[81alum]

Overview:
Chiney broke her personal single-game point record and poured in 37 in this easy victory on senior day

Flow of the game:
This was one of the best atmospheres for a conference home game other than C.al that I have ever seen.  A lot of casual fans decided to come on the last night of the regular season, and attendance was officially at 5600, including several school groups.  The crowd got loud and a brobdingnagian number stayed after for the ceremonies honoring Sara James, Toni Kokenis, Mikaela Ruef, and Chiney Ogwumike.

The game started well and we led the entire way, but we never entirely shook WSU either.  Chiney got things started with a layup and then Bonnie hit a three and we were up 5-0 in a hurry.  This game  the refs were pretty quick to call hacking in the paint, and Chiney began to benefit from calls.  She finished 9/10 from the free throw line.  But the ticky tack fouls worked both ways, and Chiney wound up with 4 for the game.

There was one outstanding hustle play in the first half that brought the crowd to its feet.  The ball wound up on the floor in a mad scramble and Kailee Johnson dove for it and collected it near midcourt.  Still on the floor she passed it to Bonnie who then sent a long pass to Chiney under the basket for the layup.  That will be one for the highlight reels.

We were up 40-26 with just a few minutes left in the first half, but WSU began to drive to the basket over and over and we seemed for a time to be unable to stop them.  They narrowed the gap to 49-41 by halftime and it seemed like we had a game again.

Chiney began to score at will early in the second half (5 layups in the first few minutes) and reached the 33 points with a dozen minutes left to play.  Surly she would break her own personal best of 36 points?  But WSU clamped down on her and dared us to shoot the three instead--something we were repeatedly missing.  Amber, fortunately, began to hit stop-and-pops and layups and we kept the lead in the 10-15-20 point vicinity the rest of the way.  WSU was scrappy and did not give up, and Lia Galdeira (16) and Tia Presley (10) continued to show that quick guards can cause us problems if they drive.

Erica McCall had an outstanding defensive play late in the second half.  Alex Green turned the ball over and WSU passed it to a streaking player for a layup.  Erica got back on defense, got a hand up, and emphatically rejected the layup.  It was such a surprise since everyone at Maples just assumed we had given up a fast break basket, and to hear and see the block was sweet.

Ultimately, Chiney finally did get her 37th point with about 5 minutes left in the game.  Earlier she had missed a number of easy shots or she would have shattered her record by a lot more.

Performances:
Chiney's previous game high was 36, but Tara left her in with 4 fouls and 36 minutes and she collected 37 points in her final regular home game.  I was impressed with her 9/10 free throws, and also that she repeatedly drove to the basket to collect those fouls.  I think she will need to continue that and not always count on catching a pass close enough to the basket to score on a single move.  Chiney was 14/23, with 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.

Amber had a very good offensive game tonight.  She was 7/9 and made 6/7 free throws for 20 points total.  Often WSU did not guard her and sagged onto Chiney, just as the coaches have said other teams tend to do.  That left her free to take mid range jumpers, and she made most of them.  She darted through for layups and also bounce-passed to Chiney down low off the dribble drive.  She finished with 4 assists and 1 turnover, but also collected 8 rebounds.

Ruef was solid but not outstanding tonight:  4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists.  Lili was clearly off her game, going 0/7 for 0 points, 4 assists and 3 turnovers.  Not sure if she is healthy, had a bad matchup, or what.  Bonnie started again and scored 10 points, hitting 2/8 treys and going 4/12 overall.  Not her best performance, but it did help to diversify our offense, and she collected 4 rebounds--something I have not seen her do before.  Bri got 11 minutes and scored 8 points.  She looked more calm than I have seen her play before and seemed to defend reasonable well.  She stuck to the quick WSU guards well even when they scored anyway.

Parting Thoughts:
Once again, Chiney and Amber dominated.  We were just 4/23 from three point range, which put a lot of stress on those who could score the ball inside--making us too dependent on Chiney and Amber.  I wish we could count on Ruef/McCall/Johnson to score more than 6 points (tonight's total for the three) inside. 

One never knows for sure whether we will see Chiney and our seniors back at Maples again.  We have suffered 1st and 2nd round losses in the NCAA before.  And so I could not help myself becoming sentimental at the departure of Toni, Sara, Mikaela, and Chiney.  They have given us all a lot of entertainment over the years

After the game
The Senior ceremony was touching, nostalgic, and informative.  Toni will be staying at Stanford to earn her Sociology MA and focus on her non profit, which advocates for equality and acceptance in sports.  Sara is going to Columbia to become a nurse practitioner.  When asked why not a physician, she said "I would like to be able to spend time with my patients, and I would also like to have time for a family."  She was answered with much cheering.  Mikaela will be finishing her Engineering MS and did not let on what her specific plans might be.  "What ever I wind up doing, I will do it very well" she said, also to much cheering.  Chiney is aiming at basketball, of course.  Not a bad lot--those 4 all used their Stanford opportunities extremely well and will lead different lives as a result of their decision to come here and play a game in front of appreciative fans. 

In addition, there were many emotional speeches by teammates who will be sorry to see the seniors leave, and by parents who seem to have had as much fun as their kids.  Jasmine was particularly emotional about Chiney, and so Chiney hugged her--and picked her up. 

And then we slipped away into the night, hoping for a sweet 16 appearance back in Maples. 

