Top-20 Showdown in Tempe

What's Next

No. 11/11 Stanford (11-2, 1-0) looks to avenge last year’s loss in Tempe when it takes on No. 17/21 Arizona State (10-3, 1-0) at Wells Fargo Arena on Monday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT. Ann Schatz and Julianne Viani will handle the broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

Against Arizona State

Stanford is 57-13 all-time against Arizona State dating back to Jan. 5, 1979 and 22-10 against the Sun Devils on the road.

ASU took two of three from Stanford last season, becoming the first league squad to sweep Stanford in the regular season since UCLA in 1987-88.

The Sun Devils’ victories snapped a 16-game Stanford winning streak in the series and its seven-game winning streak in Tempe.

Stanford bounced back to knock off No. 9 ASU in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal on March 7, 59-56.

Catching You Up

Brittany McPhee scored 21, Alanna Smith added 16 and the No. 11 Cardinal rolled past Arizona in its Pac-12 opener on Saturday, 59-34, at the McKale Center in Tucson.

While the sophomore-freshman combination went 12-of-18 from the field, 7-of-11 from behind the arc and outscored Arizona by three points, the Cardinal’s defense again came up big. Stanford limited the Wildcats to just 34 points on 20.8 percent shooting.

👏👏 @bamcphee. #GoStanford

A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 2, 2016 at 3:59pm PST

Stanford built an early lead, scoring the game’s first seven points a little over four minutes into the contest. Arizona trimmed its deficit to 11-3 when A’Shanti Coleman hit a jumper, but the Cardinal responded with a 9-3 run over the final two-plus minutes of the quarter to take a 20-8 lead after one.

McPhee scored 14 of her season-high 21 points in the first half, going 5-of-6 from the floor and nailing both of her 3-point attempts. Her performance, which helped the Cardinal secure a 44-20 edge in bench points, was the second-highest scoring output of her career. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week last February after pouring in 24 against Cal on Feb. 22.

Setting The Stage

Stanford entered conference play with 10 wins for the eighth time since the formation of Pac-12 women’s basketball in 1986-87. The Cardinal also reached or surpassed that total in 2013-14, 2012-13, 2009-10, 2007-08, 1996-97, 1991-92 and 1987-88.

The Cardinal has reached double digits in victories for 31 consecutive seasons. 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.

Stanford moved to 27-3 in conference openers with its win at Arizona on Saturday. Its last loss came at Arizona State (74-68) on Jan. 6, 2000.

Last Desert Trip

Stanford is in the midst of a stretch of three straight games against opponents it lost to a season ago. Chattanooga beat Stanford in Tennessee, 54-46, last Dec. 17 before the Cardinal was able to flip the script this year.

The Cardinal was swept in the desert last season, its first winless conference weekend since 2008. Stanford lost a 12-point second-half lead at ASU on Feb. 6 and a 14-point second-half lead at Arizona on Feb. 8. The Cardinal hadn’t surrendered a double-digit lead since it fell to Texas A&M in the Final Four on April 3, 2011. It was up 10 with 15:07 to go in that one before losing 63-62.

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. Arizona State’s win on The Farm was only its second in 33 chances and first since March 3, 1984.

Stanford bounced back to knock off ASU in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal on March 7, 59-56.

Defensive Updates

The Cardinal has held 12 of 13 opponents below 40 percent shooting, six below 30 percent and one below 20 percent. Stanford leads the nation in field goal percentage defense (.299). The Cardinal is at 29.927885 percent. Oregon State is close behind at 29.945799 percent.

The Cardinal forced its fourth straight opponent to under 23 percent shooting in its win on Saturday, limiting Arizona to 11 makes on 53 attempts (.208).

Before the Wildcats scored 12 fourth-quarter points, Stanford had gone eight straight periods without allowing its opponent to score at least 10.

Both Arizona’s point total and field goal percentage were program lows for a Pac-12 game. The 34 points allowed also tied a Stanford record for fewest allowed in a Pac-12 game, matching the same total from a 60-34 win against Washington State on Feb. 8, 2007.

In its last five games, Stanford is allowing just 39.6 points on 23.1 percent shooting (70-of-303). One game after holding Chattanooga to 30 points, the sixth-fewest for an opponent in program history, the Cardinal only surrendered 34 on Saturday, a total now tied for 10th in its record books. Stanford had never before held back-to-back opponents to less than 35 points.

On Dec. 22, Stanford held CSUB to that program’s worst shooting performance (.191) and to the fewest amount of points at the Division I level (41).

Stanford also entered the weekend sixth in the country in blocked shots per game and upped that to 6.5 with another nine at Arizona. The Cardinal has tallied seven or more blocks in a game six times this season after doing it five times all of last year.

Stanford is on pace for 202 rejections this season, which would surpass the school record of 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.

Its defensive prowess this season is a return to normal for the Cardinal. Last year’s 37.0 percent mark was 43rd and the lowest in some time. Stanford hadn’t surrendered a better percentage since 2005-06 (36th; .373) and hadn’t finished a season ranked lower in that category since 2002-03 (57th; .384).

