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College basketball debuts at the Golden 1 Center: UC Davis downs Sac State 81-72

Published on November 22, 2016November 22, 2016 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–History was made tonight at the Golden 1 Center when the Sacramento State Hornets and the UC Davis Aggies Men’s basketball teams met for their annual “Causeway Classic” game. It was the first NCAA game to be played in the new entertainment and sports complex in the Capital City.

Both programs were winners because of the attention the game drew from the community at large. On the court, UC Davis (4-1) downed Sacramento State (1-3) 81-72.

UC Davis used high-percentage shots in the paint along with an outstanding 3-point shooting barrage to defeat very physical Sacramento State team.

50-percent was the Aggies number

UC Davis shot 50-percent from the floor (29-for-58). The Aggies also shot 50-percent from beyond the 3-point line (8-for-16). They hit five of those 3-pointers in the second half which helped propel them to the win. Brynton Lemar was the Aggies leading 3-point shooter going 3-for-5 from long range.

The Aggies had five players in double-figures

Guard Brynton Lemar was UC Davis’ leading scorer with 23 points. He was also the assists leader with five. This was the second time this season he has been the Aggies top scorer.
Forward Moneke Chima posted a double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds
Mikey Henn put up 13 points coming off the bench
J.T. Adenrele and Darius Graham each scored 10 points against the Hornets

Sacramento State shot strong in the first half but dropped off in the second half

The Hornets shot 45.5-percent (15-for-33) in the opening half. That allowed them to go in at halftime trailing by just two points. In the second half, that shooting touch went away. Sac State shot just 29.4-percent (10-for-34) in the closing half.

The Hornets 3-point shooting finished at just 25-percent (7-for-28). Head coach Brian Katz pointed at taking too many 3-point shots as one of his team’s weaknesses in the game.

The Hornets had four players score in double-figures

Grant Dressler was Sac State’s leading scorer with 15 points. He went 3-for-4 from long range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line
Forward Nick Hornsby put up 14 points shooting 50-percent from the field (6-for-12)
Forward Justin Strings recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds
Guard Marcus Graves added 12 points to the Hornets total production

What they said after the game

“We challenged the guys at halftime and these guys responded. They made the changes that were needed, ramped up their physicality and intensity. That turned the tide in tonight’s game, in my opinion,” said UC Davis head coach Jim Les whose team held a two-point lead at halftime.

“I thought we were able to wear down a well-coached Sacramento State team, and take advantage of that fatigue throughout the last 10 minutes of the game,” added Les.

“It is crazy now that the game is over and I am able to look back at that shot. That was never my plan, I was open in the corner and took the shot. I can always tell my kids that I played in the first college game and made the first basket too. They can believe me, or not, but it’s true,” said Darius Graham talking about his three-point basket that was the first collegiate points scored in the Golden 1 Center.

“Their offense is built around penetration and kick. I thought they did a great job looking for him,” Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz talking about the Aggies finding Brynton Lemar on offense.

“I think we shot too many 3’s,” said Katz. “I give their defense credit for that. I don’t like to lose and then make excuses and say we didn’t play well. I think it had a lot to do on how they guarded us. They did a great job with that.”

What’s next for the Aggies and the Hornets

The Aggies head north for the GCI Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage that begins on Thursday night. Their first opponent will be Weber State. The other teams in the tourney are Drake and Iona.

The Hornets will travel to Cheney, Washington to play in the Eastern Washington Tourney along with San Francisco and Denver on November 26 and 27.

Mark December 21, 2017 on your calendars now

The Kings and the Golden 1 Center announced on Monday night that Stanford and Kansas have been scheduled to play a NCAA Division I basketball game in Sacramento on December 21, 2017. They did not make an announcement about it being a doubleheader, but somehow I have the feeling that Sacramento State and UC Davis might be playing in the same building on that night as well.

Stanford blown out by Huskies on the road

Published on September 30, 2016October 1, 2016 by Eric HeLeave a comment

The Cardinal were blown out by the Huskies on Friday (Jennifer Buchanan / USA Today Sports)

By: Eric He

A week ago, No. 7 Stanford squeaked by unranked UCLA at the Rose Bowl. On Friday, the Cardinal had no such fortune, as they were blown out 44-6 by the No. 10 Washington Huskies up in Seattle.

