Tag: Stanford

Nastic’s Career Day, 79-62 Win Over Cal Poly Wrap Up Cardinal Non-Conference Play

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By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – Away from the lights of the Barclays Center, removed from name-brand universities Michigan, Pittsburgh or Connecticut on the opposite side of the marquee, the Stanford Cardinal quietly tuned up for conference play with a 79-62 win over Cal Poly (4-8) at Maples Pavilion Sunday afternoon. Stefan Nastic set a career-high with 20 points for Stanford (9-3) on the eve of Pac-12 play and a showdown with rival Cal.

“I was really happy with the win,” said Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins. “I thought it was against a quality team, a team that’s going to do well in league play. We’ll benefit from having that type of challenge as we go forward.”

Cal Poly forward Chris Eversley netted a game-high 25 points in defeat, while Nastic ended the night a flawless seven for seven from the field and six of six from the free throw line in 26 minutes of play to top his previous personal high of 14 points.

“We wanted to get the ball inside,” said Dawkins. “Stefan’s really done a good job of getting inside and anchoring our post position. We want to go inside to him when we can. He did a good job of really producing for us.”

Senior center John Gage, coming off the bench to rest Nastic, dropped a tidy eight points on Cal Poly on a pair of threes and a field goal in ten minutes of play. He was also perfect from the field.

“John is a really good counter to Stefan,” said Dawkins. “He’s a total opposite to Stefan at that position. One guy is really more a face-up guy who can shoot jumpers, the other guy is a dominant low post scorer, so I really do think they play off each other nicely.”

“It’s always good to have a player like John,” added Dawkins. “He’s a terrific teammate. He’s a senior. He’s battled a lot of injuries early in the season. He pretty much wore a cast the first seven, eight games this season. He took that off during the break we had before finals and he’s really found his stroke again. He’s starting to blossom. He’s playing with confidence.”

Nastic, Gage and Dwight Powell (all listed at over six foot ten inches tall in the media guide) used their height advantage to pick apart the Mustangs, whose tallest player Zach Gordon is a six-foot-eight forward. Powell came a pair of rebounds shy of a double-double and, with three blocks in the game, passed Brook Lopez for seventh all-time in school history with 103 rejections.

The Cardinal frontcourt trio man-handled their undersized opponents in the post, drawing the focus off guard Chasson Randle. Randle struggled in the first half, with only one field goal in four tries and six points before igniting in the second half to tie Nastic for the team-lead with 20 points.

Stanford never trailed in the contest, leading by as much as 16 points in the first half before Cal Poly guard Kyle Odister nailed a trey with less than ten seconds till the hallway point for a 33-20 Cardinal lead. Stanford held the visitors to nine baskets on 35 attempts, including limiting Eversley to only seven points.

The Cardinal continued to put the game out of reach after the intermission, picking up its largest lead of the night with a 24 point edge on an Anthony Brown free throw with 5:45 left to play. Cal Poly would chip away at the margin, forcing Dawkins to put some of his starters back on the court late to ensure the win.

“You have to play for forty minutes,” said Dawkins. “We subbed out late. We subbed out with six minutes to go. Those kids kept fighting and playing. We ended up subbing our guys back in, some of our starters. That says a lot about their group.”

With non-conference play wrapped up and the Cardinal looking at a 9-3 record including an upset over no. 10 Connecticut on the road, Dawkins and co. have an idea what to expect from their squad when they take on Cal January 2nd for Pac-12 play at Maples Pavilion.

“I think the teams we played have really helped us prepare for conference play,” said Dawkins. “Our conference, from top to bottom, is one of the best conferences in the nation. I think it’s been proven by how preseason has gone for all of our teams. I think the way we scheduled is reflective of what we thought our conference schedule would be like.”

Stanford Pummels Bulldogs On The Road

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By Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal returned to action after their holiday break on Saturday with a successful trip to Fresno.  The number four-ranked Cardinal were victorious by the score of 86-54.

Fresno State came into the matchup with a record of 6-4, with three wins in the last four.  Saturday marks the second straight loss for the Bulldogs, as they were defeated last weekend by the Dons of San Francisco 76-47.

Fresno State kept it close in the first half and actually held the lead at two different points in the game.  The Bulldogs kept within two baskets with the score being 22-18 until around the nine-minute mark, and that’s when the Cardinal were able to take over.  Stanford started a two-minute 11-0 run with eight to go.  Fresno State would eventually stop it with 5:42 to go in the first half, but not before the Stanford lead would be stretched to 33-20.  Baskets were then being traded back and forth before the half would end with the Cardinal leading 43-31.

