Making it to the Final Four is one big party, a parade of awards, a chance to play dress up, and get sized for rings. Pretty heady stuff. Too bad they still have to play the games. Stanford came up short in the semi-final game, losing to Baylor 59-47. Let’s face it, Stanford had the game plan, they just couldn’t execute on offense.

After much secrecy, ESPN reportors reported just before the tip off that Stanford would play a 54 defense against 6’8 Brittney Griner, who had won the Player of the Year Award the day before. To Stanford fans, this defense was not new, having seen it done to Cal and a couple other teams this year. It has five Stanford players surrounding the paint and the four better scorers and leave one Baylor player open. It worked for a half. Jordan Madden was the first victim to find herself surprisingly open. She missed a lot, going 2-8 for the half. Brittney Griner only had 7 points and went many minutes without touching the ball.

But Stanford could not hit on offense. They could not hit a three. Stanford’s standout player Nneka Ogwumike played away from the basket to pull Brittney Griner away from helping. When Stanford got some back door passes, it worked. When Nneka tried to shoot from out there, she missed. She also would have 7 points at the half. Freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson was brought in off the bench and instantly hit a three. That would be her only one, although she popped a second one and the ref said she stepped out of bounds.

The half time score was 25-23 Baylor, and that was because Lindy LaRocque did not take care of the ball and it got stolen for a lay up. Stanford only had 4 turnovers against Baylor’s quick defense, but they lead to 8 points. That won’t win you games. When Stanford came out of the locker room at the half, they put Nneka back inside where she is most comfortable, which means she had to go right at Brittney Griner, and she did.

Nneka drove in and as she jumped, and Brittney jumped to block, Nneka flew in the air to the other side of the basket for a reverse lay up. Nneka went inside again and was fouled by Griner. Then the third time she attacked the basket and made a high bank shot. And like that she has 13 points. The fourth time she was blocked.

And then the wheels came off. No one else from Stanford was scoring. They stopped going back door. Stanford got it to 34-21 Baylor. Then Chiney got called for an illegal screen and her third foul. Nneka did a screen and SHE got called for an offensive foul.

Then Chiney got her fourth and then a short time later, her fifth at the 7:48 mark. Although, it wasn’t that big of a loss as she was ineffectual against Griner inside. She could hardly rebound, and she certainly didn’t get any put-back points. She would leave the game with just 4 points. But at that point, the game was not lost, if someone else could step up and make threes. Jos Tinkle, who has a steady hand the latter part of the season, only scored 2 points and missed all three of her three-point attempts.

Stanford was limiting Brittney Griner, but now Jordan Madden and a bench player by the name of Terran Condrey were making their shots. If you would have said to Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer that Brittney Griner would get one field goal in the second, half, and Nneka would lead all scores with 22, AND Stanford would win the block-battle with 5 team blocks to Brittney Griner's 2, she would have thought the game was in the bag.

But no one, not even Baylor counted on Madden scoring 9 and Condrey scoring 13. Baylor point guard Odessey Simms had a better second half, scoring 11 for the game. And Tara would not have liked Stanford going 2-17 from three-point land. And the fact everyone else not named Ogwumike combined for 21 points.

Like we said, the game plan was there, but the other players did not step up and score. The second half ended 59-47, and like that, Stanford’s stellar season was done.

Yes, it was stellar season. That was only their second loss, going 39-2 for the year. They made it to the Final Four. Nneka was in the running for Player of the Year. She got to share this amazing journey with her sister Chiney. She sometimes single-handly put Stanford on her back and won games by herself. It was as much fun to watch as it must have been for Nneka and Chiney to share, and the other Stanford team members to experience.

Although they did not win a championship, we will always remember this season with joy. Congratulations to the coaching staff, players and support system of Stanford on a great year!

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Making it to the Final Four is one big party, a parade of awards, a chance to play dress up, and get sized for rings. Pretty heady stuff. Too bad they still have to play the games. Stanford came up short in the semi-final game, losing to Baylor 59-47. Let’s face it, Stanford had the game plan, they just couldn’t execute on offense.

After much secrecy, ESPN reportors reported just before the tip off that Stanford would play a 54 defense against 6’8 Brittney Griner, who had won the Player of the Year Award the day before. To Stanford fans, this defense was not new, having seen it done to Cal and a couple other teams this year. It has five Stanford players surrounding the paint and the four better scorers and leave one Baylor player open. It worked for a half. Jordan Madden was the first victim to find herself surprisingly open. She missed a lot, going 2-8 for the half. Brittney Griner only had 7 points and went many minutes without touching the ball.

But Stanford could not hit on offense. They could not hit a three. Stanford’s standout player Nneka Ogwumike played away from the basket to pull Brittney Griner away from helping. When Stanford got some back door passes, it worked. When Nneka tried to shoot from out there, she missed. She also would have 7 points at the half. Freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson was brought in off the bench and instantly hit a three. That would be her only one, although she popped a second one and the ref said she stepped out of bounds.

The half time score was 25-23 Baylor, and that was because Lindy LaRocque did not take care of the ball and it got stolen for a lay up. Stanford only had 4 turnovers against Baylor’s quick defense, but they lead to 8 points. That won’t win you games. When Stanford came out of the locker room at the half, they put Nneka back inside where she is most comfortable, which means she had to go right at Brittney Griner, and she did.

Nneka drove in and as she jumped, and Brittney jumped to block, Nneka flew in the air to the other side of the basket for a reverse lay up. Nneka went inside again and was fouled by Griner. Then the third time she attacked the basket and made a high bank shot. And like that she has 13 points. The fourth time she was blocked.

And then the wheels came off. No one else from Stanford was scoring. They stopped going back door. Stanford got it to 34-21 Baylor. Then Chiney got called for an illegal screen and her third foul. Nneka did a screen and SHE got called for an offensive foul.

Then Chiney got her fourth and then a short time later, her fifth at the 7:48 mark. Although, it wasn’t that big of a loss as she was ineffectual against Griner inside. She could hardly rebound, and she certainly didn’t get any put-back points. She would leave the game with just 4 points. But at that point, the game was not lost, if someone else could step up and make threes. Jos Tinkle, who has a steady hand the latter part of the season, only scored 2 points and missed all three of her three-point attempts.

Stanford was limiting Brittney Griner, but now Jordan Madden and a bench player by the name of Terran Condrey were making their shots. If you would have said to Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer that Brittney Griner would get one field goal in the second, half, and Nneka would lead all scores with 22, AND Stanford would win the block-battle with 5 team blocks to Brittney Griner's 2, she would have thought the game was in the bag.

But no one, not even Baylor counted on Madden scoring 9 and Condrey scoring 13. Baylor point guard Odessey Simms had a better second half, scoring 11 for the game. And Tara would not have liked Stanford going 2-17 from three-point land. And the fact everyone else not named Ogwumike combined for 21 points.

Like we said, the game plan was there, but the other players did not step up and score. The second half ended 59-47, and like that, Stanford’s stellar season was done.

Yes, it was stellar season. That was only their second loss, going 39-2 for the year. They made it to the Final Four. Nneka was in the running for Player of the Year. She got to share this amazing journey with her sister Chiney. She sometimes single-handly put Stanford on her back and won games by herself. It was as much fun to watch as it must have been for Nneka and Chiney to share, and the other Stanford team members to experience.

Although they did not win a championship, we will always remember this season with joy. Congratulations to the coaching staff, players and support system of Stanford on a great year!

