Bouncing back from the desert

After two disappointing losses in Arizona the previous weekend, the Stanford women’s basketball team returned home to defeat USC 79-60 on Feb. 13.

Apparently spurred by the 53-52 loss to Arizona State on Feb. 6 and the 60-57 loss to Arizona on Feb. 8, head coach Tara VanDerveer altered the starting lineup. Senior guard Amber Orrange, senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson kept their usual starting assignments. Joining them for the first time were senior forward Erica Payne and redshirt junior guard Jasmine Camp. Amber, Jasmine and Erica are the team’s co-captains.

Previous starters – sophomore guards Briana Roberson and Lili Thompson – got into the game before long, though. By the time halftime rolled around, 10 players had seen action, and Stanford was ahead 38-27.

The second half started with the usual starters: Amber, Lili, Bri, Bonnie and Kaylee. All 15 players got into the game before the final buzzer sounded, and 12 scored, leading to 55.2 percent accuracy for the game.

USC used all 10 of its available players and shot 37.5 percent.

Bonnie makes four 3’s

The Cardinal made 35.3 percent, or six of 17, of its 3-pointers. Bonnie accounted for four, while Amber and Bri had one each. USC made four of 12 for 33.3 percent.

Scoring was led by Lili with 14, followed by Amber and Bri with 13 each, and Bonnie with 12. Kaylee had 9 to go with five rebounds, but Bonnie led the team with six rebounds. The team had 34 rebounds, bested by USC’s 38.

On the other hand, Stanford had only seven turnovers, compared with USC’s 12. USC had 17 fouls, Stanford 14. Stanford made 60 percent of its free throws, or nine of 15, while USC shot 53.3 percent, or eight of 15, at the charity stripe.

Celebration of the victory was delayed several minutes as USC guard McKenzie Calvert lay on the floor after being injured, and the crowd went silent. As the Stanford players headed toward their huddle, Lili went to her and patted her on the shoulder. Fans and players applauded as she was helped off the court.

Then it was time for “All Right Now” and the victory balls.

Wild turkey roams Maples lot

Some fans arriving early to park in the Maples lot saw something unusual – a wild turkey pecking at the ground cover and walking on the pavement.

Sophomore forward Kailee Johnson was the game’s featured player. During timeouts, the usual five Dollies were joined by up to 10 more, apparently alums of the dance group.

Halftime entertainment was high energy with a performance by the Ernie Reyes martial arts group. As the halftime neared its end, the parents of Lindy La Rocque,’12, chatted with present players’ parents before returning to their seats above the Stanford bench. Along the way they got to say hello to Tara and associate head coach Amy Tucker.

It had been a big day on campus with an appearance by President Obama at a cybersecurity conference, but he left long before the game started. Lili had reportedly hoped he would attend the game because he and she went to the same high school in Hawaii.

Next up for the Cardinal is UCLA at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 15.

Complete sweep of Washington schools

With its 82-69 victory over Washington on Feb. 2 in Maples Pavilion, the Stanford women’s basketball team finished with a 4-0 record over the Pac-12’s two Washington schools and a 9-1 conference record overall.

The Cardinal beat both Washington and Washington State on the road in January and took care of WSU again on Jan. 31.

The latest victory over Washington came more easily than the Jan. 9 meeting in Seattle, when Stanford eked out a 60-56 win.

Five score in double figures

Making the job easier were the five players who scored in double figures, led by senior forward Bonnie Samuelson with 17. She was followed by sophomore guard Briana Roberson with 15, senior guard Amber Orrange with 14, freshman forward Kaylee Johnson with 11 and sophomore guard Karlie Samuelson with 10.

Also helpful were Kaylee’s 17 rebounds, resulting in the fifth double-double of her first year on the Farm. On top of that, Kaylee is the leading freshman rebounder in the NCAA with an average 10.5 per game.

Moreover, Kaylee tied her career high of four blocks. Now with 30 blocks on the season, she has moved into a third-place tie for freshmen with Kristen Newlin, ’07. They trail Val Whiting, ’93, who had 57 during her freshman year, and the record-holder, Jayne Appel, ’10, who had 61.

Defense squeezes Plum

Credit for the win also goes to Stanford’s stingy defense on the Huskies’ leading scorer, Kelsey Plum, who finished with just 8 points, two of them from free throws. The sophomore had ranked third in the nation in scoring with an average of 24.1 points per game. She didn’t make her first basket until the 3:45 mark of the first half thanks to blanketing by Amber and the other guards.

Both teams were 10-for-28, or 35.7 percent, on 3-point shooting. Stanford’s 3’s came from Bri with three; Amber, Bonnie and Karlie with two each; and senior forward Taylor Greenfield with one.

