THE GAME: No. 14/12 Stanford (6-1) gets its first taste of television action this season when it heads to No. 5/6 Texas (7-0) on Sunday, Dec. 13. Lowell Galindo and Katie Smith will have the call of the game, which tips at noon CT on ESPN.
THE RUNDOWN: Stanford is without a senior starter for the first time since the 2002-03 season ... The Cardinal is coming off a two-week break for final exams ... Since first taking such a break during the season for exams in 1999-2000, Stanford is 13-3 in its first game back from the hiatus ... The Cardinal's .328 field goal percentage defense is second in the Pac-12 and is 15th nationally ... Stanford is 12th in the nation in both percentage (.398) and field goals made per game (9.4) from behind the arc ... Entering her 30th season on the bench at Stanford, Tara VanDerveer is 41 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women's basketball coaches with 1,000 career wins ... The Cardinal is 983-305 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975 and would join the exclusive 1,000-victory club with 17 more wins ... Stanford is fourth in the NCAA over the last five years by both wins and percentage ... The Cardinal has four junior captains this season in Erica McCall, Briana Roberson, Karlie Samuelson and Lili Thompson ... Erica McCall and Chiney Ogwumike (2013-14) are the only Cardinal players in the past decade to start a season with four straight double-doubles ... McCall entered this season with two career double-doubles and her five already in 2015-16 are seventh in the country ... Lili Thompson is 33rd in the country in scoring (19.3) and is 99 points away from 1,000 in her career.
VS. TEXAS: Stanford leads the all-time series 6-3. Five of the previous nine matchups between the schools came from 1981-95, with the Longhorns taking the first two. Stanford won the next six before the No. 10 Longhorns won in overtime, 87-81, at Maples Pavilion last Nov. 20, snapping No. 6 Stanford's 28-game home winning streak. Stanford took both ends of a home-and-home in 2010 and 2011 and won in its last trip to Texas, 63-54, in 2013. The Cardinal's last loss in Austin came on March 24, 1988 (79-58).
CATCHING YOU UP »
- The Cardinal is coming off a tournament title at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. over the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Stanford beat Missouri State, 82-65, to open the event on Nov. 27, downed Dayton a day later, 74-66, and prevailed in overtime against Purdue in the championship, 71-65.
- Lili Thompson was named tournament MVP after averaging 21.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. She also earned her second career Pac-12 Player of the Week honor on Nov. 30.
- Stanford's lone loss came the day before it left for Florida to Santa Clara on Nov. 23, 61-58. 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.
BACK FROM BREAK »
- Sunday's matchup with Texas is also Stanford's first game following its annual two-week break for final exams.
- In all, Stanford has had a 14-day break between its final game at the Gulf Coast Showcase (Nov. 29) and this Sunday's (Dec. 13) contest.
- Since first taking a two-week break during the season for exams in 1999-2000, Stanford is 13-3 in its first game back from the hiatus. Each of those three losses came in the first three seasons (1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02) of Stanford's two-week break.
WHAT'S AT STAKE »
- Stanford, which went 3-6 against the AP top 25 last season is looking for its second such victory this year. The Cardinal beat No. 22 George Washington, 84-63, on Nov. 21, its largest victory over a ranked opponent since beating No. 14 Penn State by 25 in the NCAA tournament on March 30, 2014.
- The Cardinal's last top-10 road win came at No. 7 Oregon State on Feb. 26, 2015 (69-58). The program's most recent top-5 road win came at No. 3 Rutgers on Nov. 11, 2007 (60-58).
- Stanford's last top-5 win of any sort came last Nov. 17 when it snapped No. 1 Connecticut's 47-game winning streak with an 88-86 overtime win in Maples Pavilion.
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.
FROM DEEP »
- In a press conference prior to the start of the season, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said that this year's Cardinal would replace dead-eye shooter Bonnie Samuelson, 10th in Pac-12 history in 3-point makes, with at least seven consistent and capable threats from behind the arc.
- At the Gulf Coast Showcase, Stanford shot 45.3 percent (34-of-75) from deep and had four players at better than 43 percent. Briana Roberson went 9-of-14 (.643), Alanna Smith was 6-of-11 (.545), Karlie Samuelson hit 7-of-15 (.467) and Lili Thompson made 10-of-23 (.435).
- As Tara predicted, Stanford has had seven different players make a 3-pointer this season. The Cardinal is 12th in the nation in both percentage (.398) and field goals made per game (9.4) from behind the arc.
- Stanford was 11-of-24 on threes against Dayton, 15-of-33 against Missouri State and 10-of-32 against Santa Clara. It's the only time in the past decade Stanford has made 10 or more 3-pointers in three straight games.
