Menlo-Atherton High School, coached by Markisha Coleman (2007) and Sacred Heart Prep, coached by Melanie Murphy (2011) will compete for the championship in the fifth annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Eastside Prep in East Palo Alto this afternoon (Dec 30) at 3:00.
Here are a story, the bracket, and a map.
Here's a progress report from Chiney, courtesy of the Connecticut Sun:
She was back on her foot, though not quite yet her feet, for Christmas with all the sisters.
The Connecticut Sun reports:
Lindsey Yamasaki Garrett added 3 new photos — with Gray Garrett.
November 16 at 11:02pm ·
It's a GIRL! Baby Aiko June Garrett made us a family of three tonight, 11/16/16 at 7:24pm. Pronounced Eye-Co, she's already like her parents, tall and full - 22" long, 8lbs 3oz. We could not be more in love with our baby girl!
Seb told the story of those dark days in Turkey in greater detail to Michelle Smith (espn) last summer just before the 2016 Olympics:
Sebnem Kimyacioglu hopes to bring a sense of pride to Turkey in Rio Olympics.
Nine Stanford alumnae are playing professional basketball in Europe, China and Australia for the 2016-17 winter season.
Viagarano is one of the weaker teams in the Italian SerieA1 League. This is just their third season in the league. They stand tenth (of twelve) with a 1-5 win-loss record.They finished in 11th place last season so have (almost) nowhere to go but up.
Vigarano welcomed back Amber's energy and speed in her role as starting point guard. She has averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 2.8 steals (ninth-best in the league).
The team is located in the city of Jiyuan in mid-eastern China, about 450 miles southwest of Beijing [map].
Henan is a stong team. It stands at the top of the Women's Chinese Basketball Associatin (WCBA) league with an 8-2 win-loss record.
Chiney is off to a blazing start, as she was in Italy two years ago before a knee injury ended her rookie season.
She has racked up a double-double in all but the first game of the season. She is the seond-best scorer and rebounder in the WCBA with an average of 33.1 points at a 62.6% clip and 14.4 rebounds
Eurobasket.com has awarded the Asia-basket.com Player of the Week twice to Chiney — in round 7 for 32 points and 21 rebounds and in round 8 for 39 points and 13 rebounds. She would have no doubt also also earned the honor in round 5 when she tallied 56 points (!!!) and 12 rebounds, except that Eurobasket didn't start reporting news from China until round 6.
(The photo above is Chiney with her new best friend, her interpreter.)
Canberra, Australia's capital, is inland from the southeast coast, about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne [map].
The UC Caps have been one of the dominant teams in the Australian Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) since 1999 when Lauren Jackson began her professional basketball career there. She played on and off with the UC Caps until she retired last year.
17-year head coach Carrie Graf also retired last year, and the team has entered a rebuilding phase with a new head coach and 14 new players.
The rebuilt team is performing quite well. They stand third in the WNBL with a 4-3 win-loss record.
Mikaela was one of the first two signings of the new season. “Mikaela brings an element of toughness and competitiveness to the game and her stats speak volumes, consistently averaging double figures in points scored and rebounds,” coach PaulGorris said. “She is a perfect fit for our program both on and off the court.”
In the first seven games of the season, Mikaela is living up to expectations. She leads the WNBL in rebounding with 11.0 per game and adds an average of 11.9 points and 2.3 assists.
Kazanochka finished in a three-way tie for next-to-last place in the Russian PBL league last season. They're working hard to move out of the cellar and currently stand ninth with a 1-5 win-loss record.
Sarah is a reserve center for Kazanochka (but plays more minutes than the starter). She has averaged 6.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists in the first six games of the season.
Dynamo K is one of the powerhouse teams in the Russian PBL league. They are currently in a tie for first place with a perfect 7-0 record.
Nneka's return was delayed as she finished up her fabulous summer in the WNBA, and she hasn't played in a PBL game yet.
But Dynamo K is also playing in EuroLeague Women (for the third consecutive season), and Nneka returned in time to join them for the second game of the opening round.
FIBA journalist Paul Nilsen enthused, "... what
about a certain WNBA MVP waltzing back into EuroLeague Women? What a sight it was to see Nnemkadi Ogwumike [another of my big faves] playing for Dynamo Kursk as she returned to Russia and posted a breathtaking 21 points and 19 boards in her team’s 73-67 success against Mersin. Ogwumike continues to look unstoppable. With Ogwumike on board, Dynamo Kursk have the foundation to be crowned champions."
