The Stanford Athletics Buck/Cardinal Fast Break Club has organized a social before the USC game on Friday, February 18 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at:
The Lab Gastropub
3500 Figueroa St., Los Angeles
213-743-1843
Join your fellow Stanford fans in cheering on the Cardinal versus the Trojans.
Special appearance and address by former Stanford standout, Vanessa Nygaard.
Drinks and appetizers available for purchase.
Questions? Contact Heather M. Owen at h.owen@stanford.edu or (650) 723-3075.
The tournament will be upon us in less than a month! The PAC-10 tournament, always a feast of basketball, offers even more this year with the merger of the men's and women's tournaments. This post covers some of the things you might want to consider in planning to attend.
If you have not already done so, you can purchase tickets at the Stanford sales page.
Click here to review the complete tournament schedule, covering a total of eighteen games in four days.
Now, it is a pretty sure bet that the Cardinal Women will be the #1 seed, and hence will not play until the first semifinal game, 12pm on Friday. (Should they not beat UCLA next week, depending on how the tie-breakers work, they might be the #2 seed and play in the second Friday game.) However there are plenty of other story-lines worth watching: how high can the WSU Cougars get? Can the scrappy new OSU Beavers get a tournament win? Can Cal get into a semifinal? Will Nikki Caldwell's heels punch through the Galen Center's floor?
Also, our tickets include the men's games as well, and the Stanford men might play on Wednesday evening (7th-10th seeds) or if not, certainly on Thursday. We won't know the seeding until the weekend before the tournament.
So there are plenty of reasons to attend preliminary games on Wednesday and Thursday, if your real-life concerns permit.
The trip starts with getting from the Bay Area to L.A. in time for the first games on Wednesday afternoon. You may plan to return on Saturday the 12th, either following the Women's final about 2pm, or following the Men's Final around 6pm. Probably the latter: since you have the ticket to men's games, and there is always the chance that Stanford might be in the final, how can you plan not to see it? If you are going to stay until 6pm-ish on Saturday, you might elect to stay over and return Sunday the 13th.
Drive, or fly? The drive time, Palo Alto to USC, is 6 hours via I-5, or 7 hours via 101. That would be with two drivers trading off, and minimal stops. Cost, $125 for gas (round-trip), plus one or two additional motel nights, as you would probably want to travel on the Tuesday and return on the Sunday.
Or you can spend about 5 hours door-to-door by flying SFO-LAX, at a cost of $175 per person (again, round-trip), plus either 4 days' parking or $75 for door-to-door van rides, plus a rental car or taxi rides.
In other words, the costs, times, and inconveniences are pretty even; which you do depends on how you feel about airport security hassles versus driving hassles. If you plan to fly and return on Saturday, however, you had better book that flight ASAP. A lot of people will be trying to leave LAX around 8pm Saturday.
Since the schedule of basketball games is so full—up to fourteen games in four days, if you really try—you won't have a lot of spare time for driving around to see the sights of the Los Angeles Basin. Suppose you fly; if all you do then is eat, sleep, and watch games, do you really need to rent a car?
Well, actually, no! First, select a hotel within walking distance of the Staples Center. There are numerous hotels in this area; here is a map of them.
Click "View Larger Map." Letter (J) is the Wilshire Grand, where in the past the PAC-10 has housed all the teams.
The Galen Center is a mile or so southwest along Figueroa street. The #81 bus runs every few minutes, as shown on this map.
Again, click on "View Larger Map." Then you can see the Galen Center at letter (A) and Staples Center at letter (B), and the #81 running between them.
Google apparently doesn't know about the new Metro Silver Line, an express bus that also runs between these two places. The Silver Line station for USC is inconveniently placed three blocks away from the door of the Galen Center, underneath the Harbor Freeway on 37th street. But it is an alternative to the #81.
Now you've thought it all through, which days will you go? How will you travel? What games will you attend? Where will you stay? Leave a comment below to say what makes sense to you.
There were lots of positive vibes in Tucson on February 5. The multi-year reconstruction of the I-10 freeway through Tucson has ended. Arizona has unusually attractive freeway structures, in both Tucson and Phoenix, with artistic ornamentation and an absence of graffiti. The temperature increased today by about 15 degrees to the mid-60s and it was a beautiful Saturday. A winter visit to the Arizona desert is a pleasant experience in general and can be enhanced by attendance at a Stanford women's basketball game.
The good vibes carried into McKale Center where President Obama made his Tucson speech a couple of weeks ago. Both teams came out in pink tee-shirts, looking quite a bit alike. The similarity in appearances ended when the tee-shirts were removed and play began.