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The Stanford Women’s Basketball team is going to the Final Four for the Fifth time in five years. Stanford seniors have gone to four straight Final Fours. There was the net cutting and the trophy hugging, and lots of smiles all around at the regionals, especially for the Stanford Faithful who made the trek back to Fresno. But…

C and R hate to bring up what everyone is trying hard not to say. Stanford is 0-4 in Final Fours from the last four years. Their opponent they have to play to get to the championship game is the number one ranked team in the nation, Baylor. They feature an athletic, dunking 6’8 Brittney Griner. They are undefeated this year. All the bigs had their shot, Tenn, UConn, Notre Dame, and lost. But…

Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike was gracious in her interview after her team easily dispatched Duke 81-69. She said she is excited to play Baylor, and she knows Brittney and thinks she is nice and Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey is a good coach, but she is looking forward to it (as opposed to C and R who are dreading it). But…

Yes, we know Baylor has other weapons besides Brittney, namely Odyssey Sims. But Baylor has not seen the likes of two Ogwumikes who play as one. This year they have been a perfect compliment to each other. Nneka has developed an outside scoring touch and Chiney gets any rebounds she misses and puts them back. If anyone can do it, bet on these sisters (and thank you Obama for betting against them, picking St. John’s to go to the Final Four. They didn’t even make it to the Elite Eight).

Stanford controlled this game from the first lob from freshmen Amber Orrrrange to Nneka. When Duke went to a zone early on to try to limit Nneka, Amber drove and good ball movement got to open players, who hit some threes. Amber would have 13 for the game.

After Stanford got out-rebounded in their last game against a shorter South Carolina team, they made it a priority to get the ball. Chiney, with bulky knee and brace got 17 of them all by herself. She chipped in 12 points. Nneka once again saved the day when Chiney went to the bench with three fouls and she herself had three fouls, she scored 29 timely points and grabbed 9 boards.

Memo to the rest of the team: When Nneka and Chiney each have three fouls and Duke knows it and drives into the lane right at the sisters, one of you not named Ogwumike have to step up and either stop the drive or take the foul to save them. Because as much as anyone attached to Stanford hates to admit it, without the sisters, Stanford is sunk. Although…

Stanford did hit some threes tonight as we mentioned, seven of them to be exact. Tinkle had three of them and finished with 13 points. Having four starters in double figures helps the Stanford cause a lot, and takes pressure off of the sisters.

As we mentioned, Baylor is also going to the Final Four. They beat Tennessee earlier this evening and a lot of chatter if this was Tennessee coach Pat Summit’s last game. There was a scuffle on the court near the end of the game, and three Baylor players left the bench to see what was going on. Trouble is, rules state if a player leaves the bench to enter the court, they are assessed a technical foul and ejected from the game. Both teams got the technical foul, so no shots, but one of the three Baylor players ejected was Brittney Griner. Then the twitter-sphere erupted as to would she and the others be suspended for the next game? The Final Four game with Stanford? Rules said since there was no fight and the bench players did not fight then there is no suspension. R said she would not want to beat Baylor that way, and we all know she has a point. Still…

Final Four game is set for April Fools Day on ESPN. If anyone can solve the Brittney puzzle, it’s Tara VanDerveer, who recruited a 6’8 inch guy to be her in their practices. I bet his phone is ringing off the hook right now with Stanford coaches trying to get him into practice for the next 6 days!

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The Stanford Women’s Basketball team is going to the Final Four for the fifth time in five years.

Stanford seniors have gone to four straight Final Fours. There was the net cutting and the trophy hugging, and lots of smiles all around at the regionals, especially for the Stanford Faithful who made the trek back to Fresno. But…

C and R hate to bring up what everyone is trying hard not to say.

Continue reading this post »

Stanford Women’s Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer won this game against West Virginia the day before it was played. Tara is not one to toot her own horn or run to the media, so when she DOES talk to the media, Stanford fans notice. She did it a few weeks when she thought the Pac-12 was getting slighted, and she did it yesterday when she found out she was playing a defensive-minded team that liked to win, in their coaches words, “ugly.”

Tara implored the media that while she doesn’t mind a physical game, she hoped the refs would call it fairly. And no one likes wrestling matches on the floor, she continued, or when there is holding or bodies flying. She planted that subliminal seed in the ref’s head that they had to call contact. And who was one of the trio of refs? None other than Pac-12’s own Melissa Barlow.

Now, Stanford fans are chuckling at that, as we see her about every other game and we think she is horrible, making bad calls. But hey, everyone has pride in their work, so just maybe she was tired of hearing the East Coast trash the Pac-12, so maybe, just maybe, she had a little Pac-12 chip on her shoulder and some extra love for a team she sees about once a week. Coupled with the fact her crew has just been called out to call the game fairly, and boom, Stanford got some home-cooking calls 3,000 miles away from home. Just like Tara VanDerveer planned it.

Let’s looks at the highlights. Stanford came ready to play. They were fast and they were quick. Sweat was gleaning off their bodies at each time out. Announcer Mary Murphy said you can’t hit what you can’t catch, meaning it’s hard to be physical when Stanford is stealing the ball and making points in transient. Stanford would score 19 points off of West Virginia’s turnovers, as opposed to 2 points off of Stanford turnovers for WVU.

Tara also won this game by her advance scouting. She broke out that new offense C said she hated. You know, the one where the guard brings up the ball and the four other Stanford players are standing even with the foul line. No one is under the basket. And then Stanford did back door cuts to an unguarded basket the whole 1st half. West Virginia didn’t know what hit them.

WVU defense was playing out of position. Their posts were near the free throw line and no one to help them when their player did the back door cut. When you are scoring uncontested lay-ups, it just looked too easy. Stanford was up to a 22-point lead in the first, after rattling off a 17-0 run. And here’s where the other coach lost the game. He never adjusted his defense in the first half to counter Stanford’s back door play. Both teams went into the locker room with the score 38-17.

Surprisingly it wasn’t the sister act of Player of the Year contender Nneka Ogwumike and her sister Chiney scoring all the points. WVU had the game plan to try and contain them. They didn’t count on freshmen Amber Orrrrange. Amber sliced her way to the basket and when that was taken away, she hit some pull up leftie jumpers. She had 12 points in the first half and a career high 18 points for the game. Plus no turnovers against a “physical” defense. Nneka scored a quiet 16 and Chiney 13. Toni Kokenis added 10 and Tinkle had 9, with 2 three pointers, so the starting five all contributed. A good sign instead of the usual Nneka and Chiney show. Final score was 72-55.

West Virginia also tried to get the sisters in foul trouble. That worked in the second half, with Nneka going to the bench with 3 fouls with 16 minutes still left to play in the second. However, West Virginia couldn’t capitalize. Then Chiney got her third foul four minutes later and went to the bench. Nneka came in and got her fourth. Much was made about WVU players fouling out 13 times this season to none for Stanford, so Nneka had to play it cool to avoid getting tossed. But with a 20-point lead, it was not hard.

Speaking of Chiney, she was playing with a taped-up knee after falling hard in the first round game. At one point she had a great burst of energy to lead the fast break while West Virginia was lulled into compliancy on defense. Then she was limping. I hope she is able to rest it for the next 5 days until Stanford plays again in Fresno.

Stanford plays South Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen in Fresno on Saturday. Let’s show those East Coasters we like women’s basketball and pack the house.

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Stanford Women’s Basketball Coach Tara VanDerveer won this game against West Virginia the day before it was played.

Tara is not one to toot her own horn or run to the media, so when she DOES talk to the media, Stanford fans notice. She did it a few weeks when she thought the Pac-12 was getting slighted, and she did it yesterday when she found out she was playing a defensive-minded team that liked to win, in their coach's words, “ugly.”

