Weekend Closes With Aggies
Game #4
No. 3/5 Stanford Cardinal (2-1)
- vs. -
UC Davis Aggies (0-2)
Sunday, November 17, 2013 – 2 p.m. PT
Maples Pavilion (7,233) – Stanford, Calif.
Series History: Stanford leads 8-7
Last Meeting: Nov. 30, 2012 (Stanford 87, UC Davis 38) – Davis, Calif.
TV: None
Webcast: Stanford Webcast
Radio: 90.1 KZSU (P-x-P: Preston Chin, Ashley Westhem)
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3/5 Stanford closes its opening weekend at Maples Pavilion Sunday afternoon with a 2 p.m. contest against UC Davis. Sunday’s contest will be webcast at http://pac-12.com/videos/stanford-university?DB_OEM_ID=30600 while it will also be available on 90.1 KZSU with Preston Chin and Ashley Westhem calling the action.
Last Time Out
The Cardinal got back into the win column Friday night, defeating Cal Poly 86-51. It was a night of career highs, as Chiney Ogwumike posted personal bests of 36 points and 15 field goals while Mikaela Ruef grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds and matched her high of seven assists. Ogwumike also grabbed 11 rebounds to post her 61st-career double-double and third in as many games this season. Freshman guard Lili Thompson made her first collegiate start, going for six points and five assists. For the game, Stanford dished out 27 assists and out-rebounded the Mustangs 47-36.
About UC Davis
UC Davis (0-2) opened its campaign Nov. 8 with a 64-55 loss to USC at home, then fell 86-78 at Pacific on Nov. 11. Head coach Jennifer Gross, in her third year at the Aggie helm, oversees a UC Davis squad led by the play of Sydnee Fipps (16.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Brianna Salvatore (10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
All-Time Against UC Davis
Stanford leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 8-7. All seven of the Aggie wins in the series came between 1974-78, with the last victory a 61-54 win at Davis. After a 94-55 Cardinal in on Dec. 4, 1979, the teams did not play again until the 2007-08 season. Since that meeting in Dec. 2007, the Cardinal has won six games in a row against UC Davis.
In The National Rankings
After the first week of the season Stanford remains ranked third in the Associated Press Poll (which came out before Monday’s loss at Connecticut), but in Tuesday’s USA Today Sports Coaches’ Poll dropped to No. 5.
In The Pac-12 Rankings
Through Nov. 15 Stanford ranks in the top three of three categories: field-goal percentage (49.2 percent), field-goal percentage defense (35.6 percent) and rebounding defense (34.7 rpg). Individually, Chiney Ogwumike leads the Pac-12 with 27.3 points per game and a 68.1 field-goal percentage, and is second with 12.7 rebounds per game. Mikaela Ruef is fourth in the conference with 11.0 rebounds per game. Amber Orrange is fifth with 5.00 assists per game and sixth with a 59.4 field-goal percentage.
VanDerveer Knocking On 900-Win Club
Head coach Tara VanDerveer is in her 35th season as a head coach and 28th at the Stanford helm in 2013-14. Her career record of 896-204 after Friday’s win over Cal Poly moves her to just four wins away from becoming the fifth women’s basketball coach to win 900 games, joining Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt, C. Vivian Stringer and Sylvia Hatchell in the exclusive club. This season Stanford’s sixth, seventh and eighth games take place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, meaning VanDerveer could very likely hit the 900-win mark on foreign soil.
Not Losing Back-To Back
Friday’s 86-51 win over Cal Poly not only got the Cardinal back to winning ways but also prevented the team from dropping back-to-back games for the first time in three years, when it fell at DePaul (91-71) and Tennessee (82-72 in overtime) on Dec. 16 and 19, 2010.
Ruef Showing Signs Of A Career Year
Redshirt senior Mikaela Ruef has made some of the largest strides of any Cardinal player in recent memory in terms of career growth. After being a freshman who played just 62 minutes all season in 2009-10, and then missing all but three games in 2011-12, Ruef came back strong a season ago, earning a starting spot early on and going on to average 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 points and 2.1 assists per game over 21.4 minutes a game. That momentum has carried over to 2013-14, as the Beavercreek, Ohio native is averaging 11.0 rebounds a game, highlighted by a career-best 14 boards Friday night against Cal Poly.
Ogwumike Not Messing Around
Senior forward Chiney Ogwumike has talked about how serious she is taking her final collegiate season, and through the first three games it is obvious that she means it. Ogwumike put up a career-high 36 points Friday night against Cal Poly, an effort which was her second of at least 30 points in this young campaign. Through three games she leads the Pac-12 with 27.3 points per game and a 68.1 field-goal percentage, and is second with 12.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, she has posted a double-double in all three of Stanford’s games this year and has 61 for her career.
Good Effort From The Rookies
Friday’s win over Cal Poly was also a good showcase for four of Stanford’s freshmen in front of the Maples Pavilion crowd. Guard Lili Thompson made her first collegiate start, scoring six points with five assists while fellow guard Karlie Samuelson hit a pair of 3-pointers for six points and passed out three assists. Inside, forwards Kailee Johnson and Erica McCall combined for 15 points and four rebounds with a 7-for-11 shooting effort. Guard Briana Roberson did not suit up for the contest.