The first good omens were Nneka getting the opening tip-off for the first time in 4 games, followed by Stanford scoring first. Two minutes into the game the score was 9-0 and Lindy had shown the way with the first 3-pointer of the day. By game's end Stanford had bagged twelve--count 'em--twelve 3-point shots which I'm sure is a season high, topping even the rain of threes in Oregon. Players contributing to that happy total were Jeanette with 5, Lindy with 4, and Toni, Sara and Grace with one each for a very nice 40%. Free throws also went well, with the Cardinal making 19 of 24 or 79%. The team assist-turnover count was a healthy 20 to 11. And Stanford out-rebounded the Wildcats 46 to 34. Nneka was especially impressive in her stretching scoops of many rebounds that would have been out of reach for other mortals.
All five starters had double-digit scoring, with Nneka providing a dandy double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds. Tara did not substitute as early or as freely as in the Arizona State game, but still nine players had 10 minutes or more of playing time. Toni played much more and much better today. Sarah had good hands today and was more active than usual in grabbing rebounds. A mystery was that Mel did not play at all. She was on the verge of going in with only two or three minutes remaining, but Tara called her back and sent Grace in instead.
The half-time score was 45-24 and the final was 91-61, returning Stanford to the 30-points-or-more margin for Pac-10 games.
Wilma and Wilbur Wildcat were present. Wilma has a red ribbon on her head and dances demurely. Wilbur is a full head taller than Wilma, wears a black hat and walks with a swagger. The Arizona band had three tubas, significantly fewer than ASU, but played well, with its leader dressed in a tie and blue blazer. The red tee-shirt-wearing band liked to chant "U of A", which I have always found a bit unusual because of the strong emphasis on the word "of". I don't think I have encountered another school that gives such prominence to "of". There were four floor-bound baton twirlers and four female cheerleaders who were lifted aloft by their male counterparts. Attendance was announced as 2,300, but my eyeball survey led me to conclude that closer to 1,200 actual bodies were occupying seats. That included about 40 Stanford fans who had much more to cheer about than did the quieter 1,160.
This was a good road trip. Stanford passed its most challenging Pac-10 test so far at Arizona State and showed it was back in the groove at Arizona. The Pac-10 win-loss record now stands at 11-0, which is consistent with the other good vibes felt in Tucson today.
In a hard-fought game, its closest of the Pac-10 season, Stanford finally wore down a determined Arizona State team before 4,000 fans in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Cardinal was up by only 5 at half time, 32-27 and ASU never let up in the second half, even though it was out-played by Stanford which built a peak lead of 20 points and then held on to win by 18, 72-54. ASU scored the first basket, but just over a minute into the game Stanford took the lead and never gave it back. The first half was worrisome, the second half more reassuring.
ASU played without Simon and Burke and I doubt they would have made a decisive difference. ASU had excellent play from its entire remaining roster who streamed on and off in Charli Turner Thorne's patented style.
Tara also substituted freely in the first half, with 10 players seeing action in the first 9 minutes. For the entire game, there were 8 players with 10 or more minutes, followed by Sarah with 8 minutes. Chiney played 30 minutes, finishing with 8 points, all in the second half, and a team-high 11 rebounds. After being out of 3 games, Toni returned, played only one minute and looked rusty.
Stanford left its 3-point shooting game in Oregon, with Jeanette making the only one out of only one attempt. I think this was primarily due to Arizona State's aggressive defense which kept tight pressure on the Cardinal for the entire game. ASU also made only one three-point shot.
Considering how aggressive and and physical the game was, I thought the refs seemed restrained in their whistle blowing. There were times when it looked as if there were half a dozen players shoulder-to-shoulder fighting for rebounds under the basket and many scrambles on the floor for loose balls. Stanford did best at the free-throw line, making 25 of 33, or 68%. ASU made 19 of 28 attempts from the line. As indicators of the intensity of play by both teams: Stanford had 17 turnovers to ASU's 15, 11 steals to ASU's 13 and 9 blocks to ASU's 4.
The Big Four lived up to their leadership roles. Lindy, Mel, Joslyn, Mikaela and Sarah also all did well. Jeanette had four fouls and sat for quite a while in the second half. Mel filled in capably for her during that time and throughout the game. We are fortunate to have her back.
The ASU band had an abundance of tubas and played well, including the national anthem. Sparky the Sun Devil was present, but was as unexciting as ever. ASU should give him a make-over. He seems as dull and dated as Reddy Kilowatt.