Stanford’s offense struggled mightily, as quarterback Ryan Burns was sacked eight times and star running back Christian McCaffrey rushed for just 49 yards and no touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Huskies quarterback Jake Browning had three touchdowns on 15-of-21 passing as Washington scored the first 30 points of the game.

A 3-yard touchdown pass from Browning to Dante Pettis started the barrage for the Huskies in the first quarter; a four yard run for a score by Miles Gaskin later in the quarter put Washington ahead 16-0. In the second quarter, Browning found John Ross for a 19-yard score and Washington took a 23-0 advantage into halftime.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal had nothing going offensively. Their only points came on a 19-yard lob throw from Burns to JJ Arcega-Whiteside in the third quarter. Stanford also committed 11 penalties.

The 38-point defeat was the biggest loss by a top 10-ranked Stanford team in history, and it was Washington’s biggest win over a top-10 team since 1990.

The Cardinal host Washington State next week at Stanford Stadium.

Stanford Trips Up Ranked Runnin’ Utes in OT

Published on January 1, 2016January 15, 2016 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: AP photo Utah Kyle Kuzma tried to stop a Stanford forward Rosco Allen shot on Friday night

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford has a habit of making New Year’s Day memorable whenever they take the court. Prior to Friday night’s contest, in its lone January 1^st appearance in 1938 Hank Luisetti set single-game school records in points (50) and field goals (23). Nobody scored 50 points at Maples Pavilion Friday, but the game was a standout showing in its own right.

The Stanford Cardinal came from behind to upset no. 21/22 Utah 70-68 in overtime, opening the New Year and Pac-12 play with a 1-0 record.

“Our guys have a big heart,” said Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. “It’s not always pretty but they seem to find a way to give us a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for from a group.”

Rosco Allen and Marcus Sheffield scored 17 points for Stanford (8-4, 1-0) to give the Cardinal its 5^th win in game 6 of a season-long 7 game homestand.

The freshman Sheffield stepped up big for the Cardinal in his first exposure to conference play. He was the only bench player to hit a field goal, going 7-for-13 from the floor.

“Growing up as a kid, I always dreamed of this,” said Sheffield. “Now that it’s coming to fruition it feels good.”

While Sheffield’s dreams are unfolding in front of him, for his coach and teammates visions of the forward’s potential are shining through.

“I think that will do wonders for his confidence,” said Dawkins. “To have that type of game on that type of stage. We believe in Marcus, it’s why we had him in there. I think he’s starting to realize some of the things he’s capable of doing. I still don’t think he’s fully realized how good he can be. He’s starting to figure it out.”

“He’s a super smooth player,” said Rosco Allen of Sheffield. “He’s really talented offensively. He has all the skills, all the moves in the books. He has the ability to take on guys one-on-one.”

While Sheffield wowed in regulation, Allen had an average regulation contest. The Hungarian-born baller battled foul trouble to produce just 10 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The senior turned it on in overtime however, scoring 5 of the Cardinal’s 7 points in the extra session.

“Rosco’s grown into that role,” said Dawkins. “He’s someone that everybody is confident in down the stretch.”

“I knew I had to come up clutch” said Allen. “We’ve done it before as a team, we did it against Arkansas so we had some experience with that.”

Stanford held Utah (11-3, 0-1) to 5 points in OT. But the Cardinal nearly didn’t make it to overtime.

Utah’s Brandon Taylor stepped up to the free throw line with 2 seconds left and the game tied 63-63. Taylor missed both shots from the charity stripe though and Stanford’s Dorian Pickens missed a heave at the buzzer to keep both teams knotted at 68-68 after 40 minutes.

Both Dawkins and Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak had to entrust major minutes to their reserves, with both teams finding their top players in danger of fouling out. Both team’s starting centers, Stanford’s Michael Humphrey and Utah’s Jakob Poeltl fouled out in the first 40 minutes. Poeltl was Utah’s leading scorer with 16 points but made himself unavailable for overtime after fouling out.

7 players in total, 3 from Stanford and 4 from Utah had 3 or more personal fouls in regulation. Both teams struggled from the free throw line, with Stanford going 14-for-25 and Utah hitting 11 of their 24 from the stripe.

“Maybe a little hangover from the Holidays,” said Dawkins with a chuckle.