Bonnie’s second trey was the 200th of her Stanford career, moving into the elite 200 club with Nicole Powell, ’04, 201; Sebnem Kimyacioglu, ’05, 205; Kelley Suminski, ’05, 208; Vanessa Nygaard, ’98, 210; Jeanette Pohlen, ’11, 268; and Candice Wiggins,’08, 295.

In my report on the Washington State game, I should have mentioned that Amber dished out her 500th career assist.

Stanford finished the first half with a comfortable 45-29 lead, but Washington edged to within 6 points with less than 10 minutes to go. That’s when Stanford picked up steam again to close out the victory with only bench players in the game during the final minutes. Nevertheless, Washington had outscored Stanford 40-37 during that half.

Good work at the charity stripe

Free-throw shooting was noteworthy, especially in the first half, when the team was 8-for-8. It was 14-for-19 in the second half, finishing the game with an 81.5 percent success rate. For its part, Washington made seven of its 10 attempts, or 70 percent.

Washington had the advantage in rebounds, 39-36, but it had 10 turnovers compared with Stanford’s seven. Stanford had five blocks and six steals, compared with Washington’s three and four, respectively.

Thirteen of the Cardinal’s 15 available players got into the game, and eight scored. The five starters logged the most minutes, led by Amber and sophomore guard Lili Thompson with 33 each, followed by Bri with 32, Bonnie with 29 and Kaylee with 26.

Freshman guard Brittany McPhee, who hails from the Seattle area, was the game’s featured player.

Girls and women in sports honored

Because it was National Girls and Women in Sports Day, the video board featured highlights from Stanford’s women teams. A number of VIP Stanford women faculty members were seated together as their names and positions were flashed on the video board.

In keeping with the theme, the game’s trivia question deviated from Stanford WBB and instead asked how many all-Americans the women’s cross country team has had since 1980 . The answer was 364.

Halftime featured a game by the Stanford Bloomers, 12 women ranging in age from 52 to over 80. Wearing red or white bloomers, they played by the old half-court rules that kept six players – three red guards and three white forwards – on one side of the court with their counterparts on the other. Only forwards were allowed to shoot. When guards got the ball, they passed it across the center line to their forward teammates.

Up next for SWBB are two contests in the desert. The first is at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 against Arizona State, the only Pac-12 team to defeat the Cardinal this season, 60-57 on Jan. 19. Arizona is scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 8. In their previous meeting, Stanford beat Arizona 77-47 on Jan. 16.

Balanced scoring ices win over WSU

Five players in double figures helped lead the Stanford women’s basketball team to a 75-56 victory over Washington State on Jan. 31 in Maples Pavilion.

The game was a nice turnaround from the team’s visit to WSU on Jan. 11, when it needed overtime to pull out an 86-76 victory.

In the home game, senior guard Amber Orrange led the team with 15 points, followed by sophomore forward Erica “Bird” McCall with 14, sophomore guard Briana Roberson with 11, and sophomore guards Lili Thompson and Karlie Samuelson with 10 each.

Bri starts for third time

This game marked the third consecutive time that Bri became a starter, joining Amber, Lili, senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson. Head coach Tara VanDerveer added her to the starting five the previous weekend, when the Cardinal went to Southern California and defeated both UCLA and USC.

“She’s been doing a great job,” associate head coach Amy Tucker said of Bri during the Behind the Bench after the game. Amy said her sister has told her that Bri has become her new favorite player. Amy also credited Bri for the team’s doing so well in recent games.

Speaking to the crowd, Bri said that as a starter, “you’re expected to bring a lot of energy from the get-go.” When a player comes off the bench, she’s had a chance to assess the flow of the game, Bri said, but “it’s just fun to be out there.”

“Their press was challenging at first, but we adjusted well,” Bri said of the Cougars.

She practices almost every day and wants to focus on her assist-to-turnover ratio, she said. As for shot selection in a game, “our coaches expect great things from us.” She added that she’ll probably declare political science as her major.

Tara praises individuals, team

Tara singled out several players, both starters and bench, for praise. “I’m really excited about the improvement our team is making,” she said. “Our guards are getting better,” making good decisions.

“The challenge is to be consistent. That’s what Amber is,” she said.

Amber had six assists. One of them, which came in the first half, was the 500th of her career. Hence she joined only six other Cardinal players to reach that level.

Tara also praised the leadership of the co-captains: Amber, senior forward Erica Payne and redshirt junior Jasmine Camp.

Everyone gets in on the action

All 15 players were available, and all 15 got playing time. Lili had the most time with 34 minutes, followed by Amber and Bonnie with 32 each. Coming off the bench, Karlie had 27 minutes, while Bird had 22.

Stanford dominated the boards with 47 rebounds, 11 of them by Kaylee. WSU had 30. Stanford had 38 points in the paint, WSU only 12.

