Two things that happened in Stanford women's 69-56 home victory over No. 20 Colorado on Sunday may have an impact in the Cardinal's next game on Friday at Oregon.
The first, and most important thing, that happened was that Chiney Ogwumike twisted her ankle in the second half. Coach Tara VanDerveer said she should be fine, and Ogwumike returned to the game to finish with 20 points and 12 rebounds. She seemed to be moving well, and with nearly a week to recover, it seems likely she'll be fine for the game against the Ducks. However, you can never be sure about a sprained ankle until the next day.
The other noteworthy item was that Amber Orrange was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season. Orrange was coming off a game in which she scored just four points on 1-for-6 shooting with no assists in Friday's victory over Utah.
"Amber just needs to be a more vocal leader,"VanDerveer told reporters afterward.
VanDerveer has been trying to get the soft-spoken Orrange to be more aggressive and more outspoken on the court. Orrange entered the game when it was just four minutes old and played the remaining 36 minutes, scoring 10 points, so it may have just been a ploy on VanDerveer's part to motivate Orrange to be more vocal. Whether she starts against the Ducks will be the determining factor on that.
Toni Kokenis was the starting point guard in Orrange's place, and Kokenis performed well in that role, collecting 15 points and five assists while hitting 3 of 4 three-point shots. Whether that will prompt VanDerveer to use Kokenis more at the point rather than an off-guard spot is also worth watching.
VanDerveer seemed to like what she saw of Kokenis as a floor leader.
"Toni controlled the floor well for us," VanDerveer said.
The No. 6-ranked Cardinal (18-2, 7-1 in the Pac-12, tied for first with Cal) seemed to have the game well in hand when it took a 21-point lead early in the second half. But the Buffaloes, who nearly beat Cal on Friday and are 15-4, got to within seven points with eight minutes left.
But a jump shot by Joslyn Tinkle, a three-pointer by Kokenis and a layup by Ogwumike gave the Cardinal a 14-point lead and ended the threat.
Tinkle had 16 points.
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