Mocs Conclude Nonconference

What's Next

No. 12/11 Stanford (9-2) hosts Chattanooga (8-4) for the first time on Monday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. Kevin Danna will handle the call on the GoStanford.com live stream and Joe Lami will broadcast the action on KZSU 90.1FM.

Against Chattanooga

Monday will be the second meeting between Stanford and Chattanooga. Last season, the Mocs stunned No. 7 Stanford in Tennessee, 54-46, on Dec. 17, despite being held without a field goal for the game’s final 11:00.

The Mocs went 0-of-12 from the floor until the final horn, but were 10-of-12 from the free throw line during that time. Chelsey Shumpert scored a career-high 18 points for UTC, while Stanford shot just 28 percent.

Catching You Up

Playing in front of friends, family and her father, CSU Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall, Stanford’s Erica McCall notched her eighth double-double of the season in the No. 12 Cardinal’s 83-41 win over the Roadrunners on Dec. 22.

The younger McCall went for 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. She was honored in a pregame ceremony, flanked by her father and Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, for her sterling summer with USA Basketball. McCall co-captained the United States to a gold medal at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in July.

Pops in the house. @birdstheword_24 recognized pregame by her dad for her summer with @usabasketball. #GoStanford

A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Dec 22, 2015 at 2:09pm PST

Up seven with 6:04 left in the second quarter, Stanford closed the half on a 17-0 run to take a 42-18 lead at the break. Kaylee Johnson had nine of her 11 points during the run, converting three of her four field goals off of offensive rebounds.

The Cardinal’s 61 total rebounds against the ‘Runners was the seventh-best single-game effort in school history and most since Nov. 30, 2012 at UC Davis (62). Stanford has only totaled 60 or more rebounds eight times.

Three days after holding Cornell to 22.6 percent shooting, the Cardinal improved in that category and held CSUB to just 19.1 percent from the floor. It was only the fourth time since 2007-08 Stanford has held an opponent below 20 percent.

Stanford tallied 12 blocks, tied for second in Cardinal single-game history with games against New Mexico (2013), UC Davis (2012) and Massachusetts (2000). The school record of 13 was set on Feb. 3, 1989 against Arizona State.

What's At Stake

Stanford is looking to win 10 games before the start of its conference schedule for the eighth time since the formation of Pac-12 women’s basketball in 1986-87. The Cardinal reached that total in 2013-14, 2012-13, 2009-10, 2007-08, 1996-97, 1991-92 and 1987-88.

Win No. 10 would also give the Cardinal double digit victories for the 31st consecutive season. Stanford has won at least 13 games every year since Tara VanDerveer took over in 1985-86. That season’s 13-15 record provided her lowest win total as a collegiate head coach.

Monday’s matchup with the Mocs also starts a string of three straight games for the Cardinal against opponents it lost to a season ago. Chattanooga beat Stanford in Tennessee, 54-46, last Dec. 17. Stanford opens its Pac-12 slate on the road against Arizona (Jan. 2) and Arizona State (Jan. 4).

The Cardinal was swept in the desert last season, its first winless conference weekend since 2008. The Sun Devils also defeated the Cardinal in Maples Pavilion in 2014-15, becoming the first league squad to sweep Stanford in the regular season since UCLA did so in 1987-88. Stanford bounced back to knock off ASU in a Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal on March 7, 59-56.

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 juniors and 11 underclassmen.

Schedule Strength

In the official NCAA RPI released on Dec. 24 Stanford sits at No. 3 and has played one of the nation’s toughest schedules. The NCAAs most recent in-depth RPI report from Dec. 20 has the Cardinal’s schedule as the nation’s third-toughest.

Through games as of Dec. 23, Stanford’s 11 opponents this year have the ninth-highest combined winning percentage in the country (.696). Southern leads that category with opponents who have gone 52-16 (.765), Connecticut is second at .745 (70-24) and Tennessee is third at .743 (78-27).

As of Dec. 20 the Cardinal is 5-2 against the RPI top 100. Only Connecticut (6), Tennessee (6), Southern California (5) and Notre Dame (5) have as many RPI top 100 wins.

