Stanford FBC: Alumnae News

Keeping up with Kayla

2012-01-18T07:03:00.001-08:00

Kayla has been blogging since she arrived in Kosice where she is playing professional basketball. Her most recent post begins, "Happy New Year! My Christmas break was amazing!" Read more...

Brooke is best performer in Italian League

2012-01-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

From Eurobasket News

American power forward Brooke Smith (191-F/C-84, agency: LBM Management) put on an extraordinary performance in the last round for Comense, receiving a Eurobasket.com Player of the Week award for round 12.
The 27-year old player was the main contributor (22 points, seven rebounds) to her team's victory, helping them to outclass Alcamo (#12, 1-11) with 26-point margin 71-45. Comense maintains the 4th position in Italian A1. They would have been even better if they hadn't lost a few games earlier this season. Comense will need more victories to improve their 8-4 record. Smith turned to be Comense's top player in her first season with the team. Former Stanford University star has very solid stats this year. Smith is in league's top in points (7th best: 13.3ppg), rebounds (6th best: 8.3rpg) and averages impressive 51.9% FGP.

Alumni abroad - midseason report

2012-01-01T09:15:00.000-08:00

This is how our Stanford alumnae are doing about halfway through the European professional basketball season.

Euroleague Women, the international European competition, has completed ten weeks of first round games. After four more first round weeks, the top four teams in each group will advance to the second round in late February.

Kristin Newlin, Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the Turkish TKBL league.

Fenerbache is unbeaten in Euroleague play and is first in its group with an 8-0 win-loss record. Kristen is averaging 2.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Fenerbache leads the TKBL League with an 11-1 win-loss record. Kristin comes off the bench for about 13 minutes per game. She averages 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game in league play.

Nicole Powell, Wisla Can-Pack

Wisla is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the Polish PLKK league.

In Euroleague play, Wisla is first in its group with an 8-2 win-loss record. Nicole is averaging 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Wisla leads the PLKK League with a 14-1 win-loss record. Nicole comes off the bench for Wisla and plays about 24 minutes per game. She averages 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in league play.

Kayla Pedersen, Good Angels Kosice

Good Angels is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the Slovakian Extraliga league.

In Euroleague play, Good Angels is third in its group (the same group as Wisla) with a 6-4 win-loss record. Kayla is averaging 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

Good Angels leads the Extraliga League with a perfect 13-0 record. Kayla comes off the bench for Good Angels and plays about 25 minutes per game. She averages 15.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in league play.

Jayne Appel, Samsun

Samsun stands 6th (of 12) in the Turkish TKBL League with a 7-5 win-loss record.

Jayne is in the starting five. She averages almost a double-double (10.3 points and 9.7 rebounds). She also has 2.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. She ranks 5th in the league in blocks per game and 6th in rebounds per game.

Candice Wiggins, Besiktas

Besiktas stands 10th in the Turkish TKBL League with a 3-9 win-loss record. They signed Candice late in December as they started to shuffle things up because they were "having a nightmare season".

It's too soon to tell what impact Candice will have on the team — she's played in only three games. She averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals. She has made five of 24 three-point attempts.

Cori Enghusen, Besiktas

Cori comes off the bench for about eight minutes per game for Besiktas. She averages 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.

Jeanette Pohlen, Tarsus

Tarsus stands 11th in the Turkish TKBL League with a 3-9 win-loss record.

Jeanette comes off the bench for Tarsus for almost 25 minutes per game. She averages 10.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals. She has made 12 of 36 three-point attempts.

Jillian Harmon, Comense

Comense stands 4th (of 12) in the Italian A1 League with a 7-4 win-loss record.

Jillian is in the starting five for Comense and plays about 30 minutes per game. She leads the team in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and steals (2.5 spg) and is their second-best scorer (12.5 ppg). She ranks 3rd in the league in rebounding, 8th in steals and 9th in scoring.

Brooke Smith, Comense

Brooke also starts for Comense. She stands just behind Jillian in the statistics: 29 minutes, 12.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. She ranks 5th in the league in rebounding.

Cissy Pierce, Halle Lions

Cissy left the team in late October in order to get surgical correction of a foot problem.

Candice will play pro ball in Turkey

2011-12-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Candice has signed to play professional basketball in Turkey with Besiktas.

She has arrived in Istanbul and passed the health check.

Two of her teammates in Istanbul are Cori Enghusen and Courtney Vandersloot.

If you'e like more news about the Turkish Women's Basketball League, see Jessica Lantz's story in Swish Appeal.

Jillian and Brooke are top performers in Italian League

2011-12-19T09:46:00.001-08:00

Eurobasket News reports that Jillian had a remarkable performance in round 10 of the Italian A1 League with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds and continue, "Harmon is one of the most experienced players at Comense and has a reputation of one of team's most reliable players. She belongs to the best scorers in the league with 12.5ppg (#9). She also registers 9.2 boards per game (#3)." Jillian is also #8 in the league in steals per game (2.5).

Brooke's performance (18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists) was deemed the sixth-best of the round. Brooke is #5 in the league in rebounds per game (8.0).

The Pink Room

2011-12-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It's Ros Gold-Onwude. Kevin Danna and I created a new web series all about women’s college basketball. It’s called, “The Pink Room”. It’s a little grassroots production that we are having fun with. Here is our 1st episode: Episode 1: Teams #15-11, Stopping Brittney Griner, Rutgers @ Miami 2OT recap.

Candice speaks out against AIDS

2011-12-01T15:57:00.000-08:00

On World AIDS Day 2011, Candice speaks out against AIDS

in this video

and in this blog post

Brooke is Eurobasket Player of the Week

2011-11-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

Brooke was named the Player of the Week by Eurobasket .com, the worldwide leader in basketball news.

She put on an amazing game in Comense's defeat of Familia Schio — a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Brooke averages 13 points and 8 rebounds per game, respectively #7 and #6 in the Italian A1 League.

Jillian had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in that game and was named one of the top performing players of the week. She averages 10.4 rebounds per game, #4 in the league.

Comense is now standing third in the league with a 4-1 record.

Azzi nominated for Naismith Hall of Fame

2011-11-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Azzi has been nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2012.

Read more about Azzi's accomplishments and the Class of 2012 in this announcement from the University of San Francisco, where she is beginning her second year as head coach.

Coach Wiggins

2011-11-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Candice has joined the Occidental College Women's Basketball staff as an assistant coach under fourth-year head coach Heidi VanDerveer.

Occidental is a liberal arts college in Los Angeles. Athletically it's a Division III school that plays in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Trisha Stevens' Hall of Fame profile

2011-11-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

Stanford Athletics caught up with Trisha Stevens Lamb before her induction into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend and discussed being part of Stanford women's basketball's rise to the national elite, her memories of The Farm and what she's up to these days. Read more...

Coach Mel

2011-11-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

In her spare time, Mel is coaching basketball at Team Esface, an athletic-based youth training and development organization.

Bobbie setting new tempo for Badgers

2011-10-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

By Dennis Punzel, Madison Sports:

The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team is moving to a different beat this season.

Most of the time that beat comes from the voice of new coach Bobbie Kelsey. Read more...

Alumnae abroad 2011-12

2011-10-24T17:54:00.000-07:00

The 2011-2012 professional basketball season is well underway in Europe.

All the national club team leagues have begun play, and this is week 3 of EuroLeague Women, the highest international professional basketball league in Europe for women’s clubs.

Here is a report of nine (the most ever) Stanford alumnae who are playing abroad this season and one who may or may not be.

Kayla Pedersen ('11) begins her overseas career in Slovakia playing for Good Angels Kosice (Dobri Anjeli)

Good Angels is a strong team, which should be especially appreciated by Kayla after her unfortunate WNBA rookie season. They are a leading team in Extraliga, the Slovakian League, and are also playing in EuroLeague Women — for the sixth time in the past seven seasons.