It was a clear, cool day in the Phoenix area with a high temperature of about 45 degrees under a sunny, cloudless sky. The temperature was down to 40 degrees at game time. The air was clear and the surrounding mountains were sharply visible.
This was a challenging game and a solid test for the Cardinal. ASU lost to Stanford by 47 points at Maples and should feel good about achieving its announced goal of doing far better at home.
FBC members who are off to Eugene for this Thursday's game will soon have their first look at the brand new Matthew Knight Arena. It is a striking building to look at both outside, where glass walls provide views of surrounding hills,
and inside, where the floor has a striking forest design,
(These pictures are from a slide show by the Eugene Register-Guard; click here to view the entire set.)
The new facility is getting positive reviews from locals. Register-Guard columnist Bob Welch finds the outside "stunning" and says that inside, "Matt is artsy, open and respectful to the past; everywhere you look, images and words honor the hoop history that played out in Mac Court," although he's not a great fan of the tree design on the floor. Click here for the rest of his "Eight Thumbs Up" review.
It's time to look ahead at the PAC-10 tournament. This year, as before, it takes place in L.A., but there are big changes in the format, as explained by our own Bob Kinder.
The two key changes are:
The first change is obviously preparation for next year when it'll be the PAC-12 tournament, with more preliminary games. The second change is an intentional ploy by the PAC-10 to increase exposure of the women's game. Everybody who buys a ticket for the popular Men's tournament will have some slight motivation to attend at least the Women's semi- and final games.
Here is a schedule for all the games, showing the times of the men's and women's games. The eight lower-seeded women's teams play four elimination games on Wednesday 3/9 and two further games on Thursday. These games are at the Galen Center on the USC campus. On Friday 3/11 the Women's semifinals are in the Staples Center at noon and 2:30pm, preceding two men's games beginning at 6pm. On Saturday, the Women's final is at 11:30am, preceding the men's final at 3pm.
The only way to attend the women's games is to buy an All-Session Package that gives access to all games, men's as well as women's. Here is a FAQ file (PDF format) that explains the deal. In brief, a single all-session ticket gives you a reserved seat for all men's games, and also general admission seating for all women's games. That one ticket gets you into Galen for the 6 women's prelim games, and lets you sit where you like in the cavernous Staples Center for the women's semifinal and final games—and you also have a reserved seat for men's games.
To purchase a ticket go to the Stanford sales page. Here you will find that the most economical choice, in the tippy-top 300 level, is $105/seat. Better seats are $263.
Remember, that's your reserved seat for such men's games as you care to attend; for the women's games, both at Staples and Galen, it's general admission. Considering that you could (by running back and forth between Galen and Staples) see as many as fourteen of the eighteen total games at the one price, it isn't too bad a deal.
For tips on travel and lodging, see the notes on our Travel Page.
My flight was due to arrive at SFO at 8:15. As we approached the Bay Area we were told visibility was marginal and we would circle over Marin County for up to 30 minutes to see if it improved. We did, but it didn't, and we were diverted to Fresno where we are waiting for the fog to lift at SFO. Our next update is supposed to be at noon.
This is my first visit to the Fresno Airport which is pleasant enough and has free Wi-Fi. I have enough reading material to last me for at least 24 hours so I am taking a relaxed view of the world.
Ah, the joys of travel. So broadening. So full of pleasant surprises. All in the interest of supporting the young women of Stanford, with the pleasures that provides.
All things considered, I think United handled everything quite well. By a minor miracle, my checked bag was on my bus. When the driver opened the doors to the baggage area under the bus I spotted my bag immediately, pulled it out myself and was on my way.
Another exciting, although certainly unexpected, adventure in FBC travel.
At 9:30 am on Sunday morning I looked down from my 12th floor hotel room in Spokane and saw the Stanford team bus, with lights flashing, parked at the entrance of the Davenport Hotel Tower. The flag on the hotel roof was whipping strongly in the wind against the grey sky. As I watched, the team trickled out, pulling their rolling bags. I could spot Marcella because she was the only one with two bags. The bus departed at 9:45 for Pullman and I went down for breakfast.
