Jan 1st, 2010
We know what Stanford’s frontcourt can do, and that’s scary for its opponents. We don’t know what Cal’s frontcourt can do, and that’s scary for Cal and its opponents.
JJ Hones (10) is questionable for Saturday's Pac-10 opener against Cal -- Photo by All Messerschmidt/Getty Images
That matchup in the paint will be at the heart of the Pac-10 opener for both teams when they meet at noon on Saturday at Stanford. The side issue is the health of Stanford point guard JJ Hones, who is questionable for the game because of a knee injury, but the bigs are the story.
Stanford’s talented, experienced trio of Kayla Pedersen, Nneka Ogwumike and Jayne Appel is probably the best frontcourt in the country. All three were starters last season, Appel is the reigning Pac-10 player of the year, and Ogwumike and Pedersen rank first and second in the Pac-10 in scoring.
Meanwhile, Cal uses four freshmen to rotate at its two post positions after losing Devanai Hampton and Ashley Walker, both of whom were three-time, first-team all-Pac-10 selections. Two of the Cal freshmen posts were McDonald’s All-Americans and all four were ranked among the nation’s top 100 prospects, so there is the potential for them to develop into a frontcourt as good as Stanford’s. Eventually.
They have had their moments this season, but they also have played like — well, like freshmen, as the Bears (6-5) have not been as good as expected.
The return of freshmen Gennifer Brandon, who missed two games with a foot stress reaction, and Brenna Heater, who was sidelined for eight games with a foot stress fracture, should help the Bears’ frontcourt, providing support for starters Talia Caldwell and DeNesha Stallworth, both of whom are also freshmen.
Stallworth has been the Bears’ most consistent player, averaging 13.6 points, and her matchup with Ogwumike will be worth watching. Stallworth has hit 9 of 13 three-point shots this season so she may be able to drag Ogwumike out to the perimter where the Stanford sophomore is less comfortable. Overall, though, Cal will have trouble dealing with Stanford’s big players.
The Bears’ best freshman lately has been guard Layshia Clarendon, who has scored 20 points or more each of the past three games and is expected to make her third career start against Stanford.
Whether Cal’s young team can be competitive against the mature Cardinal, which returns four starters from last year’s Final Four team, is a major question. The Bears had been closing ground on Stanford in recent years, tying the Cardinal for first place in 2008 and finishing second last season. Although Stanford has won 33 of the past 36 games against Cal, the Bears beat Stanford at Cal last season and were the last team to win a regular-season game at Stanford, handing the Cardinal a 72-57 loss in 2007 for Stanford biggest home loss since 1998.
The gap seems to have opened up again this season, at least for now.
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