In a preview of their Week 2 EuroLeague game, the opposing head coach said, "Good Angels Kosice is a team with a good cast of national team players. They play and compete a lot and have got an interesting rookie in Kayla Pedersen."

Here is an evaluation of Good Angels by Paul Nilsen, a European basketball journalist.

Jeanette Pohlen ('11) begins her overseas career in Turkey playing for Tarsus Belediyesi

Tarsus is in southern Turkey about 10 miles inland from the Mediterranean.

Tarsus plays in TKBL, the Turkish League. They've only played one regular season game so far — it was a good one for Jeanette, who started and had 10 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and 4 steals.

Jayne Appel ('10) is in Turkey playing for Samsun.

Samsun is on the coast of the Black Sea, about 450 miles east of Istanbul.

This is effectively Jayne's rookie overseas season. She had signed with Tarsus last season, but returned home to rehab her injuries before the season began.

Jayne is a starter for Samsun. She did very well in their first TKBL League game. She scored just 2 points, but had 11 rebounds.

Jillian Harmon ('09) is in Italy playing for Pool Comense for the third season.

Comense plays in the Italy A1 League. They finished sixth in the 12-team league last season, but have begun this season with two wins.

Cissy Pierce ('08) is in Germany for the fourth season. She has moved from Frankfurt to Berlin and is now playing for the Halle Lions.

Cissy was the top scorer in the German DBBL league in 2009-10, and the Lions were delighted to sign her to their team.

The Lions have begun poorly this season. They have won just one of five games. Cissy leads her team in scoring (16.4 ppg) and is second in rebounds (6.4 rpg).

Candice Wiggins ('08) is currently in Spain, leading her Overseas Experience Tour.

I have heard it rumored that she will play overseas later in the season, but I have seen no official announcement of her plans.

Kristen Newlin ('07) is in Turkey playing for Fenerbahce for the fourth season. (The name she's known by in Turkey is Nevin Nevlin.)

Fenerbahce is one of two teams that dominate Turkish women's basketball (the other is Galatasaray). It placed second in the TKBL League last season, was the league tournament champion for the sixth consectuive season and advanced to the quarter-final round of EuroLeague Women.

The team is playing in EuroLeague Women again, for the sixth consecutive season. European basketball journalist Paul Nilsen thinks that Fenerbahce has a great chance of being one of the tournament front-runners this season in spite of the worrying storm clouds that gathered off the court last summer, which he explains in his evaluation of the team.

Brooke Smith ('07) is back in Italy playing for Pool Comense after a season in France.

This is her fifth season of professional basketball, her third with Comense.

Nicole Powell ('04) is in Poland playing for Wisla Can-Pack for the second season, her eighth in professional basketball.

Wisla had an excellent 2010-11 season. It was #1 in the PLKK Polish League, the league tournament champion and advanced to the quarter-final round of EuroLeague Women.

The team is playing in EuroLeague Women again, for the eighth consecutive season. Paul Nilsen thinks that Wisla could be one of the most interesting teams in the competition this season. Here is his evaluation of the team.

Cori Enghusen ('02) is beginning her tenth season of professional basketball, her seventh in Turkey, but with a new team. She's back in Istanbul with Besiktas. (The name she's known by in Turkey is Korel Engin.)

Kayla, a Good Angel

2011-10-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Kayla, after a Good Angels Kosice game in Slovakia, comments on her team's performance.

Christy Hedgpeth inducted into hall of fame

2011-10-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

Long-time Cardinal fans may remember Christy Hedgpeth (Stanford '94) as a member of Stanford's second national championship team. Or seeing her play for the ABL Seattle Reign for three years.

Before her professional and collegiate basketball careers, Christy was a stellar basketball player at Westchester Academy in Davdison County, North Carolina.

Last night she was inducted into the Davidson County Sports Hall of Fame. Read more...

An earlier article in The-Dispatch that included bios of the prospective inductees had this to say of Christy's accomplishments:

Sometimes you never know where greatness will reveal itself. And sometimes, it comes from unexpected places.
Thomasville’s Christy Hedgpeth had a stellar basketball career at High Point’s generally overlooked Westchester Academy, where she scored a career high of 3,131 points from 1986 to 1990.
Indeed, as a 5-foot-10 sharpshooting guard, she helped guide the Wildcats to a 26-2 record and a 1-A independent school state championship in 1990. She was named The Dispatch All-Davidson County Player of the Year while averaging 32.2 points per game, 12 rebounds per game, as well as six assists and five steals per game.
She was also the Guilford County player of the year and the recipient of The Winston-Salem Journal’s Mary Garber Award for top female basketball player.
She was also Westchester’s Female Scholar Athlete of the Year from 1987 through 1990.
A talented athlete, Hedgpeth also excelled on the tennis court where she was named the team’s most valuable player from 1987 through 1990. She also won a doubles state title in both 1988 and 1989.
Heavily recruited by major college basketball programs, including Duke and Wake Forest, Hedgpeth elected to attend Stanford University on a full scholarship. Good choice. The team made it to the NCAA Final Four in 1991 and won the NCAA championship in 1992.
She was ESPN’s ESPY nomination for women’s basketball player of the year in 1992. In addition, she was All-PAC-10 in 1994 and the team captain that year. She scored 1,387 career points for the Cardinal.
She played for the Seattle Reign of the American Basketball League from 1996-1998.
Hedgpeth is now living in Baltimore, Md., where she is the senior director of marketing for Under Armour.

Ros's Broadcasting Promo Reel : 2010-2011

2011-10-11T16:58:00.000-07:00

Ros has returned from Nigeria and resumed her sports broadcasting career. Her promo reel shows highllghts of her first year broadcasting as a Color Commentator and as a Studio Analyst.

Championship for Candice and the Lynx

2011-10-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Candice contributed three of six 3-pointers, five rebounds, two assists and a steal tonight as the Minnesota Lynx swept the Atlanta Dream and won their first WNBA championship! Read more...

Ros will not play in the Olympics

2011-10-02T16:04:00.001-07:00

Ros' excellent adventure ended today as Nigeria lost to Mali 62-71.

In the championship game, Angola upset Senegal 62-54.

So Angola will play in the 2012 Olympics; Senegal and Mali will contend for one of the remaining five slots; and Ros' basketball career is probably over.

Nigeria will try for the bronze

2011-10-01T19:56:00.001-07:00

From a report of the first semifinal of Afrobasket Women 2011: "Not even the vociferous fans and top government functionary could save the host Mali from losing to determined Angola by 51-56 points."

The only thing reported so far of the second semifinal is that Nigeria lost to Senegal 63-89.

So Mali and Nigeria will compete tomorrow for the bronze medal and an opportunity to compete for a spot in the 2012 Olympics. I expect that the vociferous fans and government functionaries will still be rooting for Mali. Good luck, Ros!

Nigeria advances to Final Four

2011-09-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

Nigeria defeated Mozambique 77-49 today in the quarterfinals of Afrobasket Women 2011 and advance to the semifinals where they will play reigning champion Senegal tomorrow. This brief report of today's game reveals that Ros was not one of the top scorers.

Nigeria and Senegal met earlier on the first day of the preliminary round. Senegal won that game 86-62.

The other two winners today were Angola, who defeated Nigeria 67-60 in the preliminary round, and highly-favored host Mali.

Ros and Helene Ogunjimi on defense against Angola in preliminary round game

Ros's adventure continues

2011-09-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ros's African adventure continues next weekend.

The preliminary round of Afrobasket Women 2011 finished today. Nigeria defeated Rwanda 59-49. They placed third in their group with a 3-2 record, so advance to the quarterfinal round.

The remaining rounds of the competition are "one and done", and it's going to be a rigorous weekend — quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday. Remember that there's a lot at stake in this competition; the winner qualifies for the 2012 Olympic Games

There's not much coverage of African women's basketball on the internet. I've been able to find box scores for just the first two of Nigeria's five games. Although Nigeria lost its first game to reigning champion Senegal, Ros's performance was outstanding. She made four of five three-point attempts and led her team with 16 points. In the second game (a 60-31 victory over Guinea), she scored just five points, but also had four rebounds and three assists.