The two teams engaged in a defensive dogfight in the first half, with Stanford hitting only 7 of 29 field goals. Utah was more successful from the field, hitting 12 of 23 would-be buckets but the Cardinal forced 10 Runnin’ Utes turnovers.

“Both teams defensively played exceptionally well,” said Dawkins. “They average 82 points a game. I thought our guys did a great job with their effort and energy to slow them down a bit.”

Despite forcing the visitors to mismanage the rock, Stanford still found itself down 30-21 at the half. The two teams were tied 10-10 halfway through the period, but Utah went on a 9-0 run to break the stalemate 19-10 with just under 7 minutes left in the half. The two teams would trade baskets down the stretch, each scoring 11 points to draw the half to an end.

“It was a match-up zone,” said Allen on the Utes defense. “We haven’t seen a lot of that this year. Give credit to them, we haven’t really seen it and we were stumped by it in the first half.”

The second half started much the way the first half ended, with the two teams trading baskets to maintain a double-digit Utes lead at 44-34 with 13:22 left in the game. The Cardinal roared back, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to tie the game at 45-all.

“Our defense was much more active in the second,” said Allen. “We got a lot more deflections. That gave us easier shots on the offensive end.”

Utah would regain the lead, but only get as far ahead as 5 points. With Stanford trailing by 4 in the final 34 seconds, Rosco Allen slammed home a dunk. After Jordon Loveridge missed a pair of free throws, Allen hit a floater over a pair of Utah defenders to tie the game up with 13 seconds. Marcus Allen was called for a foul on Utah’s next possession, and with both teams in the bonus, Brandon Taylor went to the line for his fateful free throw attempts.

With a close win in hand to open Pac-12 play, the Cardinal now turns its focus to a Sunday afternoon match-up with Colorado, another conference showdown.

Our conference is one of the toughest in the country,” said Dawkins. “We expect a battle every single night.”

For now though, Stanford knows it can hang with some of the tougher teams in the Nation.

“When you win a game like that I think it shows the possibilities,” said Dawkins. “As a coach we can always say ‘We believe in ourselves. We can win games like that.’ Until you do, kids will look at you like ‘I hear you coach’. But when you win one you have a reference point.”

Randle Scores Career Point 2,000 but Arizona Denies Cardinal Upset Bid

Published on January 22, 2015 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

The Stanford Cardinal suffered its first home loss of the season, falling to 7^th-ranked University of Arizona 89-82 Thursday night. Stanford led 41-39 at the half, but the Wildcats (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) overpowered the hosts to move back into a tie with Utah at the top spot of the Pac-12 standings.

Stanford guard Chasson Randle scored a game-high 26 points, becoming the third player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points. He now sits behind only Todd Lichti (2,336) and Adam Keefe (2,319) on the Cardinal scoring list.

Randle went 7-of-18 from the field and nailed all 10 free throws he attempted. Anthony Brown added 18 points for Stanford (13-5, 4-2).

Arizona’s Player of the Year candidate Stanley Johnson scored 19 points while junior forward Brandon Ashely picked up 17.

Thursday’s contest featured a combined 51 fouls, including 28 on Stanford. The Cardinal hit 24 of 31 attempts from the charity stripe while Arizona converted on 24 of 36 free throws.

Stanford looks to start a new home winning streak after taking its first 9 at Maples Pavilion when Arizona State heads to the Farm. The Sun Devils are currently two wins behind the Cardinal in conference play, having won a pair of their six Pac-12 games.

Brown Leads Charge in Cardinal Comeback Over Denver

Published on December 13, 2014 by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – Despite trailing the opponent for most of the game, the Stanford Cardinal topped the visiting Denver Pioneers 49-43 at Maples Pavilion. Starting the game on the bench after showing up late to a morning practice courtesy of a wrongly set alarm clock, guard Anthony Brown had a game-high 17 points for the Cardinal while tying for the team-lead in rebounds with 6.

“Anthony’s been a terrific player for me throughout his career,” said Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins. “Let me go on record as saying, he’s a fifth-year senior, and that’s the first time he’s been late for anything. It was very difficult for me as a coach, because we have policies in place but he’s never been late to anything before.”

“I think he was trying to make up for that,” added Dawkins when asked if Brown’s play was a result of trying to rectify his late arrival. “But he’s also a winner. He realized we needed it. Anthony’s always had the ability to step up in those moments when things may not be going as well for us.”

