Photo

If the Stanford women's basketball team wanted to make a statement following its frustrating loss to Connecticut, than it did so emphatically on Friday night.

Opening with a flourish, the fourth-ranked Cardinal never trailed in its Pac-12 Conference opener, a 57-40 victory over host Colorado, ranked 20th and undefeated entering the contest.

Joslyn Tinkle gave Stanford (1-0, 12-1) the lead with a 3-pointer in the first 30 seconds and the Cardinal never looked back. Tinkle ended with 13 points, 11 in the first half, and recorded three blocks.

Chiney Ogwumike scored 20 points, added 11 rebounds and blocked three shots for Stanford. Amber Orrange added 13points and dished off six assists.

"We know what we're capable of," Ogwumike said. "We know what our expectations are. We're trying to meet that. But I think sometimes early success can make you complacent. We needed a wakeup call, a reality check."

UConn definitely provided it, showing the Cardinal they still have work to do. And they went about fixing their flaws against Colorado.

"Every team has a bad night and we had a bad night. It just happened to be against UConn, so it was exposed," Ogwumike said. "I think it was good because it grounded us. This is a great starting point for us, a new chance to start a new season."

The Cardinal began a quest for a 13th straight conference title on the right note. They also ran their winning streak against league opponents to 79 straight.

"We were ready to play," coach Tara VanDerveer said. "We came in and kind of took it to them the way some teams have taken it to us."

No matter who the Buffaloes (0-1, 11-1) assigned to Ogwumike, she simply couldn't be stopped. Tinkle went to work at the rare moments Ogwumike was not available.
"I said this to the team, `Last week, we don't want that to determine the team we are. It's all about how we react. How we bounce back from it,"' Tinkle said. "I think we were embarrassed because that's not the kind of team we are. We came out from the get-go. We came out to play."

Men's volleyball
Brian Cook had 13 kills to lead No. 3 Stanford to a 25-23, 25-17, 18-25, 25-17 victory over Grand Canyon in a season-opening match on Friday night at Maples Pavilion.

Eric Mochalski had 10 kills and nine digs, and Stanford hit .315 as a team as the Cardinal earned its sixth consecutive season-opening victory.

The match also marked the collegiate debut for several members of Stanford's outstanding freshman class, including James Shaw, a graduate of nearby St. Francis High School and son of former Cardinal coach Don Shaw, who started at setter. Shaw had 38 assists, 7 digs, and 6 kills.

Stanford completes its weekend series on Saturday at Maples Pavilion in a 7 p.m. match against No. 14 George Mason.

— Palo Alto Online Sports

Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.