Tara implored the media that while she doesn’t mind a physical game, she hoped the refs would call it fairly. And no one likes wrestling matches on the floor, she continued, or when there is holding or bodies flying. She planted that subliminal seed in the ref’s head that they had to call contact. And who was one of the trio of refs? None other than Pac-12’s own Melissa Barlow.

Now, Stanford fans are chuckling at that, as we see her about every other game and we think she is horrible, making bad calls. But hey, everyone has pride in their work, so just maybe she was tired of hearing the East Coast trash the Pac-12, so maybe, just maybe, she had a little Pac-12 chip on her shoulder and some extra love for a team she sees about once a week. Coupled with the fact her crew has just been called out to call the game fairly, and boom, Stanford got some home-cooking calls 3,000 miles away from home. Just like Tara VanDerveer planned it.

Let’s look at the highlights.

Stanford came ready to play. They were fast and they were quick. Sweat was gleaning off their bodies at each time out. Announcer Mary Murphy said you can’t hit what you can’t catch, meaning it’s hard to be physical when Stanford is stealing the ball and making points in transient. Stanford would score 19 points off of West Virginia’s turnovers, as opposed to 2 points off of Stanford turnovers for WVU.

Tara also won this game by her advance scouting. She broke out that new offense C said she hated. You know, the one where the guard brings up the ball and the four other Stanford players are standing even with the foul line. No one is under the basket. And then Stanford did back door cuts to an unguarded basket the whole 1st half. West Virginia didn’t know what hit them.

WVU defense was playing out of position. Their posts were near the free throw line and no one to help them when their player did the back door cut. When you are scoring uncontested lay-ups, it just looked too easy. Stanford was up to a 22-point lead in the first, after rattling off a 17-0 run. And here’s where the other coach lost the game. He never adjusted his defense in the first half to counter Stanford’s back door play. Both teams went into the locker room with the score 38-17.

Surprisingly it wasn’t the sister act of Player of the Year contender Nneka Ogwumike and her sister Chiney scoring all the points. WVU had the game plan to try and contain them. They didn’t count on freshmen Amber Orrrrange. Amber sliced her way to the basket and when that was taken away, she hit some pull up leftie jumpers. She had 12 points in the first half and a career high 18 points for the game. Plus no turnovers against a “physical” defense. Nneka scored a quiet 16 and Chiney 13. Toni Kokenis added 10 and Tinkle had 9, with 2 three pointers, so the starting five all contributed. A good sign instead of the usual Nneka and Chiney show. Final score was 72-55.

West Virginia also tried to get the sisters in foul trouble. That worked in the second half, with Nneka going to the bench with 3 fouls with 16 minutes still left to play in the second. However, West Virginia couldn’t capitalize. Then Chiney got her third foul four minutes later and went to the bench. Nneka came in and got her fourth. Much was made about WVU players fouling out 13 times this season to none for Stanford, so Nneka had to play it cool to avoid getting tossed. But with a 20-point lead, it was not hard.

Speaking of Chiney, she was playing with a taped-up knee after falling hard in the first round game. At one point she had a great burst of energy to lead the fast break while West Virginia was lulled into compliancy on defense. Then she was limping. I hope she is able to rest it for the next 5 days until Stanford plays again in Fresno.

Stanford plays South Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen in Fresno on Saturday. Let’s show those East Coasters we like women’s basketball and pack the house.

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Well, now that the dust has cleared and the letter written about disrespect has been read (Hampton), they actually played the games starting Saturday. And Stanford, as befitting a number 1 seed, beat Hampton University 73-51.

Ya know, it’s tough for a #16 seed. Here you go and win your conference, scrape and scrap and suffer and sweat all season long, and your reward is to play a bigger, better team and lose and go home, which was about 10 miles from the gym in this case. So unfair to Stanford if you want to talk about disrespect, Hampton!

Anyhoo, the game started out close. Here Hampton got their hopes up by hitting a three-pointer to make it a one point game at the 7-minute mark in the first. And then, Nneka Ogwumike runs you over. She scored 28 points, 22 in the first, and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, to overwhelm Hampton (and directed the mop up crew to clean the floor to boot).

Stanford fans have seen this phenomenon all season long. Sometimes it’s the one-two punch of Nneka and her sister Chiney. But not this time. Stanford had some drama of its own.

Early in the first half around the 17 minute-mark, Chiney knifed in for an offensive rebound. To C and R, it looked like the Hampton player fell on Chiney’s ankle, who then toppled into a second Hampton player. Chiney got called for the foul. And stayed down. When she did get up, she was limping.

Stanford fans everywhere stopped breathing. She subbed out and went to the locker room. Social media was all abuzz, bruised knee was the official reading. Dad followed her into the locker room, so it seemed more serious then a bruised knee.

She came back out, rested, sat next to the coaches (See, good as new, put me in, coach), went back in, got burned on defense, came out a minute later, went back to locker room, came back out and rode a stationary bike for the rest of the half. Watched her sister Nneka hit a three-point shot with seconds left to lift Stanford to a 42-27 lead, and went into the locker room to listen to genius coach Tara VanDerveer give her famous half-time adjustments.. Then Chiney played the second half and ended up with 9 points. Whew, had us dizzy with worry and relief.

So, while Chiney’s drama was all going on and Hampton got within one at the 7-minute mark, Nneka took over. Stanford went on a 20-6 run since the one point difference, scoring 14 straight unanswered points after Hampton’s three. Hampton just had the 6 points after the 7-minute mark, and that was with the Pac-12 defensive player of the year riding a bike.

And that three-pointer with 7 seconds left, it was as if Nneka was saying, here, take that into the locker room and chew on that. And, as most teams have found out, there is no answer to Nneka. Stanford went on to win 73-51.

Jos Tinkle scored 16, adding points that Chiney usually provides. It helped that she hit 4 three-pointers. In fact, she was 4-4 from behind the line, we think a career high for made three pointers for her. That certainly helps open things up for Nneka to work inside. Guards Toni Kokenis also added 9 and Amber Orrrrange added 7, with a career high 11 assists. Well, when you are throwing it to Nneka, who can score at will, it helps a lot.

Next up is a very tough defensive team in West Virginia. They are long and tall. Hope Chiney’s knee is up for the challenge. Should be on ESPN2 at 4 PM Stanford time.

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

Well, now that the dust has cleared and the letter written about disrespect has been read (Hampton), they actually played the games starting Saturday. And Stanford, as befitting a number 1 seed, beat Hampton University 73-51.

Ya know, it’s tough for a #16 seed. Here you go and win your conference, scrape and scrap and suffer and sweat all season long, and your reward is to play a bigger, better team and lose and go home, which was about 10 miles from the gym in this case. So unfair to Stanford if you want to talk about disrespect, Hampton!

Anyhoo, the game started out close. Here Hampton got their hopes up by hitting a three-pointer to make it a one point game at the 7-minute mark in the first. And then, Nneka Ogwumike runs you over. She scored 28 points, 22 in the first, and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, to overwhelm Hampton (and directed the mop up crew to clean the floor to boot).

Stanford fans have seen this phenomenon all season long. Sometimes it’s the one-two punch of Nneka and her sister Chiney. But not this time. Stanford had some drama of its own.

Early in the first half around the 17 minute-mark, Chiney knifed in for an offensive rebound. To C and R, it looked like the Hampton player fell on Chiney’s ankle, who then toppled into a second Hampton player. Chiney got called for the foul. And stayed down. When she did get up, she was limping.