On a poor shooting night for both sides, the Cardinal hit just 14 of 44 field goal attempts, but limited the Pioneers (4-5) to 17 of 43 for the victory in Stanford’s first game since November 30^th.

“The timing was off, the rhythm,” said Brown. “That’s something you can’t really simulate in practice. That’s more of a game situation.

The Cardinal (5-2) has now won the first game back from the winter break for finals in eight consecutive seasons.

“We were a little rusty,” said Brown. “We haven’t played in two weeks. We have the longest break in the country. That contributed. Denver’s also a good team. They have shooters. Any time you have shooters you have a chance to win.”

The Pioneers’ Princeton offense and perimeter shooting dominated the game early, with the Summit League side connecting on three of their first four shots (all three-pointers) to take a 13-2 5:44 into play. The Cardinal struggled to find its shooting touch going just 1 for 6 over the same span.

Stanford’s defense turned the tables on its Rocky Mountain rivals, limiting the Pioneers to just one field goal over the next nine-plus minutes. Stymying the visitors, the Cardinal cobbled together a 13-2 run, capped by an Anthony Brown three-pointer to tie the game 15-all with 6:25 left in the half.

Brown’s trey marked the last Cardinal field goal before the break. Rosco Allen hit a pair of free throws, the only two trips to line for either side in the entire first half, but Denver outscored the hosts 10-2 for a 25-17 lead at the mid-way point.

“Possessions are of a premium,” said Dawkins. “Being down by 11 to them is like being down by 20 versus most teams because they’re not going to come down and quick-shoot it and have a lot of possessions in the game. You really have to focus in.”

Stanford star guard and potential Pac-12 Player of the Year Chasson Randle went bucket-less over the first half, going 0 for 5 from the floor. One game after scoring a combined 69 points, Stanford’s starting five collected only seven with Stanford hitting 6 of 17 first half shots. Brown topped the Cardinal with six points off the bench in the first.

“I give them credit,” Dawkins said of the Pioneer defense. “They did some things well defensively that caused us to shoot a low field goal percentage than we would have liked. Some of it was also rust. When you don’t play for two straight weeks, there’s no way you can simulate that in practice.”

The Cardinal slowly chipped away at nine-point deficit, outscoring Denver 15-9 to pull within one point with just under nine minutes to play. Stanford took its first lead of the day after guard Robert Cartwright drained a three with 8:05 left to play. Brown then stole the ball on Denver’s next offensive possession, going end-to-end to convert the lay-up through a Nate Engesser foul for a 36-33 edge.

The scoreboard again tilted in the Pioneers favor after Jalen Love and Marcus Byrd hit back-to-back three’s before Stefan Nastic’s basket put Stanford within two at 39-37.

When the Cardinal needed him most, Randle delivered. The senior hit a floater through a Bryant Rucker foul, then converted on the three-point play to put Stanford up 40-39 with three and a half minutes to go.

“Chasson didn’t have his best stuff offensively tonight,” said Dawkins. “But he still ran our team. As a point guard you’re judge on winning, and we still won.”

Randle then hit another two free throws for a three-point lead with 150 ticks of the clock left.

“Coming down the stretch, he closed the game out hitting all the free throws we needed him to make. A lot of times, a player will get into that situation where things aren’t going well for him from the field and that snowballs into his entire game. I don’t think he allowed that. He showed a lot of maturity out there.”

In total, Stanford went to the charity stripe 12 times in the second half, making 7 from the line.

Stanford continued its scoring run with Nastic hitting a jumper for the Cardinal’s eight-straight point before Denver’s Brett Olson hit a jump-shot to pull the pioneers within four at 45-41 with just over a minute and a half to play. Denver hit just one more basket while sending the Cardinal to the line four times. The Cardinal converted on all four shots for the final 49-43 margin of victory.

The Cardinal won’t have to wait long for its next contest. Stanford looks to continue to emerge from its two week sabbatical by turning in a strong performance at home Wednesday night when Southern California foe Loyola Marymount University comes to the Silicon Valley for another non-conference affair.

Cardinal Season Comes to an End, Losses to Connecticut in National Semi-Finals

Published on April 6, 2014April 6, 2014 by joelamiLeave a comment

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal played their final game of the 2013-2014 season on Sunday night after they were defeated by Connecticut 75-56 in Nashville. The Cardinal were seeking their third National Championship in school history and their first one since 1992, however they fell short in their sixth trip to the final four in the past seven years. Sunday also marks the third time in four years that the Cardinal have fallen in the National Semi-Final.