The second half would see the Cardinal scoring 43 points as well.  This time, however, they were able to hold the Bulldogs to only 23 points.  Stanford had an incredible start to the second half, as they were able to outscore the Bulldogs 16-2 to give them the big 69-33 lead.  The Cardinal would not look back as they would coast for the win.

Chiney Ogwumike had yet another outstanding performance as she led the Cardinal in scoring, with 20 points.  The All-American Senior added ten rebounds to record the double-double.  Taylor Greenfield was right behind Ogwumike, scoring 18, a season high and tying her career high.  Amber Orrange had 15 for the Cardinal and added six assists.  Mikaela Ruef had an outstanding game, as she contributed in everyway, recording eight assists, seven rebounds, five points and adding a block and a steal.

Alex Sheedy, who recorded the double-double, with 15 points and 11 rebounds, led the Bulldogs.  Guard, Taylor Thompson also saw double digits in scoring with 14 of her own.

Fresno State ends their non-conference play with loss, as their record drops to 6-5.  The Bulldogs are scheduled to start up Mountain West action on New Year’s Day, where they will travel to Las Vegas to take on the 3-9 Rebels.

With the win the Stanford Cardinal up their record to 11-1, as they end non-conference play.  They will return to action after the New Year to start conference play, as they will host the Oregon Ducks on January 3.

Michigan State star LB suspended for Rose Bowl

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By Jeremy Harness

 

If Michigan State has any hopes of going toe-to-toe with Stanford in the trenches when the Cardinal have the ball, those hopes took a major hit late Wednesday night.

 

That’s because the Spartans’ starting middle linebacker and team captain, Max Bullough, was found to have violated team rules and has been suspended for the Rose Bowl, according to a school press release.

 

“It is extremely disappointing for all parties involved,” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio said through a statement that was released Wednesday night. “We will stay focused and close ranks as we prepare for Stanford on January 1 in the Rose Bowl.

 

“Max will forever remain a Spartan and valued member in this team’s achievements.”

 

The loss is especially big for Michigan State, since while he is the team’s leading tackler and has started at middle linebacker for the past three seasons, Bullough, a senior, is considered the unquestioned leader of the team, known for his passionate team speeches before games.

 

He is also responsible for making sure the rest of the defense, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the country heading into this Rose Bowl, is in proper alignment before every snap.

 

Bullough’s backup is listed as fellow senior Kyler Elsworth. However, Elsworth has not played very many snaps on defense this year, and he obviously has big shoes to fill as the Spartans prepare to face a vaunted Stanford attack that relies heavily on the running game and controlling the line of scrimmage, something that Bullough figured to have a big hand in Wednesday afternoon.

Michael Duca and Morris Phillips on Cal basketball

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by Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

BERKELEY–The thing about Cal facing Creighton and losing last weekend in that non conference game is that loss won’t help them as we approach the NCAA Tournament on whose going to go and who isn’t. Cal head coach Mike Montgomery knows there’s not that many opportunities in the non-conference to make them last.

When the Golden Bears went to Maui and lost to Syracuse 91-82 November 26th Syracuse is ranked number two in the nation right now but they weren’t ranked number two when Cal played them after raking up a few more wins. The Bears didn’t beat Syracuse and they didn’t beat Creighton that will hurt them come selection time.

As far as the Bears next opponent Furman is concerned whom they play at Haas on Saturday they won’t give Cal much of a battle that will be the final non conference game for the Bears and they will see Stanford on January 2nd at Maples Pavilion to open their first conference game in the new year.

The Bears best game in non conference play was the game against Oakland which they won 64-61 the team from suburban Detroit that was in Berkeley on November 15th that game went down to the last two minutes. Oakland went onto do some almost wonderful things.

The Bears also took Michigan State down to the end of the wire that game was played at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Non conference basketball is where you don’t want any slip ups like losing to someone your not suppose to lose to because people will come and hurt you come selection tme.

The NCAA will select someone whose in the top 40 who will hurt you, especially since Cal comes off that loss to Creighton which is disappointing and you’ll see them bounce back pretty well. The Bears are in Stanford Jan 2 and you don’t want to open the conference season with a loss and Cal hasn’t had much success at Maples lately. The Bears have lost the last three or four in Maples.

