Candice signs with NY Liberty

The New York Liberty announced today that Candice has signed with them: Read here.

Sister, Sister

Nneka and Chiney reflect on their journey to the WNBA, and document their plans for the future in Sister, Sister

The story is a familiar one to Cardinal fans, but this is the sisters' first-person account directly to The Players' Tribune, a new media platform that will present the voices of professional athletes.

Seb and Nneka in EuroLeague Women playoffs

The FIBA EuroLeague Women playoffs begin tomorrow, and two Stanford alumnae will be playing: Sebnem Kimyacioglu (2005) and Nneka Ogwumike (2012).

Seb plays for Turkish team Galatasaray. She has played for them since graduating from Stanford, but not continuously — she took four years off from professional basketball to study for her law degree.

This is Galatasaray's 15th season of competing in EuroLeague Women. They are the reigning champion.

Seb became a legend for Galatasaray last year when she stepped off the bench to hit two big triples that handed her team a first EuroLeague Women title over arch rival Fenerbahce.

Galatasaray and Fenerbache meet again this season in the EuroLeague Women quarter-finals. Read what Seb had to say about the upcoming competition: Kimyacioglu fired up for Fenerbahce

Nneka has played professional basketball overseas for three seasons. She is in Russia this season, playing for Dynamo Kursk, which is competing in EuroLeague Women for the first time.

Dynamo Kursk will play French team Tango Bourges in the EuroLeague Women quarter-finals.

In his preview of the quarter-finals, women's basketball journalist Paul Nilsen says of Nneka:

Arguably the frontrunner for season MVP as things currently stand, Ogwumike is proving to be a fire that can't be extinguished. She is leading the competition in field goal shooting with a wonderful 57.8% and is over 60% inside the paint. When you throw in her 11.5 boards per game for a season double-double, the scale of the task in terms of shackling her effectively becomes even clearer.

The quarter-finals are best two-of-three series. The first round is on Tuesday March 3, the second on Friday March 6, the third (if necessary) on Wednesday March 11.

All the playoff games will be shown live and archived on You Tube. See the TV Schedule on the EuroLeague Women home page for links to ongoing live games. Subtract 11 from Central European Time (CET) to get Pacific Time — e.g. 19:00 CET is 8:00(am) PT.

Click here for a playlist of live and archived games.

Nneka is EuroLeague Women top performer for 5th time

Nnemkadi Ogwumike had double reason to celebrate on Wednesday night, as she led Dynamo Kursk to top spot in EuroLeague Women Group A while claiming Top Performer honours in the process. Dynamo Kursk's Nnemkadi Ogwumike has taken EuroLeague Women Top Performer honours for the fifth time this season. Read more...

In their final game of group play, Dynamo Kursk (which is playing in EuroLeague Women for the first time) defeated Russian powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg 74-73 and took over the top spot in their group. Nneka had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Click here for the game report. The playoffs begin on March 3.

Among the almost 200 players in EuroLeague Women, Nneka ranks #1 in scoring (20.5 ppg), field goal percentage (57.8%), rebounding (11.5 rpg) and double-doubles (10).

Chiney inspires student journalists

From the Cypress Creek Mirror: WNBA star delivers inspirational message to students

Jeanette is ready to play again

It's been almost four years since Jeanette Pohlen was picked by the Indiana Fever in the first round of the 2011 WNBA draft.

As a rookie, Jeanette led the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage (.468), and helped Indiana to the WNBA title in 2012 despite succumbing to a torn left ACL in the WNBA Finals vs. Minnesota.

She played briefly in 2013 and was preparing for a healthy 2014 when she tore her left Achillles' tendon prior to training camp.

She is ready to play again and has signed a 2015 training camp contract with the Fever.

'A' is for Ogwumike

fibaeurope.com's women's basketball specialist Paul Nilsen sings Nneka's praises:

‘O' IS NOT FOR OGWUMIKE

Yes, the letter ‘O' is not for Ogwumike. The letter ‘A' is.

For when it comes to Euroleague Women, Nnemkadi Ogwumike is a straight ‘A' performer after collecting yet another weekly gong for her performance for Dynamo Kursk - albeit in defeat.

Her numbers are eye-bulging this season and when you also look at the year she spent playing in her rookie campaign for CCC Polkowice (before her absence of a year playing in China), you will struggle to find a better career record in the competition. Period.

Sure, it is not even two complete seasons yet, but so far at least, she is my Player of the Year at this stage and not only because of the stats which have seen her return a breathtaking 21.8 points and 12.3 points per game and shot 57.1%.

Already a well-grounded and intelligent player both on and off the court, she seems to have matured even more. She is grabbing two steals per game and her shot selection has been the key. Making over 57% of her plays in and around the basket, but making five triples from 13 attempts outside. And at 38%, that is more than enough for her defenders to have to respect her ability to drift outside.

Her 30 points against Galatasaray was also a career high in the competition.

Although you can measure the red-hot (make that white-hot) form she is in and also her sky-high potential in the fact that even this may not remain the high tide mark!

Ogwumike is on the kind of upward trajectory which at this rate, is in danger of becoming almost beautifully vertical!

However, while her profile, stats and everything else soars, the feet of Ogwumike will remain firmly planted into the ground and that is what makes Dynamo Kursk even more lucky to have her.

Chiney's knee injury

Chiney injured her knee in November while playing in Italy for Famila Wuber Schio.

The exact nature of the injury has not been reported, but the WNBA announced today that Chiney has undergone microfracture surgery on her right knee: Chiney Ogwumike out 6-9 months

Microfracture surgery is a procedure used to repair damaged knee cartilage. JJ Hones ('10) and Melanie Murphy ('11) had the procedure just after the end of the 2009-10 season. JJ's dismissal from the team came shortly afterwards. Mel returned and played the second half of the following season.

New job for JJ

JJ (Jennifer) Hones ('10) is moving up in the corporate world. She has joined Vicon Industries, a provider of video-based surveillance and security systems, as National Distribution Program Manager. Read more...

Nneka is EuroLeague Women top performer for 3rd time

Turning it into something of a habit, Dynamo Kursk's Nnemkadi Ogwumike has taken EuroLeague Women Top Performer honours for the third time this season. Read more...

Among the almost 200 players in EuroLeague Women, Nneka ranks #1 in scoring (20.6 ppg), rebounding (11.9 rpg) and double-doubles (6).

She has led her team to second place in its group with a 6-1 record about midway through regular season play.