Thus the No. 1-ranked Cardinal extended its season record to 9-0 and the nation’s best ongoing home winning streak to 82.
Junior forward Chiney Ogwumike played a big role in the victory with yet another double-double – a career-high 31 points plus 13 rebounds – to go with two assists, three steals and one block. Despite being double-teamed most of the time, she did all that in only 28 minutes, spending nearly the last seven minutes on the bench, soon to be joined by her fellow starters.
Leading her team in scoring isn’t Chiney’s only good quality. She also cares about her teammates, For example, as the game wound down, she moved to the end of the bench to sit and talk with her two sidelined teammates, freshman forward Aly Beebe and sophomore guard Alex Green.
Aly is out for the season while she recuperates from an ACL injury, but it is hoped that Alex can return to action early next year after missing most of last season with a torn Achilles tendon.
Mikaela contributes career-high rebounds, assists
Also joining Chiney with career highs was redshirt junior forward Mikaela Ruef, who added career highs of 13 rebounds and five assists. She also had three blocks in 20 minutes. Although she scored only 2 points, her other stats reflect her value to the team.
Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points. She also had four rebounds, one assist and one block in her 28 minutes.
The other two starters, junior guard Toni Kokenis and sophomore guard Amber Orrange, had 8 and 9 points, respectively. Toni also had three assists and a steal in 26 minutes. Amber, who played a team-high 30 minutes, had two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Coming off the bench, junior guard Sara James added 6 points, while sophomore forward Bonnie Samuelson contributed 5 and freshman forward/center Tess Picknell added 3. Sophomore forward Taylor Greenfield and sophomore guard Jasmine Camp each had 2.
Despite the lopsided score, the Stockton team played tough defense, especially on the perimeter. Therefore, Stanford had no 3-pointers in the first half, which ended 42-27, and only two in the second. That’s when Sara and Bonnie were successful. As a team, the Cardinal made 18.2 percent of its 3’s.
Another reason why the Cardinal lagged in the 3-point column may have been that Taylor, who has had the hot hand from beyond the arc, was injured when she was fouled under the Stanford basket with 14:49 to go in the second half.
After being attended to by trainer Marcella Shorty and another woman for several minutes, Taylor was able to get up and walk to the locker room with their assistance as the crowd applauded. She didn’t return. There was no official word on her injury or condition.
Fans honor victims of school shooting
Another somber moment came at the start of the game, when announcer Betty Ann Boeving asked the crowd of more than 4,200 to stand for a moment of silence in honor of the 20 children and six adults shot to death by a gunman who then took his own life at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14. He had killed his mother before going to the school.
This was followed by the national anthem, sung by sophomore Natasha von Kaeppler, who was the team manager last season and who fulfilled those duties during the game.
Because Stanford was on a holiday break after final exams, the band was relatively small, and the Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders weren’t there.
Dog lovers have their day
Nevertheless, there was still plenty of fun to be had, thanks to the annual Dog Lovers Day. It included numerous funny dog videos, film clips of movie dogs and photos of dogs belonging to fans and some of the coaches and players. Bonnie was shown with her dog, who sported nerd glasses, complete with tape across the bridge.
The highlight of Dog Lovers Day came at halftime with the return visit by eight agility dogs and their trainers from Bay Team. Ranging in size from a Corgi and a Pomeranian to Zoe, a 12-year-old black and white spotted Great Dane, the dogs ran over and through a series of obstacles and tunnels. Several of the dogs are therapy and/or service dogs.
As the obstacle course was being set up, fans honored Mary Cortani, founder of Gilroy-based Operation Freedom Paws. Saluted by CNN as one of its top 10 heroes of the year, Mary said her organization trains veterans to train their own service dogs in a 48-week program. As of last week, the group was serving its 91st vet, she said. The dogs come from shelters and rescue groups.
Alumnae return to watch
Several alumnae were on hand, including Morgan Clyburn, ’09, and Markisha Coleman, ’07, who were leading their Menlo-Atherton High School girls basketball team on a field trip to the game. Morgan is the team’s new head coach, assisted by Markisha and Lindy La Rocque, ’12.
Melanie Murphy, ’11, also was there as a spectator and stopped by the bench before the game. The traditional Twist Cam also focused briefly on her during a timeout.
The name of Jayne Appel, ’10, came up via 6’5” Tess, who was the focus of the game’s “Get to Know the Freshmen” video feature. Besides brief answers about things like her dorm and favorite food, Tess named Jayne as her favorite athlete. Jayne, one of Stanford’s all-time greats, plays for the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars. During this WNBA off-season, the 6’4” center is playing in China.
Next on the Stanford schedule is a week-long road trip that will find the team facing No. 24 South Carolina on Dec. 19 and No. 13 Tennessee on Dec. 22. After a three-day break for Christmas, the players will return to the Farm to prepare for the much-anticipated match against No. 2 UConn on Dec. 29.
No comments:
Post a Comment