The Cardinal controlled much of the first half. The Huskies got on the board first with buckets from Bria Hartley and Moriah Jefferson to go up 4-0. Chiney Ogwumike got on the board first for the Cardinal with a jumper of her own. Connecticut would get the lead back up to four, until Stanford went on a 7-0 run to give them their first lead of the evening with 16:09 remaining in the half. The Cardinal held the lead for 12 minutes until Stephanie Dolson tied it up at 22 with four minutes remaining. The 12 minutes marked the longest stretch of time this season that Connecticut had trailed. Stanford pushed their largest lead to six, marking the second highest lead a team had on Connecticut all season. The Huskies continued their run, extending it to 14-0 before Stanford was able to answer with a bucket of their own. UConn went into the half with a 28-24 lead.

Stanford fell apart in the second half, as Connecticut started the second half with a 5:46 16-3 run. The three points came from a rare three-pointer from Ogwumike. The run would be give enough of a lead for UConn to ride out the win. The Cardinal wouldn’t be able to fight their way back.

Amber Orrange led the way for the Cardinal with 16 points, she also added five assists in the losing effort. Ogwumike wrapped up her Stanford career with her 25^th double double of the season, as the expected 1^st overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft finished the game with 15 points and ten rebounds. Lili Thompson wrapped up the double figure Cardinal scorers with 12 points, eight of which came in the first half.

The Huskies saw all five of their starters get into double figures. Player of the Year nominee, Brianna Stewart led the way with 18 points. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis contributed 15 points, all of which came in the second half. Hartley shot four of 12 from the field to finish with 14 points. Both Jefferson and Dolson finished the game with ten points each to cap off the double digits scorers. Kiah Stokes also came off of the bench to add nine points in 22 minutes played, as the Huskies used only six players in 39-minutes of the game. In the last minute, substitutes Saniya Chong, Tierney Lawlor, Briana Pulido and Brianna Banks replaced the starting five.

Connecticut remains undefeated at 39-0 and advance to their school’s ninth National Championship. Next up for the Huskies is another undefeated team in Notre Dame (37-0), who beat Maryland 81-67 in the other National Semi-Final game. Tuesday will mark the first time ever, where two undefeated teams will battle it out for the National Title. Connecticut also joins their men’s team in the National Championship, as the men’s team will be going up against Kentucky for the men’s title. Both Connecticut team’s won the title in 2004, and have a chance to do it again just ten years later. They remain the only school to accomplish the feat.

Stanford finishes their season with a record of 30-4 and some uncertainty in next season, as it will be the first one since 2008 where an Ogwumike will not be on the team.

Cardinal Keep Dancing, Advance to Regional Final with Win Over Penn State

Published on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by joelamiLeave a comment

By: Joe Lami

STANFORD, Calif.–The Stanford Cardinal returned to Maples Pavilion, a regional host site for this year’s NCAA Tournament, on Sunday where they took on the Penn State Lady Lions in the regional semi-final. The Cardinal defeated the Lady Lions by the final score of 82-57.

The first half was neck and neck until about half way through. The Lady Lions went on a 7-0 run to get ahead of the Cardinal 23-19. The Cardinal were able to comeback with a 14-0 run of their own spanning a 5:12. The run would end when Ariel Edwards would hit a pair of free throws. Stanford would get five more points until the Lady Lions would be able to hit a field goal, as Edwards would nail a jumper with 2:47 remaining in the first half. Penn State was unable to hit a field goal for 6:48 which gave Stanford a big advantage, as their lead would be 38-27. The scoring drought would begin again until Edwards would be able to get a bucket and a foul with 13 seconds remaining in the half. Stanford went into the halftime break with a 44-30 lead.

After much control of the first half, the second half went fairly easy for the Cardinal, as then only surrendered 27 points to cruise to victory. The final minutes for the Cardinal allowed players that wouldn’t normally see minutes in the NCAA Tournament, as Briana Roberson, Jasmine Camp, Erica Payne and Erica McCall were able to jump in the game.

“Today was an ideal day for Stanford basketball” praised Chiney Ogwumike after the game.