Lucca is an excellent team. They were co-champions, with Familia Schio, of the Italian SerieA1 league last season. They currently stand at second place in the league with a 5-1 win-loss record, just one game behind Familia Schio.
Kayla is Lucca's starting center and has averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds (ninth-best in the league), 1.7 assists, and 0.5 blocks in the first six games of the season.
Jillian is Lucca's starting shooting guard. In their first six games she leads the team in playing time (36 min) and scoring (15.6 points, which is sixth best in the league). In addition, she averages 6.2 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 2.5 steals.
Jillian received a Eurobasket.com Player of the Week award for round 5 when she tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
This is Cissy's seventh season of playing professional basketball in Germany, her first with Goettingen, which is a member of the secondary German Women's Basketball League (Germany-2.Bundesliga). They stand fourth in the league with a 5-1 win-loss record.
Cissy is Goettingen's starting shooting forward. She has averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals in the first six games of the season.
This is New's tenth season of playing professional basketball in Turkey, her first with Mersin.
Mersin is a port on the Mediterranean coast in southern Turkey [map].
Mersin has historically stood in the upper third of the Turkish KBSL league. Early in this season, they share the middle with six other teams with a 2-1 win-loss record.
Mersin is also playing in EuroLeague Women for the first time, although it's not the first time for New, who participated several seasons with Fenerbahce. Mersin has played two games in EuroLeague Women and have lost both, one to Dynamo Kursk (Nneka's team).
New is Mersin's starting power forward. She has averaged 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in the EuroLeague games; 9.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in the KBSL games.
These four Stanford alumnae have played abroad recently, but aren't playing this season:
Jeanette Pohlen Mavunga ('11) is watching pro ball this season instead of playing. She's in Japan with her husband, Julian, who is playing with the Shiga Lakestars.
Jayne Appel Marinelli ('10) has retired from playing basketball. She's in New York, working as the Associate Director of Player Relations for the Women's National Basketball Player Association (WNBPA)
Sebnem Kimyacioglu ('05) returned to basketball in the summer to play with the Turkish National Team in the 2016 Olympic Games. She's not playing basketball this season and has, I assume, returned to her career as a lawyer.
Joslyn Tinkle ('13) is ???. She hasn't signed with a professional basketball club, but I have no news about what she's doing now.
A pair of wins would take the Caps to the top of the ladder, and Mikaela is looking to use her energy and aggression to achieve that, as reported by James Hall in the Canberra Times:
Canberra Capitals' Mikaela Ruef ready for Victorian road trip
Nneka's splendid season ended in the best way possible tonight — with a WNBA Championship.
The Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx 77-76. Nneka hit the game winner with a rebound and an impossible put-back at the three-second mark. Watch the last 20 seconds of the game here.
Here's the AP game report: Nneka Ogwumike's clutch shot lifts Sparks to first title in 14 years
So now Nneka has a championship trophy to go along with the MVP trophy she earned for her stellar play during the regular season. She joins an exclusive club of just six players who have won the MVP and championship in the same season.
And she has a cool pair of sneakers:
Oct 21: More from the media:
Here's the press release: MVP Nneka Ogwumike elected WNBA players' union president
Here's Mechelle Voepel's opinion:
Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike new WNBA players' union prez and VP. Hey, I'd vote for them in another election someday. Say, 2044? Think big. :)
— Mechelle Voepel (@MechelleV) October 19, 2016
She has begun work as the Associate Director of Player Relations for the Women's Basketball Player Association (WNBPA), the first ever professional women athletes' union.
She was the San Antonio Stars' player rep to the WNBPA for five years, the WNBPA's secretary/treasurer for three. She did an offseason internship two years ago at St. Francis College in Brooklyn in the athletic department and said she is interested in the "business side" of athletics.
She was the only unanimous pick, receiving 39 first-place votes and 195 points from a panel of national and local sportswriters and broadcasters.
For those who haven't been Cardinal fans forever: Molly and Jennifer were teammates at Stanford in 1989-90, the season of the Cardinal's first national championship. Jennifer was a senior and Molly a freshman. Molly continued on to the Cardinal's second national championship in 1992 — she was the Final Four MVP. Here is a report of that game from the Los Angeles Times: Stanford Stands Tall : Championship: The Cardinal makes coach forget October's misery with 78-62 victory over Western Kentucky.