There aren't many photos either. This is the only one I found of a Nigerian game. Is that Ros peeking out in the middle?

This one is definitely Ros — in her ceremonial gown at the All-Africa Games earlier this month.

Jeanette joins the show

2011-09-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Listen to Jeanette on the indianapolis RadioNow morning show, as she talks about the Indiana Fever's upcoming game in the Eastern Conference finals, the transition from Cali to Indianapolis, and being considered a hottie!

Brooke is set for another season in Italy

2011-09-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

Brooke's hometown newspaper, the Marin Independent Journal, has published a nice report on how she's enjoying life as a professional basketball player. Read more...

Earlier this summer, Brooke's team, Pool Comense, reported on her return to the team after a season in France. Read more...

Up and down WNBA season for Stanford alums

2011-09-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

Jake Curtis reviews how the WNBA season went for Kayla, Jayne and Nicole and is still going on for Jeanette and Candice in this article.

Trisha Stevens into Stanford Hall of Fame

2011-09-14T08:32:00.000-07:00

Trisha Stevens ('91) is one of the nine new members that Stanford will induct into the University's Athletic Hall of Fame.

A member of Stanford's 1990 NCAA championship-winning team, Stevens was a two-time first team All-Pac-10 selection. She led the 1990 national champion Cardinal in both scoring (17.6) and field goal percentage (54.9) and also grabbed 5.9 rebounds per game. She made 117 starts over her Stanford career and ranked second on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,649 points at the time of her graduation. She also ranked second in career scoring average (13.5), field goal percentage (53.4) and was third in free throw percentage (79.5). She was a member of USA Basketball's U-18 National team in 1989 and twice was named to the NCAA All-Regional team.

All of the inductees will be honored at a private reception and dinner at McCaw Hall in the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center on Friday, Nov. 11 beginning at 6:00 p.m. The class will also be introduced at halftime of Stanford's football game against Oregon on Nov 12.

In addition, Trisha will be honored by Stanford Women's Basketball at halftime of the game against Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov 13.

Tall Ferns swept by Australian Opals

2011-09-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

The New Zealand women's basketball team will have to go through a tough qualifying tournament next year if they wish to make their fourth consecutive Olympic Games.

New Zealand lost all three games of the Oceania Olympic women's basketball qualifying series to Australia:
77-64, Recap, Stats
92-73, Recap, Stats
82-57, Recap, Stats

Jillian was a strong defensive force for the Tall Ferns with the team-high 20 rebounds. She scored in double-digits in each of the three games and was the Tall Ferns' third-best scorer.

Jillian may have tried another sport while the Tall Ferns were in Sydney for the third game of the series.

Nigeria wins the bronze in All-Aftica Games

2011-09-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

In the match to decide the bronze medal winner, Nigeria beat Mozambique by 72-69, a disappointing outcome for thousands of Mozambican fans crammed in the Maxaquene pavilion in central Maputo to support their team.

Nigeria loses in All-Africa semi-finals

2011-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

The Nigerian women's basketball team won their quarter-final game against Rwanda 71-63, then lost the semi-final game 70-55 to Angola.

Reaching the Final Four was a major accomplishment for the Lady Tigers, who are trying to return to former glories. Nigeria won the FIBA Africa Championship for Women in 2003 and 2005, as well as the All Africa Games in 2003. But since that 2005 gold, the medals have dried up for Nigeria and they have not competed at a major global tournament in the last five years.

The next event of Ros's African adventures is AfroBasket Women, which will take place in Mali later this month (Sep 23 - Oct 2). The winner of that tournament will qualify for the 2012 Olympics.

RosGO in Africa

2011-09-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

There's very little news about African women's basketball posted to the internet. But Ros really is in Africa, as a member of the Nigerian national team, as evidenced by this photo that Kate Paye recently posted to Twitter:

The photo was taken a week ago at the opening ceremony of the All-Africa games in Mozambique. This is a multi-sport competition in which 48 African nations participate.

Wikipedia reports that the Nigerian women's basketball team has won three of four games in the preliminary round and has advanced to the quarter-finals which will take place tomorrow.

Humility before honor for Candice

2011-08-29T10:57:00.001-07:00

Here's another great story about Candice's indomitable spirit — by Jeffrey Williams (Sportspage Magazine).

Candice perseveres

2011-08-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been much media coverage of Candice, the basketball player, this season as she continues to work her way back from her Achille's tendon injury.

But all her hard work is paying off.

Roman Augustovis (Star Tribune) writes: "Overcoming her injury problems of a year ago, Candice Wiggins is back to being a dangerous outside shooter off the bench for the Lynx." Read more...

Ros is one of three New Yorkers on Nigerian team

2011-08-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Joseph Staszewski (New York Post) writes about three former New York high school basketball players who are members of the Nigerian national team that is hoping to compete in the 2012 Olympic games.

Adeola Olanrewaju quickly learned this was going to be a different go around with the Nigerian women’s national basketball team.

At the team’s tryouts in July, the former all-city standout at Bishop Loughlin, who made the squad for the third time, was approached by one of her new teammates. Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, a former Archbishop Molloy and Stanford star, recognized Olanrewaju and told her she was a fan growing up. Read more...

How Jeanette & Kayla are doing

2011-08-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Jeanette & Kayla played against each other yesterday for the second time this season — a good time to check up and see how they're doing.

During the game, they were even matched up against each other for stretches in the second half.

"That was awesome and I'm glad we got to guard each other too for a while," Kayla said. "She's doing so well for them and it's so great to see her out there."

Jeanette is coming off the bench for the Indiana Fever and is playing an average of 19 minutes per game.

In her report on Friday's game, Mechelle Voepel (ESPN) says that Jeanette has done exactly what head coach Lin Dunn hoped she would — shoot effectively coming off the bench. She has made 24 of 46 attempts from beyond the arc for an average of 0.522, which is the best in the league! She ranks #16 in 3-pointers per game.

Mechelle Voepel says that Kayla has been one of the Tulsa Shock's bright spots in a bleak (1-18) 2011 season.

She has started in all but three games this season and plays an average of 30 minutes per game (#19 in the league). She averages 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.47 steals (#9 in the league) per game.

Jayne goes through game day

2011-08-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

Jayne, writing for espnW, describes life on the road as a WNBA player.

She say that life on the road can be a challemge, but playing in front of different family and friends is something she really enjoys. Read more...

Mel knows what she wants

2011-07-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

John Reid (Palo Alto Daily News) brings us up to date on Melanie Murphy, who has begun to fulfill her lifelong ambition to make money — lots of it — with a job in Palo Alto as an investment advisor. Read more...

RosGO makes the Nigerian National Team

2011-07-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know if Ros said, "Well, it's worth a try." But she must have said something to that effect as she tried out for the Nigerian National Women's Basketball Team and a chance to play in the 2012 Olympics. It was definitely worth a try — she was named a member of the team yesterday.

The Nigerian National Team will compete in Belgium and France this summer before going to Mali for the AfroBasket Women tournament from Sept 23 to Oct 2.

The winner of that tournament will qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The 2nd and 3rd place finishers will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a 12-team tournament that will take place in June/July 2012. The top five teams will earn a place in the Olympic Basketball Tournament.

There could be as many as five Stanford alumnae playing in the 2012 Olympics.

The USA Basketball National Team has already qualified for the 2012 Olympics by virtue of winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Jayne Appel and Candice Wiggins are on the 24-member national team roster as of April 26, The selection of the Olympics team will be made sometime next year.

Kristen Newlin is a member of the Turkish National Team, which has qualified for 2012 Olympics Qualifying Tournament by virtue of taking 2nd place in the EuroBasket Women tournament last month.

