Nov. 16, 2011

Game #3

No. 5/5 Stanford Cardinal (2-0)

- vs. -

Old Dominion Lady Monarchs (0-2)

Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011 - 7 p.m. PT
Maples Pavilion (7,329) - Stanford, Calif.
Series History: Tied 3-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2009 (Stanford 89, Old Dominion 56) - Norfolk, Va.
TV: None
Webcast: www.gostanford.com All-Access
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Sam Fisher)

Game Notes vs. Old Dominion

STANFORD, Calif. - No. 5/5 Stanford begins the second week of the 2011-12 campaign Thursday night, hosting Old Dominion for a 7 p.m. game at Maples Pavilion. The contest can be seen via webcast on www.gostanford.com's All-Access and heard on 90.1 KZSU with Sam Fisher on the call.

Last Time Out
The Cardinal defended its home court Sunday, defeating Gonzaga, 76-61, to stretch its program-record home unbeaten streak to 64 games. Despite trailing 32-31 at halftime, the first time the Cardinal has trailed at halftime at home since Jan. 30, 2010 against Arizona, Stanford answered resoundingly by outscoring the Zags, 45-29 in the second half. Preseason All-American Nnemkadi Ogwumike made her 2011-12 debut, going 14-of-19 from the field, scoring 33 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. Younger sister Chiney Ogwumike went 9-of-14 from the field, netting 19 points with six rebounds, while fellow sophomore Toni Kokenis scored 14 points with six rebounds. Three Cardinal players, Taylor Greenfield (four assists), Lindy La Rocque (four) and Amber Orrange (three) each had at least three assists.

Scouting Old Dominion
Old Dominion (0-2) opened its season with a pair of losses last weekend, falling 77-65 at home to Virginia Tech Friday night then dropping an 87-56 decision Sunday at Georgia Tech. Karen Barefoot, in her first season at the Old Dominion helm, guides a Lady Monarch team that features Tia Lewis (13.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Ashley Betz-White (12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg).

All-Time Against Old Dominion
Stanford and Old Dominion have split the six all-time meetings between the schools. Stanford has captured the past two meetings, most recently an 89-56 victory in the 2008-09 season opener in Norfolk on Nov. 13, 2008. The most famous meeting between the schools was at the 1997 Final Four in Cincinnati, where the Cardinal fell to the Lady Monarchs, 83-82, in overtime on March 28, 1997.

Stanford In The Polls
Stanford is ranked fifth in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches Polls for the second straight week.

In The Pac-12 Statistical Rankings
After the season's opening weekend, Stanford ranks in the Pac-12's top three in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (17.4 - first), rebounding margin (+13.0 - third), offenside rebounding (16.0 rpg - third), defensive rebounding (31.0 rpg - third) and offensive rebound percentage (42.7 - third). Individually, Nnemkadi Ogwumike leads the conference with 33.0 points and 18.0 rebounds a game, and is fifth with a 73.7 field goal percentage. Chiney Ogwumike is fifth with 10.0 rebounds per game while guards Amber Orrange and Toni Kokenis share the conference lead with perfect free-throw percentages (6-for-6).

Business As Usual At Home
Sunday's 76-61 win over Gonzaga extended Stanford's program-record home winning streak to 64 games. The streak began with the 2007-08 home opener against San Francisco on Nov. 28, 2007, and has continued through four straight undefeated seasons at Maples Pavilion. Stanford's last home loss was a 68-61 setback against Florida State on March 19, 2007 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

And That's Why She's A Preseason All-American
After missing the season opener at Texas due to injury, senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike returned Sunday against Gonzaga and immediately showed why she is on the short list for national player of the year honors. The two-time State Farm Coaches' All-American went 14-of-19 from the field and 5-of-6 from the stripe for 33 points, in addition to grabbing 18 rebounds.

Not So Big A Question Mark Anymore
Heading into the new campaign, one of the question marks brought up about the Cardinal was the amount of production it would get from the backcourt. After Stanford's two victories during the opening weekend, the trio of senior Lindy La Rocque, sophomore Toni Kokenis and freshman Amber Orrange helped clear up the matter with their strong efforts. Kokenis averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.00 assists while shooting 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from behind the arc, Orrange debuted with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals at Texas on Friday and La Rocque averaged 2.50 assists and 2.00 steals over the two wins. Additionally, sophomore Sara James and freshman Jasmine Camp saw action, bolstering the Cardinal's guard presence.

The Chiney Show
The younger half of Stanford's 1-2 Ogwumike punch, Chiney, opened her 2011-12 season with polished efforts in wins at Texas and over Gonzaga. Friday in Austin, without Nnemkadi Ogwumike in the lineup, Chiney Ogwumike posted her first double-double of the year with 16 points and 14 rebounds despite early foul trouble. Two days later, she went 9-of-14 from the field, scoring 19 points and pulling down six boards. Through the season's opening weekend, Chiney is averaging a double-double of 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

Wait, Where's California?
It's well-known the national recruiting reach that Stanford enjoys, and this past weekend reflected that in a starting lineup that has not been seen on The Farm in over seven years. For the opening tip Friday in Austin, the following five players walked onto the court for the Cardinal: Toni Kokenis (Oak Brook, Ill.), Lindy La Rocque (Las Vegas, Nev.), Taylor Greenfield (Huxley, Iowa), Joslyn Tinkle (Missoula, Mont.) and Chiney Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas). Despite being situated in the heart of the Bay Area in California, Stanford's starting five did not feature a single Californian all weekend, the first time since the 2004 NCAA Tournament First Round against Missouri on March 20, 2004 in Tempe, Ariz. that this had happened. The starting lineup that day consisted of Nicole Powell (Phoenix, Ariz.), T'Nae Thiel (Weatherford, Texas), Kristen Newlin (Riverton, Wyo.), Kelley Suminski (Chester, N.J.) and Susan Borchardt (Richfield, Minn.).