The Bears have won at Stanford only once since Montgomery was the coach the win was in his first year it’s a tough place to play for Cal. Montgomery doesn’t get much a of reception down there any more even though he was a great coach at Stanford for many years and they’re going to have to deal with Stanford and their size. If anything we know that Stanford doesn’t shoot the ball well all the time and hopefully Cal can take advantage of it.

Morris Phillips covers the Cal Bears with Michael Duca for Sportstalk Radio

Stanford Upsets Tennessee in a Tight One

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By: Joe Lami

Saturday marked the second time that two top ten teams matched up against each other this week, as number one Connecticut defeated number two Duke earlier in the week.  On Saturday it would be number six Stanford defeating number three Tennessee 76-70.

“It was a great environment” losing coach, Holly Warlick stated, as 6,044 were on to see two great rivals match-up once again.

Tennessee started the game on a 4-0 run with buckets from Isabelle Harrison and Bashaaara Graves.  Stanford would answer back with a run of their own, scoring 13 straight, eight of which came from Chiney Ogwumike.  The other five points from freshman, Lili Thompson.

“We dug ourselves a big hole early, and it was tough to get out of” said a Warlick after the game.

Stanford would hold the lead for the rest of the game, with their biggest lead getting to 12 points multiple times.  The game would tighten up towards the end as Tennessee made a really strong push, cutting the lead to two with only a minute to go.  However, Junior Guard, Amber Orrange would come up huge for the Cardinal getting a lay-up and a foul shot to extend the lead to five and really put the game away.

Stanford was led by Ogwumike who registered 32 points for the second straight contest, this time however she did it while playing all 40 minutes.  Ogwumike also had 20 rebounds, with 11 of them coming on the offensive side of the glass.

“She doesn’t take a possession off, we had trouble with her all night” said Warlick on the play of Ogwumike.

Stanford had a strong performance as well from Freshman Guard, Thompson, who scored 14 points, while bringing down two rebounds in the 35 minutes that she played.

Stanford head coach, Tara VanDerveer had nothing but praise for Thompson’s play “Lili isn’t a freshman for us, and this isn’t the type of game for freshman, you can’t make freshman mistakes.”

Mikaela Ruef had eight points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal.  Coming off of the bench huge for Stanford was Taylor Greenfield scoring 11 points, with nine of them coming from beyond the arc.  The junior also brought down a single rebound.

“Taylor’s threes were huge for us today, it seemed like they were always falling at the right time” VanDerveer commented on Greenfield ‘s play.

On the other side of the ball, Tennessee was led by Ariel Massengale with 17 points.  Meighan Simmons was right behind her with 15 points, and Graves scored 14.  Harrison was on the only Lady Vol to record a double-double as she scored ten points, and added 13 rebounds.

The biggest stat of the night would have to be that of the rebound, as Stanford out-rebounded Tennessee 43-40.  VanDerveer praised the teams rebounding performance as she said to the team before the game, “If you win the battle on the boards, you will win this game.”  Though Stanford did give up 21 offensive rebounds to the Lady Vols that led to 24 second chance points, the head coach was still thrilled about the performance.  She also said that rebounding and boxing out needs to be constantly worked on throughout the season, as Cal will be a very similar team to Tennessee.

With the win, Stanford has beaten the Lady Volunteers in three consecutive contests for the first time in series history.  Stanford also defends Maples Pavilion, as Tennessee has been unsuccessful there since the 2005-06 season.

Tennessee is handed their first loss of the season and moves to 10-1.  They will go on a holiday break and return to the floor on December 29th for the last time of 2013, as they host Lipscomb.  After the New Year, they will then start SEC conference play with their first game against LSU.

Stanford keeps their winning streak alive and moves it up to nine games, and ups their record to 10-1.  The Cardinal will also go on holiday break and return to action December 28th against the Fresno St. Bulldogs in Fresno.  After the New Year, Stanford will also start their conference play with their next home game against the Oregon Ducks on January 3rd.

Michigan holds off late Cardinal surge

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By Daniel Dullum

Thanks to some clutch free throw shooting by Nik Stauskas, Michigan held off Stanford 68-65 Saturday in a non-conference men’s basketball contest at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Cardinal (8-3) had won seven of their last eight games going in, including a notable road win over No. 10 Connecticut on Wednesday. But they came up short in their bid for back-to-back road victories on the East Coast.