Jillian Harmon is a member of the New Zealand National Team, which will compete in the FIBA Oceania Tournament Sept 7-11. The winner will qualify for the 2012 Olympics. The runner-up will qualify for the 2012 Olympics Qualifying Tournament

Candice's downtime wasn't lost time

2011-07-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

By Jim Paulsen (Minneapolis Star Tribune):

What should have been the bleakest time in Candice Wiggins' basketball life turned out to be far brighter than even she could have hoped ...

But it didn't take long for her to start thinking that her glass wasn't just half-full, it was spilling over the edges ...

The time off helped her see past her basketball career and get a feel for what the next chapter in her life might be.

Kayla & Jeanette are among top 10 rookies

2011-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Nate Parham (Swish Appeal) presents his pick of the top 10 rookies in the WNBA after one month of play.

He ranks Kayla as #1, with this overall evaluation: Every single player on this list does something better than Pedersen: defensively, passing, rebounding or shooting. So as usual, it's easy to overlook Kayla Pedersen, only made easier because she's playing on the team with the worst record in the league right now. But here's the thing about Pedersen: there isn't much she doesn't do. Pedersen is proving that she's exactly what she was at Stanford: the ultimate teammate.

He ranks Jeanette as #8 because of her scoring efficiency and three-point shooting.

Turkey wins the silver

2011-07-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Turkey couldn't keep up with a very strong Russian team and lost 42-59 in the EuroBasket 2011 championship game.

Not quite making it all the way is disappointing, as Cardinal fans well know. But, still, what a run for the Turkish team, who had never before even made it to the final eight. As New twittered, "Proud to bring home the silver. #goturkiye"

Here is the game card.

The second-place finish qualifies Turkey to compete in the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a 12-team tournament that will take place in June/July 2012. The top five teams will earn a place in the 2012 Olympic Basketball Tournament.

New's reaction to EuroBasket semifinal victory

2011-07-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Listen to New's reaction to Turkey's victory over France in this video from FIBA

New is game hero as Turkey advances to Gold Medal game

2011-07-01T15:25:00.001-07:00

Turkey defeated reigning champion France 68-62 in overtime in their semifinal game of EuroBasket Women 2011.

New was declared the game hero: "Nevin Nevlin (Kristin's Turkish name) was restored into the Turks' starting line-up to nullify the power of the French. It was the perfect tactic and she delivered 23 points and 8 rebounds."

Here is the game card, which includes a game highlights video as well as the usual game report, box score and play-by-play.

Turkey will play Russian for the gold medal on Sunday July 3 at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time. You can watch the game online here

New will play in EuroBasket Women semifinals

2011-06-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

These are exciting times for the Turkish National Team and one of its members, Kristen Newlin. They are playing in EuroBasket Women, a bi-annual competition between European national teams that also serves as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championship for Women and the Olympic Games.

On Monday, Turkey advanced to the quarterfinal round for the first time in the 61-year history of the competition. Today, they defeated Montenegro 56-44 and advanced to the semifinals. Here is the game card (game report, box score and play-by-play).

New scored 11 points along with seven rebounds, two assists and a block.

Of the quarterfinal game, New said, "Montenegro really put their country on the map with the way they ran through the tournament. But we came in very focused. We always knew we had a chance and as long as we have a chance we will keep fighting. We don't want it to end."

She was less restrained in her twitter, "Ohhhhh Turkiye!!! Final 4 baby!!"

Turkey will play France in the semifinals on July 1 at 18:30 GMT (11:30 a.m. PST). You can watch the game online here. The other two semifinalists are Russia and the Czech Republic. The bronze and gold medal games will be played on July 3.

Jeanette providing energy (and points) for the Fever

2011-06-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Tom Reitmann, writing for the Indiana Fever reports that coach Linn Dunn says, "The broadest measure of success for the Indiana Fever's bench players is whether they are providing “positive energy” when inserted in the lineup."

He goes on to say of Jeanette:

For Pohlen, the only rookie on the Fever roster, finding instant energy is the goal. Her decorated career at Stanford prepared her for many, but not all, aspects of the WNBA.
At the professional level, the game is faster and the players are more aggressive. WNBA offenses rely heavily on pick-and-roll maneuvers instead of the motion and five-player screening that Stanford used in its triangle attack.
But the injury to Katie Douglas compelled Pohlen to do some fast, on-the-job learning.
“It kind of goes to show that you have to be ready for anything at any time,” said Pohlen, who has hit 8-of-11 field goal attempts and 7-of-8 3-point tries in the past two games.

Jeanette sealed the Fever's win against the New York Liberty on Sunday night by sinking two free throws in the last five seconds of the game. Read more in this Indianapolis Star game report.

Jillian leads Tall Ferns in tournament upset

2011-06-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

The Tall Ferns lost all three games of the first round of the Four Nations Tournament by fairly narrow margins. They lost 70-77 to China, 74-79 to Australia, and 62-73 to Brazil.

Jillian was the leading scorer for the Tall Ferns in the first two games with 19 points against China and 21 against Australia. She was New Zealand's second-best scorer against Brazil with 14 points.

The second round of the tournament began better for the Tall Ferns — they upset China 83-82. Jillian was again the top scorer with 18 points and eight rebounds. Read more...

Kayla is a fighter for the Shock

2011-06-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Kayla is playing major productive minutes for the Tulsa Shock. In the first seven games of her professional career, she's averaged 31 minutes, 11 points, five rebounds and three assists per game.

Read more in this post by Jessica Lantz in Swish Appeal.

Kayla helps Tulsa to first win

2011-06-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Tulsa Shock won their first game of the season with a big contribution from Kayla.

She scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and seven assists. She made 71% of her field goal attempts, including a pair of three-pointers.

Here's a story from Kayla's hometown newspaper, the Flint Journal and the box score.

Jillian is a Tall Fern again

2011-06-14T15:20:00.001-07:00

Jillian has joined the New Zealand Women's National Team to compete in a Four Nations Tournament.

The Tall Ferns fly out of Auckland today and will face Australia, Brazil and China in a seven-day tournament beginning on Friday.

The tournament is part of their build-up to their three-test Olympic qualifying series with Australia in September for a place in London next year.

Nicole a standout at every level

2011-06-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Arizona's centennial, the Arizona Daily Star is showcasing 100 of Arizona's best athletes, moments and teams.

Nicole is one of Arizona's great athletes — at Grosse Point High School in Phoenix, at Stanford, and in the WNBA. Read more...

Report on Stanford alum in the WNBA

2011-06-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a report on how Stanford alumnae and their teams are doing 10 days into the 2011 WNBA season.

Nicole Powell '04, New York Liberty

This is Nicole's eighth season in the WNBA, her second with the New York Liberty following five seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs. The Monarchs were disbanded after the 2009 season, and Nicole was selected by the Liberty in the dispersal draft.

Nicole's production dropped last season &mdash from her career-high 16.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 2009 to 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

She's hitting her stride again this season, with a now-familiar team and a familiar coach — John Whisenant, who coached the Monarchs during Nicole's first two seasons there, is now head coach of the Liberty. In three games this season, Nicole has averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

The Liberty are off to a good start: 2-1.

Candice Wiggins '08, Minnesota Lynx

This is Candice's fourth season with the Minnesota Lynx. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported a few months ago that her usual enthusiasm was in overdrive in anticipation of playing basketball again after rehabbing the Achilles tendon that she tore almost a year ago.

She wears a heavy brace on her right leg, but is moving well and in no apparent pain. Head coach Cheryl Reeve said during training camp that Candice looked the healthiest she has ever seen her.

Candice is expected to be a key player off the bench again this season, but hasn't played major minutes so far — about 15 per game. In four games, she has averaged 5.0 points and made 44% of her three-point attempts.

The Lynx lost the first game of the 2011 season (to the L.A. Sparks), but have won the last three.

