Nov. 20, 2012
Game #6
No. 1/1 Stanford Cardinal (5-0)
- vs. -
Long Beach State 49ers (2-2)
Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012 - 2 p.m. PT
Maples Pavilion (7,329) - Stanford, Calif.
Series History: Long Beach State leads 8-6
Last Meeting: Dec. 8, 1993 (Stanford 122, Long Beach State 49) - Stanford, Calif.
TV: None
Webcast: http://pac-12.com/live/gostanford.aspx
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Preston Chin)
Game Notes vs. Long Beach State 
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford, fresh off winning the 2012 Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic, plays its first contest as the nation's newly-minted No. 1 team Sunday when it hosts Long Beach State for a 2 p.m. tip. The top-ranked Cardinal and the 49ers will play for the first time in 19 years, and the contest will be streamed live at http://pac-12.com/live/gostanford.aspx and broadcast on 90.1 KZSU with Preston Chin on the call.
Last Time Out
The Cardinal captured the 2012 Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic title with Sunday's 92-68 win over Tennessee-Martin, posting a perfect 3-0 mark that included a stunning of previously top-ranked Baylor Friday night. Chiney Ogwumike was named espnW National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week after earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player award by averaging 19.3 points and 11.7 rebounds while shooting 62.5 percent from the field, including an 18-point, eight-rebound effort in Friday's 71-69 win over Baylor. Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle scored a career-high 25 points against Tennessee-Martin Sunday, capping a weekend in which she averaged 17.3 points and shot 60.6 percent from the field, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Point guard Amber Orrange racked up a line of 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in Sunday's win.
About Long Beach State
Long Beach State snapped a two-game slide and evened its record at 2-2 Sunday with a 71-62 win over Washington at The Pyramid. The 49ers, with Jody Wynn in her fourth year at the helm, are led by the play of Alex Sanchez (13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Chantel Dooley (9.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg).
Against Long Beach State
Although Stanford and Long Beach State have met 14 times overall, Sunday's contest will be the first between the schools in 19 years. The previous meeting in this series took place Dec. 8, 1993, when Stanford set its still-standing single-game scoring record in a 122-49 victory over the 49ers.
Stanford In The National Polls
Following its 71-69 win over then-No. 1/1 Baylor Friday night and a 3-0 mark to capture the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine, Stanford assumed the top ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Polls. The Cardinal earned 21 of 39 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 17 of 31 in the Coaches Poll. It is the fourth time overall that the Cardinal is ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and first time since March 2005 that the Cardinal has sat atop either poll.
In The Pac-12 Rankings
Through Nov. 19, Stanford ranked in the top three of seven statistical categories amongst Pac-12 schools: field-goal percentage (53.0 - first), rebounding defense (30.8 rpg - first), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.43 - first), scoring (79.2 ppg - second), scoring margin (+20.0 - second), scoring defense (59.2 ppg - third) and free-throw percentage (68.8 - third). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike is third in the conference with 20.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, and fourth with a 64.7 field-goal percentage. Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is sixth with 18.2 points per game and a 63.9 shooting percentage, and fourth with a 42.9 3-point shooting percentage. Amber Orrange is second with 5.60 assists per game and a 2.55 assist-to-turnover ratio, and Toni Kokenis is third with a 92.3 free-throw percentage.
Beating the No. 1 A Sign Of Things To Come?
Friday's 71-69 win over then-No. 1/1 Baylor was Stanford's sixth in program history over a top-ranked program. It was the fifth of those six wins to come during the regular season, and out of those previous four regular-season wins over the nation's top-ranked team (before this season), the Cardinal went on to advance to the national championship game twice (1992, 2008).
Ogwumike Earns Slew Of Honors For Weekend Performance
Following her dominant performance over the weekend, one which earned her the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic MVP award, junior forward Chiney Ogwumike was named the inaugural espnW National Player of the Week as well as earning her second straight Pac-12 Player of the Week honor Monday.
The junior from Cypress, Texas opened the weekend by scoring 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including the first 3-pointer of her collegiate career, with eight rebounds in the win over previously top-ranked Baylor Friday. In the game's most clutch moment, Ogwumike drove through the Baylor defense for a reverse layup with 22 seconds remaining to give Stanford a two-possession lead at 70-66 and account for what would be the game-winning bucket in the eventual two-point win.
She followed that performance up with a pair of double-doubles, her second and third of the year, over the final two games. Against Hawai'i Saturday night, Ogwumike scored 15 points and matched her season high with 17 rebounds, and followed up with a 25-point, 10-rebound effort and 12-of-16 shooting performance in Sunday's win over Tennessee-Martin.