For the game, Stanford shot 49.1 percent, compared with WSU’s 30.8 percent. On 3-pointers, Stanford was five of 13, or 38.5 percent. Bonnie had two of the 3’s, while Bri, Amber and Karlie had one each.

Turnovers were a problem, with 18 by the Cardinal and 14 by the Cougars. Nine of the Cardinal turnovers were caused by WSU steals, while the Cardinal had eight steals.

Crowd makes ‘a big difference for our team’

Official attendance was 3,118. Tara credited the crowd for its help in lifting the Cardinal from a 37-39 deficit after the first half to a 38-17 advantage in the second, leading to the win. “You made a big difference for our team,” she said.

Looking ahead, she said, “We have to be aggressive offensively.

“We’re going to have to be road warriors,” especially during the Pac-12 tournament, when the Cardinal presumably will play several days in succession. “We have a tournament-built game,” she said, citing the team’s depth. It had 49 points, or 65.3 percent of the total against WSU, from the starters and 26 points from the bench, or 34.7 percent.

Responding to a question about next year’s incoming freshmen, Tara pointed to the strengths of each of the four and said, “The cupboard will never be bare.”

The game’s featured player was Karlie, as the video board displayed information about her.

On another note, fans were asked to go to the north concourse to sign a get-well card for announcer Betty Ann Hagenau (Boeving), who is recuperating at home after a bicycle accident.

Trivia: How many first-round WNBA picks?

The trivia question asked how many Stanford players have been first-round WNBA draft picks since 1997. The choices were 8, 11 and 15.

The answer was 11, starting with Jamila Wideman in 1997. She was followed by Jennifer Azzi, 1999; Naomi Mulitauaopele and Katy Steding, 2000; Nicole Powell, 2004; Candice Wiggins, 2008; Jayne Appel, 2010; Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen, 2011; Nneka Ogwumike, 2012; and Chiney Ogwumike, 2014. The Ogwumikes were both No. 1 picks.

Next up for the Cardinal is a home game against Washington at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2. In the teams’ Jan. 9 meeting in Seattle, Stanford won 60-56.

A tale of two halves

Despite a valiant effort to come back from a 17-point halftime deficit, the Stanford women’s basketball team came up just short, losing to Arizona State 60-57 at home on Jan. 19.

The loss came just as the Cardinal had moved up from No. 13 to No. 11 in AP rankings, while ASU had advanced from No. 14 to No. 13. The loss also meant that ASU and Oregon State have the only undefeated records in the Pac-12 conference.

With all 15 Stanford players available, only 10 saw action, but four were in the game for at least 30 minutes.

The starting lineup was the same as in recent games with senior guard Amber Orrange, sophomore guards Lili Thompson and Karlie Samuelson, senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

Rebounding greatly favors ASU

Stanford was down 39-22 at the half, in large part because of the discrepancy in rebounding, a trend that continued into the second half, ending with a 44-22 advantage for ASU.

Cold shooting also hurt, with Stanford at 29.2 percent compared with ASU at 51.5 percent in the first half. Those numbers came close to reversing in the second half with Stanford at 56 percent versus ASU at 26.1 percent. Stanford held a slight edge for the game, 42.9 percent versus 41.1 percent.

After the team came from the locker room for the second half, head coach Tara VanDerveer altered the starting lineup. The Samuelsons, Stanford’s sharp-shooters for 3’s, were replaced by sophomore guard Brianna Roberson and sophomore forward Erica “Bird” McCall.

Stanford proceeded to outscore ASU 35-21 in the second half. Stanford had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime with a 3 with 2.6 seconds left. However, that wasn’t enough time to propel the ball from under ASU’s basket to make the score. Amber heaved a shot while still on ASU’s side of the court, but it fell short.

ASU defense limits 3-pointers

ASU’s reputation for limiting 3-point shooting proved to be true with the Cardinal making only three of 13, or 23.1 percent, of its shots beyond the arc. Bonnie, Lili and Bri each had one.

ASU made five 3’s. It made nine of 15 free throws, 60 percent; while Stanford made 12 of 15, 80 percent.

On the other hand, Stanford had only 10 turnovers compared with ASU’s 20 and had the edge in both blocks, 6-1, and steals, 6-5. Stanford had more fouls, 16-11, but several of them came in the final seconds in an effort to stop the clock and perhaps get the ball back.

Three players – Lili, Amber and senior forward Taylor Greenfield – led the team with 12 points each.

Amber plays 39 minutes

Amber logged the most time, 39 minutes, followed by Lili with 38, and Bri and Bird with 30 each.

