smith from a few years ago. At least once the coach had all 5 Stanford players in, so that was cool. The Stanford team won, although we weren’t so interested in the score as checking out how everyone played. We were so excited we wanted to come back for play-offs next week but according to the schedule the Stanford team won the league and plays again August 7th. We hope to be there. Stay tuned.

We Miss Women’s College Basketball!

Sigh. When does college basketball start up again? We here at C and R are counting the days, as we are going through basketball withdrawal. Here is a little fix to help tied you through. There is a summer pro-am basketball league in San Francisco at Kezar Pavilion featuring the Stanford rookies, to give them more playing experience. Games are on the weekends and starts the 19^th of this month. Best of all, games are free. You can see the Stanford stars and future stars….the tentative line up includes old timers Sarah Boothe and Mikaela Ruef, along with soon to be Stanford players Chiney Ogwumike, Sara James and Toni Kokenis. (Well, Chiney will join after her stint with the National Team).

C and R just checked out all the rosters and saw there are a lot of Cal and former Cal players, too. Former Cal standouts Alexis Gray Lawson is back in the Bay Area, as well as Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton. And hey, Courtney and Ashley Paris are back together on the same team. It is a shame Courtney, with all her blocks and rebounding records in college couldn’t catch on in the WNBA.

Let’s hope the Stanford players get good experience for the fall! When basketball season will finally start.

Quick Notes From LA

A quick hello again from LA where we have no idea what time it is! Daylight Savings happened sometime last night and although we remember “Spring Forward, Fall Back”, that means the clocks…..um, we don’t know. All we know is the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team plays in the PAC-10 Tournament Championship Game today at 3 PM. Let’s hope we can figure out what time it is before then. Meanwhile we are going to Fat Burger for breakfast and or lunch.

Stanford plays UCLA today, the best team that has a chance to upset Stanford. Although UCLA played in a spirited semi-final game against USC and won, C and R are hoping they will be emotionally and physically drained.

In other news, we checked up on the news about Cal’s Alexis Gray Lawson. She went down hard on the court in the game against Stanford in their semi final game and was taken off by stretcher. Cal’s coach, Joanne Boyle, visited Gray-Lawson in the hospital after the game and said she was joking, talking and having "normal" conversations with everyone. Good to hear, hope she can go home today.

Stanford Beats Cal For a Third Time

Hello from LA, CA! C and R here reporting from the Galen Center on USC’s campus, flying in just in time to see the Stanford Women’s Basketball team play Cal (again) in the semi-finals of the PAC-10 tournament. The neat thing about being here (and not watching it on TV) is all the friends we are making!

We want to give a special shout out to D and C, our delightful friends from CAL! Yes, that’s right, they were Cal fans but sat next to us and were a lot of fun. C, the new one, is from Ohio, just like original C, so Original C said we would say hi to them in the blog. Hope they know how to use a computer! (boom-roasted!)

Okay, next order of business, we want to assuage your worries, C and or R were not the fan that was almost kicked out of the game. Repeat, C and R were not kicked out, and no one bothered us about our tinkle bells for Joslyn Tinkle.

So let’s back up a bit. Stanford was beating Cal handily, thanks to Jayne Appel’s appearance and no thanks to the bad refereeing. Two of the refs we recognized from previous Stanford games, and we were not fans of them then. They didn’t make any friends in this game, either. They certainly “Let Them Play” and there was a lot of rough pushing and fouls not called.

Jayne came in around the 14 minute mark of the first half and Stanford just feels better having her there. With her still bum ankle, she looked like she was limping and it affected her ability to jump. When the pushing and non-calls were getting out of hand, we watched Jayne get shoved to the ground out of bounds on a rebound under Cal’s basket, and no call. Coach Tara VanDerveer had seen enough and took her out in the final two minutes of the half to protect her. The score was 29-17 at the time, and we never looked back. We used our tenacious D and a Nneka Ogwumike catch and release shot in the final seconds to take a 35-19 lead into the half.

At the start of the second half, Cal tried a full court press and although it gave us fits at times, we figured it out pretty quickly. And hats off to Tara VanDerveer for not being complacent, as she whipped out a Stanford half court trap we have only seen once this year. It only lasted for a few minutes, though, as Kayla Pedersen got called for a reach in foul going in for a steal and a charging foul after our trap stole it and she was trying to get a fast break off the steal. Enough of that said Tara.