From 2006-07 to 2013-14, the Cardinal did not finish outside the nation’s top 15 in field goal percentage defense, capping that stretch with a 35.7 percent mark to check in 14th in the country in 2013-14.

Stanford was the nation’s best with a school record field goal percentage defense in 2012-13 (.316). The Cardinal was seventh in 2011-12 (.339), fifth in 2010-11 (.336), third in 2009-10 (.339), 13th in 2008-09 (.352), 11th in 2007-08 (.355) and sixth in 2006-07 (.346).

Rounding Into Form

Kaylee Johnson has come on strong in Stanford’s last five games, averaging 8.4 points on 80.0 percent shooting (16-of-20) to go along with 7.0 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 of the past five games against Tennessee, Cornell and CSU Bakersfield.

Alanna Smith has scored in double figures six times this season, including in three of Stanford’s last four games. She is the team’s second-leading scorer over that span, averaging 12.3 points on 54.8 percent shooting, including a 42.9 percent mark from deep, to go along with 4.3 rebounds.

In the first nine games of the year, Smith averaged 6.3 points and 2.6 rebounds.

💦💦💦. Three for Alanna. 49-22 Stanford. Watch on @Pac12Networks. #GoStanford https://t.co/wNRGpYpJs1

— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) January 2, 2016

Notes entering the weekend »

Against Arizona

Stanford is 61-13 all-time against Arizona dating back to Jan. 3, 1979 and is 23-9 against the Wildcats on the road.

In the teams’ last meeting, Arizona scored 14 of the game’s final 17 points to beat the No. 12 Cardinal, 60-57, on Feb. 8 in Tucson. The win was the Wildcats’ first over Stanford since 2004 and snapped the Cardinal’s 25-game winning streak in the series. Before that loss, Stanford had won the previous 12 by an average of 30 points (83-53).

Stanford has only lost two straight to Arizona once in the past 30 years (2000-01).

Catching You Up

Erica McCall had 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and No. 11 Stanford stymied another foe, this time limiting visiting Chattanooga to 21.1 percent shooting and 30 points in a 43-point win in Maples Pavilion on Dec. 28 to close out the nonconference portion of its schedule, 73-30.

Strong finish No. 2 from @_mediumE. Stanford up 29-15. #GoStanford https://t.co/2VlGdp2XyP

— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) December 29, 2015

The Cardinal was able to exact a bit of revenge on UTC (8-5), which prevailed in the programs’ first meeting a year ago in Tennessee, 54-46. On Monday, the Mocs didn’t score more than nine points in any quarter, were forced into 21 turnovers and were dominated in the paint, 41-10.

The Cardinal absolutely slammed the door shut with a 22-0 run over the third and fourth quarters that lasted over nine minutes and gave the team a 69-25 advantage when Tess Picknell capped the stretch with her first of two field goals late in the fourth.

Chattanooga made just 12 of its 57 shots all night (.211), the Cardinal’s third straight sub-23 percent performance. Stanford’s 30 points allowed were the sixth-fewest in program history and the lowest total since it gave up 28 to Long Island on Nov. 19, 2005.

Setting The Stage

Stanford enters conference play with 10 wins for the eighth time since the formation of Pac-12 women’s basketball in 1986-87. The Cardinal also reached or surpassed that total in 2013-14, 2012-13, 2009-10, 2007-08, 1996-97, 1991-92 and 1987-88.

The Cardinal has reached double digits in victories for 31 consecutive seasons. 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.

Stanford is 26-3 in conference openers. Its last loss came at Arizona State (74-68) on Jan. 6, 2000.

Last Desert Trip

Stanford is in the midst of a stretch of three straight games against opponents it lost to a season ago. Chattanooga beat Stanford in Tennessee, 54-46, last Dec. 17 before the Cardinal was able to flip the script this year.

The Cardinal was swept in the desert last season, its first winless conference weekend since 2008. Stanford lost a 12-point second-half lead at ASU on Feb. 6 and a 14-point second-half lead at Arizona on Feb. 8. The Cardinal hadn’t surrendered a double-digit lead since it fell to Texas A&M in the Final Four on April 3, 2011. It was up 10 with 15:07 to go in that one before losing 63-62.

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. 31 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. 27 has the Cardinal’s schedule as the sixth-toughest.

Through games as of Dec. 30, Stanford’s 12 opponents this year have the seventh-highest combined winning percentage in the country (.692). Southern leads that category with opponents who have gone 55-19 (.743) and Connecticut and Tennessee are tied for second at .726 (90-34). BYU is fourth at .714 (80-32), Dayton is fifth at .704 (88-37) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff is sixth at .697 (55-23).

As of Dec. 27 and that most recent RPI report, the Cardinal is 5-2 against the RPI top 100. Only Baylor (5), Connecticut (7), Dayton (5), Green Bay (6), Notre Dame (6), South Carolina (5), USC (5) and Tennessee (5) have as many RPI top 100 wins.

