Jan. 26, 2013

Game #20

No. 6/6 Stanford Cardinal (17-2, 6-1 Pac-12)

- vs. -

Colorado Buffaloes (15-3, 4-3 Pac-12)

Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013 - 4 p.m. PT
Maples Pavilion (7,233) - Stanford, Calif.

Series History: Stanford leads 8-4
Last Meeting: Jan. 4, 2013 (Stanford 57, Colorado 40) - Boulder, Colo.
TV: Pac-12 Networks (P-x-P: Krista Blunk, Analyst: Mary Murphy)
Webcast: None
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Preston Chin, Analyst: Ashley Westhem)

Game Notes vs. Colorado

STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6/6 Stanford closes out its season-long five-game homestand Sunday afternoon, hosting No. 20/23 Colorado for a 4 p.m. tip. Sunday's contest, the final regular-season meeting between the Cardinal and the Buffaloes, will be broadcast nationally on the Pac-12 Network with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy on the call. The game will also be carried on the radio at 90.1 KZSU with Preston Chin and Ashley Westhem on the call.

Last Time Out
Stanford completed the season sweep of Utah and remained unbeaten against the Utes in 16 all-time meetings with Friday's 65-44 victory. Consensus national player of the year candidate Chiney Ogwumike posted her 14th double-double and 14th 20-point game of the season, scoring 23 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle continued rolling with the hot hand, going 7-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-4 from behind the arc, for 16 points along with a season high-matching eight rebounds. The Cardinal bench came up with good contributions in the win, as Mikaela Ruef grabbed five rebounds, Taylor Greenfield scored five points with four assists and Erica Payne pulled down three boards to go with a pair of assists.

About Colorado
Colorado (15-3, 4-3 Pac-12) had its four-game winning streak snapped in Friday night's 59-56 loss at California. The Buffaloes, currently tied for fifth in the Pac-12 standings, are led by the play of Chucky Jeffery (13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Arielle Roberson (13.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg).

Against Colorado
Stanford leads the all-time series with Colorado by an 8-4 margin, and captured the first meeting of this season 57-40 on Jan. 4 in Boulder.

In The Pac-12 Statistics
Through Jan. 25, Stanford ranked in the top three of 12 statistical categories amongst Pac-12 schools: scoring margin (+17.0 - first), field-goal percentage (47.2 - first), field-goal percentage defense (32.1 - first), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (24.6 - first), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.08 - first), scoring defense (52.8 ppg - second), free-throw percentage (72.2 - second), defensive rebounds (30.1 drpg - second), blocked shots (4.84 bpg - second), scoring offense (69.8 ppg - third), rebounding defense (33.2 rpg - third) and rebounding margin (+8.9 - third). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike leads the conference in scoring (22.1 ppg), and is second in rebounding (12.0 rpg) and field-goal percentage (58.1). Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is second in the conference with a 37.3 3-point field-goal percentage, third in the conference with 1.84 blocks per game, sixth with a 52.1 shooting percentage. Amber Orrange is fifth in the Pac-12 with 4.11 assists per game and a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio. Chiney Ogwumike (84.2) and Toni Kokenis (80.0) own the fourth- and fifth-best free-throw percentages, respectively, in the conference.

In the National Statistics
Through the latest national statistical update (through Jan. 24), Stanford ranked in the top 20 of six categories: field-goal percentage defense (32.5 - fifth), turnovers per game (12.7 - fifth), field-goal percentage (47.6 - fifth), 3-point field-goal defense (25.2 - 12th), rebound margin (+9.3 - 15th) and scoring margin (+16.7 - 17th). Chiney Ogwumike is sixth in rebounding (11.9 rpg), seventh in the nation in scoring (22.0 ppg), eighth in field-goal percentage (58.3) and sixth with 13 double-doubles.

Ogwumike Named To John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 20
Chiney Ogwumike was named to the John R. Wooden Award's Midseason Top 20 Tuesday, marking her second straight appearance on the midseason list. The consensus national player of the year candidate is the only player in the country to rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring (22.0 ppg - seventh), rebounding (11.9 rpg - sixth) and field-goal percentage (58.3 - eighth). Ogwumike has also saved some of her best performances for Top-25 teams, averaging 20.9 points, 11.8 rebounds and shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 82.1 percent from the line as Stanford as gone 6-2 against ranked teams this season.