Stanford Topples No. 1 Baylor
Stanford answered the call Friday in Honolulu, upending No. 1 Baylor and ending the 42-game winning streak of the defending national champion with a 71-69 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center. Chiney Ogwumike made her case as the frontrunner for national player of the year with an 18-point, eight-rebound performance, and an 8-for-14 shooting effort against the nation's reigning player and defender of the year Brittney Griner. Redshirt junior forward Mikaela Ruef, in her first career start, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and gamely took on the task of defending Griner, helping hold the superstar to just four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the first half.
Sophomore Taylor Greenfield went 6-for-9 from the field, including four 3-pointers, scoring 16 points while Toni Kokenis (15 points) and Joslyn Tinkle (11 points, four rebounds) scored in double figures, and point guard Amber Orrange went for eight points and three assists.
Ogwumike, Tinkle Earn All-Tournament Honors
Following Sunday's 92-68 win over Tennessee-Martin, Chiney Ogwumike and Joslyn Tinkle were each honored for their outstanding performances. Ogwumike was named the tournament's MVP after averaging 19.3 points and 11.7 rebounds and shooting 62.5 percent over the three wins, while Tinkle was named to the All-Tournament Team for averaging 17.3 points and shooting 60.6 percent from the field, highlighted by a career-high 25 points against Tennessee-Martin.
Stanford Aims To Extend Nation's Longest Home Winning Streak
Sunday's game at Maples Pavilion against Long Beach State provides the next opportunity for the Cardinal to extend the nation's longest home winning streak. Currently standing at 80 games, the Cardinal can add another with a win Sunday to extend a streak that began back on Nov. 28, 2007 with a 96-61 victory over San Francisco.
Ogwumike Races To Front Of National Player Of The Year Race
Chiney Ogwumike, a consensus preseason national player of the year candidate, raced to the front of the pack for the Wade Trophy, John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy with her performance last weekend. The Cypress, Texas native averaged 19.3 points and 11.7 rebounds and shot 62.5 percent over Stanford's tournament-best three wins in Honolulu, earning tournament MVP honors in the process. That run included an 18-point, eight-rebound effort in Friday's win over then-No. 1/1 Baylor. For the season, Ogwumike paces the Cardinal with 20.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, a 64.7 shooting percentage and nine steals.
Joining The New "Big Three"
It has become a theme over the past few seasons for Stanford to develop a "Big Three" in terms of production, and senior forward Joslyn Tinkle has worked her way into the 2012-13 version along with point guard Amber Orrange. The pair joined the Cardinal starting lineup together last January and have since cemented their spots in the top five. Tinkle, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2011-12 with 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, has continued her top-tier play, averaging 18.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 63.9 percent from the field and a team-best 42.9 percent from 3-point range. She was named to the Jack in the Bow Rainbow Wahine Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.3 points and shooting 60.6 percent from the field, including a 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) mark from beyond the arc, and scored 11 points Friday against Baylor and a career-high 25 Sunday against Tennessee-Martin.
Orrange, meanwhile, is one of the fastest-rising point guards in the nation and further proved that in Honolulu. The catalyst of head coach Tara VanDerveer's speedy, pick-and-roll offense, Orrange came within three rebounds of a triple-double Sunday against Tennessee-Martin, going for 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. It was the second double-digit assist game of her career, following her career-best 11 against Hampton in the NCAA Tournament First Round last March 17. Against Baylor Friday she scored eight points with three assists, and for the weekend averaged 11.0 points, 5.40 assists and 3.7 rebounds as Stanford captured the tournament crown.
Rough-housing Ruef
Redshirt junior forward Mikaela Ruef, the second of Stanford's fourth-year players (with Joslyn Tinkle), made the first three starts of her collegiate career in Honolulu, with the first coming against No. 1/1 Baylor Friday. Never one to shrink from a challenge, Ruef's first start had the stakes raised as she drew the assignment of guarding reigning national player of the year Brittney Griner. Playing a career-high 30 minutes, Ruef shadowed Griner the whole way, helping hold the 6-8 center to just four points on 2-for-5 shooting in a first half where Stanford took a 14-point lead and led 31-29 at halftime. In addition to her defense, Ruef aggressively controlled the glass, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass. Add three points and three assists and it was the finest all-around performance in the career of Ruef, who bounced back from missing all but three games last year due to foot issues.
