July 29, 2017

Tall Ferns finish sixth in Asia Cup

The Tall Ferns were defeated by Chinese Taipei 45-65 and finished in sixth place in the 2017 FIBA Women's Asia Cup.

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The Tall Ferns' quest for a ticket to the 2018 FIBA Women's World Cup failed, but Jillian's contribution was truly outstanding:

She played an average of 31.9 minutes per game, the third-most in the tournament.

She was the fourth-best scorer in the tournament with 14.0 points per game.

She was the second-best rebounder in the tournament with 9.3 rebounds per game.

She averaged 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game

She had the fifth-best efficiency ranking in the tournament (efficiency is a composite statistic that is derived from basic individual statistics: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers and shot attempts)

July 28, 2017

Tall Ferns win Classification (5-8) game in Asia Cup

The Tall Ferns defeated DPR Korea 82-61 in a classification game for places 5-8

Jillian was again the top scorer for her team with 15 points. She also had nine rebounds and three assists.

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The Tall Ferns will face Chinese Taipei in the 5th/6th play-off game early Saturday morning at 12:45am Pacific Time.

July 27, 2017

Tall Ferns' World Cup hopes dashed

The Tall Ferns' fervently-anticipated trip to the 2018 FIBA World Cup came to a crashing halt tonight as they lost 64-49 to Korea in the FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals.

The game started well for New Zealand. They began with confidence instead of their habitual slow start and Korea was shooting very badly. Three minutes into the second quarter, the Kiwis were ahead 20-11.

Then it all turned around. Korea got hot and New Zealand went dead cold. Korea went on a 23-0 run. and the half ended with New Zealand down 20-34.

The Tall Ferns played catch-up all through the second half, but didn't quite make it. They got within four points once in the third quarter and within two once in the fourth quarter. Then Korea scored a 9-0 run that effectively ended the game with three minutes left on the clock.

Jillian again played almost the entire game (39 minutes) and led her team with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

At the end of the Group Phase, European sports journalist Jeff Taylor picked Jillian as one of the top five players so far with this accolade:

The consistent Harmon does it all for the Tall Ferns
There are leaders, and there are "put the team on your back" leaders. The 30-year-old Harmon has been the latter for the Tall Ferns. One of the three players on the Kiwis' roster that played for the country at the 2008 Olympics, Harmon averaged 37mpg in wins over the D.P.R. of Korea and Chinese Taipei, victories that have given the New Zealanders a chance to reach the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Averaging 19ppg and 14rpg in those two victories, Harmon also led the team with a gritty defensive effort.

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The Tall Ferns will now play for places 5-8 at the Asia Cup beginning with a match against the DPR of Korea on Thursday evening at 10:30pm Pacific Time.

July 25, 2017

Tall Ferns edge past Taipei to second place in group phase

The Tall Ferns got off to a very, very slow start and had a miserable first quarter. They turned the ball over eight times and made just three of 15 field goal attempts (Jillian missed four of five shots). Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei made eight of 13 attempts, including four 3-pointers and led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter

The Tall Ferns got things going a bit in the second quarter, but they were still down 35-24 at the end of the half.

The Tall Ferns stepped up their defense after the break and held Taipei scoreless until the last minute of the third quarter, which ended 38-34.

The Tall Ferns finally tied the score at 38-38 three minutes into the fourth quarter, then took the lead on a layup by Jillian. The lead switched back and forth for several minutes. Then the Tall Ferns edged ahead and won 59-53.

Jillian played for all but a minute and a half and looked exhausted (as did many of the other players). In spite of her miserable first quarter she ended as the Tall Fern's leading rebounder (15) and second-best scorer (15). She also had three assists, a steal and a block.

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The victory placed the Tall Ferns second in Group A. They will face Korea (#3 in Group B) in the quarter-finals late Wednesday evening at10:30pm Pacific Time

Korea is ranked #15 worldwide by FIBA and New Zealand is #38. In the group phase, Korea lost to Australia 78-54, lost to Japan 70-56, and defeated the Phillipines 91-63.

July 24, 2017

Jillian leads Tall Ferns to victory in second Asia Cup game

The Tall Ferns bounced back from yesterday's loss to China and defeated DPR Korea 71-50.