Stanford fans everywhere stopped breathing. She subbed out and went to the locker room. Social media was all abuzz, bruised knee was the official reading. Dad followed her into the locker room, so it seemed more serious then a bruised knee.

She came back out, rested, sat next to the coaches (See, good as new, put me in, coach), went back in, got burned on defense, came out a minute later, went back to locker room, came back out and rode a stationary bike for the rest of the half. Watched her sister Nneka hit a three-point shot with seconds left to lift Stanford to a 42-27 lead, and went into the locker room to listen to genius coach Tara VanDerveer give her famous half-time adjustments.. Then Chiney played the second half and ended up with 9 points. Whew, had us dizzy with worry and relief.

So, while Chiney’s drama was all going on and Hampton got within one at the 7-minute mark, Nneka took over. Stanford went on a 20-6 run since the one point difference, scoring 14 straight unanswered points after Hampton’s three. Hampton just had the 6 points after the 7-minute mark, and that was with the Pac-12 defensive player of the year riding a bike.

And that three-pointer with 7 seconds left, it was as if Nneka was saying, here, take that into the locker room and chew on that. And, as most teams have found out, there is no answer to Nneka. Stanford went on to win 73-51.

Jos Tinkle scored 16, adding points that Chiney usually provides. It helped that she hit 4 three-pointers. In fact, she was 4-4 from behind the line, we think a career high for made three pointers for her. That certainly helps open things up for Nneka to work inside. Guards Toni Kokenis also added 9 and Amber Orrrrange added 7, with a career high 11 assists. Well, when you are throwing it to Nneka, who can score at will, it helps a lot.

Next up is a very tough defensive team in West Virginia. They are long and tall. Hope Chiney’s knee is up for the challenge. Should be on ESPN2 at 4 PM Stanford time.

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

Now Stanford can say it for reals, they are Pac-12 Champions. They won the Pac-12 regular seasons by going undefeated and earned a number 1 seed in the post-season tournament. Then they had to play the games. And they almost lost to a defense-minded ASU in the semis. And the finals were against the only team to take them to overtime this season, Cal. But it didn’t really matter. Stanford won all of them, and got to cut down the nets.

Again, this was a physical game with inconsistent refereeing. Cal keyed on the inside duo of sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. Stanford perimeter players responded by going 1-8 from three-point land in the first. Cal, on the other hand, which is not known for its outside shooting, made 5-9 three pointers in the first, enabling them to keep the score close at the break, 37-31. Cal had been in the hole by as much as 13 points earlier in the half.

But both teams knew the three point shooting were both anomalies. Cal would go 0-3 on threes in the second, and Stanford would be 4-8 from behind the line. And the biggest surprise of them all was newly minted three-point shooter post player Nneka Ogwumike. She made not 1, not 2, but 3 threes. She missed a 4th attempt somewhere, C and R don’t remember amidst the yelling and the screaming and the cats-running for cover over at SC’s place. The twitter-sphere went crazy. Nneka had not made a three all season! She previous had made 2 threes in her career! It was out of this world!

And also timely. Sister Chiney went out of the game with 4 fouls with 9:37 to play and Stanford with a 10-point lead. Nneka herself had 3 personal fouls. And that’s when she hit it, her first three, for a 13-point lead and it wouldn’t get any closer. The game ended with the score 77-62, Stanford.

So just what got into Nneka to start bombing threes? Apparently, she makes the all the time in practice. Sister Chiney counseled her earlier saying she’s got a great outside shot, but as soon as she steps over that line, she physiologically psyches herself out (Or something like that, Chiney tells the story better). Chiney told Nneka to stop placing such importance on the line and just shoot, especially if the shot clock is winding down. And she did! Three times, and it was a dagger in Cal’s heart.

Let’s look at the records:
Nneka Ogwumike became the all-time scorer in Pac-12 Tournament history. Nneka also equaled Pac-12 Tournament record for most points in a tournament (71). Chiney Ogwumike broke the Pac-12 Tournament record for most rebounds in a tournament with 36. Stanford set a school record with its 28th consecutive victory and extending its win streak over Pac-12 foes to 78 games.

Then let’s look at stats:
Both sisters had a double-double. Nneka had 29 points, and 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and 3 threes! Sister Chiney had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and one flagrant elbow call (Brittany Boyd missed both shots, so there was some justice in the air). The sisters combined for 46 points and 25 rebounds. Freshmen guard Amber Orrrrange added 13 and 3 assists. Nneka averaged 23.7 points 10.3 rebounds during the tourney.

Let’s look at the awards:
Nneka earned the Pac-12 tournament MVP. Nneka and Chiney were named to the all-conference tournament team. Stanford took home a shiny trophy and Nneka wore the net around her neck on the flight home.

Things we learned from twitter:
Mikaela Ruef did not make the trip down to LA. She had surgery on her foot the day before. She plans to make the NCAA tournament, although it is not clear she will play, although that does seem doubtful.

Things we learned from fans that were courtside, of which there were few, (announced attendance was 1,845):
Bonnie Samuelson was hurt. She was seen limping and crying when she left the floor. The thought is Nneka might have landed on her leg. Having the MVP land on you is a small price to pay for a Pac-12 Championship.

Next up:
Selection Monday, where the 64-team field will be set and Stanford will find out how may thousands of miles they will have to travel. It will be on ESPN at 4 PM Stanford time.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe you'll win the Pac-12 championship too!

Now Stanford can say it for reals, they are Pac-12 Champions.

They won the Pac-12 regular season by going undefeated and earned a number 1 seed in the post-season tournament. Then they had to play the games. And they almost lost to a defense-minded ASU in the semis. And the finals were against the only team to take them to overtime this season, Cal. But it didn’t really matter. Stanford won all of them, and got to cut down the nets.

Again, this was a physical game with inconsistent refereeing. Cal keyed on the inside duo of sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. Stanford perimeter players responded by going 1-8 from three-point land in the first. Cal, on the other hand, which is not known for its outside shooting, made 5-9 three pointers in the first, enabling them to keep the score close at the break, 37-31. Cal had been in the hole by as much as 13 points earlier in the half.

But both teams knew the three point shooting were both anomalies. Cal would go 0-3 on threes in the second, and Stanford would be 4-8 from behind the line. And the biggest surprise of them all was newly minted three-point shooter post player Nneka Ogwumike. She made not 1, not 2, but 3 threes. She missed a 4th attempt somewhere, C and R don’t remember amidst the yelling and the screaming and the cats-running for cover over at SC’s place. The twitter-sphere went crazy. Nneka had not made a three all season! She previous had made 2 threes in her career! It was out of this world!

And also timely. Sister Chiney went out of the game with 4 fouls with 9:37 to play and Stanford with a 10-point lead. Nneka herself had 3 personal fouls. And that’s when she hit it, her first three, for a 13-point lead and it wouldn’t get any closer. The game ended with the score 77-62, Stanford.

So just what got into Nneka to start bombing threes? Apparently, she makes the all the time in practice. Sister Chiney counseled her earlier saying she’s got a great outside shot, but as soon as she steps over that line, she physiologically psyches herself out (Or something like that, Chiney tells the story better). Chiney told Nneka to stop placing such importance on the line and just shoot, especially if the shot clock is winding down. And she did! Three times, and it was a dagger in Cal’s heart.

Let’s look at the records:
Nneka Ogwumike became the all-time scorer in Pac-12 Tournament history. Nneka also equaled Pac-12 Tournament record for most points in a tournament (71). Chiney Ogwumike broke the Pac-12 Tournament record for most rebounds in a tournament with 36. Stanford set a school record with its 28th consecutive victory and extending its win streak over Pac-12 foes to 78 games.

