Now it CountsNow it Counts
Women's Basketball

Now it Counts

YouTube Opens in a new window

No. 11 Stanford (0-0)
vs. Cal Poly (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 11 • 7 p.m.
Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.
Complete Release (PDF)
Tickets
Live Stream • Available via GoStanford.com
Live Statistics •Available via GoStanford.com

THE GAMENo. 11 Stanford begins its quest for the program's 30th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance when its starts its 2016-17 campaign Friday, Nov. 11 against Cal Poly at 7 p.m. A free live stream with Ted Enberg on the call will be available via GoStanford.com. Tickets can be purchased at GoStanford.com/tickets or by calling 800-STANFORD. Free tickets are available for any active military members and veterans with ID.

THE RUNDOWNStanford returns 74.8 percent of its scoring, 70.2 percent of its rebounding and 75.0 percent of its minutes from a season ago ... The Cardinal is 31-11 all-time in season openers and has won the last 15 in a row ... It has also won 17 consecutive home openers ... Stanford's overall record since its first varsity season in 1975 is 1,004-312 (.763), making it the eighth-winningest program by victories and fourth by percentage ... Entering her 31st season on the bench at Stanford, Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer has accumulated a 980-225 record in her 37 years as a collegiate head coach and is 20 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women's basketball coaches with 1,000 career wins ... Stanford is No. 11 in the Associated Press women's basketball poll, the 17th consecutive preseason appearance for the Cardinal ... Senior Erica McCall is on the five-person preseason All-Pac-12 Team and also checked in at No. 23 in espnW's preseason list of the best women's college basketball players in 2016-17 ... Karlie Samuelson's 3-point field goal percentage (.473) last season was third nationally and second in Stanford single-season history behind Jennifer Azzi (.495; 1988-89) ... Stanford signed the nation's second-ranked recruiting class on Wednesday, including three top-50 recruits ... Marta Sniezek, who averaged 5.0 assists with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio in the Cardinal's final 15 games last season, is the only underclassman in its starting lineup.

AGAINST CAL POLYStanford is 6-1 all-time against Cal Poly, but the two have played only once in the past 35 seasons, an 86-51 Cardinal victory on Nov. 15, 2013 in Maples Pavilion. The teams met six times from 1977-80 under former Stanford head coach Dotty McCrea, with the Cardinal posting a 5-1 mark. The Mustangs' only win in the series came in San Luis Obispo on Feb. 14, 1978, 66-60. Three years ago on The Farm, Chiney Ogwumike poured in 36 points to lead Stanford to its second win of that season. Erica McCall had eight points and three rebounds and Karlie Samuelson added six and three assists.

STANFORD IN 2016-17

  • The Cardinal returns nine letterwinners and four starters to a team coming off its ninth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance and its 10th Elite Eight in the past 13 seasons.
  • Stanford returns 74.8 percent of its scoring, 70.2 percent of its rebounding and 75.0 percent of its minutes.

SEASON OPENERS

  • Stanford is 31-11 all-time in season openers and has won the last 15 in a row. Its last loss came at Saint Mary's on Nov. 17, 2000 (75-64).
  • The Cardinal has also won 17 consecutive home openers. Stanford hasn't dropped its first game of a season in Maples since falling to No. 24 Illinois, 76-58, on Nov. 19. 1998.

EXHIBITION RECAP

  • Three players scored in double figures and Stanford used a 20-0 second-quarter run to beat UC San Diego in an exhibition in Maples Pavilion on Nov. 4, 85-41.
  • Junior Brittany McPhee led the way with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds in 21 minutes while senior Erica McCall chipped in 16 and sophomore Shannon Coffee added 14.
  • Last Friday was Stanford's second warmup prior to the regular season, but the first open to the public. On Oct. 29, the Cardinal beat UTEP in a closed scrimmage, 81-48.
  • McCall had 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 15 rebounds against the Miners while Kaylee Johnson added seven points and 11 rebounds.

AMONG THE BEST EVER

  • Stanford's victory over Oregon State on Feb. 26, 2016 was the 1,000th in program history. With 1,004 wins, the Cardinal is the eighth-winningest program in women's college basketball history. The country's other 1,000-victory programs are Tennessee (1,299), Louisiana Tech (1,073), Connecticut (1,046), James Madison (1,045), Old Dominion (1,014), Texas (1,012) and Stephen F. Austin (1,005).
  • The Cardinal's overall record since its first varsity season in 1975 is 1,004-312 (.763) and 828-174 (.826) with Tara VanDerveer at the helm.
  • Stanford's .763 winning percentage is fourth all-time in Division I, trailing Tennessee (.813) and Louisiana Tech (.784) and Connecticut (.779).