[81alum]

Overview:
Chiney broke her personal single-game point record and poured in 37 in this easy victory on senior day

Flow of the game:
This was one of the best atmospheres for a conference home game other than C.al that I have ever seen.  A lot of casual fans decided to come on the last night of the regular season, and attendance was officially at 5600, including several school groups.  The crowd got loud and a brobdingnagian number stayed after for the ceremonies honoring Sara James, Toni Kokenis, Mikaela Ruef, and Chiney Ogwumike.

The game started well and we led the entire way, but we never entirely shook WSU either.  Chiney got things started with a layup and then Bonnie hit a three and we were up 5-0 in a hurry.  This game  the refs were pretty quick to call hacking in the paint, and Chiney began to benefit from calls.  She finished 9/10 from the free throw line.  But the ticky tack fouls worked both ways, and Chiney wound up with 4 for the game.

There was one outstanding hustle play in the first half that brought the crowd to its feet.  The ball wound up on the floor in a mad scramble and Kailee Johnson dove for it and collected it near midcourt.  Still on the floor she passed it to Bonnie who then sent a long pass to Chiney under the basket for the layup.  That will be one for the highlight reels.

We were up 40-26 with just a few minutes left in the first half, but WSU began to drive to the basket over and over and we seemed for a time to be unable to stop them.  They narrowed the gap to 49-41 by halftime and it seemed like we had a game again.

Chiney began to score at will early in the second half (5 layups in the first few minutes) and reached the 33 points with a dozen minutes left to play.  Surly she would break her own personal best of 36 points?  But WSU clamped down on her and dared us to shoot the three instead--something we were repeatedly missing.  Amber, fortunately, began to hit stop-and-pops and layups and we kept the lead in the 10-15-20 point vicinity the rest of the way.  WSU was scrappy and did not give up, and Lia Galdeira (16) and Tia Presley (10) continued to show that quick guards can cause us problems if they drive.

Erica McCall had an outstanding defensive play late in the second half.  Alex Green turned the ball over and WSU passed it to a streaking player for a layup.  Erica got back on defense, got a hand up, and emphatically rejected the layup.  It was such a surprise since everyone at Maples just assumed we had given up a fast break basket, and to hear and see the block was sweet.

Ultimately, Chiney finally did get her 37th point with about 5 minutes left in the game.  Earlier she had missed a number of easy shots or she would have shattered her record by a lot more.

Performances:
Chiney's previous game high was 36, but Tara left her in with 4 fouls and 36 minutes and she collected 37 points in her final regular home game.  I was impressed with her 9/10 free throws, and also that she repeatedly drove to the basket to collect those fouls.  I think she will need to continue that and not always count on catching a pass close enough to the basket to score on a single move.  Chiney was 14/23, with 13 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.

Amber had a very good offensive game tonight.  She was 7/9 and made 6/7 free throws for 20 points total.  Often WSU did not guard her and sagged onto Chiney, just as the coaches have said other teams tend to do.  That left her free to take mid range jumpers, and she made most of them.  She darted through for layups and also bounce-passed to Chiney down low off the dribble drive.  She finished with 4 assists and 1 turnover, but also collected 8 rebounds.

Ruef was solid but not outstanding tonight:  4 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists.  Lili was clearly off her game, going 0/7 for 0 points, 4 assists and 3 turnovers.  Not sure if she is healthy, had a bad matchup, or what.  Bonnie started again and scored 10 points, hitting 2/8 treys and going 4/12 overall.  Not her best performance, but it did help to diversify our offense, and she collected 4 rebounds--something I have not seen her do before.  Bri got 11 minutes and scored 8 points.  She looked more calm than I have seen her play before and seemed to defend reasonable well.  She stuck to the quick WSU guards well even when they scored anyway.

Parting Thoughts:
Once again, Chiney and Amber dominated.  We were just 4/23 from three point range, which put a lot of stress on those who could score the ball inside--making us too dependent on Chiney and Amber.  I wish we could count on Ruef/McCall/Johnson to score more than 6 points (tonight's total for the three) inside. 

One never knows for sure whether we will see Chiney and our seniors back at Maples again.  We have suffered 1st and 2nd round losses in the NCAA before.  And so I could not help myself becoming sentimental at the departure of Toni, Sara, Mikaela, and Chiney.  They have given us all a lot of entertainment over the years

After the game
The Senior ceremony was touching, nostalgic, and informative.  Toni will be staying at Stanford to earn her Sociology MA and focus on her non profit, which advocates for equality and acceptance in sports.  Sara is going to Columbia to become a nurse practitioner.  When asked why not a physician, she said "I would like to be able to spend time with my patients, and I would also like to have time for a family."  She was answered with much cheering.  Mikaela will be finishing her Engineering MS and did not let on what her specific plans might be.  "What ever I wind up doing, I will do it very well" she said, also to much cheering.  Chiney is aiming at basketball, of course.  Not a bad lot--those 4 all used their Stanford opportunities extremely well and will lead different lives as a result of their decision to come here and play a game in front of appreciative fans. 

In addition, there were many emotional speeches by teammates who will be sorry to see the seniors leave, and by parents who seem to have had as much fun as their kids.  Jasmine was particularly emotional about Chiney, and so Chiney hugged her--and picked her up. 

And then we slipped away into the night, hoping for a sweet 16 appearance back in Maples.