Then let’s look at stats:
Both sisters had a double-double. Nneka had 29 points, and 12 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and 3 threes! Sister Chiney had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and one flagrant elbow call (Brittany Boyd missed both shots, so there was some justice in the air). The sisters combined for 46 points and 25 rebounds. Freshmen guard Amber Orrrrange added 13 and 3 assists. Nneka averaged 23.7 points 10.3 rebounds during the tourney.

Let’s look at the awards:
Nneka earned the Pac-12 tournament MVP. Nneka and Chiney were named to the all-conference tournament team. Stanford took home a shiny trophy and Nneka wore the net around her neck on the flight home.

Things we learned from twitter:
Mikaela Ruef did not make the trip down to LA. She had surgery on her foot the day before. She plans to make the NCAA tournament, although it is not clear she will play, although that does seem doubtful.

Things we learned from fans that were courtside, of which there were few, (announced attendance was 1,845):
Bonnie Samuelson was hurt. She was seen limping and crying when she left the floor. The thought is Nneka might have landed on her leg. Having the MVP land on you is a small price to pay for a Pac-12 Championship.

Next up:
Selection Monday, where the 64-team field will be set and Stanford will find out how may thousands of miles they will have to travel. It will be on ESPN at 4 PM Stanford time.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe you'll win the Pac-12 championship too!

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

Do you shot 29% from the floor, too? Then Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter

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

Do you shot 29% from the floor, too? Then Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter

Pac-12 Tourney, Stanford vs Washington: this game was frustrating. Frustrating for the Cardinal, who couldn’t have their customary way with their inside game, and frustrating for C and R, who couldn’t get the stupid YouTube feed to buffer.

On the Twittersphere, someone who shall remain nameless tweeted, oh thank you thank you @Pac-12 for this ingenious way to show the women’s game! To which C and R say, no thank you, the men’s games were shown on TV, why not the women’s games? To which the person said, hey, just be glad we got this on a video feed. C hates that argument, that women should be grateful for whatever scrap or crumb that gets thrown their way, meanwhile the men’s side is feasting away. Isn’t this the same argument sports programs used before Title IX said it was illegal?

When C and R were at the Pac-10 tourney in LA a few years ago, one higher-up shared the reason they moved the women’ s tourney down here was it was cheaper, all the camera equipment was already here and set up in LA for the mens’ game. If you are not going to even use the camera equipment on the women, then let it rotate from site to site. We loved when it was in San Jose. Or better yet, have the men’s and women’s tournament together and rotate from site to site, at a neutral place in Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Stanford. Maybe then the Pac-12 could get some more interest from the crowd, too. SF Chron reported the fans for the Stanford game at about 200 people. This is the number 2 team in the country, people! Bring it back to San Jose! Tara VanDerveer agrees with us!

Sorry for the rant, the day belongs to Stanford, so let’s get back to them.

The game started slowly for Stanford. At first they had no answer for Washington’s Regina Rodgers, the hefty center (The SF Chron reports her weight at 300 pounds). And she took Pac-12 Player of the Year Nneka Ogwumike out of her comfort zone, literally, by giving her a bloody nose. Nneka said in a post game interview it was incidental contact. She is as gracious as she is tall. And she said being pushed around down low is what they needed to get ready for the next level (read NCAA tourney), against more physical teams. Plus Stanford was 0 for 100+ shots from the three point line. Well, maybe not that bad, but they were 1-8. And that won’t do at the next level. It didn’t’ help matters that Washington was out –rebounding them in the first half, and had 8 offensive boards, whereas Stanford had 2, as evidenced by Tara intensely reminding the team at half time. Hey, check out this video, which does give a rare glimpse into what goes on in the Stanford locker room at half time:



But this team is coached by Tara VanDerveer, and she is the queen of game adjustments, as you saw in the video. She had Nneka cut more to the basket and play the ol’ high-low game. It worked. Nneka scored 18 and Chiney had a double-double with 16 and 11 rebounds. Bonnie Samuelson did hit some threes in the second half, and ended up with 11 points and three made threes. Jos Tinkle contributed 8, although we don’t like her playing time reduced now that Taylor Greenfield and Sarah Boothe are healthy. You dance with the one that brought you there, or some sort of idiom or saying.

Concentrating on Nneka and Chiney’s numbers (and whoever else had a good game) hides the fact Stanford plays great defense. They held the Pac-12 freshmen of the year, Jazmine Davis to just 2-18 shooting and 8 points, after starting the game so promising. Ditto for Regina Rodgers, and although she got some good looks early on, she ended up with just 12 points, 6 in garbage time when Nneka was on the bench for good. Announcer Ros Gold Onwude, who used to play at Stanford so might have a wee bit of bias, said Washington looked like they were giving up in the second half when Stanford got ahead by as many as 27 points. Final score was 76-57.

Reason #2 you should be in LA at the Pac-12 Tourney.
Copious Free T-shirts and Whales. Jeanette Pohlen’s Mom got a whale, and so did Ros Gold Onwude, who was announcing at the time. She announced she caught the whale flung her way. Now C and R are really bummed they couldn’t make the trip.

Reason #3 you should be in LA at the Pac-12 Tourney.
Just heard from new friends S and C, who were there and said the many empty seats gave them the opportunity to sit right behind Ann Meyers, Lisa Leslie and their favorite rising star color analyst, Ros Gold Onwude. You guessed it, they also got a whale. (S reports: It didn't seem likely that any of the cheerleaders could heave a whale past the third row, so we knew it was only a matter of time before we snagged one). But they are better people than C and R as S and C gave the whale to a 2-year-old boy and just about made his life. C would have selfishly kept hers at a high level from any and all children.

Next game at noon (darn work interfering with basketball again), against Arizona State, and this time it’s on TV. However, being at work… Will have to tape it and watch in the evening. So nobody twitter about it or report any scores or nohtin’, ‘k?

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and you just might win a whale, too!

Pac-12 Tourney, Stanford vs Washington: this game was frustrating. Frustrating for the Cardinal, who couldn’t have their customary way with their inside game, and frustrating for C and R, who couldn’t get the stupid YouTube feed to buffer.

On the Twittersphere, someone who shall remain nameless tweeted, oh thank you thank you @Pac-12 for this ingenious way to show the women’s game! To which C and R say, no thank you, the men’s games were shown on TV, why not the women’s games? To which the person said, hey, just be glad we got this on a video feed. C hates that argument, that women should be grateful for whatever scrap or crumb that gets thrown their way, meanwhile the men’s side is feasting away. Isn’t this the same argument sports programs used before Title IX said it was illegal?

When C and R were at the Pac-10 tourney in LA a few years ago, one higher-up shared the reason they moved the women’ s tourney down here was it was cheaper, all the camera equipment was already here and set up in LA for the mens’ game. If you are not going to even use the camera equipment on the women, then let it rotate from site to site. We loved when it was in San Jose. Or better yet, have the men’s and women’s tournament together and rotate from site to site, at a neutral place in Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Stanford. Maybe then the Pac-12 could get some more interest from the crowd, too. SF Chron reported the fans for the Stanford game at about 200 people. This is the number 2 team in the country, people! Bring it back to San Jose! Tara VanDerveer agrees with us!

Sorry for the rant, the day belongs to Stanford, so let’s get back to them.