USF is not a new venue for Molly. Her first coaching job was as an assistant to Mary Hile-Nepfel in 1994-95. After several years of playing professional basketball, she got her first head coaching job in 2002 at Santa Rosa Junior College. She returned to USF as an assistant coach in 2005-06 and has been a head coach since then at CSU Chico, UC Irvine, and CSU Dominguez Hills.
Read more in the USF announcement: Molly Goodenbour Named Head Coach
Here's another story from the WNBA about what makes Nneka such a special player: Nneka Ogwumike’s Rise to MVP. The story includes several videos of her season highlights with comments by Nneka, Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie.
And here's a great story by Mechelle Voepel: No matter how you look at it, Nneka Ogwumike is the right pick for MVP
Chiney wraps it up:
When you find out your big sis is @WNBA MVP... pic.twitter.com/vfsPU0jbT1
— Chiney Ogwumike (@Chiney321) September 27, 2016
She announced that she is stepping away from the coaching profession effective immediately to pursue new career opportunities. She also announced that she and her wife, Blair Hardiek, are expecting the birth of their first child later this year.
Read more in the USF announcement: Azzi Steps Down as Women's Basketball Coach and in this report by Ann Killion (SF Chronicls): Jennifer Azzi steps down as USF women’s basketball coach
✔️2nd in Stars history in career blocks (190)
— San Antonio Stars (@SAStars) September 9, 2016
✔️3rd in Stars history in total rebounds (1,289)#Jayne32 pic.twitter.com/liWN3xPbrs
She's not sure yet, but after 15 or so years of basketball she's looking forward to controlling her own schedule.
Michelle Smith reports: Rest, retirement await San Antonio's Jayne Appel-Marinelli
Today Nneka was named WNBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time in five weeks, the fifth time this season and the ninth time in her five-year career!
Click here for more about her outstanding performances.
There's a rare opportunity to see Nneka in action tonight. The Sparks vs Lynx game will be nationally telecast by ESPN2 at 7:00 PT.
The WNBA has resumed play after the Olympics break and Nneka is just 10 games away from shattering the WNBA record for single-season field goal percentage.
Although the Sparks were upset tonight by Seattle, 79-72, Nneka made 11 of 15 from the field (73%) and 4 of 4 from the line.
Matt Ellentuck (SB Nation) explains how she does it in this story Nneka Ogwumike is historically efficient. That’s why the LA Sparks could win the WNBA title, which includes several video clips of Nneka in action.
Only one Stanford women's basketball coach has coached an Olympic team.
And now, for the first time, a Stanford women's basketball player will be the sideline reporter for Olympics men's basketball — Ros Gold-Onwude ('10).
Ros was originally slated by NBC to work the women's sidelines, but they announced yesterday that she has been re-assigned to the men's games: NBC announces Ros Gold-Onwude to replace Craig Sager on men’s basketball sidelines
In attendance were Kayla, Sara, Chiney, Joslyn, Grace, Aaron, Jayne, Lindy, Kerry, Nneka, Ashley, Kate and Hannah.
Everyone had a good time!
When Skip Martin basically puts on a concert for your wedding guests... pic.twitter.com/jJ44s2Kjxd
— Jeanette Pohlen (@JFP32) July 31, 2016
Neil Paine (FiveThirtyEight) has written a rave review of Nneka, who is "currently putting on one of the greatest single-season performances in WNBA history," and having "a magical all-around statistical season."
The Rise — And Rise! — Of Nneka Ogwumike
Note: The play button on the podcast icon did not work for me — this is the link. The discussion of Nneka, begins at about 30:45 in the 45-minute podcast.
Eric He (Palo Alto Online) tells the story of Kish's (Markisha Coleman '07) love for basketball, all the way from the third grade to Kezar Pavilion:
For ex-Stanford player Markisha Coleman, basketball is still central
A lot of people are noticing that Nneka is having a phenomenal season.
Nneka Ogwumike providing MVP-level impact for Sparks
On other coast, Nneka Ogwumike makes a name for herself
And she was named the Western Conference WNBA Player of the Week for the third time this season.
The Sun scored first and held the lead for the first 38 minutes and 4 seconds of the game.
Then, with 1:56 left to play, Nneka sank a three-pointer that gave the Sparks their first lead. The Sun answered with a layup. Nneka came to the Sparks' rescue again with two free throws. Regulation play ended in an 85-85 tie.
In the overtime period, the lead changed five times, during which Chiney fouled out. The Sparks finally won 98-92 and are now 20-1 for the season.
Nneka got into foul trouble and sat on the bench for ten minutes, but still got a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Chiney got her first double-double of the season — 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Click here for the WNBA geme report, box score, play-by-play, and game highlight videos.