The crowd of 3,546 started to get loud as the Cardinal cut its deficit to 13 points about two minutes into the second half. Things just got louder after that as the gap continued to narrow. It was down to 1 point, 47-46, with about five minutes to go, but ASU wouldn’t go away.

A look at the team’s record in close games to date might provide some perspective into the ASU loss:

Vs. UConn at home Nov. 17 Stanford won 88-86 in overtime.
Vs. Texas at home Nov. 20, Stanford lost 87-81 in overtime.
Vs. New Mexico there Nov. 24, Stanford won 70-65.
Vs. Washington there Jan. 9, Stanford won 60-56.
Vs. Washington State there Jan. 11, Stanford won 86-76 in overtime.

That’s a 4-1 record in close games before the ASU loss.

Before the game started, Tara, well known as a dog lover, stopped to chat with a sheriff’s officer and his tail-wagging black Lab K-9 partner before walking to the bench.

Tess featured on video board

Junior forward/center Tess Picknell was the game’s featured player, with factoids about her shown on the video board. One is that she plays the violin. The film and media studies major said she hopes to get into film production after graduation.

The game’s trivia question asked how many points Chiney Ogwumike, ’14, scored to set the Stanford career record. The choices were 2,642, 2,737 and 2,821. The answer was 2,737. It eclipsed the previous record of 2,629 set by Candice Wiggins, ’08.

Here’s some more trivia: The Cardinal had previously beaten ASU 16 consecutive times. ASU hadn’t won at Maples since head coach Charlie Turner Thorne, ’88, was a Cardinal herself.

Next for the Cardinal is a trip to Southern California for contests against UCLA at 7 p.m. Jan. 23 and against USC at 5 p.m. Jan. 25. Both will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.

Bird joins flock of double-digit scorers

Balance was the name of the game Jan. 16 when the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated visiting Arizona 77-47 to stretch its Pac-12 conference record to 5-0 and its season record to 13-4.

Led by senior forward Bonnie Samuelson with 14 points, five Cardinal were in double figures. She was followed by sophomore forward Erica “Bird” McCall with 13 and by sophomore guards Lili Thompson, Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson with 12 each.

Combined with her career-high 16 rebounds, Bird had the first double-double of her Stanford career, plus three blocks in 25 minutes.

Bird credits glasses for helping her

In a press conference after the game, she said that wearing glasses for the second consecutive game improved her court vision. “They give me a sense of confidence knowing I can see better,” she is quoted as saying. She hadn’t worn glasses during previous games this season, and contacts don’t work for her.

In what may be a nod to Stanford’s priding itself on being Nerd Nation, the glasses are horn-rimmed. All that’s missing is adhesive tape over the bridge.

When Bird scored her 11th point during the second half, junior forward/center Tess Picknell could be seen at the bench flapping her arms.

The victory followed two road wins the previous weekend, when Washington fell 60-56 on Jan. 9, and Washington State fell 86-76 in overtime on Jan. 11.

There were no changes in the starting lineup as Bonnie, Lili and Karlie were joined by freshman forward Kaylee Johnson and senior guard Amber Orrange.

Samuelson sisters contribute four 3’s each

Twenty-seven points came from making 9 of 19, 47.4 percent, of the team’s 3-point attempts. Bonnie and Karlie contributed four each, while Amber added the other one.

Fourteen players were available, and all 14 got into the game, with nine scoring. The only player in street clothes was redshirt junior guard Jasmine Camp.

Although Arizona has won no Pac-12 games this season, its 11 available players did their best to thwart the Cardinal with an often-pressing defense and energetic play. Still, the Cardinal’s overall strength and balance were too much to overcome.

Stanford had the edge in rebounds, 37-30; blocks, 6-3; steals, 9-6; and assists, 20-9. The Cardinal had 14 turnovers to Arizona’s 18, and nine fouls to the opponent’s 14. Free-throw shooting percentage also favored Stanford, 76.9 to 33.31. Both Lili and Briana were a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe.

Crowd enjoys entertainment

With an official attendance of 3,419, the crowd was entertained by the band, Tree, cheerleaders and Dollies. Just before the game began, the Dollies formed the letter ‘S’ with their silver pompons.

Bonnie was the featured player as the video board periodically relayed facts about the human biology major.

With Stanford ahead 41-24, halftime entertainment featured a return visit (after last season) by the WJM Band, three Bay Area sixth-graders named William, Jeremy and Max (no last names given).

With two on guitar and one on drums, they played a loudly amplified rock set that had the Stanford band bouncing along at its part of the bleachers. Prudently wearing earplugs, the boys reportedly donate their profits to charity.

How many undefeated conference seasons?

The game’s trivia question asked how many undefeated conference seasons – five, seven or 12 – Stanford has enjoyed since formation of the Pac-10 conference in 1986. The answer was seven.