The average RPI of Stanford’s opponents is 80. Only 11 schools in the nation have played a schedule in which its opponents average RPI is in the top 100 - Connecticut (65), Tennessee (79), Stanford (80), Texas A&M (80), Dayton (81), Chattanooga (87), Rutgers (95), Southern (98), St. Joseph’s (98), Duke (99), Green Bay (99).

Applying Pressure

The Cardinal has held 10 of 11 opponents below 40 percent shooting, four below 30 percent and one below 20 percent. Stanford is second in the Pac-12 and fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.313).

Last Tuesday, Stanford held CSUB to that program’s worst shooting performance (.191) and to the fewest amount of points at the Division I level (41). The previous lows were 28.3 percent against Arizona State earlier this year (Nov. 29) and 45 points against Nebraska on Dec. 13, 2014.

Stanford is also seventh in the country in blocked shots per game (6.2) and has tallied seven or more blocks in a game four times this season after doing it five times all of last year.

Stanford’s 68 total blocked shots are 10th nationally and the Cardinal is on pace for 192 rejections this season, which would trail only the school-record 196 set in 2001-02.

The Cardinal’s 12 blocks against CSUB is tied for second in Cardinal single-game history with games against New Mexico (2013), UC Davis (2012) and Massachusetts (2000). The school record of 13 was set on Feb. 3, 1989 against Arizona State.

Stanford’s last three opponents (Tennessee, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield) have combined to go 47-of-193 from the field (.244), 14-of-54 (.259) from deep and have averaged just 44.7 points.

Getting Into The Swing Of Things

After opening the season by averaging 72.7 points on 41.5 percent shooting in its first eight games, Stanford has improved offensively over its last three outings, upping those numbers to 81.7 points per game and 50.0 shooting against Tennessee, Cornell and CSU Bakersfield.

The Cardinal has handed out 52 assists on its last 87 field goals against those three opponents, including 20 in back-to-back games against Cornell and CSU Bakersfield. It was the first time Stanford had reached that number in consecutive games since Jan. 2014. The Cardinal only had one 20-assist game all of last season. Its 22 against the Roadrunners was its most since handing out 25 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against South Dakota on March 22, 2014.

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.

In its last seven games, Stanford is shooting 40.3 percent on 3-pointers (60-of-149) and has three regular contributors at better than 40 percent in Karlie Samuelson (.516), Briana Roberson (.440), Alanna Smith (.400).

Stanford has had eight different players make a 3-pointer this season. The Cardinal is 19th in the nation in percentage (.383) and 20th in field goals made per game (8.4) from behind the arc.

Stanford has made 10 or more 3-pointers four times in its first 11 games, including in three straight against Santa Clara, Missouri State and Dayton. All of last season, the Cardinal did that seven times in 36 total games.

The Cardinal is on pace to make 260 3-pointers this season, which would break the school record of 258 set in 2001-02.

Rolling Into December

Lili Thompson has scored 20 or more in five of Stanford’s 11 games this season. She’s had 10 career 20-point efforts, with eight coming in the month of November. The only non-November 20-point efforts came at USC on Jan. 25, 2015 (21) and on Dec. 13 at Texas (21).

Her 26-point outing against Missouri State on Nov. 27 was her fourth consecutive, making the junior captain the first Cardinal guard to score 20 in four straight games since Candice Wiggins in 2008.

She is also the first Stanford guard to start a season with 10 straight games in double figures scoring in a decade. Candice Wiggins scored 10 or more in all 34 games in 2005-06. That career-best streak was broken with nine points against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 22.

In 21 career November games, Thompson is averaging 15.0 points. The junior scores 10.6 points per game in her 61 other career games in December, January, February, March and April.

At 17.7 points per game, the junior is eighth in the Pac-12 in scoring to go along with seventh in the league in assists (5.1). With 961 career points she is close to becoming the 36th Stanford player to reach 1,000 in a career.