Stanford (2-2), Connecticut (4-0) and Cincinnati (0-4) are the only teams in the nation to have played four games against teams in the RPI top 25.

The average RPI of Stanford’s opponents is 93. Eight other schools have played a schedule in which its opponents average RPI is in the top 100 - Chattanooga (91), Connecticut (68), Dayton (73), Green Bay (89), Rutgers (93), Saint Joseph’s (90), Tennessee (84) and Texas A&M (89).

Applying Pressure

The Cardinal has held 11 of 12 opponents below 40 percent shooting, five below 30 percent and one below 20 percent. Stanford is second nationally in field goal percentage defense (.306).

On Dec. 22, 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 sixth in the country in blocked shots per game (6.3) and has tallied seven or more blocks in a game five times this season after doing it five times all of last year.

Stanford’s 76 total blocked shots are ninth nationally and the Cardinal is on pace for 195 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 four opponents (Tennessee, Cornell, CSU Bakersfield, Chattanooga) have combined to go 59-of-250 from the field (.236), 18-of-71 (.254) from deep and have averaged just 41.0 points.

Its defensive prowess this season is a return to normal for the Cardinal. Last year’s 37.0 percent mark was 43rd and the lowest in some time. Stanford hadn’t surrendered a better percentage since 2005-06 (36th; .373) and hadn’t finished a season ranked lower in that category since 2002-03 (57th; .384).

From 2006-07 to 2013-14, the Cardinal did not finish outside the nation’s top 15 in field goal percentage defense, capping that stretch with a 35.7 percent mark to check in 14th in the country in 2013-14.

Stanford was the nation’s best with a school record field goal percentage defense in 2012-13 (.316). The Cardinal was seventh in 2011-12 (.339), fifth in 2010-11 (.336), third in 2009-10 (.339), 13th in 2008-09 (.352), 11th in 2007-08 (.355) and sixth in 2006-07 (.346).

Inside

Stanford scored 48 points in the paint in last season’s opener against Boston College and then went 43 straight games without putting up 40 from inside.

Since its loss to Texas on Dec. 13, the Cardinal has seemed to have found its flow on the block. Stanford has put up at least 40 points in the paint in three of its last four, going for 40 against Tennessee, 40 against CSU Bakersfield and 41 against Chattanooga.

In the seven seasons prior to last year, Stanford had averaged 10.5 games with at least 40 points in the paint.

And Outside

In a press conference at 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.

Stanford has had eight different players make a 3-pointer this season. The Cardinal is 29th in the nation in percentage (.370) and 27th in field goals made per game (8.1) from behind the arc.

Stanford has made 10 or more 3-pointers four times in its first 12 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 258 3-pointers this season, which would be third in school history behind 258 in 2001-02 and 256 in 2003-04.

Tracking Thompson

Lili Thompson has scored 20 or more in five of Stanford’s 12 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 62 other career games in December, January, February, March and April.

At 17.2 points per game, the junior is 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring to go along with ninth in the league in assists (4.9). With 972 career points she is close to becoming the 36th Stanford player to reach 1,000 in a career.

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.

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

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 12 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 (11), Jonquel Jones at George Washington (10), 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 14.4 points per game and is 25th in the country pulling down 10.3 rebounds per outing.

She is one of just seven players in the nation averaging 10.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game along with Jonquel Jones (George Washington), Emily Potter (Utah), Dyana Pierre (Southern Illinois), Bego Faz Davalos (Fresno State), Tori Jarosz (Marist) and Michelle Nwokedi (Penn).

Rounding Into Form

Kaylee Johnson has come on strong in Stanford’s last four games, averaging 9.8 points on 84.2 percent shooting (16-of-19) to go along with 7.3 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 of the past four 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 27-of-65 from behind the arc this season and is 59th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.415). A career 38.5 percent 3-point shooter, Samuelson has made 100 from deep in her career and just 15 away from setting a new personal best for a single season after draining 41 a year ago.

Eighty percent (371-of-465) of her career points have come on 3-pointers (300) and free throws (71). The junior captain has made more than twice as many field goals from behind the arc as she has from inside, converting 47 2-point attempts. She is 9-of-15 (.600) on such shots this season.

Among the Best Ever

The Cardinal is 987-306 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with 13 more wins. Tennessee (1,286), Louisiana Tech (1,064), James Madison (1,025) 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 (993) and Texas (993).

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 963-219 (.815) record in her 36 years as a collegiate head coach and an 811-168 (.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 37 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. 11 in the AP top 25 and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings a possible 484 times out of 699 total polls since 1977 (69.2 percent), with an average positioning of 6.9. It’s been in the past 266 polls, the fourth-longest active streak behind Tennessee (542), Connecticut (420) and Duke (349). Stanford has also been in 282 consecutive coaches polls.

The Cardinal’s 484 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (685), Georgia (522) and Texas (490).

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).