The victory was largely due to Jillian, who had a monster game: 23 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

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The Tall Ferns face Chinese Taipei in their third and final group phase game on Monday night, 10:30 pm, Pacific Time.

July 23, 2017

Tall Ferns lose opening Asia Cup game

The New Zealand Tall Ferns were completely dominated by China in their opening Asia Cup game, which they lost 77-48.

Jillian led the Tall Ferns in scoring with 14 points, and added three rebounds, an assist, and two steals, but it wasn't enough to carry the team.

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The Tall Ferns will play DPR Korea in their second group round game early Monday morning(12:45 am PT). Korea also lost its first game (to Taipei, 77-76), so this will be a must-win game for both teams.

July 12, 2017

Tall Ferns' preparations for Asia Cup going well

The Tall Ferns (the New Zealand National Women's Team) began serious preparations for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup by playing in the William Jones Cup, a friendly competition, in Taipei.

The Tall Ferns placed in a three-way tie for first place with four wins (vs India, South Korea, Republic of China White and Japan) and one loss (to Republic of China Blue). Jillian averaged 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the five games.

Note that China, Japan and Korea will be playing in Asia Cup, but with different athletes than those that played in the William Jones Cup.

The Tall Ferns are continuing their build-up to Asia Cup with a three-game series against the Shanghai national team. The Tall Ferns won the first game of that series today, 80-55. Jillian was their top scorer with 18 points.

After two more games against Shanghai, the Tall Ferns will depart to Bangalore, India next Monday.

Read more from Basketball New Zealand: Tall Ferns continue Asia Cup build up with win in Singapore

July 10, 2017

What's up with hoopster alums

45 of the 190 women who have played varsity basketball at Stanford have experienced major life events in the past couple of years — graduation, career change, marriage, birth.

For information about all the Stanford hoopster alumnae, see "Where are they now?", alphabetical or chronological. If you have corrections or more information about hoopster alumnae, please post it as a comment to this blog or send it to me.

Kami Anderson, 1989

After working as an anesthesiologist in North Dakota for eight years, Kami moved west and is now a clinical instructor of anesthesiology at Stanford School of Medicine.

Jayne Appel, 2010

Jayne married Chris Marinelli last spring (photo). She retired from playing basketball soon after and is now the Associate Director of Player Relations for the Women's National Basketball Player Association (WNBPA).

Jennifer Azzi, '90

Jennifer is a Global Director at the NBA and Director of Special Initiatives at USF. She and her spouse, Blair Hardiek, have a son, Macklin Robert, born in February 2017.

Aly Beebe, 2016

Aly graduated with a degree in Human Biology and has moved to New York City.

Chandra Benton, 1999

Chandra married Kirk Strait early this year.

Becky Bonner, 2005

After six years with the NBA Basketball International Operations Group, Becky is now the Director of Player Development and Quality Control at Orlando Magic NBA Team.

Jasmine Camp, 2015

Jasmine graduated with a degree in Psychology and has been working at the Community School, a school in Georgia for adolescents and young adults who are on the autism spectrum.

Jamie Carey, 2001

Jamie returned home last season as an assistant coach at the University of Texas.

Ashley Cimino, 2011

Ashley has moved to Boston (from NYC) where she is a marketing manager for TechTarget.

Morgan Clyburn, 2009

Morgan has completed her study for a master's degree at Northwestern and resumed her work in the medical technology field as a Senior Corporate Development Associate at Medtronic.

Katie Denny, 2004

Katie is working as an assistant professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at UC Davis Medical Center. She married Michael Macellari in June (photo).

Bethany Donaphin, 2002

Bethany, after several years with Deloitte Consulting in San Francisco, is in New York City working for the NBA as an Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Denia Ebersole, 2016

Denia graduated with a degree in Management Science and Engineering and is working in San Francisco.

Jessica Elway Delgadillo, 2008

Jessica married Jimmy Delgadillo in 2015 (photo) and is in New York, working for an organization that aids low-income communities.

Molly Goodenbour, 1993

After three years as head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Molly is now the head coach at the University of San Francisco.

Alex Green, 2015

Alex graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and has been honing her basketball skills. She's playing her first season of pro ball this summer in Australia with the Southern Tigers.