Bring On The Top-25 Teams
Stanford's 75-49 victory over No. 14/15 UCLA on Jan. 18 marked its sixth win in eight games over a Top-25 team (ranked in at least one of the two major polls at the time of meeting) in 2012-13. Sunday's meeting with No. 20/23 Colorado will be Stanford's ninth game this regular season against a Top-25 team, matching total of the 2008-09 campaign. The highest amount of Top-25 teams Stanford has faced in a regular season (excluding NCAA Tournament games) is 10, occurring in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The Cardinal went 6-4 against those 10 ranked teams in 1997-98 then posted a record of 4-6 the following season.

Stanford could eclipse that mark this year, as it still has one more regular-season matchup left at No. 19/20 UCLA (Feb. 17) and more than likely will face at least one of the Pac-12's other three ranked teams (California, UCLA, Colorado) at the Pac-12 Tournament from March 7-10.

Ogwumike Thrives Against Top-25 Competition
Junior forward and consensus national player of the year candidate Chiney Ogwumike will play her ninth game of the season against a Top-25 team this Sunday when Stanford hosts No. 20/23 Colorado. Over the first seven games of Stanford's challenging eight-game stretch to start the conference slate, Ogwumike is averaging 23.0 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 58.7 percent. So far this season, in which Ogwumike is in the national top eight in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage, she has turned up her performance over eight games against Top-25 teams, averaging 20.9 points and 11.8 rebounds while shooting 52.3 percent.

Tinkle Deals The Hot Hand
While snow is falling and the temperature is stuck firmly in the mid-30s in her hometown of Missoula, Mont., senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is heating things up at Stanford, averaging 15.7 points and shooting 58.1 percent (18-for-31) from the field over the last three games. She has also found a groove with her outside shooting, going 9-for-11 (81.8) on her 3-point attempts and at one time hitting eight straight during this three-game stretch. The uptick in accuracy has helped move Tinkle up to second in the Pac-12 with a 37.3 3-point field-goal percentage heading into Sunday. Friday night against Utah, Tinkle's 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting brought her ever closer to becoming Stanford's 34th member of the 1,000-Point Club, as she currently stands at 907 points scored in her career with 11 Pac-12 games remaining in addition to the Pac-12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

Contributions Off The Bench
Stanford's reserves made important contributions to Friday's win over Utah less than a week after the Cardinal's 75-66 win over USC in which no Stanford bench player scored a point. Sophomore Taylor Greenfield came off the bench Friday to score five points and pass out four assists, while forward Mikaela Ruef continued her rugged play by grabbing five rebounds against the Utes. Overall Friday, Stanford's bench accounted for 12 points and 13 rebounds in the win over the Utes.

News Team Assemble!
Cardinal sophomores Taylor Greenfield, Erica Payne and Bonnie Samuelson are all big fans of the movie "Anchorman" and often reel off quotes from the popular comedic film. Friday, Stanford's own "News Team" made impressive contributions to the Cardinal victory off the bench, as the trio combined to score 11 points, grab seven rebounds and pass out seven assists. Greenfield paced the crew with five points and four assists, while Payne added three rebounds and a pair of assists and Samuelson hit a pair of jumpers and made a steal.

Opponents Still Not Passing The 70 Barrier
Friday's 65-44 win over Utah was also Stanford's program-record 37th straight game in which it held an opponent to under 70 points. The last Stanford opponent to break the 70-point barrier was California last Jan. 28 in the Cardinal's 74-71 overtime win at Maples Pavilion. The next longest streak of opponents not scoring 70 points in Cardinal history is 20 games, from Feb. 14, 2003 to Dec. 18, 2004. This current run is a large part of the Cardinal's 52.9 points allowed per game which is second-best in the Pac-12 and on pace to break the program record of 53.9 points allowed per game set in 2009-10.

Glass Awareness
Redshirt junior Mikaela Ruef continued to be a reliable rebounding option for the Cardinal, grabbing five rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench Friday against Utah. The blue-collar boarder from Beavercreek, Ohio has been enjoying the best year of her Stanford career, averaging 6.2 rebounds while making 14 starts over her 19 appearances in 2012-13. Additionally, Ruef, who passed out a pair of assists Friday, is second on the team with 37 heading into Sunday's clash with Colorado.