Jayne Appel '10, San Antonio Silver Stars

This is Jayne's second season with the San Antonio Silver Starts. She had minor surgery about three weeks ago to repair the torn meniscus that was discovered during training camp. If the prognosis made then holds true, she'll be back on the court next weekend.

Although Jayne hasn't played yet this season, she's on the 2011 All-Star ballot.

The Silver Stars have begun the season very well. They've won three games and are the only undefeated team in the WNBA.

Kayla Pedersen '11, Tulsa Shock

The Tulsa Shock are off to a miserable start with four losses and no wins.

Kayla, however, is off to an impressive start in her professional career — playing major minutes very well and helping to provide some of the leadership the Shock needs so badly.

She has started three of the four games and played about 27 minutes per game. She has averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

Kayla keeps improving. In the Shock's most recent game, she played 39 minutes, scored a career-high 15 points, grabbed the game-high 8 rebounds and made 5 assists.

Jeanette Pohlen '11, Indiana Fever

Jeanette started her professional career modestly, as most rookies do. She played just four minutes in her first game and two in her second.

But she burst into prominence last Saturday when the Fever rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the New York Liberty. Jeanette came off the bench for 24 minutes and scored 14 points on 71% shooting. She launched four three-pointers and sank all of them — the fourth one in the last minute of the game sealed the victory for the Fever.

The Fever are 2-1 for the season.

Kayla defends home court

2011-06-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

Kayla has a 66-game homecourt winning streak going — 3 at Mountain View High, followed by 63 at Stanford. She hopes to continue the streak tomorrow night when the Tulsa Shock play their first home game of the season against the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Read more... by Jimmie Tramel in the Tulsa World.

Jayne makes best of bad luck

2011-06-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jayne writes about her recent torn meniscus injury in this post to ESPNw.

Jeanette doing the Dougie

2011-05-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

... for fans and her teammates during a training camp event. Watch the video from Swish Appeal.

Kayla is expecting great basketball

2011-05-24T08:40:00.001-07:00

Kayla discusses her expectations for 2011 in a story from the Tulsa Shock.

“Our fans can expect some great basketball to be played,” she said. Read more...

Jayne sidelined by knee injury

2011-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

Silver Stars center Jayne Appel had arthroscopic surgery Friday to repair a minor tear of the meniscus in her left knee, the team said.

She is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks. Under that timeline, Appel could miss the team's two preseason games next week against Connecticut, and the first four games of the regular season.

The tear was discovered on Wednesday. When the injury occurred wasn't known.

Nicole on rites of passage and high school P.E.

2011-05-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

From the Huffington Post:

Nicole took a break from preseason training camp to recall her first athletic test — freshman-year high school P.E. — and to remember that the stage she's on has changed but that the game remains the same. Read more...

Jeanette's first day as a pro

2011-05-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

The Indiana Pacers have posted a series of photos of Jeanette at their first practice session of 2011. See more...

Jeanette and Kayla set for next chapter

2011-05-18T22:29:00.001-07:00

By Mechelle Voepel, ESPN:

Now that their college careers at Stanford have concluded, it's time for Jeanette and Kayla to prove themselves all over again. Read more...

Shelley, Seb, Ezi, Morgan and Lauren in Suriname

2011-05-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

Shelley Nweke ('06) is a Peace Corps volunteer in Suriname, South America. Sebnem Kimyacioglu ('05), Eziamaka Okafor ('06'), Morgan Clyburn ('09), and Lauren Greif (coaching intern) joined her recently to participate in a girls' basketball clinic.

Kayla, the fix-it player

2011-05-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

A month ago, just after the WNBA draft, Jessica Lantz posted a story about Kayla in Swish Appeal: Kayla Pedersen - The Next 'Larry Bird' For The Tulsa Shock?. She based her story on comments by Tulsa Shock coach Nolan Richardson.

"I love Pedersen," he said. "You know one of my favorite players of all times was Larry Bird, and he did all the little things that people don't really see. And that's what I saw in Pedersen. She's 6-4, she can play out on the floor, she can play inside, she can run the floor, and I call those kind of players a fix-it player. She can fix things that break down. You just don't see the talent that this lady has."

In today's Tulsa World , Jimmie Trammel reports from the Tulsa Shock training camp: Shock's Kayla Pedersen likened to Larry Bird.

When asked about Kayla, coach Richardson said, "I love her. I think she is going to have a chance to be on that all-rookie team. She has got a chance to be really good because, the thing about Kayla, and that's why we were hoping to get her, is she is a Larry Bird-type."

Richardson believes he got one of the better picks in the draft.

"At the beginning of the year, she was in the top four or five as a lottery pick," he said. "I had no clue we would end up getting her. But I was sure hoping we could get her."

Jayne is a happy camper

2011-05-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

The San Antonio Express-News reports that Jayne is thrilled to be healthy for the Silver Stars' preseason practice. She actually gets to participate in training camp this season.

“A whole new feeling,” she said. “I can actually get on the court. It's kind of a weight lifted off my shoulders, being able to be healthy and play." Read more...

Photos from USABB training camp

2011-05-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

USA Basketball published about 50 photos from the three-day national team training camp that concluded yesterday. Below is a photo of the entire team and several of Candice and Jayne. This is a report of the third day.

USA Basketball training camp

2011-05-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

USA Basketball has posted reports and photos of Day 1 and Day 2 of the national team training camp in Las Vegas.

The Day 2 report includes this video of Jayne talking about the competitiveness in Vegas, resting, and her Olympic aspirations:

video platform video management video solutions video player

Jeanette readies for next stage of her career

2011-05-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

Tom Reitman introduces Jeanette to Indiana Fever fans with a story about her preparations to relocate for her new job, her family, some highlights of her Stanford career and what she expects in the WNBA.

She feels, “A little nervous, anxious and excited.”

Alumnae Abroad, 2011 Season-end Report

2011-05-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

Nicole Powell, Wisla Can-Pak

Wisla dominated the Polish League (PLKK) this season. They were the regular season champion with a 22-2 win-loss record and the PLKK Tournament champion.

Wisla played in Euroleague this season. They placed second in their group (7-3) in the qualifying rounds, defeated Nadezhda in the eighth-final round, but lost to Halcon-Avenida (who subsequently captured the title) in the quarter-finals.

Nicole averaged 9.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals (ninth-best in the league) in the Polish league games. She averaged 13.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in the Euroleague games.

She received honorable mention for the All-Polish PLKK team.

Kristen Newlin, Fenerbahce

Fenerbache finished second in their league (TKBL) with a 20-2 win-loss record. They won the TKBL championship for the sixth consecutive season. See this post for more about the championship game.

Fenerbahce played in Euroleague this season. They were perfect (10-0) in the qualifying rounds, defeated Galatasary (their Turkish arch-rival) in the eighth-final round, but lost to Sparta&K in the quarter-finals.

Kristen ruptured her plantar fascia late last season. Her primary goal for this season was to be healthy. She has been healthy enough to play in every game this season.

She played, on average, about 17 minutes in the Turkish league games, during which she averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds. In the Euroleague games, she averaged 8.2 minutes, 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds.

Brooke Smith, Tarbes

Tarbes finished third in their league (LFB) with an 18-8 win-loss record. They lost to Bourges, the #1 seed, in the finals of the LFB playoffs.

Tarbes played in Euroleague this season. They placed sixth in their group (3-7) in the qualifying rounds, so did not advance.

Brooke averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in the French league games.. She averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in the Euroleague games.

She received honorable mention for the All-French LFB team.

Jillian Harmon, Comense

Comense finished sixth in their league (Italy A1) with an 11-11 win-loss record. They lost to Bracco Geas, the #3 seed, in the quarter-final round of the league playoffs.

Jillian made just over half of her field-goal attempts this season and was Comense's third-best scorer with 9.3 points per game. She was the second-best rebounder with 5.6 per game.

