What's Next
No. 13/10 Stanford (3-0) hosts Santa Clara (1-2) for its Nike N7 game honoring Native American Heritage month on Monday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.
A live stream for will be available on GoStanford.com with Kevin Danna and Tim Swartz on the call. KZSU 90.1FM will also broadcast the action and live stats will be available on GoStanford.com.
Nike N7
Stanford women’s basketball has partnered with Nike N7 to honor Native American Heritage Month and will wear N7-inspired turquoise uniforms at its November 23 game against Santa Clara. Turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in Native American culture.
In addition to the Cardinal, Nevada, Oklahoma State, Florida State, San Diego State, Gonzaga, New Mexico, and Haskell Indian Nations University (the only all-native school in the country) will participate in the initiative at selected men and women’s basketball games throughout November and into December.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Nov 6, 2015 at 1:54pm PST
Stanford’s coaches have participated in several clinics with Native youth, including a trip to the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana last summer for The Hoop, a basketball clinic at Salish Kootenai College.
Tara VanDerveer and Stanford men’s coach Johnny Dawkins headlined the clinic along with VanDerveer’s sister Heidi, the head women’s coach at UC San Diego, former Colorado head coach Ceal Barry, Stanford associate head women’s coach Amy Tucker, Broward (Florida) College coach MJ Baker, and Baker’s husband Ganon, a Nike skill development trainer and workout director who has tutored the likes of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Ticket Deal
Fans can receive a $2 general admission ticket to tonight’s game by bringing a canned food item to the Stanford Athletics table outside the northwest entrance of Maples Pavilion.
Against Santa Clara
Stanford is 29-4 all-time against the Broncos and 14-2 on The Farm. The teams last met on Dec. 14, 2014 in Maples and the Cardinal came out on top, 82-43, behind 20 points from Amber Orrange and the second 22-rebound game of Kaylee Johnson’s career.
The Broncos most recent victory in the series came on Dec. 4, 1998 (81-65), but Santa Clara hasn’t won at Stanford since a 69-46 win on Nov. 21, 1984.
The Cardinal’s 29 wins over the Broncos are its most against a non-Pac-12 opponent, ahead of the 22 it owns over Fresno State.
Catching You Up
Stanford is 3-0 to start its season for the first time since 2012-13 when it opened 11 consecutive victories, including wins over No. 1 Baylor, No. 21 South Carolina and No. 10 Tennessee.
The Cardinal closed the first half on a 21-4 run to beat No. 22 George Washington on Saturday afternoon, 84-63. It was Stanford’s 17th consecutive win in its home opener. Its last loss in such a game came to No. 24 Illinois on Nov. 19, 1998.
The win was the Cardinal’s largest over a top-25 opponent since beating No. 14 Penn State by 25 in the NCAA tournament on March 30, 2014. Stanford went 3-6 against the AP top 25 last season.
Erica McCall has posted double-doubles in each of Stanford’s three wins, going for 10 points and 11 rebounds at UC Davis, a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds at Gonzaga and 18 and 10 against George Washington.
Lili Thompson has put up 21 points in consecutive games. She’s had seven 20-point performances in her career, with six coming in the month of November.
Karlie Samuelson added 17 points against the Colonials, her since a career-high 23 at New Mexico on Nov. 24, 2014. Samuelson also made four 3-pointers for the sixth time in her career.
Runs
Stanford has beaten its opponents with some impressive runs. The Cardinal started the second half on a 20-2 run to put away UC Davis on Nov. 13 and then closed its Nov. 15 game in Spokane on a 19-1 spurt to dispatch the Gonzaga. On Saturday afternoon against No. 22 George Washington, Stanford closed the first half on a 21-4 stretch.
The Cardinal has outscored its opponents 60-7 during those three defining runs, which have lasted a total of 19:04.
Applying Pressure
Stanford's 156 points allowed are its fewest through three games since 2004-05 (133).
Lili Likes November
Lili Thompson’s 21-point outings at Gonzaga and against George Washington were the sixth and seventh of her career. Six of those have come in the month of November.
| Lili Thompson 20-Point Games | ||
| Opponent | Date | Total |
| George Washington | Nov. 21, 2015 | 21 |
| Gonzaga | Nov. 15, 2015 | 21 |
| USC | Jan. 25, 2015 | 21 |
| Hawaii | Nov. 29, 2014 | 26 |
| Texas | Nov. 20, 2014 | 28 |
| Connecticut | Nov. 17, 2014 | 24 |
| Boston College | Nov. 14, 2014 | 26 |
In 17 career November games, Thompson is averaging 13.6 points. The junior scores 10.3 points per game in her 57 other career games in December, January, February, March and April.