Ogwumike led the way for the Cardinal once again, as she finished with 29 points. She also added 15 rebounds to get her 25^th double double of the season, and ups her career total to 83. Amber Orrange was second in scoring for Stanford with 18 points. Lili Thompson and Mikaela Ruef both finished the game with 11 points. Ruef also added 13 rebounds to achieve the double double.

Edwards led the way for the Lady Lions, as she finished with 22 points. Dara Taylor and Talia East were the other Penn St. players to get into double figures, contributing 11 and ten respectively.

The major factor in the Stanford win was allowing Maggie Lucas to only score six points. Lucas, the Big Ten player of the year, was averaging 21.5 points per game coming into the contest. This was only the second time this season where Lucas was held under ten points. The last time occurred when the Lady Lions lost to Notre Dame at home on December 4. Thompson was assigned to defend against Lucas, and she was a major factor. “She was forced to take tough shots all night” claimed Penn State Head Coach, Coquese Washington. Thompson later added that the key to shutting Lucas down was to limit her touches.

The Cardinal will continue their run on Tuesday with hopes of advancing to the Final Four, as they will take on North Carolina, who defeated South Carolina 65-58 in the other regional semi-final.

Sweet Sixteen Bound Cardinal Punches Ticket to Regionals With Win Over Florida State

Published on March 24, 2014 by joelamiLeave a comment

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal will be returning to Maples Pavilion next weekend as they will be continue on to the Sweet Sixteen, after a victory over the Florida State Seminoles on Monday afternoon. The second-seeded Cardinal defeated the tenth-seeded Seminoles 63-44 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

The Seminoles grabbed an early seven-point lead, as they went on a 7-0 run to start the game in the first 1:52. It wasn’t until the 18:08 mark where Amber Orrange was able to get things started for Stanford with a field goal. The largest lead for Florida State was stretched to eight points at the 12:31 mark, when the Seminoles had the 14-6 lead. However, this is when the Cardinal were able to turn the game around, as Stanford went on a 26-2 run, including a 13-minute scoring drought for Florida State to end the half. Stanford went into halftime with a 32-16 lead.

Stanford would also control the second half as well, outscoring the Seminoles by three points to complete the victory.

All-time Pac-12 leading scorer, Chiney Ogwumike, led things for the Cardinal as she finished the game 8 of 11 from the field for 21 points. She ended the game just one rebound shy of the double double. Lili Thompson had another outstanding performance, as she contributed 14 points in the win, including a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity strike. Bonnie Samuelson completed the list of players that got into double figures, as she came off the bench to score 11, with nine points coming from beyond the arc.

Florida State was able to achieve something that few teams have been able to do against Stanford this season, and that is to out-rebound the Cardinal. The Seminoles won the rebound battle 35-32 with 12 of them coming on the offensive side of the glass. Natasha Howard, Brittany Brown and Kai James all finished the game with seven rebounds for FSU. Howard was also the Noles leading scorer, as she finished the game with nine points.

The Cardinal will be returning to the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in a row, and now they will be coming back to their home floor for possibly the next two games. Up next for the Cardinal will be the winner of Penn State and Florida, before what is expected to be an Elite Eight matchup with the number one seed in the region, South Carolina.

One Down, Five to Go, Stanford Defeats South Dakota in the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament

Published on March 22, 2014 by joelamiLeave a comment

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal started what they are hoping to be a long NCAA Tournament run on Saturday afternoon with a win. They defeated the South Dakota Coyotes by the final score of 81-62. The Cardinal were given a number two seed after they were defeated by USC in the semi-finals of the Pac-12 tournament. Their opponent, South Dakota, earned the 15-seed after they won the Summit Conference Tournament. The Coyotes also had a record of 19-14 coming into the contest.

South Dakota held the game close for the first seven minutes of the game, and actually held a two point lead at the 17:56 mark, but at the 13-minute the Cardinal gained the lead and they kept it for the rest of the game. The Cardinal led the game 42-27 going into the halftime break. They then outscored the Coyotes 39-35 in the second half to earn the 81-62 victory.

It was a huge day for Senior star Chiney Ogwumike, as she became the all-time Pac-12 leading scorer in the contest. She only need one-point to gain the feat, as she finished the last contest tied with Candice Wiggins. Ogwumike finished the game with 22 points, and eight rebounds in the 35 minutes played. She led all scorers in the effort.

