Stanford, Chiney dominate Davis

Even if junior forward Chiney Ogwumike hadn’t scored a career-tying 27 points at UC Davis on Nov. 30, the Stanford women’s basketball team still would have won – a tribute to the Cardinal’s depth and teamwork.

Stanford won the game 87-38, a 49-point margin. Subtract Chiney’s 27 points, and the score is 60-38, a 22-point margin as the team wrapped up the month with a 7-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in national polls.

Moreover, Chiney didn’t score her first basket until the 15:33 mark in the first half. Instead, junior guard Toni Kokenis started the scoring parade with a 3-pointer, followed by a 2 from senior forward Joslyn Tinkle, another 3 from Toni, a 2 from sophomore guard Amber Orrange and yet another 3 from Toni at the 16:45 mark, when Stanford led 13-6. Chiney’s first basket made the score 15-6.

After that, there was little that the hard-playing but outmatched Aggies could do against the onslaught by Chiney and her teammates. At the half, the score was 46-19, and Chiney had equaled Davis’s output with 19 points of her own. She also had 11 rebounds for a double-double in just one half.

Besides her 27 points, Chiney contributed 13 rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal in 31 minutes. Toni, who had gone three-for-three on 3’s, finished with 11 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes. The only other player in double figures was junior guard Sara James, who tallied 10 points to go with two rebounds, three assists and two steals in 19 minutes.

Everyone gets in on the action

Head coach Tara VanDerveer used all 13 available players. With about 7 minutes to go in the game, the starters were done for the night.

The only player who didn’t show up in any statistic was sophomore forward Bonnie Samuelson, who had played only three minutes in the first half before heading to the locker room with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Fans were relieved to see her walk back into the gym shortly after the second half had started, but she remained on the bench.

Otherwise, everyone else made some kind of contribution. Even freshman guards Kiran Lakhian and Denia Ebersole, who don’t get much time, got into the act. Kiran had 2 points and three rebounds in four minutes. Denia capitalized on her three minutes by making both of her 3-point shots for 6 points – her first points in a game that counts – much to the delight of her older teammates on the bench.

Another noteworthy bench contribution came from sophomore forward Erica Payne, who was second on the team with nine rebounds in addition to 7 points in 15 minutes.

Altogether, the team made nine of 21 3’s. Besides Toni’s three and Denia’s two, the others came from Sara and sophomore forward Taylor Greenfield with two each.

The Cardinal dominated the boards with 62 the to UCD’s 24. Stanford held the advantage in assists with 18, compared with UCD’s six. Likewise, Stanford had 12 blocks to UCD’s one.

Turnovers a minus for the team

The one blemish on the stat sheet was that Stanford had 17 turnovers, while Davis had 10. Part of the turnover advantage came from a tight Aggie defense that netted 11 steals, while Stanford had seven.

Despite the rainy weather, the game drew an official attendance of slightly more than 2,600. The majority of the fans appeared to be Davis students, most of whom remained standing throughout the game. Several dozen Stanford fans also were there. The team smiled and waved at them upon leaving the floor.

The Davis scoreboard doesn’t show individual stats. However, the announcer was quite informative, starting when Stanford took to the floor. He talked about the team’s No. 1 ranking and many of its accomplishments thus far. Introducing the UCD starting lineup, he included their majors in addition to their position, academic year, height and hometown. He also kept fans informed during the game.

Right before the game ended, word spread among Stanford fans that the school’s football team had defeated UCLA 27-24, thus winning the Pac-12 championship and securing a berth in the venerable Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day.

As fans were leaving after the game, they were serenaded in the drizzle by the Davis band, perched on and around an old fire engine just outside the gym.

In the meantime, Erica was inside being interviewed by the announcer for KZSU radio. Her mother, Laurie, sat nearby taking photos of her media star daughter.

The spotlight was back on the team Dec. 2 when Stanford defeated Gonzaga 69-41 in Spokane.

After a break for finals, the Cardinal return to action at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 when University of the Pacific comes to visit. It’s also Dog Lover’s Day, featuring agility dogs at halftime – always a big hit with fans.