Cori Enghusen, Mersin

Mersin finished eighth in their league (TKBL) with an 8-14 win-loss record. They lost to Galatasaray, the #1 seed, in the quarter-final round of the TKBL playoffs.

At 31, Cori is the oldest player on her team, but she still plays about 16 minutes per game. She averaged 3.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game this season.

Cissy Pierce, Rhein Main Baskets

Rhein MB finished ninth in their league (DBBL) with a 7-15 win-loss record. They did not qualify for the DBBL playoffs.

Cissy was Rhein's top player. She led the team in almost all categories — points (14.5), rebounds (6.2), assists (2.1) and steals (1.9).

Kayla connections

2011-05-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Kayla has signed with the Tulsa Shock.

The Tulsa Shock was formerly the Detroit Shock.

Detroit is in Michigan.

So is Flint.

Kayla was born in Flint.

Eric Woodward has followed this train of thought to a very nice story about Kayla published in the Flint Journal.

Candice and Jayne will attend USA Basketball National Team training camp

2011-04-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Candice and Jayne are two of the twenty-two members of the 2009-12 USA Basketball Women’s National Team who will attend the USA National Team’s May 10-12 training camp in Las Vegas. Read more...

Fenerbahce is Turkish League champion again

2011-04-17T13:55:00.001-07:00

Fenerbahce won its sixth consecutive Turkish League championship today.

Kristen tweets:

CHAMPS.....again. Winning in overtime in front of awesome, awesome fans feels sooooo good! Loving this feeling!

Pat Newlin (Kristen's mother) writes:

Just to let you all know Kristen and her Fenerbache team are celebrating today in Istanbul after an overtime win against their arch rival, Galatarsaray. Fener won 91 - 86 after tying in regulation play at 75 all in front of their home crowd. Fener won in four games (3 - 1) in the best of five series. If Fener lost today they would have had to play the last game at Gala's gym. Kristen did not want to have to do that!
Fener has now won the last three Turkish Championships [Fenerbahce website says six]. Kristen has been there for all three. These championship games have all been between Fenerbahce and Galatarsary. Kristen has several good friends on the Gala team because they play with her on the Turkish National Team.
Wish we were there to see it live but we were able to follow over the internet on Fenerbahce TV Online for live tv coverage. It was fun to be able to see the celebration at the end. Kristen said the last two championships before this one were not in their home gym so it was especially sweet this time. In this last game, Kristen had 6 pts., 3 rebs., 2 steals in 16 minutes of play. You can check out all the scores and stats on the Turkish League website. If you would like to email Kristen: knewlin43@gmail.com.
Next up for Kristen is a brief vacation where she leaves the 21st for Cape Town, South Africa, with a teammate from her Turkish National team. The Turkish National Team practice begins early May in preparation for June's European Championships in Poland. Mick and I are planning on being there for those.

2011 postgame celebration (screen grab from fbtvonline) 2010 Champions (when Kristin was injured and did not play) 2009 Champions (when Nicole Powell was also on the team)

Ros inducted into the GCHSAA Hall of Fame

2011-04-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ros was an outstanding basketball player at Archbishop Molloy High School in New York before continuing her career at Stanford. In recognition of her accomplishments she has been inducted into the Girl's Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. She is Molloy's first basketball player to receive that honor. Read more...

Jeanette & Kayla draft day videos

2011-04-11T21:30:00.001-07:00

Interview with Jeanette for the Indiana Fever.

Lin Dunn (Indiana Fever head coach) talks about Jeanette.

Sarah Spain (espnW) chats with Kayla after the draft.

Kayla and Jeanette taken in first round of 2011 WNBA draft

2011-04-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

Kayla and Jeanette were both among the first 10 picks of the WNBA draft — and they have the same number!

Kayla was taken by the Tulsa Shock as the seventh overall pick. Here is a report of her selection from the Tulsa Shock website.

Jeanette was taken by the Indiana Fever with the ninth overall pick. Here is information about Jeanette from the Indiana Fever website.

There were two other prospects from the West Coast:

Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga) was taken by the Chicago Sky with the third overall pick
Ify Ibekwe (Arizona) was taken by the Seattle Storm in the second round with the 24th pick.

This is the complete draft board.

The current status of other Cardinal alumnae in the WNBA:

Jayne Appel returns to the San Antonio Silver Stars for her second season.
Candice Wiggins returns to the Minnesota Lynx for her fourth season.
Nicole Powell returns to the New York Liberty for the second season, her eighth in the WNBA.
Brooke Smith was waived by the Phoenix Mercury in March.

WNBA Prospect Capsule: Kayla & Jeanette

2011-04-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Swish Appeal is providing information, quotes and audio clips on WNBA Draft 2011 prospects.

They profile Kayla and Jeanette together because, "It just didn't seem right to separate the two Stanford seniors that came in together, made historic runs through the Pac 10, made four Final Fours together, and are entering the WNBA together. " Read more...

Kayla and Jeanette invited to WNBA draft

2011-04-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

Fifteen of the world’s top female basketball prospects have been invited to the 2011 WNBA Draft , which will be held on Monday, April 11 at ESPN in Bristol, Conn. Kayla and Jeanette are two of the prospects. Read more...

Kayla tweets, "In CT for the draft! It's gonna be fun!"

Jeanette tweets, "Packed and ready to go. Feelin great! :)"

Spring basketball in Europe

2011-04-05T16:11:00.000-07:00

Nicole blogs about spring basketball in Europe:

It’s that time of year again when the fresh air of spring meets hoops.

A sport that started in the fall and endured a winter now sees light, instead of dark flooding through its gymnasium windows, and every game played is suddenly the biggest game of the year. Read more...

Jayne's revolutionary NASA workout

2011-03-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Jayne has embarked on a radical new training program, designed by NASA for astronauts, as a way to get fitter and healthier than ever. The space-agey regimen involves cooling her core body temperature and then exercising for 20 brutal minutes of lactic-acid-laden hell, but the benefits are dramatic. Read more...

Michelle tops career with solid tournament outing

2011-03-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

Michelle's basketball career ended Saturday night with the best game of her life. Utah lost to Notre Dame 67-54 in the NCAA first round, but the Utes seriously challenged the Irish pretenders to the throne. Michelle scored ten points, and pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, nine of them O-boards.

Dirk Facer (Deseret News) writes:

After making four trips to the NCAA Tournament with perennial powerhouse Stanford, the former Mountain View High School star capped her collegiate career with a trip to the Big Dance on an underdog Utah squad. Read more...

And from Bill Oram Salt Lake Tribune):

Michelle Harrison’s career ended Saturday night, but before it did, the Orem native turned in her best performance as a Ute. Read more...

Michelle gets to dance again

2011-03-13T15:32:00.001-07:00

The #5 Utah Utes earned an automatic NCAA berth by upsetting #2 TCU in the Mountain West Conference championship game. So Michelle will go to the Big Dance again as a redshirt senior.

Michelle contributed six points, seven rebounds and some great defense to the victory. Her teammate Michelle Plouffe said,"Michelle Harrison did a great job on [Helena Sverrisdottir]. Locked her down." (Sverrisdottir, TCU's top scorer, averages about 16 points and almost two 3-pointers a game. She was held to just three field goals – none of them from beyond the arc.) Read more...

Embarking on recovery road

2011-03-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

Last spring, a hobbled Jayne Appel led Stanford to the NCAA title game, but she was held scoreless for the first time in her career in the Cardinal's loss to Connecticut. She was then picked fifth in the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars, and averaged 10.9 minutes and 3.4 points a game in her injury-ridden rookie season. Here is Appel's account of her trying 2010. Read more...

Michelle draws more than fouls

2011-03-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

By Tony Jones, Salt Lake Tribune

On the basketball court, Michelle Harrison defines versatility.

Utah’s senior small forward is the second-leading rebounder on the team. She hands out assists, she scores and her defense is a major reason that the Utes were able to start playing small ball midway through the season.