Bonnie Samuelson came off of the bench to tie her career high, as the Junior Guard sunk six of ten shots from beyond the arc to net 18 points. Lili Thompson scored 11 points and brought down six rebounds in her first NCAA Tournament contest. She also went 50% from three-point land, as she went three of six from beyond the arc. Amber Orrange was the other Stanford player to get into double digits in scoring, as she finished the game with ten points.

South Dakota had a bright spot in the loss, as Nicole Seekamp finished the game with 22 points, shooting 9 of 13 from the field. She also finished the game with five rebounds.

Stanford only has one more team in front of them before they can return to their home court, Maples Pavilion, as part of Regionals. The tenth seed Florida State Seminoles will be the Cardinal’s next opponent, as they defeated Iowa State on their home floor earlier Saturday 55-44. The Round of 32 contest is set for Monday at 3:30 PST.

Trojans Upset Cardinal on Ogwumike’s Record Setting Night

Published on March 8, 2014March 11, 2014 by joelami1 Comment

By Joe Lami

For the first time ever the Stanford Cardinal will not be going to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, as the USC Trojans defeated the Cardinal 72-68 in the semi-finals on Saturday night. Stanford the number one seed and the favorite to win the Pac-12 Championship, is now unsure of how their NCAA Tournament is going to look. If the Cardinal came out of the Pac-12 Tournament unscathed, they would have received an almost sure bid to a number one seed in their host west region.

The first half ended with the score tied at 32. Stanford dominated the paint in the first half, with 18 points. However, the Trojans led the first with points off of turnovers, bench points and 2^nd chance points.

Coming out of the half, the Trojans jumped on the Cardinal early, going on a 14-4 run in the first 5:30. Stanford would be able to crawl back slowly, and would eventually take the lead back with 6:46 remaining. The Cardinal would push the lead to three, at 60-57 with 5:06 to go and be able to hold it for a couple of minutes. However, the Trojans would once again march back, much in part to Cassie Harberts’ ten straight points. This would get the USC lead to as high as seven before the Cardinal would find another bucket with 61 seconds to go.

The Cardinal pressed in the final minute to get the deficit as low as two, but the Trojans would be good enough at the foul line to be able to ice the game away and advance to the Pac-12 Championship game, where they will face the Oregon State Beavers.

Chiney Ogwumike led the way for the Cardinal with 30 points and 21 rebounds. The 30 points ties her with Stanford Alum, Candice Wiggins as the all-time Pac-12 scorer with 2,629. Unfortunately for Ogwumike, she scored career point 2,629 with over seven minutes remaining in the game, and couldn’t find another to break the record in game where every point mattered.

Stanford had an awful day from the field, finishing the game at just 32%. Lili Thompson finished with 13 points, going 4 of 11 shooting. Amber Orrange was the only other double digit scorer for the Cardinal, as she finished the night with 11 points and 3 of 11 shooting. Mikaela Ruef was held scoreless for the first time in recent memory, as the fifth year senior went 0 for 8 from the field, but she did bring down five rebounds. Taylor Greenfield was the only Stanford player to come off of the bench and contribute points, as she finished the game with five.

The Trojans didn’t shoot that much better, as they finished the game shooting just 39%. USC also saw three different players get into double digits. Alexyz Vaioletama led the way with 19 points. She also contributed 15 rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive side of the glass. Guard, Ariya Cook, finished the game with 15 points. Game MVP, Cassie Harberts only had 13 points, but ten of them came at the most opportune time, as she scored ten straight with under three minutes to go to give the Trojan’s a lead good enough to win the game.

The win for the Trojans gets them that much closer into the NCAA tournament, as ESPN’s Charlie Creme has the ladies of USC on his first four teams out of the tournament. However, with this win it might just be enough to break the bubble and earn a bid. That is if they don’t receive the automatic bid on Sunday afternoon by winning the Pac-12 Tournament. Oregon State, their opponent on Sunday is looked at as already in the NCAA Tournament according to Creme.

Number four-ranked Stanford has their record drop to 29-3, and now they are a little unsure on how they will be entering the NCAA Tournament. Some questions arise, is Stanford still a number one seed? Does Stanford still deserve to be in the west region, their host region? Only time will tell what the selection committee decides, but for now we sit back and prepare for another great day of Championship basketball on Sunday.