There was a very scary moment right before the 5 minute mark in the second half. Stanford was up 56-32. Michelle Harrison blocked Cal’s Alexis Gray Lawson and she hit the deck. Stanford grabbed the rebound and hustled down the court while Alexis lay motionless on the floor. Play keep continuing and the refs did not stop play for an injured player.

Now, it is unclear to C and R of the refs have discretion to stop play whenever a player goes down or if they have to wait for a dead ball to check on the injured player. Or if they just didn’t know she was laying back there in the back court. So the game continued on for 12 seconds until there was a break in the action and the refs finally called an official time out to check on Alexis.

Sooo, from the fans point of view, the refs were either heartless or clueless.

Soooo, as the medical crew was checking on Alexis and both teams were huddled by their benches and it was very, very quiet in the building, a female fan (not us) yelled, “You refs are stupid!” That’s it, one sentence, no curse words, no badgering. Unfortunately, the lady ref we don’t like heard her and said, “I heard you call me stupid.”

Sooooooo, the ref, let’s cal her Melissa, called over security and wanted the fan thrown out. Two big guys went to the section and were unsure what to do, who was it, was it that bad, was it this little old lady, so they just told the section to be quiet. The ref kept wanted someone thrown out and the staff didn’t want to throw anybody out. The fan seemed pretty pacified by this point. (BTW, if you know who that fan is, please email us so we can buy her an adult beverage!)

Sooooooooooo, then, as that drama was going on, the camera crew (remember, the game was actually televised) got a cameraman to bring his camera on the court and got about three feet from where Alexis lay motionless. Fans started yelling to get the camera man out of there. Then many jokes ensued about getting kicked out of the game for yelling and then one person in the crowd said, “Boo to the camera man“, so then the rest of the crowd started to just boo. So the Cal huddle looks at the stands and probably thinks we are booing Alexis on the floor. Finally they get Alexis stabilized on a back board and take her away in a stretcher to the waiting ambulance. The crowd stood, as well as the Stanford bench, as she left.

We found out later she fell on her neck and shoulder and they are going to keep her in the hospital over night for observation but she should be okay. We wish her well.

Stanford would go on to win by 20, 64-44, same margin as last time.

Well, been a long but fun day. C and R signing off. See ya tomorrow from LA.

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Stanford vs Cal Preview Part II

Last post, we answered questions about the upcoming Cal vs. Stanford Women’s Basketball game posed by the TwistNHook and Nor Cal Nick of California Golden Blogs. Today they answered our Q’s. The answers were surprisingly intelligent! Hee hee. No, really!

Check out the link below to the story about the Stanford Tree! It’s a classic and they have won a special place in C and R’s hearts, even though they are still from Cal. BTW, C once bet R that she wouldn’t touch the ref as he ran up and down the court when we were sitting court side. She grabbed his pants twice before we had to stop her. He didn't notice but C was sure we were all going to get kicked out. Funny the Tree gets special protection at Cal games!

Here we go (and of course C and R can’t be quiet for more than a paragraph, so we added some comments in parenthesis).

1) A lot was made about the incoming freshmen crew Cal recruited. We have been too busy paying attention to Stanford to notice. Give us a run down on how have the Fab Freshmen have been this year and what they can improve upon for next year.

A: Inconsistent, but not in a way that’s particularly surprising. Unfortunately, one of the seven, Tierra Rogers, was diagnosed with a heart condition prior to the season and will never suit up again. But besides that setback, most events have been positive. The names you’ll hear most often would be Layshia Clarendon and DeNesha Stallworth. Layshia is the best guard of the class and can look pretty great at times, especially when she’s attacking the basket. DeNesha has impressive post moves for a frosh and dropped 30 points on USC earlier in the year. Gennifer Brandon is a great rebounder and is gradually learning to control her explosiveness. Eliza Pierre has great defensive instincts and has been a solid distributor when she plays the point. Talia Caldwell and Brenna Heater are the other bigs. Talia is a solid all-around player with the exception of her free throw shooting. Brenna’s season has been derailed by a number of injuries and her main goal for next season will be to not get concussed again.