But for as many things that Harrison brings to her team, her accomplishments off the court make her truly unique. Read more...

No EuroLeague Final Four for Nicole or Kristen

2011-02-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Wisla Can-Pack (Nicole Powell's team) and Fenerbahce (Kristen Newlin's team) both were swept 0-2 in the best-of-three quarterfinals round of EuroLeague Women 2011.

Wisla lost to Spanish team Halcon Avenida 70-87, 60-72. Over the two games, Nicole scored 20 points, hit three 3-pointers, and made 50% of her field goal attempts.

Fenerbahce lost their two best players, Diana Taurasi and Penny Taylor in January (Taylor left Fenerbahce in a show of solidarity with Taurasi). In spite of that, they were undefeated in EuroLeague play up to this point, but they couldn't hold off the strong Russian team Sparta in the quarterfinals. They lost 78-86, 56-74.

Sparta advances to the EuroLeague Final Four for the fifth consecutive year. They have many members familiar to American basketball fans. The head coach is Pokey Chatman. The team includes Epiphanny Prince, Sue Bird and Taj McWilliams. Prince led her team in scoring with 19 points in the first game and 22 in the second. McWilliams had game-high 12 rebounds in the first game and 10 in the second.

Kristen, who twittered a couple of weeks ago that she was suffering from neck spasms, did not play in the first game and played just three minutes in the second game.

There is more information about the quarterfinals games here:
Wisla/Avenida, game 1
Wisla/Avenida, game 2
Fenerbahce/Sparta, game 1
Fenerbahce/ Sparta, game 2

Candice is feeling her best ever

2011-02-16T09:43:00.000-08:00

By Tim Leighton, Twin Cities Pioneer Press:

Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins always has been upbeat, but her enthusiasm is in overdrive this offseason in the wake of rehabilitation for a torn Achilles' tendon in her left leg that forced her to miss the last 20 games of last season.

Wiggins, who turned 24 on Valentine's Day, reflects on her rehabilitation and her excitement for the 2011 season. Read more...

Alumni abroad – midseason report

2011-02-10T11:02:00.000-08:00

This is how our Stanford alumnae are doing about three-quarters of the way through the European professional basketball season.

Nicole Powell, Wisla Can-Pack

Wisla is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the Polish PLKK league.

Wisla has advanced to the Euroleague quarter-finals, which will be played late in February. It placed second in its group with a 7-3 win-loss record in the qualifying rounds, then swept the eighth-finals (16 teams) 2-0. Nicole, who did not join the team until early January, played only in the last four games. She's averaging 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

Wisla leads the PLKK league with an 18-1 win-loss record. Nicole is one of the starting five and is averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 3.0 steals.

Brooke Smith, Tarbes

Brooke began the season with Italian team Taranto, but transferred to Tarbes (which is in southern France near the Pyrenees) in December when the head coach from Tarbes decided that he needed more presence in the paint.

Tarbes is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the French LFB league.

Tarbes went 3-7 in the Euroleague qualifying rounds and is out of the competition. Brooke averaged 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds. She had two double-doubles and ranked #8 in 2-pt field goal percentage (55.7%).

Tarbes is #2 of 14 in the LFB with an 11-3 win-loss record. Brooke comes off the bench and plays almost 20 minutes per game. She is averaging 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds

Kristen Newlin, Fenerbahce

Fenerbahce is playing in Euroleague this season as well as in the Turkish TKBL league.

In spite of losing Diana Taurasi early in January, Fenerbahce has advanced to the Euroleague quarter-finals with a perfect record. It won all ten qualifying round games and swept its Turkish rival Galatasaray in the eighth-finals. Kristen has played about nine minutes per game and is averaging 2.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists.

Fenerbahce is tied with Galatasary for #1 of 12 in the TBBL league, with 15-1 win-loss records. Kristen is playing about 15 minutes in the TKBL games and averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds

Cori Enghusen, Mersin

Mersin is in the Turkish TKBL league too. It ranks seventh of 12 in the league with a 7-9 record.

Cori plays about 15 minutes per game and averages 3.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.5 blocks.

Jillian Harmon, Comense

Comense's win-loss record is 7-9. It ranks seventh of 12 in the Italy A-1 League.

Jillian comes off the bench for about 25 minutes per game. She is second on the team in points (10.0) and rebounds (5.3) per game.

Cissy Pierce, Rhein-Main Baskets

Rhein-Main Baskets' win-loss record is 5-12. It ranks 10th of 12 in the German DBBL League.

Cissy is in the starting five. She leads the team in points per game (13.7) and is second in rebounds (6.5).

Cissy sinks a buzzer-beater

2011-02-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Cissy Pierce, in her third season with Rhein-Main Baskets in Germany, is her team''s top scorer with 13.7 points per game.

She sank a long-g-g-g winning three at the buzzer last week. This is the second time this season that she's done that.

Cissy is number 8 in black. Notice the player on the opposing team who just falls to the floor in disbelief!

Goodenbour flogs Anteaters

2011-02-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

Molly Goodenbour, in her third season as head coach at UC Irvine, has brought the Anteaters from a 7-23 win-loss record to 13-9, their first time in double-digit victories in eight seasons.

But the Anteaters have been painfully inconsistent, and Goodenbour is using stern measures to get her team to play with urgency for the remaining half of their conference season. Read more...

Ros-GO's national TV debut

2011-01-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

See Ros in her first appearance as a game analyst on national television!!

On Sunday, January 16

At 10:30 am Pacific Time

Tune to ESPNU

Oklahoma at Texas

Candice's Overseas Experience

2011-01-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Candice is going to lead an 8-day tour of Spain in October whose aim is to bring women’s basketball fans in America to the world of European basketball. Read more...

Lindsey is ready to win

2010-12-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Lindsey Yamasaki is in her third season as the women's basketball head coach at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, which is is in the process of becoming an NCAA Division II member institution.

Josh Flynn (SLAM) writes about Lindsey's path from Stanford to the Academy of Art.

After two losing seasons, Lindsey feels the Urban Knights are about to turn a corner. “I feel it coming,” she says. “I don’t know if it will be a slew of wins or just a couple but I think we’re getting there.” Read more...

(They're not quite there yet. They lost to USF tonight, 85-57.)

Candice takes on a new mission

2010-12-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Ron Kroichick (San Francisco Chronicle) writes about how life has changed for Candice this fall. ... here

Family and Mental Illness

2010-12-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

BringChange2Mind is a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to get rid of stigmas associated with mental illness. Jayne has joined that effort with her account of Family and Mental Illness.

Preparing for life after basketball

2010-12-05T14:57:00.000-08:00

Nicole knows that she will be making a big career change in the next few years. She and several other WNBA players are preparing for life after basketball by interning in an executive development program. Read more...

Candice on World AIDS Day

2010-11-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

Candice speaks to Michelle Smith about World AIDS Day here.

Q & A with Candice Wiggins

2010-11-20T09:06:00.000-08:00

Sports Media Watch spoke to Lynx guard Candice Wiggins on Thursday, in advance of her appearance at Friday's Ivy Sports Symposium at Princeton. Topics of conversation include the most pertinent issues facing college athletes, the state of the WNBA, and the objectification of female athletes. Read more...

Ros impresses with her commentary

2010-11-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

In addition to her job at Tesla Motors, Ros will be working for ESPN as a ~~color commentator~~ game analyst for women's basketball games. Her first game will be Oklahoma at Texas on January 16.

She is also doing color commentary for women's basketball games on Stanford All*Access webcasts.

