Jan. 7, 2013
Game #15
No. 5/3 Stanford Cardinal (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12)
- at -
California Golden Bears (12-1, 2-0 Pac-12)
Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013 - 7 p.m. PT
Haas Pavilion (11,877) - Berkeley, Calif.
Series History: Stanford leads 59-17
Last Meeting: March 10, 2012 (Stanford 77, California 62) - Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: Pac-12 Network (P-x-P: Krista Blunk, Analyst: Mary Murphy)
Webcast: None
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Joe Lami, Analyst: Ashley Westhem)
Game Notes vs. California 
STANFORD, Calif. - The 2013 edition of the Battle of the Bay between Stanford and California commences Tuesday night as the No. 5/3 Cardinal and No. 7/7 Golden Bears meet at 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. The meeting will be the 77th all-time between the two schools and the contest will be televised nationally on the Pac-12 Networks with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy calling the action. The game will also be available on the radio at 90.1 KZSU with Joe Lami and Ashley Westhem on the call.
Last Time Out
Stanford began the quest for its 13th straight Pac-12 title with a road sweep of No. 20/25 Colorado and Utah this past weekend, finishing it off with a 70-56 win over the Utes Sunday. Junior guard Sara James enjoyed a career day in Salt Lake City, scoring a career-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a 3-for-5 outing from behind the arc, and passing out four assists in Stanford's 80th straight win over a conference foe. Chiney Ogwumike finished off another fine weekend with 20 points and a career high-matching five assists. Amber Orrange scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds while Joslyn Tinkle added 12 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks to round out Stanford's double-digit scorers.
About California
California (12-1, 2-0 Pac-12), under second-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, made its return to the national top 10 this season and is currently seventh in the polls. Led by the play of guards Brittany Boyd (13.6 ppg, 4.92 apg) and Layshia Clarendon (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) along with Gennifer Brandon (12.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg) inside, the Golden Bears bring a six-game winning streak into Tuesday's game.
Against California
Stanford leads the all-time series 59-17 over California, winning 41 of the past 44 meetings including the past nine. California, though, dealt Stanford its last loss to a Pac-12 foe, defeating the Cardinal 57-54 back on Jan. 18, 2009 in Berkeley. Tuesday's contest also marks the sixth time over the past five seasons in which each team has been ranked in the top 10 of at least one of the two national polls at the time of the game. The previous five meetings came in 2007-08 (three times) and 2008-09 (twice).
Stanford In The National Polls
Stanford dropped a spot to No. 5 in this week's Associated Press Poll. The new USA Today Sports Coaches' Poll, in which the Cardinal is No. 3, comes out Tuesday.
In The Pac-12 Statistics
Through Jan. 6, Stanford ranked in the top three of 13 statistical categories amongst Pac-12 schools: scoring defense (51.8 ppg - first), scoring margin (+19.3 - first), field-goal percentage (48.0 - first), field-goal percentage defense (32.0 - first), defensive rebounds (30.9 drpg - first), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14 - first), rebound margin (+11.3 - second), free-throw percentage (73.4 - second), rebounding defense (32.1 rpg - second), scoring offense (71.1 ppg - third), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (25.8 - third), blocked shots (5.29 bpg - third), defensive rebound percentage (71.1 - third). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike leads the conference in scoring (21.3 ppg), is second in rebounding (12.2 rpg) and fourth in field-goal percentage (57.0). Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is second in the conference with 2.07 blocks per game and eighth with a 52.7 shooting percentage. Amber Orrange is second in the Pac-12 with a 1.61 assist-to-turnover ratio and is fourth with 4.71 assists per game. Taylor Greenfield's 43.6 3-point field-goal percentage leads the Pac-12 and Toni Kokenis' (90.0) and Chiney Ogwumike (86.9) own the third- and fourth-best free-throw percentages, respectively, in the conference.