Last Tuesday, Thompson was named to the John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top 30.
Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 announced Tuesday features our very own @_li_squared! #GoStanford
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Nov 17, 2015 at 4:28pm PST
Flying High
Erica McCall, who entered 2015-16 with just two career double-doubles, has already surpassed that total three games into her junior season. Against Gonzaga, McCall set a career high with 23 points, added 13 rebounds and set another personal best with four steals.
In the past decade, only Chiney Ogwumike has had a better start to a year for the Cardinal. Ogwumike had four straight double-doubles to start the 2013-14 campaign.
Notes entering the weekend »
Busy Saturday
The No. 15 Cardinal's home opener is one of three major athletic events happening on The Farm that day. Stanford also hosts an NCAA women's soccer tournament third-round match in Cagan Stadium at the same time as women's basketball. The 118th Big Game kicks off later that night at 7:30 p.m.
Important details regarding parking and tickets for women's basketball that afternoon can be found here.
Fans with a football ticket interested in attending the women's basketball game can receive a free general admission seat to Stanford-George Washington by showing their Big Game ticket at the Maples Pavilion box office.
Against George Washington
Stanford is 2-0 all-time against the Colonials. The Cardinal beat George Washington, 76-51, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Norman, Okla. on March 17, 2011. Nicole Powell had 19 points in her first career tournament game, including 16 in the first half.
The two first met on Nov. 30, 1991 at the UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas, a three-point win (74-71) for the No. 5 Cardinal. Val Whiting had her fourth straight double-double to open that season, going for 19 and 11.
Catching You Up
Stanford opened its season 2-0 for the second straight year with a road sweep at UC Davis (74-45) and Gonzaga (65-48).
The Cardinal started the second half on a 20-2 run to put away UC Davis on Friday night and then closed Sunday’s game in Spokane on a 19-1 spurt to dispatch the Bulldogs.
Erica McCall posted double-doubles in each win, going for 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Aggies and a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds in the win over the Zags.
Lili Thompson came off the bench to score in double figures in both, including 21 at Gonzaga in 29 minutes, her sixth career 20-point effort.
Stanford hadn’t started a season with back-to-back road wins since 2009-10 when it traveled east to beat Old Dominion (89-56) and No. 25 Rutgers (81-66).
What's At Stake
The Cardinal is looking to start a campaign 3-0 for the first time since 2012-13, when it opened with 11 straight victories.
Stanford is also in search of its first win over a ranked opponent in 2015-16. The Cardinal went 3-6 against AP top 25 opponents last season.
A win would keep Stanford unbeaten all-time against George Washington. The Cardinal has a perfect record against 38 opponents it has played more than once, and is 3-0 or better against 16 of them.
| Winless Opponents vs. Stanford (Min. 3 Games) | |
| Opponent | Stanford Record |
| Auburn | 3-0 |
| CSU Stanislaus | 3-0 |
| Gonzaga | 7-0 |
| Hawaii | 9-0 |
| Humboldt State | 3-0 |
| Iowa State | 4-0 |
| Michigan | 3-0 |
| New Mexico | 4-0 |
| Northwestern | 3-0 |
| Providence | 3-0 |
| Rice | 3-0 |
| San Diego | 3-0 |
| South Carolina | 5-0 |
| Utah | 18-0 |
| Washington State | 59-0 |
| Xavier | 3-0 |
The Cardinal is attempting to win its 17th consecutive home opener. Stanford hasn’t dropped its first game at home since falling to No. 24 Illinois, 76-58, on Nov. 19. 1998.
Starting Lineup
In 2015-16, Stanford is without a senior starter for the first time in 13 seasons. The 2002-03 campaign was the last time the Cardinal didn’t have a senior in its first five. That 13-player roster featured two junior and 11 underclassmen.
Applying Pressure
For the first time in program history, the Cardinal has held each of its first two opponents under 50 points. Stanford hadn’t opened a season limiting one of its initial two opponents to less than 50 since a 100-44 win against Yale on Nov. 9, 2007. The team’s 93 points allowed are its best through two games since 2004-05 (83).
In a new twist for Stanford, but playing to the strengths of a deep, quick roster, the Cardinal is utilizing a press more than it has in recent memory.
The Cardinal forced 21 turnovers at UC Davis on Friday night, the program’s most since Nov. 28, 2013 against San Diego State (22).
Stanford disrupted the Aggies, holding UC Davis to just 23.6 percent shooting (13-of-55). It was the Cardinal’s best performance in that category since Washington converted just 16.9 percent (12-of-71) on Feb. 28, 2013.
