Nobody had to state the obvious to Joslyn Tinkle.

Playing alongside Nneka Ogwumike for the past three years, Tinkle knew that Ogwumike's graduation was leaving a gaping hole in Stanford's frontcourt. While The Cardinal never lack for options in the post, Tinkle knew for her that it was now or never.

Tinkle obviously chose the latter as she has emerged as the second scoring option for the top-ranked Cardinal after junior All-American Chiney Ogwumike.

Tinkle, who has had her moments of offensive brilliance in her first season, has been scoring and looking to score with more regularity in the early portion of her senior season than she has had any other time in  her collegiate career.

"I just had to develop more confidence," Tinkle said. "Last season after Nneka left I thought it was a good time to work onmy game and to improve and to know that I will be looked to more this year for my teammates and I wanted to do whatever it take for us to be successful."

Tinkle is an intriguing player, cut from the cloth of a top European forward. She is a physically imposing player capable of doing damage around the basket but also armed with a strong face up game.

She opened the season by scoring 20 points in a win over Fresno State and followed that up with five more double-digit scoring games highlighted by a career-high 25 points in a victory over Tennessee-Martin. She heads into the showdown with UConn second on the team in scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game.

"Our team, we knew we had a lot of responsibility and we had big shoes to fill," Tinkle said. "We had enough returners who understood what it takes. I worked a lot in the offseason (assuming) my role this year would be bigger. I feel like I was able to develop and come into a role of  knowing that my team needed me more and be a bigger threat."