Taylor Greenfield, 2015

Taylor graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and has been working at various jobs (currently a data analyst and a resume writer).

Mitch Harrison, 2010

Mitch and his wife, Krista, have moved to Alaska. They were married in April.

Sara James, 2014

Sara got her nursing degree a couple of years ago and is now working at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

Kailee Johnson,2017

Kailee graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and is working at Nike.

Bobbie Kelsey Grayson, 1996

After a five-year stint as head coach at the University of Wisconsin, Bobbie is now an assistant coach with the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks.

Sebnem Kimyacioglu, 2005

Seb alternated between professional basketball and the study and practice of law for 12 years. She is now working as an attorney in the Los Angeles area and has probably hung up her sneakers for good.

Kiran Lakhian, 2016

Kiran, who graduated with a degree in Human Biology, is pursuing her graduate degree at SMU in Dallas and playing basketball with the SMU Mustangs.

Lindy La Rocque, 2012

After two seasons as an assistant coach at Belmont in Nashville, Lindy has returned to Stanford as an assistant coach.

Erica McCall, 2017

Bird graduated with a degree in Psychology and is playing professional basketball in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever.

Chiney Ogwumike, 2014

Chiney is working for ESPN as the co-host of Sports Center in Africa. She has a multi-year contract with the Connecticut Sun, but has been suspended for the season while she recovers from Achilles tendon surgery.

Eziamaka Okafor Obunadike, 2006

Ezi is in the last year of her medical training as a resident physician at Harvard's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She married Obinna Obunadike last year and is expecting their first child soon (photo).

Amber Orrange, 2015

Amber graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and has been playing professional basket in Italy.

Erica Payne, 2015

Erica graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and is working as a business analyst in San Francisco.

Azella Perryman, 2005

After working in Zimbabwe and South Africa for two and a half years, Azella is back in the Bay Area working as Chief of Staff to the president of StubHub.

Tess Picknell 2016

Tess graduated with a degree in Film and Media Studies and has been working as a tutor and as a set technician at Stanford Theater.

Jeanette Pohlen Mavunga, 2011

Jeanette married Julian Mavunga last summer (photo). They spent the 2016-17 season in Japan, where Julian was playing professional basketball. Jeanette is now back in Indiana for her sixth season with the Fever.

Nicole Powell, 2004

After three years as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon, Nicole moved up to her first head-coaching position at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Krista Rappahahn Birnie, 2006

Krista completed her medical studies and practiced pediatric neonatology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital for two years. She and her husband, David Birnie had their second child, a son, Micah, this spring (photo). The family has recently moved to Massachusetts.

Amanda Renteria, 1996

Amanda was national political director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and is now the Chief of Operations in the California Justice Department (story).

Martha Richards, 1992

Martha retired from coaching golf in 2014 after 14 years as head coach at Vanderbilt and the University of Texas. She's now the athletic director at Aspen High School in Colorado.

Briana Roberson, 2016

Bri graduated with a degree in Political Science and has signed to play professional basketball with PEAC Pécs in Hungary in 2017-18.

Bonnie Samuelson, 2015

Bonnie graduated with a degree in Human Biology and is studying to be an optometrist.

Karlie Samuelson, 2017

Karlie graduated with a degree in Human Biology and has signed to play professional basketball with Pallacanestro Vigarano in Italy in 2017-18.

Brooke Smith Easter, 2007

Brooke completed her Physician's Assistant training last year and is now a member of the bone marrow transplant team at Stanford Medical Center (story). She married Shane Easter last week (photo).

Kelley Suminski, 2005

Kelley got her nursing degree a couple of years ago and is now working at Scripps Memorial Hospital in LaJolla, CA.

Lili Thompson, 2017

Lili graduated with a degree in Science, Technology and Society and is pursuing her graduate degree at Notre Dame. She will be playing basketball with the Fighting Irish (story).

Christy Titchenal Thwaites,

Christy married Fred Thwaites in 2015 (photo) and is working in the Bay Area as a speech-language pathologist.

Chelsea Trotter Mayer, 2004,

Chelsea married John Mayer in 2015 and is still practicing law in southern California.

Lindsey Yamasaki Garrett, 2002

Lindsey and her husband, Gray Garrett, had a daughter, Aiko, born in November last year.