Stanford’s 10 blocked shots were also better than any effort last season. The Cardinal hadn’t hit double digits in rejections since tallying 10 in the Pac-12 Tournament against USC on March 8, 2014.
Closing
A pair of dominant ends of games have propelled the Cardinal to its two wins. In the first halves last weekend, Stanford averaged 28.0 points on 32.4 percent shooting and made just 3-of-18 from behind the 3-point line. In the final 20 minutes, the Cardinal put up an average of 41.5 points on 46.7 percent from the floor and went 10-of-21 from deep.
Among the Best Ever
The Cardinal is 979-304 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with 21 more wins, a total it has reached in each of the past 14 seasons. Tennessee (1,279), Louisiana Tech (1,060) and James Madison (1,020) are currently the only Division I institutions with 1,000 victories. Stanford is seventh on that list, also behind Old Dominion (998), Stephen F. Austin (988) and Texas (983).
| All-Time By Victories | |||
| School | Years | Won | Lost |
| Tennessee | 61+ | 1,279 | 286 |
| Louisiana Tech | 41+ | 1,060 | 280 |
| James Madison | 93+ | 1,020 | 517 |
| Old Dominion | 46+ | 998 | 340 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 47+ | 988 | 423 |
| Texas | 41+ | 983 | 367 |
| Stanford | 41+ | 979 | 304 |
| Ohio State | 50+ | 945 | 414 |
| Connecticut | 33+ | 944 | 190 |
| North Carolina | 41+ | 908 | 392 |
Stanford’s .763 winning percentage is fourth all-time in Division I, trailing Connecticut (.832), Tennessee (.817) and Louisiana Tech (.791).
Entering this season, the Cardinal is fourth in the NCAA over the last five years by both wins and percentage. From 2011-15, Stanford went 160-22 (.879). Connecticut was 182-12 (.938), Baylor was 173-14 (.925) and Notre Dame was 174-18 (.906).
More Milestone on the Horizon for Tara
Entering her 30th season on the bench at Stanford, Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball Tara VanDerveer has accumulated a 955-217 (.815) record in her 36 years as a collegiate head coach and an 903-166 (.829) on The Farm.
In November 2013, she became just the fifth college women’s basketball coach to win 900 career games. This past March 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, Pat Summitt (Tennessee), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Geno Auriemma (Connecticut), Dean Smith (North Carolina), Adolph Rupp (Kentucky), Andy Landers (Georgia), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Robin Selvig (Montana) and Jim Phelan (Mount St. Mary’s).
One of the greatest leaders in any sport at any level, VanDerveer enters the 2015-16 season as the third-winningest coach in NCAA women’s basketball history and is 47 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only coaches with 1,000 career wins.
| Winningest NCAA Coaches All-Time (By Victories) | ||||
| Coach | Years | Won | Lost | Percentage |
| Pat Summitt | 38 | 1,098 | 208 | .841 |
| Sylvia Hatchell | 40+ | 962 | 342 | .738 |
| Tara VanDerveer | 36+ | 955 | 217 | .815 |
| C. Vivan Stringer | 44+ | 953 | 352 | .730 |
| Barbara Stevens | 38+ | 931 | 262 | .780 |
VanDerveer is the 16th Division I women’s basketball coach in NCAA history to coach 30 or more seasons at the same institution and is one of five on the active coaching list. Pat Summitt (Tennessee; 1975-12), Harry Perretta (Villanova; 1979-15), Robin Selvig (Montana; 1979-15), Andy Landers (Georgia; 1980-15), Cindy Russo (FIU; 1978, 1981-15), Debbie Ryan (Virginia; 1978-11), Kay Yow (North Carolina St.; 1976-09), Wanda Watkins (Campbell; 1982-15), Kathleen Delaney-Smith (1983-15), Frank Bennett (Lipscomb; 1981-12), , Mike Granelli (Saint Peter’s; 1973-04), Jody Conradt (Texas; 1977-07), Marian Washington (Kansas; 1974-04), Lynne Agee (UNC Greensboro; 1982-11), Shirley Walker (Alcorn; 1979-08) are the others.
Off the court and on the gridiron, she served as Stanford football’s honorary captain for its Oct. 3 home win over Arizona, 55-17.
Does not count as career win No. 954. We checked. #GoStanford
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Oct 3, 2015 at 10:40pm PDT
Prognostications
Stanford is No. 15 in the AP top 25 and No. 10 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings a possible 479 times out of 694 total polls since 1977 (69.0 percent), with an average positioning of 6.8. It’s been in the past 260 polls, the fourth-longest active streak behind Tennessee (536), Connecticut (414) and Duke (343). Stanford has also been in 276 consecutive coaches polls.