The seasons were 1988-89, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2001-02, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. As a footnote, Marianne Stanley and associate head coach Amy Tucker were in charge during the 1995-96 season when head coach Tara VanDerveer was coaching the USA women’s basketball team to an Olympic gold medal.

Later in the second half, two women competed against each other to be the first to identify blurred three photos of players – Amber, Bird and Kaylee – before they came into full focus.

Next on the schedule is a home game against Arizona State at 3 p.m. Jan. 19. Stanford, ASU and Oregon State sit atop the Pac-12 conference with 5-0 records.

P.S. In my recent story about the team’s bus driver, Don Van Zandt, I should have named his wife, who joins him at home games. She’s Margot Van Zandt.

Utah falls to Stanford

Completing the opening round of Pac-12 competition, the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated Utah 55-44 on Jan. 5 in Maples Pavilion.

With a 5 p.m. start time on a Monday, the crowd numbered only 2,782, but the band, cheerleaders, Dollies and Tree were on hand to lend their support.

All 15 players were available, and 13 played.

Cold shooting in first half

The game started slowly with the first half ending 20-14 in Stanford’s favor. Utah shot 20.7 percent, while Stanford was only slightly better at 26.7 percent.

However, Stanford upped its shooting to 50 percent in the second half while holding Utah to 35.7 percent. For the game, Stanford averaged 36 percent, Utah 28.1 percent.

Several times during the first half Stanford fans registered their disapproval when they thought fouls should have been called on Utah. However, the officiating got tighter in the second half. Stanford finished the game with 12 fouls compared with Utah’s 20.

The starting lineup was familiar with senior guard Amber Orrange, sophomore guards Lili Thompson and Karlie Samuelson, senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

Amber, Lili help lead team to victory

Amber led the team with 17 points plus seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. Lili was next with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Also recording seven rebounds were Kaylee and Bonnie.

Kaylee had one of her better scoring outings with 7 points to go with her rebounds plus a team-high four blocks along with one assist and one steal.

When it came to blocking, freshman guard Brittany McPhee was right behind Kaylee with three in only 10 minutes. She added 2 points, one rebound and one steal.

As a team, the Cardinal had eight blocks, while Utah had six. The Cardinal had a 4-2 advantage in steals.

Team cuts down on turnovers

After having 16 turnovers in the win over Colorado on Jan. 3, the Cardinal handled the ball more carefully, making 10. Utah had only eight.

The team made four of its eight 3-point attempts, with two by Lili and one each by Amber and Karlie. Utah was 4-for-21 beyond the arc.

Free-throw shooting improved to 75 percent after 57.1 percent against Colorado.

Redshirt junior guard Alex Green was the game’s featured player. When she first answered questions on the video board, she whispered her answers to Bonnie, who spoke for her shy teammate. Later Alex spoke for herself.

Trivia question on single-game scoring record

Another video board feature was a trivia question about who holds the SWBB record for most points in a single game. The choices were Candice Wiggins, ’08; Kate Starbird, ’97; and Jayne Appel, ’10.

The answer was Jayne. She scored 46 points in the Elite Eight game against Iowa State in the Cal regional on March 30, 2009, helping the Cardinal to a 74-53 victory and a trip to the Final Four in St. Louis.

Candice and Kate held the previous record of 44 points each. Kate set the mark against USC on Jan. 13, 1996. Candice matched it against UTEP on March 24, 2008.

Tara wears brace on left wrist

Fans may have noticed head coach Tara VanDerveer wearing a black brace on her left wrist during the Colorado and Utah games.

She told the Associated Press after the Utah game that she broke a bone in her left arm just above the wrist during practice on New Year’s Eve. “She stepped in front of 6-foot-5 [junior forward] Tess Picknell and fell backward, landing on the hand,” AP reported.

“ ‘I knew right away something was wrong,’ she said. ‘I’m so mad at myself, and I feel so embarrassed. I’m competitive is what it is,’ ” AP reported.

AP quoted her as saying she won’t need surgery or a pin. She also said that Tess apologized, but the 61-year-old coach blamed only herself.

Now that the team has started the month with a 2-0 Pac-12 record, it faces what could be tougher tests during a northern road trip.

It plays Washington at 7 p.m. Jan. 9 in Seattle and Washington State at 1 p.m. Jan. 11 in Pullman. Both games will be shown on the Pac-12 Network and aired by KZSU radio.

Amber, Lili assure victory over Colorado

Thanks to starting guards Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson, the Stanford women’s basketball team managed a 62-55 win over Colorado at Maples to open Pac-12 play on Jan. 3.

Senior Amber scored a career-high 26 points, while sophomore Lili added 17. Their combined total of 43 points accounted for 69.3 percent of the final score.