APPLYING PRESSURE »
- The Cardinal's 413 points allowed are its fewest through four games since 2012-13 (376) and its .328 field goal percentage defense is second in the Pac-12 and is 15th nationally.
- Stanford has shot better than all but one opponent this season (Purdue) and has held all four to below 40 percent shooting. 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 20th in the country in blocked shots per game (5.9) 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 has scored 20 or more in four of Stanford's seven games this season. She's had nine career 20-point efforts, with eight coming in the month of November. The only non-November 20-point effort came at USC on Jan. 25, 2015 (21).
- Her 26-point outing against Missouri State was her fourth consecutive, making the junior captain the first Cardinal guard to score 20 in four straight games since Candice Wiggins in 2008.
- In 21 career November games, Thompson is averaging 15.0 points. The junior scores 10.3 points per game in her 57 other career games in December, January, February, March and April.
- At 19.3 points per page, the junior is fifth in the Pac-12 in scoring and 33rd in the nation. With 901 career points she is close to becoming Stanford's 36th 1,000-point scorer.
- Thompson also leads the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.3) and is 12th in the country. She is seventh in the Pac-12 in 3-point field goal percentage and 47th in the NCAA (.471) and 13th in the nation in free throw percentage (.909) and second in conference
- On Nov. 17, Thompson was named to the John R. Wooden Award Women's Preseason Top 30 and she was part of the Naismith Trophy Women's Watch List released on Dec. 9.
FLYING HIGH »
- Erica McCall, who entered 2015-16 with just two career double-doubles, has already more than doubled that total seven 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.
- McCall has five this season, including four straight to open the year. 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's five double-doubles are seventh in the nation.
AMONG THE BEST EVER »
- The Cardinal is 983-305 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with 17 more wins, a total it has reached in each of the past 28 seasons. Tennessee (1,284), Louisiana Tech (1,063) and James Madison (1,023) are currently the only Division I institutions with 1,000 victories. Stanford is seventh on that list, also behind Old Dominion (999), Stephen F. Austin (991) and Texas (988).
- Entering this season, the Cardinal was 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 MILESTONES 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 959-218 (.815) record in her 36 years as a collegiate head coach and an 807-167 (.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 41 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only coaches with 1,000 career wins.
- 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.
PROGNOSTICATIONS »
- Stanford is No. 14 in the AP top 25 and No. 12 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
- Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings a possible 482 times out of 697 total polls since 1977 (69.2 percent), with an average positioning of 6.9. It's been in the past 263 polls, the fourth-longest active streak behind Tennessee (539), Connecticut (417) and Duke (346). Stanford has also been in 279 consecutive coaches polls.
- The Cardinal's 482 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (683), Georgia (523) and Texas (487).
- In the official NCAA RPI released on Dec. 12 Stanford sits at No. 2 and has played the nation's seventh-toughest schedule. The Cardinal is 4-1 against the RPI top 100. Only Connecticut (6), South Carolina (4), Seton Hall (4), Rutgers (4), Northwestern (4) and Duke (4) have as many RPI top 100 wins.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
- 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 to National Letters of Intent in Mikaela Brewer (Barrie, Ontario/Innisdale Secondary), DiJonai Carrington (San Diego, Calif./Horizon Christian), Nadia Fingall (Navarre, Fla./Choctawhatchee) and Anna Wilson (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue).
- Collectively, the Cardinal's class is rated No. 9 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.
- Fingall is a blue-chip prospect ranked 26th 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.
ANOTHER TOURNAMENT TRIP »
- Stanford made its 22nd overall trip to the Sweet Sixteen and eighth straight in 2014-15.
- Since its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1982, Stanford has won two national championships (1990, 1992), reached 12 Final Fours (1990-92, 1995-97, 2008-12, 2014), 17 Elite Eights, 22 Sweet 16s and compiled an NCAA Tournament record of 77-27 (.740).
- Overall, last year marked the Cardinal's 29th NCAA Tournament appearance and 28th straight.
- Stanford's 12 Final Four appearances are the third-most by any school and its 29 overall tournament appearances rank third behind only Tennessee (34) and Georgia (31).
- Tennessee is the only school that has a longer active streak of NCAA Tournament appearances than Stanford's 28. The Lady Vols have earned a bid to all 34 NCAA Tournaments.
- The Cardinal's 77 wins in the NCAA Tournament are third all-time behind Tennessee (120) and Connecticut (103) as are its 104 tournament games. Tennessee has appeared in 146 and Connecticut 120.
- Stanford's .740 NCAA Tournament winning percentage is fourth all-time among programs with a minimum of 20 appearances behind Connecticut (.858), Tennessee (.822) and Baylor (.750).