Brooke Smith ('07) has completed her studies at Stanford and is now an accredited PA (Physician's Assistant).
Brooke will begin her new career as a member of the bone marrow transplant team at Stanford Medical Center.
Almost everything you might want to know about Brooke is contained in this PA Professional cover story: Playing for the Team, Former WNBA player trades in ball for stethoscope.
Candice, who graduated from Stanford with a degree in communications, says that she has always wanted to do podcasts.
And now she is – for Ultimate Hoops, whose mission is to inspire all players to #NeverRetire from the game.
Candice will be hosting the show and doing interviews in the future, but the first few episodes are a conversation with Reid Nelson about her entire basketball journey.
In the first episode, Candice talks about the end – her decision to retire from basketball – and the beginning – playing basketball throughout her childhood.
The second episode covers Candice’s high school and college years, and the third one (not yet released) will be about her eight years in the WNBA.
Pohlen’s return to the Fever is effective July 6 per available salary cap space, when the Fever begin a three-game West Coast trip at Los Angeles. A roster spot was made available when rookie guard Brene Moseley was waived June 20.
Waived at the end of training camp in May, Pohlen returns to the franchise for which she has played since 2011. Pohlen is a four-year WNBA veteran and a member of Indiana’s championship team of 2012. Drafted by the Fever No. 9 overall in 2011, she became the first rookie in league history to lead the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage.
In fact, she owns a career shooting percentage of 42.8 percent and her 42.5 percent clip from 3-point range ranks second in Fever history. Pohlen has averaged 3.7 points and 1.4 rebounds through 107 regular season games with Indiana. She has made appearances in 20 playoff games with the Fever.
Yesterday, Excelle Sports posted a great story about Nneka's major growth spurt in her fifth season with the Lost Angeles Sparks: Nneka Ogwumike scoring at unprecedented rate
Then last night, Nneka scored her career-high 38 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks against the Atlantic Dream. She was 13 of 14 from the field and 12 of 14 at the free throw line.
After Atlanta pulled to 76-73 with 2 minutes left, Nneka made a layup and had a block on the Dream’s next possession. She sealed it with six straight free throws in the final minute.
The WNBA's feature story today is: Nneka Ogwumike and the Sparks Are Shining Brighter Than Ever
Nneka Ogwumike ('12) broke nine Stanford records and two Pac-12 records in her years at Stanford.
Now she's taking aim at WNBA records. In the L.A. Sparks' 97-73 victory over Dallas last night, Nneka made all twelve of her field goal attempts, which broke the single-game record of 11-of-11 set by Seimone Augustus nine years ago.
You can see all twelve field goals in this video: Nneka Ogwumike goes for 32 points in win over the Wings
And read about them in this game report: Nneka Ogwumike breaks WNBA record, makes all 12 FG attempts
10:30 AM PT
After three years as head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Molly Goodenbour ('93) has been appointed head women's basketball coach at Cal State East Bay in Hayward.
Click here for the CSUEB announcement.
Kiran, who hopes to become an orthopaedic surgeon, plans to earn a master’s degree in public health or maybe sports medicine before going on to medical school.
She's going to put that plan in effect as a graduate student at SMU in Dallas, while also playing basketball for the Mustangs.
You can watch the game online for $1.99.
Here's the game preview, with links to the webcast and upcoming game info.
The 2015-16 season is over for the eight Stanford alumnae who played abroad. Here's how it went for them.
Lucca had an excellent season. They were co-champions, with Familia Schio, of the Italian Serie A1 league with a 23-3 win-loss record, their best finish ever since joining the A1 league in 2011. But Schio swept the league playoff finals to take their fourth consecutive A1 title, leaving Lucca a proud winner of the silver medal.
Jillian Harmon ('09), Lucca (Italy)
Jillian, who joined Lucca as their starting shooting guard this season, was a major factor in Lucca's success. She led her team in scoring with 18.9 ppg (#5 in the league). She scored in double digits in all but three games, more than 20 points in 14 games and 30 or more three times. She also tallied 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.
Jillian was named to the All-Italian A1 First Team and All-Imports Team by Euroleague.com.
Kayla Pedersen ('11), Lucca (Italy)
Kayla had a fine season as Lucca's starting center. This was Kayla's second season with Lucca and she switched positions, from the '4' to the '5'. At 6'4", she was Lucca's tallest player.