Stauskas, who led the Wolverines with 19 points, sank two crucial free throws with nine seconds remaining in the second half. Glenn Robinson III added 17 points for Michigan (7-4), which turned the ball over only eight times. Wolverines reserve Zak Irvin added 12 points.

Stefan Nastic equaled his season-high of 14 points for the Cardinal, but he fouled out with 5:24 to play. Chasson Randle, meanwhile, led Stanford with 18 points.

Stanford pulled to within one point in the second half, but could never get ahead of the Wolverines, who surged ahead at the 14:42 mark of the first half and never trailed for the remainder of the game.

Michigan’s Caris LeVert missed a pair of foul shots with 45 seconds remaining in the second half, which left the door open for a Cardinal comeback. After Grant Verhoeven made 1 of 2 free throws for Stanford with :44 showing, the Cardinal chose not to foul and Robinson’s layup put Michigan up 66-62 with 14 seconds left.

Chasson Randle’s 3-pointer cut the Cardinal deficit to 66-65 before Stauskas hit his two foul shots that gave Michigan some breathing room. Randle’s last-second 3-point attempt was short as time expired.

It was Michigan’s first game since dropping a 72-70 home decision to No. 1-Arizona on Dec. 14.

After a holiday break, the Cardinal return home on Sunday, Dec. 29, for a non-conference game against Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

Stanford hangs tough but comes up short

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 By Jeremy Harness

 

The Stanford basketball team was in the same position a couple of nights before, so based on the prior result, the Cardinal certainly had reason to believe.

 

Coming off a signature victory on the road against No. 10 Connecticut, during which they found themselves down by eight early in the second half, Stanford was again behind against Michigan Saturday night and rallied yet again.

 

This time, however, the Cardinal could not close the deal, cutting Michigan’s lead to one point against the runner-up in last season’s NCAA Tournament but could not push through in a 68-65 loss at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

 

Stanford did not shoot particularly well but still hung around against a more athletic Wolverines team, which didn’t have a great shooting night, either. Michigan, which thrives on shooting the 3-pointer, was 8-for-27 from behind the arc Saturday night.

 

Chasson Randle, who made several key shots down the stretch in the second half but had his final-seconds 3-pointer to tie the game fall short, scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal while Stefan Nastic, who had somewhat of a breakout game, had 14 to equal his season high.

 

The Cardinal will now enjoy the upcoming Christmas break and will not play again until Dec. 29 against Cal Poly at home before beginning the Pac-12 season against Cal the following Thursday, Jan. 2 at Maples Pavilion.

A Night of Records as Stanford Stomps Lobos

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By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal hosted the New Mexico Lobos on Monday in their final tune-up before the big matchup this Saturday, where the number six-ranked team hosts the third ranked Lady Vols.  They defeated the Lobos by the final score of 75-41, to move their record to 9-1.  The team has also won the last 8 in a row.  For the Lobos, they saw their two-game winning streak snapped and their record falls to 4-5 in the process.

The night for Stanford started great for Chiney Ogwumike, who recorded her 2,000th career point just minutes into a first half that she will never forget.  The Stanford All-American Senior recorded 24 of the team’s 40 first half points.

“She’s such an anchor for us” raved VanDerveer on Ogwumike’s performance.

Ogwumike eventually would slow down the production as she finished off her night with eight in the second half ending with 32 points, only four shy of tying her career high, which is set earlier this season against Cal Poly.

The team production was something to be impressed about, as eight different players got on the scoreboard.  The bench scored 32 points of their own. Bonnie Samuelson and Taylor Greenfield led the bench with eight each.  Alex Green and Erica McCall were right behind them with six.  McCall also added eight rebounds, tying her career high, which she set against Purdue in November.  Though Mikaela Ruef only scored two points, she was outstanding on the boards, leading the team with ten.

“Mikaela got it done on the boards”praised VanDerveer on Ruef on her performance.

New Mexico was led by Guard, Bryce Owens, who scored 12 points.  She was the only Lobo to get into double-digits.  Brooke Allemand came off of the bench to add eight points. She was also great on the defensive side of the ball, with her only steal being a memorable one as she anticipated a pass, jumped in front of it and it led to a lay-up.

Lobos coach Yvonne Sanchez stated “it was an opportunity for us to go and play a great team” in her chance to go up against the sixth-ranked team.