Long-time Cardinal fan Warren Grimes had the pleasure of hearing Ros' commentary on the Stanford vs UCSD game. He was very impressed:

I watched the video feed of Stanford’s game against UC San Diego and had the great pleasure of hearing Ros Gold-Onwude’s color commentary. It wasn’t perfect – but it was so full of enthusiasm and informative insights that I would say without hesitation – the best basketball commentary I’ve heard in a long time – and maybe ever.
Ros is eloquent and knows the team and the coaches. I had the sense that she was telling us the very same things that Tara VanDerveer was telling the team in the huddle. Some quick examples:
In the first half, Nneka was called for a screening foul because she wasn’t firmly set. Ros observed that these little mistakes don’t matter in a one-sided game, but could be difference makers in a closely fought game.
In the second half, when UC San Diego’s Chelsea Carlisle made a string of three pointers, Ros questioned the lack of intensity on the perimeter defense. She observed that TVD would find this unacceptable; within nanoseconds after Ros’ remark, TVD had called a time out. Ros’ take on perimeter defense – the defensive player must commit to total and unfaltering concentration, with never a second of lapse.
When asked about the team’s focus for the UC San Diego game, Ros did not hesitate to say, “Defense.” Overall, I think Stanford’s defense was better on Tuesday night. Vanguard shot 47% from the three-point line last week, but UC San Diego was held to 33%.
Ros also had nice things to say about Toni Kokenis’ performance in getting the ball up court. She noted the relative difficulty that Stanford had late in the second half when neither Kokenis nor Pohlen was in the game.
Overall, one had the sense that Gold-Onwude’s comments were the same things that TVD or Kate Paye would be saying to the team. Color me impressed.
Go Ros!

Coach Azzi's debut

2010-11-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

Q McCall [Swish Appeal] writes about Jennifer Azzi's debut as a college coach, USF's 61-34 home win against Sonoma State last Friday.

When asked about her first game as a coach, Azzi said, "Now no one will tell me anymore that I haven't done it before."

Her next challenge is to build a winning team at USF, which was picked to finish last in the WCC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll.

But for now, she is focussed on making this season the best experience possible for her players. "It's gonna take time," said Azzi. "But one of the things that I don't want to do is kinda take for granted the players that are here now because we've got some talent on this team and, like I said, they've been working very, very hard. So I want to - and I have, from day one - treated them as if we recruited them because they get their college experience one time and as much as college athletics is about winning and losing it is an experience for these young women and I want them to have a good one." Read more...

Alumnae abroad 2010-11

2010-11-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

The 2010-2011 season is underway for women's professional basketball teams in Europe. Here is a report of six Stanford alumnae who are playing abroad this season, two that aren't and one undecided.

Kristin Newlin ('07) is in Turkey playing for Fenerbahce for the third season. (The name she's known by in Turkey is Nevin Nevlin.)

New ruptured her plantar fascia last March, and her goal this season is to be healthy. See her comments about the upcoming season in her blog.

This should be a very good season for Fenerbahce. Last season, they won all 29 of their league games, were the league champion for the sixth consecutive season, and made it to the final eight of Euroleague Women. This season, they've added Diana Taurasi and have already won the preseason Turkish presidential cup.

Fenerbahce is playing in Euroleague Women again this season. Here is an evaluation of the team by Paul Nilsen, a European basketball journalist.

Nicole Powell ('04) will be playing in Poland beginning in January for Wisla Can-Pack. This is the fourth European country in six years for Nicole. She is, I believe, the first Cardinal alumna to play in Poland.

Wisla is playing in Euroleague Women, as well as in the Polish league, this season. Here is an evaluation of the team by Paul Nilsen. He expects that Wisla will win the Polish championship and be one of the final eight in Euroleague.

Brooke Smith ('07) is playing in Italy for the fourth season, but with a different team — Cras Taranto. Although she doesn't have to learn a new language, the environment is very different. Comense, where she played the prior three seasons is in northern Italy; Taranto is far south on the Mediterranean coast on the heel of the boot.

One of Brooke's new teammates is Michelle Greco, former UCLA point guard.

Taranto is playing in Euroleague Women, as well as in the Italian league, this season. Here is an evaluation of the team by Paul Nilsen. Rebekkah Brunson was the driving force for Taranto last season. But she has departed and left a gap of over 15 points and 8 rebounds per game. Nilsen expects that Brooke's contribution will be intriguing, but expecting her to get anywhere near the impact of Brunson is, "wholly unrealistic and absolutely unfair."

Jillian Harmon ('09) is in Italy playing for Comense for the second season

Comense, which finished 6th of 12 in their league last season, has a new coach and five new players. One of Jillian's new teammates is Cameo Hicks, who was an outstanding guard for the University of Washington several seasons ago.

Cissy Pierce ('08) is in Spain playing for Rhein Mainbaskets for the third season.

Rhein MB has already played six games this season, and Cissy leads the team in scoring (14 per game) and is second in rebounds (5.4). Not quite as good as last season when she averaged 19.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, but it's early days.

Cori Enghusen ('02) is beginning her ninth season of professional basketball, her sixth in Turkey and her second with Mersin. (The name she's known by in Turkey is Korel Engin.)

Candice Wiggins ('08) signed with Turkish team Galatasaray in May before she ruptured her Achilles tendon. She is still shown on their roster, but has said she will take a full nine months to rehab and doesn't expect to play again until next summer.

Olympia Scott ('98) has played professional basketball in the WNBA and Europe since 1998, but she hasn't signed with anyone for the 2010-11 season. I don't know whether she has retired or is just taking a year off.

Jayne Appel ('10) signed with Turkish team Tarsus Belediyesi and practiced with them for several weeks before the season started.

She found that she wasn't getting the medical care and therapy she needs to fully recover from her injuries, so she came home to think it over. I don't know her decision about playing in the 2010-11 season.

Fenerbache wins Turkish President's Cup

2010-10-22T08:27:00.000-07:00

Fenerbahce won the 18th Presidential Cup for the 7th time in history by beating Galatasaray with a sensational 75-58 victory at the sold out Abdi Ipekci Arena, and Kristen Newlin twitters:

President's Cup victory!! Thank you fans! We love you!

The President's Cup is theTurkish Basketball League's annual curtain raiser to the new season between the reigning Turkish league champion (Fenerbahce) and the Turkish Cup holder (Galatasaray).

New shared the celebration with her new teammate, Diana Taurasi.

There are no Cardinal alumnae on the Galatasaray roster this season. Candice signed with the team, but is not likely to play this season as she continues to rehab from her Achilles tendon injury. But there are two other powerful WNBA players on their roster: Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles.

Jayne's website

2010-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Jayne blogs and twitters and now she has a website too. Check it out.

Candice "in a really good place"

2010-10-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Candice was upbeat, positive and full of energy when she spoke with Michelle Smith (Left Coast Hoops) last week. She is at Stanford, taking classes to finish her degree in Communications, and she plans to be around to watch the Stanford women start the new season. Read more...

To learn more about what Candice has been doing lately, see her blog.

Gold for Team USA

2010-10-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

The USA Basketball Women’s World Championship Team defeated host Czech Republic 89-69 in the Gold Medal Game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship yesterday. The victory earned them the eighth gold for the U.S. in World Championship competition and a place in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games that will be held July 27-Aug. 12 in London.

Jayne said, "{Being on the medal stand] was awesome. It’s just a tremendous feeling, and I’m just so proud. Our team worked so hard to get here. We accomplished our goal, and we are world champions. It was a moment you will never forget. It was just really, really cool."

Below are photos of Jayne celebrating the moment with her teammates. You'll find the game report from USA Basketball with links to stats, quotes and more photos here.

Sonja Henning to be inducted into Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame

2010-09-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

Stanford fans remember Sonja Henning as an outstanding point guard. She graduated from Stanford 19 years ago, but still holds all the records for assists -- career (757), single-season (237), and average per game (7.4).

Henning will receive her latest honor on Saturday when she will be inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Peter Jackel (RacineSportsZone) writes of Henning's achievements in the past 25 years since she captivated crowds at Horlick High School in Wisconsin with her unique basketball skills.

"Henning is someone who has lived her life ... maximizing her prodigious potential and refusing to concede that limitations exist."

"For me, my drive was always to do my best," Henning said. Read more...