Winningest Programs (By Percentage)

SchoolYearsRecordPercentage
Tennessee621,299-299.813
Louisiana Tech421,073-295.784
Connecticut421,046-296.779
Stanford421,004-312.763
Green Bay43927-330.737

TEN YEAR SNAPSHOT

  • In the past decade, Stanford is second in the country in wins (320) and winning percentage (.874) behind Connecticut's 366 victories and .953 winning percentage.
  • Since 2006-07, the Cardinal is 10th in the nation in scoring average (74.0) and fourth in average scoring margin (+17.7), sixth in field goal percentage (.459), 10th in rebounding average (42.5) and fifth in average rebounding margin (+8.5).
  • Stanford is also fourth in the country in assist to turnover ratio the past decade (1.21) and ninth in assists per game (16.3).
  • Defensively, the Cardinal has surrendered an average of 56.2 points in those 366 games the past 10 seasons, the 12th-best mark in the country. Stanford's field goal percentage defense over that span (.345) is third to Connecticut (.320) and Baylor (.342).

MORE MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON FOR TARA

  • Entering her 31st season on the bench at Stanford, Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer has accumulated a 980-225 record in her 37 years as a collegiate head coach and an 828-174 mark on The Farm. Her teams have won 20 or more games 31 times, including each of the last 15 seasons.
  • In November 2013, VanDerveer became just the fifth college women's basketball coach to win 900 career games and is now 20 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women's basketball coaches with 1,000 career wins. In March 2015 she won her 800th game at Stanford, becoming the 10th college basketball coach – men's or women's – with that many victories at a single Division I school.

Winningest Coaches (By Victories)

CoachYearsRecordPercentage
Pat Summitt, Tennessee381,098-208.841
Tara VanDerveer, Stanford37980-225.813
Sylvia Hatchell, North Carolina41975-358.731
C. Vivian Stringer45971-366.726

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS

  • On Nov. 1, Stanford came in at No. 11 in the Associated Press women's basketball poll, the 17th consecutive preseason appearance for the Cardinal.
  • It has been ranked 496 times out of 711 total polls since 1977 (69.7 percent), with an average positioning of 7.0. It's been in the past 287 polls, the second-longest active streak behind Connecticut (432).
  • The Cardinal's 496 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (693), Georgia (522) and Texas (502).
  • The country's coaches picked Stanford 10th in the USA Today Top 25, also the program's 17th straight appearance in those preseason rankings. It's the 295th consecutive coaches' poll to feature the Cardinal.
  • Stanford was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 when the conference announced the results of the preseason coaches' poll on Oct. 20. It's the second consecutive season Stanford has come in second in the preseason poll. The Cardinal had topped the rankings for 15 consecutive years beginning in 2000-01.
  • The Cardinal totaled 110 points and garnered two first-place votes. UCLA was the leading vote getter, receiving eight first-place votes and collecting 116 points.

SO INTERNATIONAL

  • Last summer it was Erica McCall with the United States at the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea and Alanna Smith with Australia at the FIBA U19 Women's World Championship in Chekhov, Russia. This summer it was Canadian freshman Mikaela Brewer who represented her country abroad.
  • Brewer captained Canada to silver at the FIBA Americas U18 Women's Championship in Valdivia, Chile in July, averaging 11.8 points on 49 percent shooting (24-of-49) in five games.
  • She was 10-of-23 from behind the arc (43.5 percent) and added 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.4 minutes per outing.
  • Brewer had a perfect performance in group play against Chile, scoring 22 on a flawless 9-of-9 shooting in Canada's 88-39 win. She scored a team-high 16 points, made 7-of-12 from the floor and hit both of her 3-point attempts in the championship against the United States.

APPLYING PRESSURE

  • The Cardinal finished sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.338) and ninth in blocks per game (6.0) last year. Its field goal percentage defense was third in Stanford history and its 211 total blocks set a school record.
  • The Cardinal held 11 of its 35 opponents to less than 50 points, surrendering an average of just 56.0 per game, tied for sixth in program history. One game after holding Chattanooga to 30 points on Dec. 28, the sixth-fewest for an opponent in program history, the Cardinal only surrendered 34 on Jan. 2 at Arizona, a total tied for 10th in its record books and for the fewest allowed by the program in a Pac-12 game.

BIRD IS THE WORD

  • Senior Erica McCall closed her junior year by averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in Stanford's last 10 games. She shot 55 percent from the floor and 41 percent from behind the arc over that span.
  • McCall's 66 blocks last season are tied for third in school history. Jayne Appel, Chiney Ogwumike and Joslyn Tinkle are the only other Stanford players to have as many in a single year. Her 137 career blocks are sixth in school history.
  • McCall finished 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring, fifth in rebounding, third in blocks and fourth in field goal percentage. She was also 13th in the nation with 18 double-doubles, scoring in double figures 30 times and grabbing at least 10 rebounds in 20 games.
  • On Nov. 3 she was named to the five-person preseason All-Pac-12 Team by the league's media and also checked in at No. 23 in espnW's preseason list of the best women's college basketball players in 2016-17.

