Oct. 12, 2012

2012-13 Stanford Women's Basketball Schedule

STANFORD, Calif. - As basketball practices got underway this Friday, Stanford Women's Basketball continued its preparation for the 2012-13 season the quest for a third national title.

Cardinal fans will have their first chance to see the Stanford women on the court next Friday, Oct. 19 as part of the joint "Friday Frenzy" event put on by both the men's and women's basketball programs. The women will be holding an open workout along with skill challenges beginning at 6 p.m.

Stanford's 2012-13 regular season begins Friday night, Nov. 9 with a 7 p.m. contest at Maples Pavilion against 2012 NCAA Tournament participant Fresno State. The Cardinal sees its first on-court action with exhibitions at Maples against Corban University (Nov. 1) and Vanguard University (Nov. 4).

The Cardinal will enjoy unprecedented coverage in 2012-13 thanks to the launch of the Pac-12 Networks this past August. At least 15 of Stanford's regular-season contests will be aired on either the Pac-12 Networks or the ESPN family of networks, including Dec. 29's home contest against Connecticut.

The upcoming slate features seven teams that qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament, including meetings with defending national champion Baylor in Hawaii on Nov. 16 and national semifinalist Connecticut at Maples Pavilion on Dec. 29.

Stanford Women's Basketball fans can guarantee their seats for all 15 home games with season tickets for the Cardinal. Season ticket holders will receive priority access to additional tickets for the Connecticut game, as well as away games and postseason contests.

The General Admission 25-pack, which is made up of 25 general admission vouchers valid for any regular-season game except Connecticut will be $125.

Mini-Plans will be available on Monday, September 17. The popular Pick Five mini plan, featuring a reserved seat to Connecticut as well as four additional games of your choice, is designed to meet any schedule for just $110. The Weekend Plan includes a reserved seat to all eight weekend games (Long Beach State, Pacific, Connecticut, Cal, USC, Colorado, Arizona State, Oregon), starting at $167.

Single-game tickets for all games are currently available for purchase.

Friday's practice, held in the Arrillaga Practice Gym, featured the Cardinal taking on its practice player counterparts in a full-court scrimmage complete with officials. Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball Tara VanDerveer, entering her 27th season on The Farm, directed her charges through the paces for the first 80 minutes until it was time to go 5-on-5.

VanDerveer, owner of a 709-149 record in 26 years at Stanford and a 861-200 mark over her 33-year career, has guided the Cardinal to each of the past five Final Fours and to 12 straight conference titles heading into 2012-13. One of just six Division I coaches to have won 800 games, VanDerveer aims for the program's third national title and 12th Final Four appearance with a young but highly-experienced 15-woman roster consisting of just five upperclassmen.

Those five upperclassmen are led by junior Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List member Chiney Ogwumike, last year's Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Pac-12 Team selection. Ogwumike, named to the 2012 WBCA Coaches' All-America Team and the Associated Press All-America Second Team, was the only Cardinal player to start all 37 games last year, averaging a double-double of 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds a game. Ogwumike's numbers made her one of just five players in Stanford history to post a double-double for the season.

Senior Joslyn Tinkle returns to the Stanford front court following a breakout 2011-12 season in which she averaged career highs of 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a game. Tinkle, who started 25 games last year, shot 47.3 percent from the field which included a 39.7 mark from 3-point range. The 6-3 Missoula, Mont. native also paced the Cardinal with 47 blocks, bolstering her image as a player to be reckoned with both in the paint and on the perimeter.

The duo of Ogwumike and Tinkle will aim to recoup the production lost with the graduation of three-time All-America forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike in 2012. Ogwumike, the top overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft who was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year Monday, scored a Cardinal single-season record 22.5 points with 10.1 rebounds per game while earning consensus All-America honors.

Also matriculating from The Farm due to graduation last year were center Sarah Boothe and guards Lindy La Rocque and Grace Mashore.

The Cardinal back court features a youthful corps led by junior Toni Kokenis. The Second City Sparkplug earned her first All-Pac-12 Team nod last year after scoring a career-high 9.5 points a game, dishing out a team-leading 132 assists and leading the Pac-12 with a 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio. Kokenis leads a group that includes 2012 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorable mention Amber Orrange, a Houston native who started 23 games and dished out 112 assists last year. Orrange turned it up during Stanford's run to the Final Four, averaging 9.1 points and 5.00 assists over the Cardinal's five tournament games.

Returning to this mix are two talented guards who missed much of last season due to injury. Redshirt freshman Jasmine Camp missed the bulk of last season with a stress fracture in her foot. Camp, who started four of last season's first eight games before her injury, offered glimpses of her talent early on, highlighted by a 14-point, three-assist performance at Connecticut last Nov. 21. Also returning is redshirt freshman Alex Green, who saw action in two games early on before her season was curtailed by a torn Achilles' tendon.

The 2012-13 preseason will feature a strong competition amongst a cadre of Cardinal players for the open starting position left by Nnemkadi Ogwumike's departure. This group features such players as redshirt junior Mikaela Ruef, who missed all but three games last season with a foot injury, junior Sara James (1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg over 31 games in 2011-12), 2012 Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorable mention Taylor Greenfield (3.6 ppg, 35.8 3-pt FG pct.), and fellow sophomores Bonnie Samuelson (4.6 ppg, 37.3 3-pt FG pct., team-leading 44 3-pointers) and Erica Payne (1.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg over 32 games).

Entering the mix this year to compete for starting spots and playing time is a class of four eager and talented freshmen. This group includes forward Aly Beebe (Santa Maria, Calif./St. Joseph's), who will redshirt the 2012-13 season due to a torn ACL suffered this past May, shot-blocking machine and inside scoring force forward-center Tess Picknell (Medford, Ore./South Medford) and guards Kiran Lakhian (Plano, Texas/Plano West) and Denia Ebersole (San Francisco, Calif./International).