Kayla was Lucca's best shot-blocker (0.3 bpg), second-best rebounder (7.1 rpg), and third-best scorer (11.0 ppg).
Kayla received Honorable Mention in the Eurobasket.com All-Italian A1 awards.
Amber Orrange ('15), Vigarano (Italy)
Vigarano, in just their second season in the Italian Serie A1 league, ranked eleventh with a 9-17 win-loss record and ended their season with a loss in the first round of the playoffs.
Amber had a promising rookie season as Vigarano's starting shooting guard. She didn't perform very well at the beginning, but came on strong as the season progressed and scored in double digits in all but two games in the last half of the season.
Amber had a great performance in the first round of the playoffs as she helped Vigarano upset the #6 seed by scoring 24 points (including all eight of her free throws) and 10 rebounds. In the second game of the round, she tallied 19 points and 5 steals, but that wasn't enough to save the game for Vigarano.
Amber led her team in steals with 2.3 per game. She was second in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (1.5 apg) and third in rebounds (5.3 rpg).
Nneka Ogwumike ('12), Dynamo Kursk (Russia)
Dynamo Kursk had a very good season, although not quite as good as last season when they made their first-ever appearance in EuroLeague Women and won the bronze medal. This season, they lost to eventual silver medallist Nadezhda in the Elite Eight.
They ranked fourth in the Russian PBL league with a 17-5 win-loss record. In the league playoffs, they lost to Nadezhda in the semifinals, then went on finish their season with a victory in the consolation final and the bronze medal.
Nneka was outstanding in both competitions.
She ranked in the top 10 EuroLeague players in 15 of 21 statistical categories — everything except 3-pointers, offensive rebounds, assists and steals. She was first in field goals made (7.0 per game) and 2-point field goal percentage (58.4%), second in scoring (17.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (55.7%), third in double-doubles (6).
Nneka was named the All-EuroLeague Forward of the Year and Import Player of the Year by Eurobasket.com.
In the PBL games, Nneka was the league's top scorer with 19.7 ppg. She made 66% of her field goal attempts and 84% of her free throws, led her team in rebounding with 7.7 per game (seventh-best in the league), and tallied five double-doubles.
She was named the All-Russian PBL Player of the Year, Forward of the Year. and Import Player of the Year by Eurobasket.com.
Sarah Boothe ('12), Kazanochka Kasan (Russia)
Kazanochka finished in a three-way tie for next-to-last place in the Russian PBL league with a disappointing 4-18 win-loss record.
Sarah did a great job for Kazanochka as their starting power forward. She was their best scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker with game averages of 11.9, 7.9 and 1.0 respectively. She was the sixth-best rebounder in the league (0.2 ahead of Nneka) and the fifth-best shot-blocker.
She took 1/4 of Kazanochka's total field goal attempts and made 48.5% of them. She tallied double-doubles nine times.
Sarah has also contributed to the community by teaching basketball to school girls in Kazan.
Mikaela Ruef ('13), Adelaide Lightning (Australia)
The Adelaide Lightning finished seventh in the Australian WNBL league with a 10-14 win-loss record.
Mikaela had a very good season as the Lightning's starting shooting forward. She led the team in rebounds with an average of 11.8 per game (#2 in the league) and blocked shots (0.8 per game). She was third on the team in scoring (13.1 points per game) and assists (2.2 per game). She tallied double-doubles in the last eight games of the season and in three earlier games.
Mikaela received Honorable Mention in the Australiabasket.com All-Australian WNBL awards.
Two of her teammates are named Mikaela and Mikayla, and, according to the Lightning coach's end-of-season poem, she's known as:
... We lifted and played with energy abound
Watch out though as Ruefy would take your rebound ...
Joslyn Tinkle ('13), Sydney Uni Flames (Australia)
The Flames finished fifth in the Australian WNBL league with a 13-11 win-loss record.
Joslyn had a good season as the Flames' starting power forward. She led the team in blocks, with an average of 2.7 per game (#4 in the league) and in rebounds, with an average of 13.9 per game. She was also their fourth-best scorer, with an average of 11.4 points per game.
Kristen Newlin/Kristen Nevlin('07), Gelistirenler (Turkey)
Gelistirenler ranked eighth in the Turkish KBSL (used to be TKBL) league with an 11-15 win-loss record and ended its season with a loss to #1 seed Fenerbahce in the first round of the league playoffs.
New was Gelistirenler's starting power forward. She led the team in rebounding (7.8 per game), was second in blocked shots (0.4 per game) and scored 10.5 points per game.