In the National Statistics
Through the latest national statistical update (Jan. 6), Stanford ranks in the top 20 of seven categories: field-goal percentage (48.0 - fifth), turnovers per game (12.3 - fourth), field-goal percentage defense (32.0 - sixth), fouls per game (12.2 - seventh), rebound margin (+11.3 - ninth), scoring margin (+19.2 - 13th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14 - 14th). Chiney Ogwumike is fifth in the nation in rebounding (12.2 rpg), eighth in scoring (21.3 ppg) and 18th in field-goal percentage (57.0).Ogwumike also ranks fourth in the nation with 11 double-doubles.
The Stanford-California Rivalry
While the Stanford-California series "officially" dates back to 1975 when it comes to modern intercollegiate women's basketball competition, the schools actually played the very first recorded game of women's basketball between colleges, a game won 2-1 by Stanford on April 4, 1896. Dating back to the first official meeting of the teams in the modern era, a 49-38 Stanford win on Feb. 12, 1975, Stanford has won 59 of 76 meetings between the schools, with two of those wins coming in the Pac-12/Pac-10 Tournament Final (2008 and 2012).
Whose Home Court Is This?
Stanford has not been fazed by the different paint scheme on the court at California, going 25-11 all-time there against the Golden Bears. Eight of those 11 losses came from 1978-87, meaning that since an 84-65 loss at California on Feb. 20, 1987, Stanford has gone 22-3 at Haas Pavilion. In fact, over the past 20 years Stanford has only lost twice to California at Haas Pavilion, a 64-59 loss on Feb. 12, 1993 and a 57-54 loss on Jan. 18, 2009.
Stanford No. 1 In First RPI Rankings Of 2012-13
On Monday the NCAA released the first set of RPI rankings for the 2012-13 season and Stanford held the No. 1 spot on the list. The Cardinal's top spot in the RPI rankings can be attributed to its 13-1 start to the season in the face of a challenging schedule, and chiefly to its 10-0 record away from home.
Pac-12 Winning Streak Continues
While its 82-game home winning streak came to an end Dec. 29, Stanford continued another impressive streak this weekend at Colorado and Utah. The wins in Boulder and Salt Lake City extended Stanford's winning streak against Pac-12 competition to 80 games, a run that began with an 85-57 win at Oregon on Jan. 22, 2009. Stanford's last loss against a Pac-12 foe came Jan. 18, 2009 in a 57-54 decision at California. Following that loss, the Cardinal won its final 13 regular-season conference games and has since put together three straight 18-0 campaigns (2010-12). The streak also includes 11 wins at the Pac-12 Tournament.
Stanford's Current Streak Against California
Entering Tuesday night's meeting in Berkeley Stanford owns a nine-game winning streak against California, winning those contests by an average margin of 19.2 points per game. In fact, only one of the past nine meetings has been decided by a single-digit margin, that being Stanford's 74-71 overtime win Jan. 28 of last year at Maples Pavilion. The next-smallest margin of victory for the Cardinal during this nine-game run was 15 points, occurring twice, in Stanford's 77-62 Pac-12 Tournament title-game win last March 10, and a 63-48 win at Haas Pavilion on March 6, 2010.
Road Warriors
Stanford's conference-opening sweep at Colorado and Utah brought the Cardinal's road record to 8-0 this season. Combined with a pair of neutral-court victories in Honolulu over Baylor and Tennessee-Martin, the Cardinal owns 10 victories away from home, a figure that is tops in the nation through Jan. 6. With 10 wins away from home already in hand, Stanford has a chance to eclipse the program record of 20 wins away from home (Pac-12/Pac-10 Tournament and NCAA Tournament games included) set in 2007-08.
Ogwumike Keeps Coming Through
Consensus preseason All-American and national player of the year candidate Chiney Ogwumike further burnished her credentials over the weekend in Boulder and Salt Lake City, averaging 20.0 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 53.1 percent from the field. The Cardinal forward scored 20 points in each win over No. 20/25 Colorado and Utah, and against the Buffaloes added 11 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and 10th in a row to that point. Overall, the two 20-point performances brought Ogwumike's total for the season up to While the double-double streak came to an end Sunday at Utah with just six rebounds, Ogwumike opened up options for her teammates, matching a career high with five assists.