The game started slowly for Stanford. At first they had no answer for Washington’s Regina Rodgers, the hefty center (The SF Chron reports her weight at 300 pounds). And she took Pac-12 Player of the Year Nneka Ogwumike out of her comfort zone, literally, by giving her a bloody nose. Nneka said in a post game interview it was incidental contact. She is as gracious as she is tall. And she said being pushed around down low is what they needed to get ready for the next level (read NCAA tourney), against more physical teams. Plus Stanford was 0 for 100+ shots from the three point line. Well, maybe not that bad, but they were 1-8. And that won’t do at the next level. It didn’t’ help matters that Washington was out –rebounding them in the first half, and had 8 offensive boards, whereas Stanford had 2, as evidenced by Tara intensely reminding the team at half time. Hey, check out this video, which does give a rare glimpse into what goes on in the Stanford locker room at half time:



But this team is coached by Tara VanDerveer, and she is the queen of game adjustments, as you saw in the video. She had Nneka cut more to the basket and play the ol’ high-low game. It worked. Nneka scored 18 and Chiney had a double-double with 16 and 11 rebounds. Bonnie Samuelson did hit some threes in the second half, and ended up with 11 points and three made threes. Jos Tinkle contributed 8, although we don’t like her playing time reduced now that Taylor Greenfield and Sarah Boothe are healthy. You dance with the one that brought you there, or some sort of idiom or saying.

Concentrating on Nneka and Chiney’s numbers (and whoever else had a good game) hides the fact Stanford plays great defense. They held the Pac-12 freshmen of the year, Jazmine Davis to just 2-18 shooting and 8 points, after starting the game so promising. Ditto for Regina Rodgers, and although she got some good looks early on, she ended up with just 12 points, 6 in garbage time when Nneka was on the bench for good. Announcer Ros Gold Onwude, who used to play at Stanford so might have a wee bit of bias, said Washington looked like they were giving up in the second half when Stanford got ahead by as many as 27 points. Final score was 76-57.

Reason #2 you should be in LA at the Pac-12 Tourney.
Copious Free T-shirts and Whales. Jeanette Pohlen’s Mom got a whale, and so did Ros Gold Onwude, who was announcing at the time. She announced she caught the whale flung her way. Now C and R are really bummed they couldn’t make the trip.

Reason #3 you should be in LA at the Pac-12 Tourney.
Just heard from new friends S and C, who were there and said the many empty seats gave them the opportunity to sit right behind Ann Meyers, Lisa Leslie and their favorite rising star color analyst, Ros Gold Onwude. You guessed it, they also got a whale. (S reports: It didn't seem likely that any of the cheerleaders could heave a whale past the third row, so we knew it was only a matter of time before we snagged one). But they are better people than C and R as S and C gave the whale to a 2-year-old boy and just about made his life. C would have selfishly kept hers at a high level from any and all children.

Next game at noon (darn work interfering with basketball again), against Arizona State, and this time it’s on TV. However, being at work… Will have to tape it and watch in the evening. So nobody twitter about it or report any scores or nohtin’, ‘k?

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, and you just might win a whale, too!

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!

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!

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!

Follow C and R or (Or follow Cal Golden Blogs if you like Cal instead) on Facebook andTwitter, too!

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!

Follow C and R or (Or follow Cal Golden Blogs if you like Cal instead) on Facebook andTwitter, too!

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!

Follow C and R or (Or follow Cal Golden Blogs if you like Cal instead) on Facebook andTwitter, too!

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.

Continue reading this post »

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?

Get Bouncy and Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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?

Get Bouncy and Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Just got back from watching the Stanford Women’s Basketball beat…Seattle? A rare non-conference game during conference play. The two teams have never played each other. Stanford has a 79-straight game wining streak going on at Maples, longest in the country. Seattle is making the three-year transition from Division II to Division I. C and R were so confused when Betty, the Maples announcer, kept saying Seattle’s team name, we thought she was saying “The Red Hots” instead of Redhawks, all one word.

Subbing in for the Red hots….
Foul on number 11 of the Red Hots...
30-second shot clock violation on the Red Hots….
You get the idea.

Even though senior night already happened on Saturday, there was no way the Stanford seniors were going to lose this last home game of the season. In fact they built a 14 point lead with 7 minutes to go on the first to make it very clear who was boss. But Seattle didn’t get the memo. Maybe not being beat year in and year out by Stanford, they were not intimidated. They hustled after loss balls (while Stanford seemed flat-footed) and applied a trapping half court defense that exposed the Card being a little too casual with the ball. In fact Stanford recorded 9 turnovers in the first. Seattle would cut Stanford’s lead to 6 before Stanford woke up and realized they were for real.

The score at the half was 43-29, Stanford. Freshmen Amber Orrrrange had a great first half scoring 8 points by attacking the basket. She would finish the game with 10 points and a season high 9 assists. She added 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot, too.

The second half was all Ogwumike. Senior Nneka Ogwumike, who was seemed a little off in the first would come to life in the second. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Nneka scored 5 points and sophomore sister Chiney scored 6 straight to go on a 14-5 run and extend their lead 59-36. Chiney would end the game with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Nneka would have 19 points and 11 rebounds, for a double-double. That would make her 15th double-double of the season and 47 th of her career.

Again, though, C and R do not like the offensive set in the first half. We saw that one-four, the guard bringing the ball up and 4 in a line near the three-point line. Every once in a while Nneka or Chiney would break to the basket and Amber would hit them. When Seattle went to their half court trap, Stanford went to 3 perimeter players with Nneka and Chiney taking turns flashing from the block to the free throw line. Options looked pretty limited but in the second half as Seattle tired, and Nneka and Chiney scored at will, hence the 14-5 run. Still, as one fan yelled out to the perimeter players who stood in their spots instead of moving without the ball, “You won’t beat Baylor that way.” Forget Baylor, we still have to get past Cal on Sunday, and then the Pac-12 tourney.

To stop our harping for a moment, Stanford did hit 7 of 16 three-pointers, for 43%. Noted three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson hit 4 of them herself for 12 total points. Jos Tinkle hit 2 out of 3 from beyond the arc, and ended up with 14 points. Once again, Stanford had 4 players, all starters, in double figures. And that will beat Baylor.

Visibly hurt was the fifth starter Toni Kokenis. She rode a stationary bike when not in the game and seemed to walk with a limp. Last game she had a heating pad (or ice) on her thigh. She would still turn on her jets when needed, but she doesn’t seem right. Hopefully she can rest for a few days.
Cute Game Note:

Sometime in the second half, mini tree came out to dance, and danced just like Poppa tree. The Stanford Tree Mascot has a cone of wires strapped to back pack frame (we surmise) and min-tree was wearing an inverted tomato cage with green leafs. It was A-Dor-able! See SGC72’s photo:



Happy Leap Year and see you at Cal! Expect some Questions from Cal Golden Blogs soon.

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Just got back from watching the Stanford Women’s Basketball beat…Seattle? A rare non-conference game during conference play. The two teams have never played each other. Stanford has a 79-straight game wining streak going on at Maples, longest in the country. Seattle is making the three-year transition from Division II to Division I. C and R were so confused when Betty, the Maples announcer, kept saying Seattle’s team name, we thought she was saying “The Red Hots” instead of Redhawks, all one word.

Subbing in for the Red hots….
Foul on number 11 of the Red Hots...
30-second shot clock violation on the Red Hots….
You get the idea.

Even though senior night already happened on Saturday, there was no way the Stanford seniors were going to lose this last home game of the season. In fact they built a 14 point lead with 7 minutes to go on the first to make it very clear who was boss. But Seattle didn’t get the memo. Maybe not being beat year in and year out by Stanford, they were not intimidated. They hustled after loss balls (while Stanford seemed flat-footed) and applied a trapping half court defense that exposed the Card being a little too casual with the ball. In fact Stanford recorded 9 turnovers in the first. Seattle would cut Stanford’s lead to 6 before Stanford woke up and realized they were for real.

