Sister Act Headlines Sunday Showdown
12/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Matt Breach
Special to GoZags.com
SPOKANE, Wash. - At some point Sunday, Elle Tinkle, as she has done countless times before, will join her sister on the basketball court. Only this time, and for the first time, she will do so as a member of the opposition.
"I'm just hoping that I don't look to give her the ball," said Elle, a freshman at Gonzaga University. "That's what I was so used to in high school."
Elle will face her older sister, Joslyn Tinkle, when Gonzaga hosts top-ranked and undefeated Stanford on Sunday at 2 p.m. The McCarthey Athletic Center is sold out for this nonconference clash.
"It's going to be a really cool atmosphere," Joslyn said. "I love playing there not only because they have a great fan base ... but my family's there and it's extra special this year that I get to share it with Elle."
Elle, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard, is averaging 4.6 points per game off the bench for Gonzaga this season. Joslyn, an inch taller than her sister, is a senior forward averaging 18.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per outing for Stanford.
"It's pretty exciting because rarely do you have the opportunity to play the top school, the team ranked No. 1," Elle said. "But also me playing my sister - it's pretty rare, so I'm really going to try to take advantage of it."
Both Elle and Joslyn, it seems, were born to play basketball. Their father, Wayne, and mother, Lisa, both played for the University of Montana. Wayne, in his seventh season as coach of the Grizzly men, also competed professionally for 12 years, including 10 in Europe.
The Tinkle sisters were born in Stockholm, Sweden, but raised primarily in Missoula, Mont. They attended Big Sky High School, where they teamed for a state championship in 2009 when Joslyn was a senior and Elle was a freshman. Joslyn also guided Big Sky to a state title the year before.
"We would always count on each other and know that we could use each other on the court," Elle said. "But now it's just completely different."
Besides playing on different teams, the siblings also boast distinct styles. Elle is quicker and tends to roam around the perimeter more often while Joslyn is stronger and more of a post presence. But there will still be times during Sunday's game when they defend each other.
"They will be matched up, which will be really cool," Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said. "But that's the sideshow. The main show is our five against their five."
The Kennel will be full of people eager to see both acts. Sunday's game will be the 11th sellout in school history and a large contingent of those fans will likely be from the Tinkle's hometown. The entire Tinkle family will be present, sporting specially made T-shirts that read "Stanzaga."
"I feel bad for my parents," Elle said. "... They are going to have to cheer on two teams."
This isn't the first time a Gonzaga player has competed against a sibling. Jami Bjorklund, who played at GU from 2005-09, faced her younger sister, Angie Bjorklund, in two matchups with the University of Tennessee.
Angie's Volunteers were triumphant in those games and Elle is hoping the younger sister will prevail again on Sunday. But that doesn't mean she's not conflicted about the notion that a win might come at her sister's expense.
"As much as I hope that she has a good game secretly, I don't want her to have a good game," Elle said. "Once the buzzer goes off to start the game, we'll have our competitive nature come out."
They will just have to remember that, as peculiar as it may seem, they're competing against each other, not with each other.
