Dec. 1, 2012

Game #8

No. 1/1 Stanford Cardinal (7-0)

- at -

Gonzaga (6-1)

Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 - 2 p.m. PT
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) - Spokane, Wash.

Series History: Stanford leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 13, 2011 (Stanford 76, Gonzaga 61) - Stanford, Calif.
TV: SWX (PxP: Greg Heister, Analyst: Stephanie Hawk Freeman)
Webcast: http://www.gozags.com
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Ashley Westhem)

Game Notes vs. Gonzaga

STANFORD, Calif. - Top-ranked Stanford finishes its road weekend Sunday at 2 p.m. against fellow West Coast power Gonzaga. The battle between the Cardinal and Bulldogs also features sisters going head-to-head as Stanford senior Joslyn Tinkle meets up with Gonzaga freshman Elle Tinkle on the block. Sunday's game is televised locally on SWX with Greg Heister on the call and Stephanie Hawk Freeman providing analysis. A webstream is available at http://www.gozags.com. The game will also be carried on 90.1 KZSU with Ashley Westhem on the call.

Last Time Out
The Cardinal made it seven in a row to start the season with Friday's 87-38 win at UC Davis. Preseason national player of the year candidate Chiney Ogwumike matched her career high with 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while going 9-for-14 from the field. Guard Toni Kokenis was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc, scoring 11 points while Sara James hit a pair of treys and scored 10 points in the win. Stanford dominated the boards, out-rebounding UC Davis by a 62-24 margin, the 62 rebounds tying for fourth-best in a single game for the Cardinal. The Stanford defense was airtight, holding the Aggies to just 18.2-percent shooting and 12 field goals while blocking a season-high 12 shots.

About Gonzaga
Gonzaga (6-1) returns to action Sunday from a 10-day break in action following a three-game trip to Mexico Thanksgiving Week. The Bulldogs captured two of three games at the tournament, defeating Missouri State and Winthrop while dropping a 55-42 decision to Louisville. The Bulldogs, with Kelly Graves at the helm, are led by the play of Haiden Palmer (12.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Keani Albanez (10.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg).

Against Gonzaga
Sunday's meeting will be the fifth all-time, and fifth over the past four seasons between Stanford and Gonzaga. The Cardinal has captured all four previous meetings, including an 83-60 win in the 2011 NCAA Spokane Regional Final as a 76-61 win at Maples Pavilion last Nov. 13.

Stanford In The National Polls
Stanford checked in at No. 1 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' Polls for the second straight week. The Cardinal earned 21 of 39 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 17 of 31 in the Coaches Poll.

In The Pac-12 Statistics
Through Nov. 30, Stanford ranked in the top three of 10 statistical categories amongst Pac-12 schools: field-goal percentage (53.1 - first), field-goal percentage defense (33.0 - first), 3-point field-goal percentage defense (25.0 - first), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36 - first), scoring (80.0 ppg - second), scoring defense (53.6 ppg - second), scoring margin (+26.4 - second), 3-point field-goal percentage (35.7 - second), rebounding defense (30.0 rpg - second), rebound margin (+14.4 - second), defensive rebounds (31.3 drpg - second), assists (15.57 apg - third), blocked shots (5.0 bpg - third), and defensive rebound percentage (71.8 - third). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike leads the conference in scoring (20.9 ppg), is second in rebounding (11.9 rpg) and fourth in field-goal percentage (64.8). Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle is seventh with 16.7 points per game, fifth with a 60.7 shooting percentage and third with 1.86 blocks per game. Amber Orrange is third with 6.29 assists per game and a 2.44 assist-to-turnover ratio. Taylor Greenfield's 44.0 3-point field-goal percentage is third in the Pac-12.

Sister vs. Sister Highlights Weekend Slate
There will be some sibling rivalry on the hardwood this Sunday at Gonzaga as the Tinkle sisters, Joslyn and Elle, face off from opposite sides of the court. Joslyn, Stanford's senior forward, is enjoying a career year in 2012-13, averaging 16.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 60.7 percent from the field. Younger sister Elle, in her rookie campaign with Gonzaga, has seen action in all seven of the team's games, averaging 4.6 points over 8.7 minutes per game. Both graduates of Big Sky High School in Missoula, Mont., the Tinkles will have a healthy cheering section of family and friends at The Kennel.