They were the only two Cardinal players in double figures. Senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and sophomore guard Briana Roberson were the next-highest scorers with 7 each.

Game marred by 16 turnovers

The team had a total of 16 turnovers, 11 of them in the second half, while Colorado had a total of 13. In just over 7 minutes ending at the 11:06 mark of the second half, the team had a succession of eight TO’s. That’s just about when Amber took over, scoring 9 points in the final 7 minutes.

All 15 players were available, and 12 played. The starters were Amber, Lili, Bonnie, sophomore guard Karlie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

Of those five, Kaylee played the least – 19 minutes – after getting into foul trouble and fouling out with less than a minute left. Bonnie played a team-high 34 minutes, closely followed by Amber with 33 minutes despite four fouls during the final minutes of the game.

Free-throw accuracy only 57.1 percent

In total, the team had 17 fouls, compared with 23 by Colorado. However, the Cardinal made only 12 of 21, or 57.1 percent, of its free throws. Colorado made 14 of 19, or 73.7 percent.

The Cardinal had only a slight edge in rebounding, 37-35, led by Kaylee and Lili with five each. Stanford had six blocks, with two each by sophomore forwards Erica “Bird” McCall and Kailee Johnson, while Colorado had only one.

Likewise, Stanford led in steals with four – two by Lili – compared with one by Colorado.

Post play was a concern, with only 4 points – 2 each by Bird and Kailee.

At the half, Stanford led 32-25, but each team scored 30 in the second half, keeping the crowd of 3,507 fans in doubt about the final outcome until Amber took over.

Chiney, Sara cheer from stands

Among those fans were 2014 SWBB grads Chiney Ogwumike and Sara James, sitting in the front row of the family section. Chiney, Stanford’s all-time leading scorer, is playing professionally overseas and in the WNBA, while Sara is in Columbia University’s graduate school of nursing in New York City.

Chiney talked with fans and signed autographs after the game.

Redshirt junior guard Jasmine Camp was the game’s featured player, with Did You Know’s posted on the video board.

The game was broadcast by the Pac-12 Network with Anne Marie Anderson and SWBB grad Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, ’10, on the call. Ros interviewed Amber after the game.

Stanford returns to action at home against Utah at 5 p.m. Jan. 5.

Team tunes up for Pac-12 with romp over UCSB

The Stanford women’s basketball team ended its pre-conference schedule with a 90-34 victory over winless UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28 at Maples.

All 15 players were in uniform and played at least 5 minutes. The scoring was well balanced with four players in double figures: sophomore guard Lili Thompson with 12, sophomore guards Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson with 11 each, and freshman guard Brittany McPhee with 10.

In all, 12 players scored, but everyone contributed in some way.

Brittany leads team in playing time

Brittany’s 22 minutes of playing time was a high for the team. Everyone else played 19 minutes or less.

In addition to her 10 points, Brittany contributed five rebounds, three blocks and three steals, playing with energy and hustle that impressed the 4,041 people in attendance.

The Cardinal led in rebounds, 50-21; assists, 17-8; blocks, 6-2; and steals, 8-4. Stanford had only nine turnovers, while UCSB had 12. UCSB had 13 fouls to Stanford’s seven.

Besides Lili and Karlie, the starting lineup featured senior guard Amber Orrange, senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

“Bird” snares 12 rebounds

Coming off the bench, sophomore forward Erica “Bird” McCall had a team-high and career-high 12 rebounds to go with 8 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

Shooting at a 41.7 percent clip from beyond the arc, the Cardinal had 10 3’s with three each from Bonnie and Karlie, two from redshirt junior guard Jasmine Camp and one each from Briana and senior forward Taylor Greenfield. Jasmine’s two baskets were her first for the season.

The atmosphere at Maples was enlivened by the band, cheerleaders and Tree. Kaylee was the game’s featured player. The video board showed some Did You Know facts along with a brief interview. One of the facts was that she was a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in her home state of Wyoming.

A Behind the Bench followed the game, with associate head coach Amy Tucker noting that the team was back after just a three-day break for Christmas.

She then introduced Jasmine, saying that the team co-captain “has been relentlessly positive and optimistic” in addition to being a good mentor to the younger players.

Jasmine applies to graduate business schools

Although she is a redshirt with another year of eligibility, she’s applying for graduate business schools and might consider going into coaching, Jasmine said. A psychology major, she’s not applying to Stanford because its business school doesn’t take students directly out of college. They need some business experience first.

She said the team’s three freshmen – Kaylee, Brittany and guard Taylor Rooks – “are taking everything in stride.” They’re “very well adjusted.”

She started playing basketball on a YMCA team when she was 4 years old.

Answering other questions, she said her most memorable moments with the team include her first Final Four her freshman year (in Denver in 2012) and the team’s trip to Italy in 2013.