Thompson is one of just six players in the nation averaging at least 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game along with Makayla Epps (Kentucky), Ashley Deary (Northwestern), Jordin Canada (UCLA), Kendall Noble (Western Kentucky) and Imani Watkins (Binghamton).

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.

She has also won a pair of Pac-12 Player of the Week awards this season (Nov. 24 and Dec. 21). Her most recent nod came after averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists in Stanford’s wins over then-No. 14 Tennessee and Cornell.

Flying High

Erica McCall, who entered 2015-16 with just two career double-doubles, has quadrupled that total 11 games into her junior season.

McCall has eight 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 eight double-doubles are fifth in the nation. Only Jillian Alleyne at Oregon (10), Jonquel Jones at George Washington (9), Lexi Martins at Lehigh (9) and Seanna Johnson at Iowa State (9) have more.

Only five Stanford players have ever averaged a double-double for an entire season: Chiney Ogwumike (2012, 2013, 2014), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2012), Nicole Powell (2004), Jeanne Ruark Hoff (1980) and Kathy Murphy (1978). McCall is currently averaging 14.1 points per game and is 24th in the country pulling down 10.5 rebounds per outing.

Rounding Into Form

Kaylee Johnson has come on strong in Stanford’s last three games, averaging 10.3 points on 80.0 percent shooting (12-of-15) to go along with 7.7 rebounds.

The sophomore opened the year averaging 1.1 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting just 22.2 percent from the floor in the Cardinal’s first eight games.

After scoring in double figures six times as a freshman, Johnson has now put up 10+ in three straight games against Tennessee, Cornell and CSU Bakersfield.

Different Samuelson, Same Story

Stanford lost Bonnie Samuelson to graduation after a career in which she finished third in school history and 10th in Pac-12 history in 3-point makes (237), but younger sister Karlie Samuelson has stepped in to keep up the family’s sharpshooting legacy.

Karlie is 25-of-55 from behind the arc this season and is 30th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.455). A career 39.2 percent 3-point shooter, Samuelson is two shy of 100 makes from deep in her career and just 17 away from setting a new personal best for a single season after draining 41 a year ago.

Eighty percent (363-of-455) of her career points have come on 3-pointers (294) and free throws (69). The junior captain has made more than twice as many field goals from behind the arc as she has from inside, converting 46 2-point attempts. She is 8-of-12 (.667) on such shots this season.

Among the Best Ever

The Cardinal is 986-306 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with 15 more wins, a total it has reached in each of the past 28 seasons. Tennessee (1,285), Louisiana Tech (1,064), James Madison (1,024) and Old Dominion (1,001) are currently the only Division I institutions with 1,000 victories. Stanford is seventh on that list, also behind Stephen F. Austin (992) and Texas (991).

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 962-219 (.815) record in her 36 years as a collegiate head coach and an 810-168 (.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 39 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.

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. 12 in the AP top 25 and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings a possible 483 times out of 698 total polls since 1977 (69.2 percent), with an average positioning of 6.9. It’s been in the past 265 polls, the fourth-longest active streak behind Tennessee (541), Connecticut (419) and Duke (348). Stanford has also been in 281 consecutive coaches polls.

The Cardinal’s 483 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (684), Georgia (522) and Texas (489).

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.

.@alannas96 » @gostanford freshman and one of the best at the @fiba U19 Women's World Championship. #GoStanford #FIBAU19 @basketballaus

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.

2010 Stanford Women's Basketball Camp -----> 2015 Stanford Official Visit!!! Crazy realizing that picture was 5 years ago and tomorrow I will be signing my National Letter of Intent to play for this amazing Hall of Fame coach!!!!!! I cannot begin to explain how blessed I am! Tomorrow at the San Diego Hall of Champions all of the early signees will be singing their NLIs !!!! Come support us ! The event starts at 8am and will be covered on tv! #GOCARD #FearTheTree #TheFarm #NerdNation #dComebackWillBeReal #AllGloryToGod ✍🏽✍🏽✍🏽❤️❤️❤️🌲🌲🌲🤓🤓🤓🏀🏀🏀📚📚📚

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.

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).