I left a little after 11:00 and made the 73-mile drive to Pullman in 80 minutes. Parking at Beasley Coliseum is free and close in. I bought my reserved seat ticket at the door and got the 4th row, right behind Tara. Butch the Cougar, with his long curving tail dragging on the floor, was doing his thing: fist bumps for all, posing for pictures with small kids, peering into a TV camera, etc. Attendance was about 600. I didn't notice any students at the game except for the band, cheerleaders and Butch. In the pre-game warm-up the Cougars were making 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
As on Friday in Seattle, Stanford took command early and the game was never in doubt. At the half it was 38-24 and the final was 94-50. WSU scored 77 points against Cal for a 14-point win on Friday, but lost to Stanford by 44 points to maintain WSU's perfect record of 51 straight losses to the Cardinal with nary a win. A remarkable record. Beasley is a comfortable place, except for the scoreboard. Nothing is shown about individual players, so you have no idea of who has how many points. Fouls were easy to keep track of because the announcer always gave the cumulative number when each foul occurred. The replay screen is a small reflective movie screen at one end which gives only a dim picture, but the picture was clear enough to show Lindy did not intentionally foul the WSU player who was injured on a lay-up. The player seemed to injure herself because of the way she hit the floor. The refs watched a replay on a monitor and announced no intentional foul.
The Big Three were all out of the game with 7 1/2 minutes left and a 33-point lead. With mostly bench players in the game from then on, the lead was increased to 44. Sarah made several nice baskets during the last minutes, ending with 10 points. Mikaela played only 11 minutes, but scored 8 points and had 5 rebounds. Nine players had 11 minutes or more. All played except Mel. The Big Three were in for 26 to 30 minutes and Lindy played for 29 minutes. Joslyn had 12 points. Chiney again was bothered with fouls, but still made the only double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Nneka led the scoring with 20 points. Jeanette had 14. Kayla had only 4 points, but 9 rebounds.
Stanford free-throw shooting was as good as at Seattle at 76%. Stanford 3-point shooting improved from 25% at Seattle to 40% today.
The weather improved during the game with the sky clearing enough on my return to Spokane to reveal the moon.
This was a satisfying trip with two nice wins. Both games had plenty of Stanford mistakes and shortcomings, but everyone played well enough and no one got hurt. And there was more opportunity to spread around playing time today.
I think the team will be on my early return flight to SFO tomorrow morning.
Stanford, wearing its black uniforms, started this road trip confidently, topping the University of Washington by 29 points in Seattle.
I thought the Huskies played better than their record would suggest and they kept up their efforts into the final minute, although the outcome was never in doubt. Stanford was off to a quick start, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first 4 minutes. From there Stanford slowly and steadily built its lead over the course of the game. At the half it was 36-21 and the final was 80-51. Tara did not feel comfortable enough to empty the bench. Mikaela and Sara had only a few minutes on the court. Ashley and Grace did not play, nor did Mel.
Nneka led the offense with 16 points, combined with 11 rebounds. Jeanette had 15 points and Kayla 14. Jeanette played 37 minutes, Kayla 35, Nneka 34 and Lindy 27. Chiney, because of fouls, played only 18 minutes.
Stanford's defense was excellent. Kristi Kingma did not score until the second half and ended with 6 points. Regina Rogers had been reported to be in better shape this season, but I did not notice any visible improvement. She scored 6 points and fouled out with 6 minutes to play. Other Washington players stepped up with a variety of nice shots, but not enough to ever threaten.
Stanford continued to have too many turnovers, mostly due to scrappy play by the Huskies and continued to miss easy layups, most noticeably on fast breaks. Cardinal 3-point shooting was mediocre in this game, with only 5 of 20 going in--25%, but those five all were timely. Stanford got a lot of trips to the free throw line and made 21 of 27 for 78%.
The weather in Seattle was overcast and drizzly in the morning with a high temperature in the mid-50s which is above average for this date. The relatively good and dry weather at game time didn't boost attendance at Bank of America Arena on the UW campus. The official figure was more than 2700, but I thought only about 2000 seats were actually occupied. There were about 50 Stanford fans present, including five Fast Break Club members. A sign behind the student section read "Dawg Pack" and maybe 80 students were there. The Washington band had about 40 members playing loudly and well from above the Stanford bench.
Sadly, Harry the Husky was not there. Instead, a new Husky mascot, with a much more realistic head, lurked timidly around one of the entrances, but did not venture onto the floor. I am a Harry fan and I hope his happy face and friendly, outgoing manner have not been permanently retired.
This dominant win on the road was reassuring as the team now heads over the Cascades for its Sunday visit to the Palouse.
There is no doubt that losing both games on this road trip is indeed a downer. As we left Thompson-Boling Arena, the Halfs and I voted on which loss was the most painful. Cherie and I voted for DePaul, Fred abstained. My reasoning was that the DePaul loss was more unexpected, especially by such a margin--a really major upset--a shocker, with DePaul out-playing Stanford from start to finish. I was numb after the DePaul game, but only disappointed after the Tennessee loss.
