RebKell's Junkie Boards

[bballequalslife]

[njjosh]

[JACKOWACKO]

46!!

_________________
LAUREN JACKSON is the greatest of alltime.

[mekanos]

WOW ...

[bricklayer]

[CB]

Have to smile huge at Appel, she's so happy.

Appel, 46 points for #3 most points in a tournament game. Behind Swoopes at 47 in the 90s and Bauman(sp) at 50 points in the 80s.

Congrats Tara, Appel and Stanford!

_________________
"All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke

[bullsky]

Woo hoo! Congrats to Stanford!

They're so fun to watch!

_________________
"Don't do something until you get it right, do it until you can't do it wrong."
- Geno Auriemma

[mekanos]

[Jesse C]

I really think Stanford is the only team with a chance at the Huskies. I know C. Paris would beg to differ, but I just don't see Ok hanging with them. And we know what UConn can do to 'Ville.

[bricklayer]

[NOLAbballgirl]

Jayne Appel - you are my hero!

National Championship baby! (even though I picked UCONN... )

[pilight]

[bricklayer]

Sheesh no respect for Appel. How far into sportscenter do we have to go for Appel highlights? They've already shown louisville highlights.

[mekanos]

[njjosh]

[bricklayer]

[slats-59's]

[NOLAbballgirl]

[NOLAbballgirl]

[slats-59's]

[eyevolley4]

So last season was an unforgettable one. Wiggins seemed to be a lightning rod that sparked her team to play absolutely unbelievable basketball. Stanford was one of the most exciting and viewer-friendly teams to watch the entire tournament, and they had a face with a smile bigger than any other.

This season, you won't see smiles on the court. Not many anyhow. The demeanor of Stanford has changed, but the beauty of their game and their strategy has not. With Jeanette, Jayne, Jill, Jayla, Joslyn, Jeka, and Jindy there is a passion for defense and for making life a living hell for their opponents. Stanford has down right demoralized opponents with their relentless defense. Stanford also appears to be the deepest 8 player team in the country with Tara remaining incredibly mindful of match ups and giving the big minutes to the right people.

The smile, this season, comes at the end of the game, and today you could see the stoic Pedersen, the bulldog Pohlen, and the bully Appel smile with a sense of complete joy Stanford fans came to expect from Wiggins on court. But this is just a sense of the difference between this season's Cardinal and last season's team. While in 08, there was much to prove, there was a sense that no matter what happened in the tournament, the career of Candice Wiggins would go down in the record books, an absolute monster of a star and All-American from her first day at Stanford.

In 09, however, adversity set in, and helped develop the fierce mentality the team called upon to start beating up on opponents. First, the season begins with a sub-100% Jayne Appel, the player expected to carry the team on her broad and capable shoulders from day one. Next, JJ Hones, perhaps the best floor commander in the country, goes out for the season with an ACL injury that has become all too familiar within the Stanford family. Then, the team endures one of the most difficult schedules in the country, battling Rutgers, Duke, Purdue, Iowa State, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Baylor to name just a few.

Injuries, on-court battles, and the graduation of perhaps the greatest Stanford Cardinal in history just could not stop what has turned into the next generation of Stanford excellence, and a team that is changing the shape and size of women's basketball.

Four years ago, Jillian Harmon never would have imagined that her key position was as a 2 guard who had the green light to shoot the three on a consistent basis. Last season, while Kayla Pedersen showed flashes of the skill set that eventually turned her into the starting wing at Stanford, she also was met with some critics who said she was too slow and wasn't ready for the college game - boy were they wrong. In October, Jeanette Pohlen was worried about how she would replace the offense of one of the most dynamic scorers in the history of the collegiate game, and in December she was trying to figure out how she could replace one of the most steady point guard options in Maples since Jen Azzi. Three years ago, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude looked to be the point guard of promise before an ACL took her down, and now she has emerged as a defensive stopper and a three point shooter who has come up huge down the stretch of what was at one point slated to be her senior season.

The Cardinal now start 5 players over six foot, a feat no WNBA team accomplishes. Still, they win games by beating teams down the court, stifling perimeter shooting, but of course owning the glass. The deceptive speed of Pohlen, the ability to do anything and everything of Harmon, the defense and surprising ball-control of Pedersen, the Wiggins-esque joy of Ogwumike, and the absolute stardom of Appel have created a team that Tara calls a bunch of cogs.

Stanford Cardinal - thank you, again, for an incredibly memorable season. Thank you to FSN to doing a tremendous job documenting it. Thank you to Tara for orchestrating it, in a way only Tara could.

Now, you special team, let's go do something even more special. Let's win a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

_________________
Some days are meant to be remembered.

[bricklayer]

I'm not even ready to right okie into the final four yet. Malone can be a pesky defender and wisdom-hylton and Campbell can bang with the sooners inside. Rayburn's a game changer off the bench and with howell gives them a serious outside threat. And kiki freeman went off against rutgers - something I didn't expect from what I've seen of purdue this year. I'm even taking vacation again tomorrow expecting that to be a good game!

[bricklayer]

great post, eyevolley, and LOL at the j's!

[njjosh]

[slats-59's]