Career Outing For Sara James
Sunday's win at Utah also featured a breakout performance for junior guard Sara James that the Cardinal hopes will carry over to the rest of the season. Playing a career-high 31 minutes against the Utes, James went 6-for-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from behind the arc for a career-high 18 points. The El Dorado Hills native also matched her career high with four assists and made a pair of steals on the defensive end. James' performance and hot hand helped the Cardinal keep the Utes at bay each time they threatened the Stanford lead, and going forward James will be needed to provide more quality minutes against upcoming opponents California, USC and UCLA.
Orrange In Charge
Sophomore point guard Amber Orrange made an early case for All-Pac-12 Team consideration with her performance over the conference's opening weekend, averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.50 assists in wins at Colorado and Utah. Orrange also showed a deft touch around the hoop, shooting 60.0 percent (12-for-20) from the field and aggressively attacking the hoop. The Houston native also demonstrated her defensive skill, making a pair of thefts at Colorado while still being in control as the offensive general, committing only three turnovers over 67 minutes of action to raise her assist-to-turnover ratio to 1.14, second-best in the Pac-12.
Any Surprise The Montanan Played Well In The Mountains?
The thin air and picturesque views of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder and Salt Lake City unsurprisingly make senior forward and Missoula, Mont. native Joslyn Tinkle feel right home. Tinkle enjoyed a fine weekend at No. 20/25 Colorado and Utah, averaging 12.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.50 blocks while shooting 55.6 percent over Stanford's two wins. The performance continued Tinkle's career year in which she is averaging 12.9 points (second on the team), shooting 52.7 percent (second), averaging 5.6 rebounds a game (third) and leading the Cardinal with 29 blocked shots, putting her well on pace to break her previous season-high of 47 set last year. She is also well within range of a personal milestone, needing just 152 more points to become the 34th member of Stanford's 1,000-Point Club.
Stanford Stays On Pace For 13th Consecutive Pac-12 Title
Stanford, 12-time defending Pac-12 champion entering the 2012-13 campaign, got its path to a 13th straight title off to the right start with last weekend's sweep of Colorado and Utah. With the current run starting in 2000-01, the Cardinal has been the only regular-season champion that the Pac-12 (and previously the Pac-10) has known through the first 12 years of the new millennium. Overall, Stanford has won outright or shared the conference regular-season title 21 out of a possible 26 times, and since 2001-02 the only conference postseason trophies not won by the Cardinal have been Pac-10 Tournament titles in 2002 and 2006.
Setting Up Camp
Head coach Tara VanDerveer opened up the rotation this past weekend in Colorado and Utah to counter the altitude effect, and one of the players that took advantage of the added playing time was redshirt freshman guard Jasmine Camp. Last season, Camp showed a glimpse of her potential with a 14-point performance at Connecticut but had her season curtailed in November by a stress fracture in her foot. This season, the Ellenwood, Ga. native has been used as a reserve point guard on the depth chart, but this past weekend averaged 15.5 minutes a game, scoring seven points and going 3-for-7 from the field. Camp's efforts off the bench drew praise from VanDerveer at the end of the weekend and gave her some momentum to build off of heading into Tuesday's game at California.
Keeping The Machine Running
Forward Mikaela Ruef continued her tough blue-collar play in Boulder and Salt Lake City, averaging 7.0 rebounds and 4.00 assists while blocking a pair of shots over Stanford's two wins. Another Cardinal player who has stepped up this year after an injury-shortened 2011-12, Ruef has emerged as one of the Cardinal's toughest players, battling her way to 6.7 rebounds per game and 13 blocks, and even showing a smoother side by being second on the team with 30 assists (2.14 apg). Against Colorado last Friday, the Beavercreek, Ohio native put together another blue-collar line, grabbing eight rebounds with four assists, two blocks and a steal.