(We were very saddened to hear last fall that Tierra Rogers was diagnosed with a heart ailment and could not continue her career in basketball- C and R)

2) This explanation of the PAC-10 standings and the place Cal could end up for the PAC-10 tournament in is form the Cal website: Cal enters the week in sole possession of third place in the Pac-10 standings, holding a half-game advantage over the USC Trojans. Cal and USC both have six losses, but Cal has 11 wins. USC will play a pair of games this week, hosting Arizona on Thursday and Arizona State on Saturday. If Cal and USC end up in a tie for third, USC holds the tiebreak advantage over Cal and would earn the three seed in the Pac-10 Tournament, pushing Cal into the fourth seed. If Arizona State wins both of their games and Cal loses, then ASU and Cal would be tied for third. Once again, Arizona State owns the tiebreak advantage and Cal would be seeded fourth. Cal could also end up as the five seed if ASU, USC, and Cal tie for third place (with a Cal loss, two ASU wins, and a USC victory over Arizona) Between this, the infield fly rule in baseball and the biased way soccer refs call off sides, which is easier to understand?

A: Well, I’m a gigantic basketball nerd, so the only thing I don’t understand about the scenario is the necessity for conference tournaments. I’ll say that the infield fly rule probably causes more confusion. It’s easy to understand soccer calls, but only if you have connections with the Italian mafia that dictate the calls. This question also reminded me that Cal lost to ASU and USC on two different buzzer beaters. So I guess what I really don’t understand is why the cruel hand of fate mocks me so!

3) At the same moment, the Stanford band leaves Stanford by train for the PAC-10 tournament in LA at USC and the CAL band leaves Berkeley by bus for the very same tournament and the train from Stanford is moving at speed of 40 miles per hour, and the bus from Berkeley is moving at speed of 60 miles per hour, except when they got pulled over and ticketed for doing 60 in a 45 MPH construction zone and the distance to LA from Stanford is 370 miles and Berkeley is about 40 more miles up the road and a plane takes 6 hours to fly from San Francisco to New York, and 5 hours to return back. What is the name of the guy in the Stanford Tree outfit?

A: Twistnhook is the most qualified to answer this question, based on his up close and personal relationship with the Stanford tree. And since I majored in Geography my ability to answer a math question died upon my alleged graduation from high school. So I’ll have to make a wild guess…Condleezza Rice?

(No, sorry, we were going for Dayton, Ohio, and Jeff Tedford, but keep that last part a secret-C and R)

4) PAC-10 SCORING RACE- Going into the final game of the regular season, Alexis Gray-Lawson leads the race for the Pac-10 scoring title. Gray-Lawson is averaging 18.1 points per game with Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike at 18.0. Gray-Lawson has scored three more points this season, with 508 to Ogwumike's 505. In Conference games, Gray-Lawson is averaging 20.6 ppg to Oregon's Taylor Lilley's 19.7. Ogumike is in third with 17.9. How long will it be before Nneka gets a foul and Tara VanDerveer banishes her to the bench? Bonus points for correctly guessing the minute mark and estimating how many points she would have scored if not on the bench!

A: Man, Ogwumike burned us for 24 last time, and unless the high pitched cheering of a few thousand children sway the refs, Cal will have their hands full. Hopefully Gennifer Brandon and DeNesha Stallworth are feeling aggressive on offense, because foul trouble would be the best way to take the Appel/Ogwumike/Pedersen monster out. If the Bears can hold Nneka below 20 I’ll be thrilled…but only if nobody else from Stanford scores over 20 to make up for it.

(Ohh, good point. You can stop one of the three trees, but there is always another to take its place-C and R)

5) Predict how many points Alexis Gray-Lawson will drop on Stanford.

A: Well, she scored 37 the last time in Berkeley, but only 9 earlier this year in Maples. Average that out and we get…24? Hmm, that sounds high when she’ll be the complete focus of the Cardinal defense. Lexi is unusual this year in that she tends to score either 35 points or 15, but rarely in between. When she knows she’s on she’ll keep shooting, but when she knows she’s off she usually doesn’t force up a bunch of shots. Cal had better hope she’s on, but I’ll predict a conservative 17 points.

(We’ll take the 17! C and R)

See ya Saturday at Cal. Anyone know of a good place to eat in Berkeley?

More Stanford and Cal and Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my, at the original C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog