What's Next
No. 13/16 Stanford (3-1) makes its first trip to the state of Florida since the 2008 Final Four for the Gulf Coast Showcase running from Nov. 27-29 at Germain Arena in Estero, Fla. The Cardinal opens the tournament with Missouri State (2-2) on Friday, Nov. 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT.
Live stats and live streams for all games can be accessed by visiting BDGlobalSports.com.
Against The Field
Stanford has met Missouri State (formerly Southwest Missouri State) once before, in Maples Pavilion on Dec. 18, 1993. The No. 13 Cardinal beat the No. 17 Bears, 74-63, in the Fry’s Electronics Cardinal Classic behind 20 points and 13 rebounds from Rachel Hemmer.
A day two matchup in Florida awaits with either Dayton or Maine. Stanford has never faced the Flyers and dropped its only meeting with Maine, 60-58, on March 12, 1999 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Old Dominion.
Louisville, Marist, LSU and Purdue occupy the other side of the bracket and one will be Stanford’s opponent on Sunday. The Cardinal has never played Louisville or Marist. It is 0-2 all-time against LSU, losing in the Elite Eight in 2006, 62-59, and on Jan. 8, 1981, 85-60.
Purdue is Stanford’s most familiar foe in the field. The Cardinal is 7-3 all-time against the Boilermakers, and has won the past two. The team’s last meeting on Nov. 26, 2013 in Puerto Vallarta was Tara VanDerveer’s 899th career win as a collegiate head coach.
Catching You Up
Stanford dropped its first game of the season on Monday night to Santa Clara, 61-58.
Santa Clara went just 1-of-16 from deep, but 26 Stanford turnovers led to 24 points for the Broncos in addition to 18 more shot attempts. The 26 miscues were the most for the Cardinal since Jan. 16, 2003 when it had 28 in an 85-56 win over Washington State.
It was the Cardinal’s first home loss to an unranked nonconference opponent since losing to Florida State, 68-61, in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and just the program’s fifth at the hands of the Broncos in 34 total meetings. SCU had not won at Maples since 1984 and had not beaten the Cardinal since 1998.
| Home Losses To Unranked Opponents (Since 2000-01) | ||
| Opponent | Date | Score |
| Santa Clara | Nov. 23, 2015 | 61-58 |
| California | Feb. 22, 2015 | 63-53 |
| Florida State | March 19, 2007 | 68-61 |
| USC | March 1, 2001 | 62-59 |
| California | Feb. 16, 2001 | 82-73 |
| Arizona | Jan. 6, 2001 | 68-65 |
Last Saturday, the Cardinal closed the first half on a 21-4 run to beat No. 22 George Washington on Saturday afternoon, 84-63, for its 17th consecutive win in a home opener.
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.
What's At Stake
Stanford has not lost back-to-back games in the month of November since 2006 (at No. 4 Tennessee; at No. 8 Georgia) and hasn’t dropped two straight to unranked opponents since 2004 (at Arizona; at Arizona State).
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
The Cardinal’s 217 points allowed are its fewest through four games since 2010-11 (213) and its .290 field goal percentage defense leads the Pac-12 and is seventh nationally.
Stanford has shot better than its opponent in each game this season and has held all four to 31 percent shooting or below. The Cardinal disrupted the Aggies in its opener, holding UC Davis to just 23.6 percent shooting (13-of-55). It was the Stanford’s best performance in that category since Washington converted just 16.9 percent (12-of-71) on Feb. 28, 2013.
Stanford is also seventh in the country in blocked shots per game (7.3) and its 10 blocked shots against UC Davis were 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.
Lili Likes November
Lili Thompson’s 21-point outings against Gonzaga, George Washington and Santa Clara were the sixth, seventh and eighth of her career. Seven of those have come in the month of November.
| Lili Thompson 20-Point Games | ||
| Opponent | Date | Total |
| Santa Clara | Nov. 23, 2015 | 21 |
| 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 18 career November games, Thompson is averaging 14.1 points. The junior scores 10.3 points per game in her 57 other career games in December, January, February, March and April.
At 18.3 points per page, the junior is seventh in the Pac-12 in scoring and with 839 career points is 161 shy of becoming Stanford’s 36th 1,000-point scorer.
No Stanford guard has scored 20+ in four straight games since Candice Wiggins in 2008.
On Nov. 17, 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 doubled that total four 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 also had four straight double-doubles to start the 2013-14 campaign.
McCall is one of just four players in the NCAA to record a double-double in each game this season.
| NCAA Double-Double Leaders | |||
| Player | School | GP | Dbl-Dbl |
| Jada Payne | East Carolina | 5 | 4 |
| Jillian Alleyne | Oregon | 4 | 4 |
| Ruvanna Campbell | Illinois-Chicago | 4 | 4 |
| Lexi Martins | Lehigh | 4 | 4 |
| Erica McCall | Stanford | 4 | 4 |
Among the Best Ever
The Cardinal is 980-305 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with 20 more wins, a total it has reached in each of the past 14 seasons. Tennessee (1,281), Louisiana Tech (1,061) and James Madison (1,021) 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 (989) and Texas (984).
| All-Time By Victories | |||
| School | Years | Won | Lost |
| Tennessee | 61+ | 1,281 | 286 |
| Louisiana Tech | 41+ | 1,061 | 280 |
| James Madison | 93+ | 1,021 | 518 |
| Old Dominion | 46+ | 998 | 391 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 47+ | 989 | 424 |
| Texas | 41+ | 984 | 367 |
| Stanford | 41+ | 980 | 305 |
| Ohio State | 50+ | 946 | 414 |
| Connecticut | 33+ | 945 | 190 |
| North Carolina | 41+ | 911 | 393 |
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 956-218 (.814) record in her 36 years as a collegiate head coach and an 804-167 (.828) 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+ | 965 | 343 | .737 |
| Tara VanDerveer | 36+ | 956 | 218 | .814 |
| C. Vivan Stringer | 44+ | 954 | 353 | .730 |
| Barbara Stevens | 38+ | 932 | 263 | .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. 13 in the AP top 25 and No. 16 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings a possible 480 times out of 695 total polls since 1977 (69.0 percent), with an average positioning of 6.8. It’s been in the past 261 polls, the fourth-longest active streak behind Tennessee (537), Connecticut (415) and Duke (344). Stanford has also been in 277 consecutive coaches polls.
The Cardinal’s 480 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (681), Georgia (523) and Texas (485).
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.”
Nike N7
Stanford women’s basketball partnered with Nike N7 to honor Native American Heritage Month and wore 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 23, 2015 at 6:07pm 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.
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.
On Nov. 22, the Naismith Trophy announced that Carrington, Fingall and Wilson are among 50 players on the watch list for the Girls High School Player of the Year award.