Cy-Fair HS grads and sisters push Stanford into Sweet 16

by John Renshaw | March 23, 2011 2:13 pm

Cy-Fair High School graduates Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 22 points, little sister Chiney added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Stanford overcame a slow start to reach the round of 16 with a 75-49 win over St. John's in women's college basketball on Monday night.

This one was all Ogwumike. Nnemkadi Ogwumike shot 10 for 16 and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Chiney aggressively crashed the boards for six offensive rebounds, creating second chances for her team while playing on her 19th birthday.

Nnemkadi told the Stanford website, "There was only one person guarding me so I wanted to post up aggressively and stay strong," Nnekmadi Ogwumike said. "We really just capitalized on the offense we ran. Chiney did an awesome job getting the offensive boards and getting the second and third shot for us. We've talked about this from day one how deep this team is and how each player has created a role for themselves on the court and with the team."

The Cardinal (31-2) captured its school-record 63rd straight victory at Maples Pavilion, capping a perfect run by the seniors on their home floor for their careers -- the first group in school history to accomplish that feat.

Stanford advances to play Saturday against No. 5 North Carolina in the semifinals of the Spokane Regional, the very site where the Cardinal won four years ago to end a 10-year Final Four drought.

Nnemkadi, a 2008 graduate of Cy-Fair High, was a three-year letter winner in basketball and volleyball, and lettered one year in track. She captained the basketball and volleyball teams for three years each and was a track captain in her only season with the team. She swept the Gatorade National and State Player of the Year awards as a senior and was named Miss Basketball Texas. Nnemkadi shared Parade Co-Player of the Year honors and collected Houston Player of the Year honors three times. She was named a McDonald's All-American and earned All-America honors from the WBCA, EA Sports, MaxPreps, SLAM! magazine, Parade and USA Today following her senior season.

Chiney, a 2010 graduate of Cy-Fair High, captained both the volleyball and basketball teams as a junior and senior lettering four years in both sports. She led the basketball team to a pair of state titles (2008, 2010) and three state title game appearances overall. In 2009-10, she earned national player of the year accolades from the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (presenters of the Naismith Award), Morgan Wooten, National Coaches Association, MaxPreps and rivals.com. She was also named Gatorade's National Athlete of the Year in addition to its Girl's Basketball National Player of the Year. Chiney played club basketball with Cy-Fair Shock Nike Elite from 2002-09 and helped her team to U.S. Junior Nationals title and to Nike Nationals semifinals appearance.