The score at the half was 43-29, Stanford. Freshmen Amber Orrrrange had a great first half scoring 8 points by attacking the basket. She would finish the game with 10 points and a season high 9 assists. She added 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot, too.

The second half was all Ogwumike. Senior Nneka Ogwumike, who was seemed a little off in the first would come to life in the second. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Nneka scored 5 points and sophomore sister Chiney scored 6 straight to go on a 14-5 run and extend their lead 59-36. Chiney would end the game with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Nneka would have 19 points and 11 rebounds, for a double-double. That would make her 15th double-double of the season and 47 th of her career.

Again, though, C and R do not like the offensive set in the first half. We saw that one-four, the guard bringing the ball up and 4 in a line near the three-point line. Every once in a while Nneka or Chiney would break to the basket and Amber would hit them. When Seattle went to their half court trap, Stanford went to 3 perimeter players with Nneka and Chiney taking turns flashing from the block to the free throw line. Options looked pretty limited but in the second half as Seattle tired, and Nneka and Chiney scored at will, hence the 14-5 run. Still, as one fan yelled out to the perimeter players who stood in their spots instead of moving without the ball, “You won’t beat Baylor that way.” Forget Baylor, we still have to get past Cal on Sunday, and then the Pac-12 tourney.

To stop our harping for a moment, Stanford did hit 7 of 16 three-pointers, for 43%. Noted three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson hit 4 of them herself for 12 total points. Jos Tinkle hit 2 out of 3 from beyond the arc, and ended up with 14 points. Once again, Stanford had 4 players, all starters, in double figures. And that will beat Baylor.

Visibly hurt was the fifth starter Toni Kokenis. She rode a stationary bike when not in the game and seemed to walk with a limp. Last game she had a heating pad (or ice) on her thigh. She would still turn on her jets when needed, but she doesn’t seem right. Hopefully she can rest for a few days.
Cute Game Note:

Sometime in the second half, mini tree came out to dance, and danced just like Poppa tree. The Stanford Tree Mascot has a cone of wires strapped to back pack frame (we surmise) and min-tree was wearing an inverted tomato cage with green leafs. It was A-Dor-able! See SGC72’s photo:



Happy Leap Year and see you at Cal! Expect some Questions from Cal Golden Blogs soon.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

Stanford Women’s Basketball celebrated Senior Night in style, with a win and sending this group of seniors out without ever losing on their home court. Well, small technicality, Seattle University comes in here Wednesday, but everyone is already looking past them to the Pac-12 tournament. And there is that away game vs. a surging Cal, currently number 2 in the Pac-12 Stanford will have to contend with. But for now, the night belonged to the seniors.

Some senior stats: 127-11 overall record. Never lost at Maples. Went to 3 Final Fours (and counting). Have achieved 3 conference championships (and counting) and 3 conference tournament championships (and counting). Pretty impressive.

Back to Saturday’s game, Stanford sure can play some D, as Utah learned. Utah’s first 2 possessions resulted in a game shot violation. They were so harassed by Stanford’s man-to-man that they didn’t even realize that time was running out. The third time down the Stanford band helpfully chanted the clock seconds off to them, starting at 30. They missed that basket, too. In fact, Utah first scored 5 minutes into the contest and had just 6 points at the 10-minute mark. Fifteen minutes into the contest, they were still at 6 points. Now that is some stifling defense. Stanford had 27 at the same juncture.

Utah did a little better the last 5 minutes, and went into the locker room down 36-14. What does a coach say when down by 22? To the Utah coach’s credit, he did get a technical at 2:22 seconds left in the first for arguing with the refs, perhaps to try and fire his team up. All it did was have Stanford’s Jos Tinkle knock both of the shots.

Stanford was still auditioning its new offense. And although there was more movement away from the ball, it still didn’t look smooth. C and R did like freshmen starting guard Amber Orrrrange driving and attacking the basket. She would finish with 12 points. And hey, this was the first time in a long time where Stanford had 4, count ‘em, 4 players in double figures. The talented Ogwumike sisters of Nneka and Chiney had 15 and 16 points, respectively. Chiney had 12 rebounds to make it a double-double night for her. Jos Tinke would round out the quartet, also adding 12 points and a rebound away from a double-double. And all four are starters, so yay, hopefully this trend will continue. Final score was Stanford 69, Utah 42.

C and R will say one thing about Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, she wants to win games and she is not sentimental, hence her 700th Stanford win tonight. Even though she has 4 seniors on the team, she only started one, Nneka. Sarah Boothe was hurt, to be sure, and Grace Mashore is not utilized much, but Lindy Larocque comes off the bench, she could have gotten a start. Still, with the game well in hand and a 25 point lead and one and a half minutes left, Tara but in all 4 seniors to play with each other. Then she took out superstar Nneka for a standing ovation.

The crowd loves Nneka, not just because she carries the team on her back game after game with her scoring and is a serious contender for player of the year, but also because she is just so warm and wonderful to talk to. So when there was a high loose ball and Nneka leaped up far for it and got side swiped and crashed to the floor, all of Maples had their hearts in their throats, because if Nneka goes, there goes Stanford’s season. Luckily she got up, though in obvious pain. Another time in the second half she made a steal and as the ball was going out of bounds, she dove after it and crashed into the press table. Again, Nneka, we implore you, please save yourself for the tourney!

After the game, the seniors go to walk with their family members and get a bouquet and a hug from Tara (and was Tara crying when she hugged Nneka?). Then the crowd gathered across the way to hear stories told on the seniors. A family member got to speak and then an underclassman got to reminiscence about the player.

We learned Grace Mashore was “not so nice” in preschool. We learned Lindy was a true coaches daughter, and at age 10 questioned why her Dad didn’t have his best player take the last shot in a tie game after the play broke down (She will always be linked to the “Lindy Slide” play that broke Cal’s back). We learned Boothe is “Mama Boothe” and looks after all the other players.

With Nneka, we learned she was full of energy and learned to roll when she was 4 months old. Hey, a girl has to get around somehow. And she was a fun and fun-loving big sister to 3 younger siblings, one who currently plays for Stanford with her and two more that Tara V hopes will follow in their footsteps. Nneka’s Mom told the story of going to the store one day and coming home to a hole on the wall. The explanation dutifully stuck to was the sisters were vacuuming and “accidentally” put the hole there. It wasn’t until years later they fessed up told Mom they had sledded down the stairs and right into the wall. Tara was sure it was Chiney’s idea, the resident class clown, but she assured us it was Nneka, the somewhat rebellious one back then.

Little sister Chiney told of Nneka’s energy and rambunctiousness that got them “sent to private school.” Their mother was constantly looking for activities to keep them busy, such as gymnastics, and then one day sent them to basketball practice. The sisters had never played nor watched a game and when asked to do the simple “weave” drill, they were dumbfounded. Nneka had to try “and looked like a fool” remembered sister Chiney, and came up with a solution of her own, which was to hide out in the bathroom for an hour. But she said Nneka persevered and showed her the way and brought them both to a sport they love and excel in. It was a touching tribute to a wonderful day.

Senior Video Tribute:


Come on out for Wednesday’s game and the REAL last home game of the senior’s career!

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Stanford Cardinal seniors on Senior Night. (Photo by Shannon Cotterell)

Stanford Women’s Basketball celebrated Senior Night in style, with a win and sending this group of seniors out without ever losing on their home court. Well, small technicality, Seattle University comes in here Wednesday, but everyone is already looking past them to the Pac-12 tournament. And there is that away game vs. a surging Cal, currently number 2 in the Pac-12 Stanford will have to contend with. But for now, the night belonged to the seniors.