The Cardinal’s 479 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (680), Georgia (523) and Texas (484).
Stanford was picked to finish second in the Pac-12 when the conference released the results of the preseason coaches’ poll on Oct. 14. Those results snapped Stanford’s 15-year streak at the top of the league’s preseason rankings. Before that announcement, UCLA was the last team to finish atop the preseason poll, receiving the honor two straight years in 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
The Cardinal, last year’s Pac-12 Tournament champion, totaled 104 points. Oregon State, the league’s 2015 regular-season winner, was the leading vote-getter, garnering 11 first-place votes and 121 points.
So International
Stanford forward Erica McCall won her fourth gold medal representing the United States at the 2015 World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in July.
A United States co-captain, McCall finished the event tied for eighth overall in scoring (15.2), was eighth in rebounds (8.5), tied for third in blocks (1.8) and led all players in South Korea in field goal percentage, converting 37 of her 62 attempts from the floor (.597). Team USA went a perfect 6-0 and defeated its opponents by an average of nearly 22 points per game.
Champ. 🏆🇺🇸 @birdstheword_24 @gostanford @usabasketball #GoStanford
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jul 13, 2015 at 12:20pm PDT
In July, freshman Alanna Smith led Australia to a third-place finish and was named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA U19 Women’s World Championship in Chekhov, Russia.
The first international recruit in Stanford women’s basketball history, Smith tied for 12th in the entire tournament in points per game (12.6), tied for 15th in rebounds (7.0), tied for third in blocks (2.7), tied for 23rd in steals (1.3) and led Australia in each of those categories.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jul 27, 2015 at 10:22am PDT
Always Learning
Last year it was Mike D’Antoni, Joe Prunty, Jenny Boucek and others who helped Tara VanDerveer and her staff learn the intricacies of a more guard-oriented, fast-paced, pick-and-roll offense as Stanford moved away from the triangle for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
This year it has been a give-and-take with the NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors practiced at Stanford on Oct. 5 before preseason game in San Jose and assistant coach Kate Paye attended another Golden State practice in the East Bay. When the Warriors were on the road in San Diego, VanDerveer’s sister and UCSD women’s coach, Heidi VanDerveer, attended a practice.
Solid start to the first day of practice. Warriors warmed up the court for the Cardinal. #GoStanford #Warriors pic.twitter.com/JyPwgPlEHo
— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) October 5, 2015
Warriors assistant coach and former Stanford star Jarron Collins » “It goes back to, men’s team or women’s team, basketball’s basketball and we’re all trying to improve. There’s this synergy of just talking shop. We’ve had a level of success, obviously, and you just want to borrow from those that have achieved a certain level. Our practices are very open to coaches who want to come and watch and observe. It’s pretty cool for us getting to interact with Coach VanDerveer.”
VanDerveer, who also asks former Stanford guard and now-Warriors sideline reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude of her observations on what Golden State is doing, says “it’s kind of a little clinic happening every two or three nights on television.”
Fab Four
On Nov. 11, the Cardinal announced the signings of four prep standouts to National Letters of Intent in Mikaela Brewer (Barrie, Ontario/Innisdale Secondary School), DiJonai Carrington (San Diego, Calif./Horizon Christian Academy), Nadia Fingall (Navarre, Fla./Choctawhatchee) and Anna Wilson (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue).
Collectively, the Cardinal’s class is rated No. 8 by espnW HoopGurlz and No. 6 by Prospects Nation.
Brewer, a skilled perimeter prospect, is a veteran of Canada Basketball and most recently represented her country at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic.
A versatile perimeter performer, Carrington is a five-star talent rated as the 34th best player in the country according to espnW HoopGurlz and 16th by Prospects Nation. Her brother, Darren Jr., is a wide receiver at Oregon and her father Darren Sr., was an NFL defensive back with 22 career interceptions. Mother, Vickie, was a sprinter at Northern Arizona University where Darren Sr. played football.
A photo posted by ∂ιʝσиαι ¢αяяιиgтσи✞ (@dijonai__) on Nov 10, 2015 at 8:57pm PST
Fingall is a certifiable blue-chip prospect ranked 26th in the nation by espnW HoopGurlz and the seventh-best forward. The five-star post also checks in at No. 23 overall and No. 4 at her position according to Prospects Nation.
Wilson, a 5-foot-8 guard from Bellevue, Washington, will give Stanford another dynamic player in the backcourt and is rated as the 58th overall player in the class of 2016 by espnW Hoopgurlz and 34th by Prospects Nation. She is the younger sister of Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson.