By Matt Breach
Special to GoZags.com
SPOKANE, Wash. - Following her club's latest outing, Elle Tinkle posed for pictures and embraced family and friends. She even shared a kiss with her sister in this idyllic domestic moment.
Just prior to that, however, Elle and her sister were busy exchanging forearm shivers. And they did so without fear of reprimand from their parents, who were, odd as it may seem, beaming with pride at the display.
Elle and Joslyn Tinkle put their spin on sibling rivalry when their respective teams met at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday. Older sister Joslyn powered top-ranked Stanford past Elle and Gonzaga 69-41 in this nonconference basketball showdown.
"Playing against her for the first time, there were so many emotions going in to it," Joslyn said. "We're just extremely blessed that we had this opportunity and everyone was here to share it with us."
A portion of the sold-out crowd eager to witness the latest edition of this West Coast rivalry included a strong contingent of fans from Missoula, Mont., the sisters' hometown. Included in that group were the girls' father, Wayne, and mother, Lisa.
"The only thing that could beat it is if they played together," Wayne said. "But two great universities and two great programs - it's pretty special to see your children out there achieving those kinds of things."
Following the game, Lisa was glowing with pride as only a mother can. But she admits her nerves got the best of her before and throughout the contest.
"We had this pit in our stomach like, 'Just get it over with,' " she said. "We're just so proud of them to go to high-caliber programs and to be able to meet and have a capacity crowd like this. It's just a thrilling experience."
Other than one-on-one battles in their driveway in Montana, this was the first time Elle and Joslyn had shared the court but been on opposing teams. They even found themselves guarding each other on a few occasions during Sunday's game. And neither one held anything back.
"She's really tough," Elle said, "a lot tougher than I remember."
Joslyn, a 6-foot-3 senior, started for the undefeated Cardinal. She tallied 16 points and eight rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Elle, a 6-2 freshman, came off the bench and played 15 minutes for the Bulldogs. She finished with two points and three rebounds.
"It was just such a fun experience personally," Elle said. "Team-wise, I wish we could have done some things better. But that's a great team that's only going to make us better."
Stanford demonstrated it was certainly worthy of its lofty ranking. The Cardinal (8-0) scored 12 of the game's first 14 points and were never seriously threatened. They held the Zags (6-2) to just 17 field goals on 25-percent shooting.
"I think I got bragging rights for the rest of my life," Joslyn said. "So that's always nice."