TAKE AIM

  • Karlie Samuelson was 80-of-169 from behind the arc in 2015-16 and checked in at third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.473). She is second in Stanford single-season history in 3-point field goal percentage behind Jennifer Azzi (.495; 1988-89) and ninth in 3-point makes (80).
  • Samuelson returned to practice Tuesday for the first time in roughly six weeks after she recovered from a hairline fracture in her wrist.

SNIEZEK STEPS UP

  • Marta Sniezek is the only underclassman in Stanford's starting lineup and one of the best pure point guards around.
  • In the final 15 games last season, she averaged 5.0 assists with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio following a 20-game start to the year which saw her hand out an average of 1.8 assists and own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.9.
  • She was fifth in the Pac-12 with a 1.73 assist-to-turnover ratio and 13th in the conference in assists per game (3.1).
  • Sniezek became the eighth Stanford freshman to reach 100 assists (109) and fourth to tally that many in the past 20 seasons (Amber Orrange, Ros Gold-Onwude, Nicole Powell).
  • Against Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament on March 4, she had 13 assists against zero turnovers. Her assist total was a Pac-12 Tournament record and also the most for a Stanford player in a single game since 1991.

CARDINAL FOURTUNE

  • On Nov. 9, the Cardinal announced the signings of Maya Dodson (Alpharetta, Ga./St. Francis), Alyssa Jerome (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Harbord Collegiate), Estella Moschkau (Mount Horeb, Wisc./Edgewood) and Kiana Williams (San Antonio, Texas/Karen Wagner).
  • Stanford's four-member recruiting haul is one of the nation's strongest, collectively rated No. 2 by espnW HoopGurlz and No.6 by Prospects Nation.
  • Dodson is a five-star talent and the No. 11 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, Moschkau is a five-star prospect rated No. 44 and Williams is a five-star point guard and the No. 8 prospect in her class. Williams is Stanford's first top-10 recruit since Chiney Ogwumike signed as the top player in the country in Nov. 2009.
  • Jerome is a veteran of Canada Basketball and represented her country this summer at the both the aforementioned FIBA U17 World Championships in Spain and the FIBA Americas U18 Championships in Valdivia, Chile (alongside Brewer).

FOREVER STANFORD

  • It was a big summer for Stanford alumnae, headlined by Nneka Ogwumike '12 winning the 2016 WNBA MVP award and hitting the game winner in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals with 3.1 seconds left to lift the Los Angeles Sparks to the championship.
  • Ogwumike is Stanford's seventh WNBA champion, joining Jeanette Pohlen (Indiana Fever, 2012), Candice Wiggins (Minnesota Lynx, 2011), Brooke Smith (Phoenix Mercury, 2009), Nicole Powell (Sacramento Monarchs, 2005), Olympia Scott (Phoenix Mercury, 2007; Sacramento Monarchs, 2005) and Sonja Henning (Houston Comets, 1999).
  • She is the third Cardinal to win a league most valuable player award in any sport, joining NFL quarterbacks John Brodie (San Francisco 49ers; 1970) and John Elway (Denver Broncos; 1987).
  • On Oct. 17, the 2012 Stanford graduate was voted president of the WNBA players' union executive council, a post she will hold for three years. She will serve alongside her sister Chiney '14, who will serve as the organization's vice president. Jayne Appel Marinelli, who retired this September after a seven-year WNBA career with the San Antonio Stars, will begin her post-playing days as the union's Associate Director of Player Relations.
  • Sebnem Kimyacioglu '05, the fifth Stanford alumna to compete in the Olympics, helped Turkey advance to the quarterfinals in the country's second appearance in women's basketball at the Games.
  • Kimyacioglu was Turkey's fifth-leading scorer, averaging 4.3 points in 22.2 minutes over the six games and shot 40 percent from behind the 3-point line (8-of-20).
  • Kimyacioglu was one of 39 Stanford athletes to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The Cardinal contingent in Rio hailed from 10 countries and spanned 17 varsity sports. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games resulted in a school-record 27 medals.

THAT'S HIM

  • Those who come to a Stanford practice might recognize a familiar face in two-time All-American Casey Jacobsen, who is a practice player for both the Cardinal women and men. Jacobsen left Stanford after three seaons and was the 22nd overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He enjoyed a five-year NBA career and also played professionally in Spain and Germany.
  • Jacobsen is back on campus finishing his degree in communication, which he will complete in December, and will walk with his class next June.
  • He is fourth in Stanford history in points (1,723), sixth in scoring average (18.1) and fourth in 3-pointers made (222).

ACE

  • Sophomore guard Alexa Romano was among 40 student-athletes from Stanford and Duke who traveled to one of five countries during the summer for three weeks as part of the Rubenstein-Bing Student-Athlete Civic Engagement Program.
  • Romano served as a coaching assistant for sports activities, taught English as a second language courses and promoted computer literacy initiatives for youth at a community center in Dakshinpuri, New Delhi.