Tennessee is always tough, especially at home. The program showed that the cumulative results over the years before this game was Tennessee with 21 wins to Stanford's 6. In tonight's game, Stanford was down by 14 at one point in the first half, made up the half-time deficit of 8 points with about 9 minutes to go in the game and hung in there for the 70-70 tie in regulation. That was a very nice comeback. But the overtime was all Tennessee, out-scoring Stanford 12-2. Jeanette fouling out when the score was still 70-70 pretty much ended any hope, especially with Tennessee into the free-throw bonus.
Tennessee lost its last game to Baylor (having previously lost to Georgetown) and was admitting in the press that it didn't yet have its team well organized. Pat Summitt was reported to have forcefully displayed her unhappiness with her team and this may have had some effect. I didn't notice any lack of organization by the Lady Vols tonight.
There were about 60 or so Stanford fans in attendance among the thousands and thousands of orange-clad Volunteer rooters. Stanford tried to change its luck by switching to red uniforms from the black worn at DePaul. I thought we had been told that only one color of uniforms were taken on road trips, so this might have been a first from an attire standpoint.
Apart from the game, there were two unusual features: the Star Spangled Banner was sung by a Nashville pro who produced the twangiest version of our anthem that I've ever heard. And the half-time entertainment was provided by a talking parrot on a perch. I haven't seen that before.
It would have been sweet if Tara could have obtained her 800th win by beating Pat Summitt. It looked possible for about four minutes in the second half. But it was not to be. If the team learns from these losses, happier days may lie ahead. At least the Xavier and UConn games will be at Maples.
It was a cold night in Chicago--21 degrees to be exact--and a few snowflakes were drifting downward. But inside McGrath Arena on the DePaul campus the Blue Demons were fired up and red hot. They out-played visiting Stanford from start to finish. Stanford's black uniforms did not intimidate DePaul in the slightest. The Blue Demons were better on both sides of the ball for the entire game, playing non-stop aggressive defense and making heart-breaking shot after heart-breaking shot. In comparison, Stanford looked pretty inept over-all. DePaul answered basket for basket and then some.
Halfway through the first half Stanford managed to catch up and take a two-point lead, but it lasted less than a minute. Stanford struggled back again to get within two points at the half, 37-35. The closest Stanford could get in the second half was one point with about 15 minutes to go, but it was all down hill from there as DePaul dominated and ran away with the game to a final score of 91-71. This was just a plain old fashioned thrashing. I haven't looked at the stats, but I'm sure they will favor DePaul in every category.
And this happened in front of one of the largest collection of Stanford fans ever for an early-season road game because of the absolutely great turn-out of supporters for Chicago-area players Sarah Boothe and Toni Kokenis and near-by Ohioan Mikaela Ruef. I sat behind Sarah's high school coach and beside Mikaela's grandfather. There were hundreds of Sarah, Toni and Mikaela fans, but they had little to cheer for. The Fast Break Club had five members present: Fred and Cherie Half, Kellee Noonan, Douglas Lee and me.
I may have jinxed Stanford by optimistically having a banner prepared to celebrate Tara's 800th win. But that will have to gather dust until another, brighter day.
What else? Well, Kayla did not play, apparently being saved for Sunday's game at Tennessee, and, of course, she was missed. Jeanette made many clutch shots to end with, I think, 23 points as Stanford's top scorer. Chiney appeared to be seriously injured with just under 14 minutes left in the game when a DePaul player fell hard on her as she lay on the floor. She could not put any weight on one leg as she was assisted from the floor and went to the locker room. She reappeared with about 10 minutes to play with an ice pack in her hand and almost at once went back in the game and played most of the remaining minutes without showing any limitations. Joslyn made some nice 3-pointers. Toni started, but didn't score her first basket until the waning minutes.
That's about it, folks. What more is there to say? Stanford came and DePaul conquered. Time to regroup. End of story.
It's time to order a block of seats at the new Matthew Knight Arena and at Oregon State.
To review, our game at OU in Eugene is at 6pm Thursday January 27. There may be a social event of some type following the game hosted by the Oregon Stanford alums.
Our game at OSU in Corvallis is at 2pm Saturday January 29. For logistics and travel notes, see the Travel page.
If you are going to attend either game, and want to sit with other FBC members, please send an email to travel at stanfordfbc.org saying which game(s) you want tickets for.
We need this input next week, by December 17th.