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The Stanford Women’s Basketball team got the win and the score looks like a blow out: 68 for Stanford, 46 for Colorado, and yet….Look, it’s hard to complain about a 20-something point win, but C and R are troubled by this new Stanford offense.

Let’s start at the beginning. The game at Maples was lightly attended due to the school night start, but after the tip, Stanford was all business, on defense that is. They wanted to defend Maples, now that they own the longest home win streak due to a UConn loss, of all things, and the intensity showed. However, the offense stalled.

The half time score was 26-18, and the only reason Stanford had the lead was because Colorado also shoot poorly (33% for Colorado, 31.6% for Stanford) and sank no threes. And Stanford’s stifling defense made it hard to go inside. Stanford would have 6 blocks for the game, to none for Colorado. So what was going on with Stanford’s offense?

Stanford was lining up in a high line somewhere between the free throw line and the top of the three-point circle. The guard would bring the ball up, and, we think, quick passes at the top of the key were to ensue. If passing quickly enough, someone would be open for a three-pointer, or the constantly shifting defense would make a mistake and leave someone (such as Nneka or Chiney Ogwumike) open inside for a second.

It reminded C and R of the Stanford women’s soccer games we saw this season (shout out to their winning the Nat. Championship, BTW). The soccer tem played possession soccer, having the back line furthest from the goal hold, hold, hold the ball, constantly passing in a straight line parallel to the goal instead of attacking it, until the other team got lulled to sleep and boom, one of the back line players would kick it up to a streaking offensive player and then a goal. It worked really well.

The only problem with duplicating that strategy in basketball is there is a shot clock. You can’t just hold, hold the ball. The soccer players also moved with the ball, even if was only laterally. Stanford basketball players must have been instructed to hold the ball and pass quickly, and not dribble or move. Which they did, to their determent. It would be when the shot clock got down to under 10 seconds with no one open that someone, would try to drive in against two or three defenders. Did we mention they shot 31% in the half? And only made one three-pointer? The passes were not quick enough to free anyone up. Colorado was also trying to make a statement that they weren’t backing down on Stanford’s home court. They were very physical, however that strategy got their players into foul trouble, and an early shooting bonus for Stanford.

When Stanford did get it down inside to the sisters, or needed someone to drive Nneka or Chiney would make the moves and/or get fouled. The first six points were all made free throws, made by the Ogwumikes. In fact, the sisters O made the first 14 of 16 points.

The team also seemed to be getting used to where everyone was supposed to go in this new offense, and a lot of turnovers happened. Fifteen in the first half alone. Some could be attributed to Colorado’s quick hands, but the majority were passes that missed their mark. Stanford head Coach Tara VanDerveer must have addressed that at half time in the locker room, because only four more occurred in the second half.

Speaking of the second half, the team came out of the locker room to practice mid range shots. The first play of the game had Nneka hitting an outside shot just inside the three-point line. Someone joked that for a center that usually plays around the basket, she will be hitting threes before the season is over.

Then the sisters just took it inside. Together they scored 22 points in the second, from driving or being fouled, and the rest of the team scored 20. They got the lead up to 35 points with just 9 and a half minutes remaining. In that same time period, Colorado had just scored 6 points, making those keeping score at home 59-24. Stanford sank a season-high 27 free throws in 33 attempts. The Ogwumikes went to the line for 22 of those attempts.

An yet… Stanford would close out the game by scoring only nine more points in a little less than ten minutes left in the game, after having a 33-point outburst in the first ten minutes of the second. It’s a head-scratcher.

It was nice to see freshmen guard Amber Orrrrange drive the lane in the second half. She’s got some speed and some fearlessness. She would end up with seven points for the night. Lindy Lacque would connect on two three-pointers, plus a foul when shooting one of them. She made the free throw to also finish with seven. More troubling was the fact that Stanford would make just three three-pointers for the evening, yet took 17 shots from behind the line.

Jos Tinkle would contribute a healthy eight points. Nneka scored 23 points with 11 rebounds, for double-double, and sister Chiney would have 18 points and seven rebounds, seeing her minutes limited in the first by foul trouble. Oh, shout out to Chiney for doing a Nneka. A Nneka is catching an alley-oop pass and shooting it before landing back on the floor. It was great to see it run so perfectly, and glad to know we have another payer who can execute it besides Nneka.

Speaking of Nneka, she moved up to number two in the all-time scoring list for Stanford. She passed Kate Starbird in this game, and currently has 2,230 points. Number one is the untouchable Candice Wiggins, who has 400 or so more points than Nneka, so as much as we love Nneka, we don’t think she’s gonna do it.

It was fun to see the team don their Pac-12 Champion T-shirts and pose for photos with the Pac-12 regular season trophy after the game. Let’s hope they do the same thing after the Pac-12 tournament.

Come on out Saturday afternoon for Senior Night. Special Tribute after the game for Nneka Ogwumike, Sarah Boothe, Grace Mashore and Lindy Lacque.

Follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team got the win and the score looks like a blow out: 68 for Stanford, 46 for Colorado, and yet….Look, it’s hard to complain about a 20-something point win, but C and R are troubled by this new Stanford offense.

Continue reading this post »

They kept saying, this was going to be the close Pac-12 rematch, and then Stanford comes out and stuns them in the first half. How stunned was OSU, or how stunning was Stanford? Well, at the half, Stanford’s contender for player of the year, Nneka Ogwumike scored 16, and OSU Beavers had 16. Other Stanford players chipped into make it 36-16, Stanford. If you can’t stop Nneka, you might was well go home, which OSU already was.

Watching Stanford play is fun because you get to see some smart and athletic players and the genius of a Hall of Fame coach. How Genius? Well, early in the game with the score 10-5 Stanford, OSU was packing the paint on defense trying to limit Nneka and her sister Chiney. Stanford Women’s Basketball coach Tara VanDerveer instantly subbed in freshmen three-point specialist Bonnie Samuelson. She promptly hit a three and Tara looks like the genius she is. Then Toni Kokenis nails a three followed by a pop by Lindy LaRoque and it was 23-7 in the span of about 5 minutes. It’s like one big chess game. You take away Tara’s pawn, she sends in the castle-thingie to clean up. (Or something like that, I don’t know, C never really liked chess, too slow and no ball to chase.)

Tara kept her starting five in to open the second half and they kept a consistent 20-point lead. Nneka got to 27 points in 30 minutes when Tara decided to rest her for good. Some players who don’t normally get a lot of playing time took Tara’s call to action literally and everyone, and we mean everyone, was making threes. Stanford would make 10 of them, on 10-22 shooting. Bonnie and Toni Kokenis would tie in the shootout, each with 3 made three-pointers, each with a total of nine points in the game. (Shout out to Jos Tinkle for her 14 rebounds)

The final score for the game was 78 Stanford, 45 OSU. With that win, Stanford clinched a share of the Pac-12 title. The papers list it as Stanford’s 12 straight conference final dating back to when it was the Pac-10, but Tara VanDerveer proudly pointed out in one of her video interviews, it is their first Pac-12 title.

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They kept saying, this was going to be the close Pac-12 rematch, and then Stanford comes out and stuns them in the first half. How stunned was OSU, or how stunning was Stanford? Well, at the half, Stanford’s contender for player of the year, Nneka Ogwumike scored 16, and the OSU Beavers had 16. Other Stanford players chipped into make it 36-16, Stanford. If you can’t stop Nneka, you might was well go home, which OSU already was.

Continue reading this post »