The only down side for the Cardinal was that they once again gave up way too many offensive rebounds, with 20.  “We have to do a lot better job of keeping teams off of the glass offensively, but that will give us something to work on between now and when we play Tennessee” said VanDerveer.  The Lobos, who are ranked second in the Mountain West in rebound differential, did a great job against the Cardinal as they were out-rebounded by only two.  The Cardinal won the rebound battle 43-41, however lost the offensive rebound battle 20-12.

The win for the Cardinal also marks the 750th win for VanDerveer as Stanford’s head coach.

The Stanford Cardinal have the rest of the week to prepare for what will be their toughest challenge at home yet, in number three ranked Tennessee.  New Mexico will take a break for Christmas holiday and will return to the court on December 28th.

 

Stanford Continues Dominance of Davis in 83-56 Win as Huestis Moves Up Cardinal All-time Blocks List

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By Matthew Harrington

Stanford continued its dominance over UC Davis Saturday night at Maples Pavilion, with the Cardinal (7-2) crushing the visiting Aggies 83-56. The victory stands as Stanford’s 17th triumph against Davis (3-8), while the Aggies’ lone victory in the series came in December of 2005.

Stanford forward Dwight Powell registered a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while guard Chasson Randle netted a game-high 16 points, all but one of them coming on his five three-pointers. The Cardinal nailed 31 of 53 field-goal attempts, including 11 shots from beyond the arc. Forward Georgi Funtarov led the Aggies on the stat sheet, dropping 13 points for an otherwise offensively-stymied UC Davis squad. In total, the visitors connect on only 20 of 58 field goal tries.

Forward Josh Huestis had 15 points on the night and swatted away four Aggies shots to continue his climb up the Cardinal all-time blocks list. The four rejections places the senior from Great Galls, MT into a tie for third-best alongside Curtis Borchardt who ended his Stanford career with 146 denials.

With UC Davis trailing 8-0 four minutes in to the game, Darius Green made the first Aggie basket, a three-pointer to cut the Cardinal advantage to five points. Corey Hawkins would add the only other two points Davis would score in the next eight minutes of play, as Stanford went on a run to expand its lead to a commanding 22-5 edge. By the half the hosts held a 40-23 lead and did not let up. The closest Davis came to catching up with Stanford came 2:30 into the half after a Hawkins trey trimmed the Cardinal lead to a 16-point, 46-28 margin. That would be the closest they got as Stanford coasted to its second-straight victory.

The Cardinal next travels to Hartford to take on perennial power Connecticut in a Wednesday night tilt that will air on ESPN2. Following the contest, Stanford will travel to Brooklyn for a Saturday marquee match-up against Michigan, the team that nearly upset top-ranked Arizona Saturday afternoon, in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports 1.

Cardinal Keeps Bulldogs on Leash

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By Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal returned to the court on Saturday, after a two-week long hiatus for finals.  They took on the number 23 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs, and defeated them by the score 73-45.

The Bulldogs came into the game with a record of 8-1, with their only loss coming to the 11 ranked Oklahoma Sooners by the final score of 82-78.  The Zags were also riding a six-game winning streak coming into Maples Pavilion.

The first couple of minutes were going back and forth with a score of 9-8 in favor of Stanford, until around the 15-minute mark Stanford started to pull away from the Bulldogs. Stanford had gone on a 24-8 run to end the half to make the lead 33-19.

Stanford continued the dominance in the second as well, outscoring their opponent 40-26, to give them the 73-45 win.

Stanford was lead by Senior, Chiney Ogwumike who scored 19 points, just one point shy of recording her seventh 20-point game.  However, she was held to only seven rebounds, a season low at home.  Amber Orrange had anther strong outing for the Cardinal scoring ten points and three assists.  Freshman, Kailee Johnson came off of the bench to score 11 points, a new career high. Johnson also led the Cardinal in rebounding with eight, another career high for her young career.

Sonja Greinacher led the Bulldogs in scoring with 18, all of them coming from the field.  Greinacher also had six rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive side.  Elle Tinkle, younger sister of former Stanford player Joslyn, was held scoreless, but still had two rebounds.

With the win, Stanford ups their record to 8-1, seven of them have been consecutive.  The Cardinal return to Maples on Monday, where they will host the New Mexico Lobos.  Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live in the Bay Area on Stanford radio, 90.1 FM KZSU, or online at kzsuive.stanford.edu.