Familiar Foes
The Stanford-Gonzaga series has quickly become one of the premier matchups on the West Coast as Sunday will mark the fifth time the teams have met in just four seasons. The Cardinal and Bulldogs had not crossed paths until the 2009-10 season, when the Cardinal defeated the Bulldogs, 105-74, at Maples Pavilion. Since then, the teams have met thrice more, including a 2011 NCAA Tournament Spokane Regional contest, won 83-60 by Stanford. The teams have met once at The Kennel in Spokane, with Stanford escaping with an 84-78 win on Nov. 21, 2010, the first of what would be two meetings between the schools that season.

Finishing An Unbeaten November
Friday's 87-38 win at UC Davis clinched a perfect month of November for the Cardinal for just the fourth time in the past nine seasons. Stanford went undefeated in November of the 2004-05, 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons and completed a 7-0 opening month in the current campaign with Friday's win. The victory over the Aggies gave the Cardinal seven wins for November, matching the program record for November previously set in 2001-02.

Ogwumike Matches Career High, Posts Another Double-Double
Consensus national player of the year candidate and preseason All-American Chiney Ogwumike matched her career high in scoring and posted her fifth double-double of the young season in Friday's 87-38 win at UC Davis, going for 27 points and 13 rebounds. The performance continued a dream start to the season for Ogwumike, who on Nov. 19 was named espnW's inaugural National Player of the Week after earning MVP honors at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic. During that tournament the Cypress, Texas native scored 18 points with eight rebounds in Stanford's 71-69 victory over then-No. 1/1 Baylor on Nov. 16. Through the season's first seven games, Ogwumike is averaging 20.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game and shooting 64.8 percent from the field.

Going For The First "Tinkle Cup"
Senior forward Joslyn Tinkle and Gonzaga freshman forward Elle Tinkle will go head-to-head Sunday in what Dishin' & Swishin' host David Siegel called the "Tinkle Cup" in Friday's podcast. the sisters from Missoula, Mont. will face each other from opposite sides of the court for the first time in an organized contest, although both have spoken at length about the competitive battles they waged on the family hoop growing up. Joslyn and Elle were last on the same court at Big Sky High School in Missoula, helping lead BSHS to a Montana state title in 2008-09, Joslyn's senior year and Elle's freshman season. They represent a big basketball family, as father Wayne, currently the head men's coach at Montana, starred for the Griz and went on to a pro career in Europe, mother Lisa was a Lady Griz basketball standout and is a member of the Montana Athletic Hall of Fame, and younger brother Tres is currently a prep standout in Missoula.

Quick And Efficient
Junior guard Toni Kokenis has continued to round into her usual top form after seeing limited action to start the year. Friday night, the Second City Sparkplug and native of the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill. was an efficient 4-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from behind the arc, for 11 points with three rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Kokenis, averaging 8.0 points per game this year and shooting 51.3 percent from the field (40.0 percent on 3-pointers), hit all three of her treys in the first half Friday, helping the Cardinal silence the boisterous Davis crowd and race out to a 46-19 halftime lead.

James Thrills The Hometown Fans Friday
Another of Stanford's junior guards, Sara James, put up a season-best effort Friday night at UC Davis. Playing in front of assorted friends and family just a short drive from her hometown of El Dorado Hills, James went 4-for-8 from the field including hitting a pair of 3-pointers for a season-high 10 points to go with three assists and two steals. This year James has been a key reserve in the Cardinal back court, averaging 3.8 points over 12.8 minutes per game and making her first collegiate start in the season opener against Fresno State back on Nov. 9.

Ruef Punches The Time Clock
Redshirt junior forward Mikaela Ruef has bullied her way into the Cardinal starting lineup since mid-November with her dogged rebounding, smart passing and aggressive defense. After having her 2011-12 season curtailed after three games last November due to foot issues, Ruef has come back strong in 2012-13, bringing a selfless, do-anything attitude to the lineup. The Beavercreek, Ohio native made her first collegiate start Nov. 16 against Baylor and didn't disappoint, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds and helping provide the defense that got Stanford out to a key halftime lead by holding Baylor's Brittney Griner to just four points at halftime. Since that game Ruef has stuck in the starting five and is second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game (tied with Joslyn Tinkle) and 15 assists.