Tara speaks to fans

As head coach Tara VanDerveer returned from her post-game press conference, Jasmine was asked for a favorite Taraism. She laughed and said that there are “too many to choose from.”

Tara began her comments by noting that Lili’s grandmother was visiting from Michigan and that Kaylee’s grandparents were making their first visit to Stanford.

“This is a great way to close out 2014,” she said. “We’ve played a really tough schedule.”

“It’s fun to see so many of our younger players do so well for us. It was a fun game for us. … We need this kind of game to allow younger players to make mistakes.”

Asked which Pac-12 team poses the biggest challenge, she answered, “It’s all about our team. We need everyone to continue to improve.”

Coaches continue to work on puzzle

As the coaches continue to work with the new offense, they face “a different puzzle to put together. ... It’s still evolving,” but the team has “mature, unselfish players.” The coaches are trying to take “advantage of our team’s strengths.”

She noted that “the guards are doing more,” and the team is “running more screening on the ball.”

The lineups have mostly been using one true post, with Bonnie and Taylor serving as stretch 4’s. That means that with their 3-point shooting ability, they stretch the defenses more to the perimeter. The offense is emphasizing more 3-point shooting and using more players off the bench.

The trip to Tennessee earlier in December resulted in losses to Tennessee and Chattanooga and showed that “we have a long way to go,” Tara said.

Still, “I’d rather learn what we need to work on earlier (rather) than later.”

Coach praises Kaylee, Brittany

She said that Kaylee has been “a pleasant surprise. … Her rebounding is exceptional,” and she has a good basketball IQ. She also said that “I thought Brittany did a very nice job today,” especially since she missed several weeks of practice while recovering from an injury.

She was noncommittal about whether Jasmine and guard Alex Green, the other redshirt junior, would return next year. The other four seniors – Amber, Taylor, Bonnie and forward Erica Payne – will graduate. To date, the team has four freshmen coming in next fall.

She said she watches the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. “We do learn a lot from watching them.” Former Cardinal player Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, ’10, is a sideline commentator for the Oakland team. “She’s awesome,” funny and insightful, Tara said.

The team kicks off its Pac-12 season at home with games against Colorado at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 and Utah at 5 p.m. Jan. 5. Both will be televised on the Pac-12 network.

Players go home on a winning note

With senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and sophomore guard Karlie Samuelson accounting for more than half of its points, the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated UC Davis 71-59 in Maples on Dec. 22.

The victory was most welcome following a road trip on which the team lost 54-46 to Chattanooga on Dec. 17 and 59-40 to Tennessee on Dec. 20. Those losses dropped Stanford from No 7 to No. 16 in AP’s weekly poll.

Allowing for the trip back to Stanford, the team had little time to prepare for UC Davis. Hence, defeating the then 4-6 Aggies wasn’t as easy as one might expect. The Aggies stayed close and even led for much of the first half, which ended 34-30 in the Cardinal’s favor.

UCD edged close several times during the second half, but Stanford kept rallying. Both teams shot 46.2 percent in the first half, while Stanford came out ahead 46.4 percent compared with 35.7 percent in the second half.

Bonnie pours in 30 points

Bonnie, making her first start this season and the sixth of her career, scored a total of 30 points, including 18 on 3’s. She also had five rebounds, one block and two steals in her team-high 35 minutes.

She opened Stanford’s scoring with two 3’s, followed by one from Karlie, who also started. It was the first time that both sisters were in the starting lineup.

Bonnie’s total made her the first non-Ogwumike to score at least 30 points in a game since Jeanette Pohlen, ’11, had 31 in the memorable home win over UConn on Dec. 30, 2010.

Joining the Samuelsons in the starting lineup were senior guard Amber Orrange, sophomore guard Lili Thompson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

Kaylee has a double-double

Besides Bonnie, the only other player to score in double figures was Kaylee, who had 11 points to go with 11 rebounds in 21 minutes of playing time before fouling out late in the second half.

Karlie had 9 points with her three 3’s plus two assists in 30 minutes. Amber was right behind with 8 points, four assists and four steals also in 30 minutes.

Altogether, the team had 10 3’s with six from Bonnie, three from Karlie and one from Lili, leading to a 58.8 percent success rate from beyond the arc on 10 of 17 shooting.

The team was outrebounded 35-30, but had a 13-10 edge in assists and a 6-5 edge in steals. It had 10 turnovers to UCD’s 14. UCD had 19 fouls, while Stanford had 13.

11 Cardinal players get into the game

Head coach Tara VanDerveer used 10 players in the first half and 11 for the game. All 15 players were available. UCD had 11 in uniform.

