Women’s basketball overcomes American University in day two of Rainbow Wahine Showdown

In day two of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu, Hawai’i, No. 8 Stanford women’s basketball (5-0) improved their undefeated season record with a 71-49 victory over American University (3-2). Led by senior forward Alanna Smith’s career-high 25-point performance, the Cardinal produced 26 points in the fourth quarter to outscore the Eagles. Both teams entered Saturday’s competition on little rest after opening the three-game weekend trip with wins on Friday. The Cardinal opened their weekend with a decisive 88-65 win over Florida Gulf Coast University (3-2) in their first meeting since last March, when the Cardinal won a contest in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Friday also featured a win for the American Eagles as they outlasted host University of Hawai’i (1-6) 73-67. With wins on their backs, Stanford and American clashed Saturday afternoon on less than 24 hours of rest. Smith, who was held to a season-low six points on Friday, shot 10-18 from the field and 3-6 from the distance for a total of 24 points on Saturday. She also led the team in defensive rebounds, grabbing seven boards. Smith’s career-high performance came just one day after junior forward Nadia Fingall had her own record-breaking performance, scoring a personal best 24 points. In Saturday’s contest, Fingall contributed 10 points, shooting 3-8 from the field and 3-4 from the stripe. She also grabbed five boards. Sophomore guard Kiana Williams produced nine points and a team-leading seven assists. Junior guard DiJonai Carrington had a fantastic game on both sides of the court. Carrington combined 6-7 from the field and 1-1 from the stripe for 13 points in a performance that also included seven rebounds. “I thought DiJonai was a real big difference for us,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She got that post-up, she got that offensive board, she made a free throw, she made that really nice pitch, so I thought she played really well. I’m very happy with how she’s playing.” The Cardinal lead by as much as 12 points in the first half, which saw the Cardinal produce 30 points to the Eagles’ 23. By halftime, Smith racked up 10 points and four rebounds. The Cardinal only shot 32 percent from the field (10-31) to the Eagles 35 percent (9-26). American kept the game close through the third quarter, shrinking the Cardinal’s lead down to six points by the end of the third. But the wear and tear of two games in two days began to settle in for the Eagles when the Cardinal’s stamina was on display in the fourth. Stanford pulled away in the final quarter, scoring 26 points to the Eagles’ 10. The Cardinal women shot 60 percent from both the field (9-15) and the arc (3-5) in the final quarter, putting the game out of reach for the Eagles. “We haven’t really played in that many tournaments where we’re playing two games in two days, so this will be a real challenge for us, I think, and just not having enough rest time and enough prep time,” American head coach Megan Gebbia said. “I mean, I thought we did a good job with the time that we had, but I think we were tired and I don’t play a ton of people — I think I go about eight deep — so you could see like in the fourth quarter it wearing on us.” Eight of the 12 women who saw playing time contributed points to the Cardinal’s win. Others found different means of making an impact, including freshman forward Lucie Hull, who had a spectacular night despite shooting 0-3 from the field and 0-1 from the distance. Hull set a personal career-high for both minutes played and steals. She accumulated seven steals in 33 minutes. The Cardinal will conclude the road trip to Honolulu on Sunday with a game against Hawai’i at 4:30 p.m. PST. Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu While you're here... We're a student-run organization committed to providing hands-on experience in journalism, digital media and business for the next generation of reporters. Your support makes a difference in helping give staff members from all backgrounds the opportunity to develop important professional skills and conduct meaningful reporting. All contributions are tax-deductible.

Nick Nolte on the ‘emotional experience’ of starring opposite his 10-year-old daughter in ‘Head Full Of Honey’

Nick Nolte had no idea that his young daughter Sophie had any ambition of becoming an actress. But when writer and director Til Schweiger accidentally bumped into 10-year-old Sophie at Nolte’s Malibu home during his visit to discuss the legendary actor taking on the role of Alzheimer sufferer Amadeus in an American adaptation of his German comedy-drama “Head Full Of Honey” he instantly saw she was perfect for the part of Nick’s granddaughter. “When he knocked on the door Sophie answered and said to him, ‘You’re Til Schweiger. I have seen your movie. Pretty good.’ Then she walked away,” Nick Nolte recalls. “When he came back, he said, ‘Who is that creature?’ I said, ‘That’s my daughter.’ He was like, ‘Do you think she could play your granddaughter?’” Four hours later, after convincing Sophie’s mother, she was cast. But even though she has a three time Academy Award nominee as a father, Nolte insists that she never once asked him for any advice. “A 10-year-old doesn’t take advice. You can give it, but they’ll brush it off and won’t accept it. Usually their instincts are better than yours. She was totally comfortable with it. Frankly, I think she is the best thing in the film.” But while Nolte is extremely proud of Sophie’s work in “Head Full Of Honey,” he is also beyond grateful for the intimate opportunity that the pair were given by working on the film together. “I didn’t really know she was ever interested in acting. Then it came out that she always had been. And she enjoyed it greatly. For me, I had an experience with my daughter that most people don’t get an opportunity to have.” “It created an intimacy. If you say, ‘I love you,’ to your daughter. She says, ‘Come on, dad. You don’t need to say that.’ Or she doesn’t want to hear you say that. But on the film I had to say that.” Nolte believes that their familial connection translated to the big-screen, too, especially as Schweiger, who starred opposite his own daughter in the German version of “Head Full Of Honey,” knew exactly how to manipulate the required emotion from Sophie. “The advantage was I was her father. So that closeness was there. If Til was doing a close-up he would have me go away and then talk her through the scene. He is so good with working with children.” Sophie’s performance is all the more impressive because of how heavy “Head Full Of Honey” is, although Nolte is quick to insist that the film mixes “wickedly funny humor” with the “darker side” of how “dealing with a debilitating dementia disease impacts the whole family.” Nolte doesn’t know if Sophie will continue with acting or if, just like his son Brawley, who after debuting as a 10-year-old opposite Mel Gibson in 1996’s “Ransom” lost passion for the profession, she will bow out before adulthood. For the time being, though, Nolte can rightfully bask and reflect in the glory of both his and Sophie’s work in “Head Full Of Honey,” which hits theaters on November 30.