Jayne Appel (left) and Kayla Pedersen/AP photo Paul Sakuma
When a 6-foot-4 forward is the leading three-point shooter for a women’s team that also features two of the best low-post players in the country, it has the makings of a scary offense.
And No. 2 Stanford (3-0) has a scary offense, as it demonstrated in its 99-50 victory over Pepperdine on Thursday in the Cardinal’s home opener. The victory extended Stanford's home winning streak to 30 in a row, the third longest home win streak in the country behind Connecticut (42 in a row) and Maryland (38).
Kayla Pedersen is a natural power forward, and looks the part with her strong 6-4 frame. So it is not surprising it took her awhile to adjust after being moved to the perimeter midway through last season, when Nneka Ogwumike was inserted into the lineup.
“I know I struggled with it for a while,” Pedersen said.
She is feeling comfortable at the small forward spot now, leading the team in scoring for the second time in three games by collecting 22 points in just 25 minutes against the Waves. More significantly, she was 4-for-6 on three-pointers on Thursday and is 10-for-16 on three-pointers for the season, a cool 62.4 percent. And remember, Pedersen is a 6-4 player who had played inside for most of her first two seasons.
“Kayla is comfortable at the three (small forward), knocking down her shots,” coach Tara VanDerveer said.
Her outside shooting, as well as the perimeter work of Jeanette Pohlen, who was 3-for-5 from behind the arc and had 20 points in 25 minutes Thursday, will take pressure off the Cardinal’s two inside producers – Jayne Appel and Nneka Ogwumike.
Appel (see separate story on Appel here) had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Ogwumike, who had scored 25 an 21 points in the Cardinal’s first two games, had 14 points and seven boards and still leads the team in scoring at 20.0 a game. Those two may get more playing time in the next few games because freshman forward Joslyn Tinkle will be sidelined for several games after an MRI detected a problem with a bone in her foot.
”I don’t know whether it’s a stress reaction or a stress fracture or a bone bruise, but it’s not right,” VanDerveer said.
Tinkle was one of four injured Cardinal players who sat out Thursday’s game, three of whom are frontcourt players. Ashley Cimino (ankle) and Sarah Boothe (foot) were the other frontcourt players not in uniform, which shows how much depth Stanford would have up front if everyone were healthy.
VanDerveer is taking every precaution to try prevent guard JJ Hones from getting injured again after she missed significant portions of two seasons with major knee injuries.
“I’m not going to play JJ if we have a big lead and she knows that,” VanDerveer said.
Hones played just 13 minutes Thursday, but it was enough time to get 10 points and hit both her three-point attempts.
Pepperdine started fast, grabbing an 11-7 in the early going. The Waves still held a 13-11 lead before Stanford outscored the Waves 31-3 over the next seven minutes to end any suspense.
The Cardinal took control by using a transition game, scoring a bulk of their points in that stretch off fast breaks.
For more Bay Area college basketball and football, go to jakestakeonsports.com.
See also:
EX-STANFORD PLAYERS IN NBA: JARRON COLLINS HAS BIG GAME
STANFORD LOSES AT BUZZER, BUT MAY HAVE FOUND POINT GUARD
DAWKINS COMMENTS ON HIGHLY RATED RECRUITING CLASS
ACCOLADES FOR STANFORD'S RECRUITING CLASS
See scout.com's top 25 classes here.
PAC-10 MEN'S UPDATE: UCLA, OREGON STATE LOSE OPENERS
OGWUMIKE PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
STANFORD WOMEN GET BY NO. 25 RUTGERS
STANFORD MEN LOSE OPENER TO SAN DIEGO
NATION'S NO. 1 RECRUIT SIGNS WITH STANFORD
OGWUMIKE COMMENTS ON CHOOSING STANFORD
Comments