The official attendance was listed at 3,375 even though it was a work day during a busy holiday week. Students are on their holiday break, meaning no band or any other student contingent.

Senior forward Erica Payne, who has been getting more playing time lately, was the game’s featured player. The video board had a brief interview with her as well as trivia about her likes during some timeouts.

During some other timeouts, individual players wished the fans happy holidays.

The players will have only a brief visit with their families before returning. They’ll be back in action at home against UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. Dec. 28. It will be their last nonconference game before Pac-12 competition starts Jan. 3 against Colorado and Jan. 5 against Utah, both at home.

Back to work and a win after finals

After a two-week hiatus for finals, the Stanford women’s basketball team returned to action at home on Dec. 14 and came away with an 82-43 victory over neighboring Santa Clara University.

With most students – except for the band -- home for the holiday break, several youth groups, along with regular fans, helped make up for their absence, leading to an official attendance of 3,527.

Except for senior forward Taylor Greenfield, who reportedly was held out as a precaution because of a sore foot, everyone got in on the fun, and everyone contributed in some way.

Amber leads with 20 points

The biggest contribution point-wise came from senior guard Amber Orrange with 20 points in 26 minutes, in addition to four rebounds, three assists, one block and three steals.

The only other players in double figures were freshman guard Brittany McPhee with 11 points, four rebounds, a block and two steals in just 15 minutes; and senior forward Bonnie Samuelson with 11 points and two rebounds, also in 15 minutes.

Each of them had one three-pointer to her credit, while Amber had two. The total of four 3’s on 21.1 percent shooting was below the team’s usual production.

Kaylee has her 2nd 22-rebound game

Under the boards, the biggest contribution came from freshman forward Kaylee Johnson, who had 22 rebounds for the second time in her fledgling career. As one fan noted, she just seems to know where the ball will be. Kaylee also had nine points, one assist, two blocks and two steals in a team-high 27 minutes.

Starters for the game were Amber and Kaylee along with sophomore forward Erica “Bird” McCall and sophomore guards Lili Thompson and Karlie Samuelson. Karlie played 25 minutes and had 7 points, four assists, one block and one steal.

The game started slowly with Stanford lagging for the first few minutes even though SCU couldn’t match the Cardinal in height. Its tallest starter was only 6 feet, while starters Kaylee and Bird both are 6’3”.

Stanford inched ahead in the subsequent minutes, ending the first half with a 40-21 advantage. By then head coach Tara VanDerveer had used 10 players.

SCU maintains enthusiasm

Despite being overmatched on the basketball court, SCU was big in enthusiasm, starting with warmups, when the players were quite vocal. Their enthusiasm and support for one another never flagged. Even when it was apparent that Stanford would win big, SCU players on the bench jumped up and cheered for every basket or anything else in their team’s favor.

Besides lagging in 3-point shooting, the Cardinal also was subpar in overall field goals, making just 29 of 72, or 40.3 percent. Free-throw shooting was somewhat better, 20 of 34, or 58.8 percent. On the other hand, Bonnie made all four of her FT’s, while Brittany made four of five.

SCU shot just 30.8 percent on field goals for the game. It made only one of four free throws for 25 percent. Stanford had more opportunities at the charity stripe because SCU had 27 fouls while the Cardinal had 13.

Thanks in large part to Kaylee, the Cardinal dominated the boards with 57 rebounds compared with SCU’s 33.

Toni helps girls through BAWSI

Among youth groups at the game was a large delegation of girls from the Sunnyvale branch of Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative. According to its website, “BAWSI is a free, weekly after-school program in which elementary school girls develop self-esteem and good health practices from role models they can admire and emulate – female athletes drawn from college, university and high school teams from all over the Bay Area.”

Women from several Stanford teams are involved. Among them is WBB alum Toni Kokenis, ’14, who was one of the leaders with the Sunnyvale group. Toni is a Stanford grad student.

The game’s featured player was freshman guard Taylor Rooks. During the game, the video board flashed “did you know” trivia about Taylor, such as pizza is her favorite food.

Something new in Maples is the updated banner reflecting the women’s volleyball team’s 2014 Pac-12 championship. The team has advanced to the Final Four in Oklahoma City, with its first game on Dec. 18.

Although the WBB win was a nice way to start the holiday break, the players didn’t have much time to celebrate. They were scheduled to board the bus for the airport at about 5:45 a.m. the next day in order to fly to Tennessee. There they’ll face presumably stiffer competition from Chattanooga at 3 p.m. PST Dec. 17 and Tennessee at 10 a.m. Dec. PST 20.

Then it’s back to campus for one more game, UC Davis on Dec. 22, before finally getting a holiday break. It’ll be a quick one, though, because the next game is Dec. 28 at home against UC Santa Barbara before Pac-12 competition starts in the new year.