Stanford (27-8, 14-4 Pac-12)
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Elite Eight Wrap
Stanford made its 18th overall trip to the Elite Eight and 10th in the last 13 years in 2015-16.
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), 18 Elite Eights, 23 Sweet 16s and compiled an NCAA Tournament record of 80-28 (.741).
Overall, this year marked the Cardinal's 30th NCAA Tournament appearance and 29th straight, a streak only surpassed by Tennessee, which has earned a bid to all 35 NCAA Tournaments.
Stanford won 25 games for the 15th straight year and reached double-digit Pac-12 victories for the 29th consecutive season.
The Cardinal accomplished all of that without a senior starter, something that hadn't happened in 13 seasons. The 2002-03 campaign was the last time the Cardinal didn't have a senior in its first five.
Stanford went 5-5 against the AP top 25, highlighted by an epic, 90-84 upset of top-seeded Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Ky. The Cardinal has multiple wins over ranked opponents in every season starting in 2002-03.
This season was the first since 1999-2000 that the Cardinal did not win some form of a Pac-12 championship - regular season or tournament.
Pac-12 All-Century
Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball Tara VanDerveer was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Century and a conference-best eight players were named to the 20-member all-century squad when the league revealed the Pac-12 All-Century Women's Basketball roster on Feb. 29.
.@StanfordWBB's @taras_tweets is the #Pac12WBB Coach of the Century! #100Pac12https://t.co/PgR1VcrWHZ
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) March 1, 2016
Stanford's all-century representatives were: Jennifer Azzi (1987-90), Molly Goodenbour (1990-93), Sonja Henning (1988-91), Chiney Ogwumike (2011-14), Nnemkadi Ogwumike (2009-12), Nicole Powell (2001-04), Kate Starbird (1994-97) and Candice Wiggins (2005-08).
Postseason Awards
Erica McCall was named to both the All-Pac-12 squad and the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, Lili Thompson earned her second All-Pac-12 nod and was a Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention, Karlie Samuelson was picked All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Kaylee Johnson earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention team and Marta Sniezek was a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention pick. Stanford now boasts 70 all-time Pac-12 all-conference honorees, the top total in league history.
1K Conquered
Stanford's victory over Oregon State on Feb. 26 was the 1,000th in Cardinal program history. Stanford is the seventh Division I institution to reach the 1,000-win plateau, joining Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, James Madison, Old Dominion, Texas and Stephen F. Austin. The Cardinal's overall record since its first varsity season in 1975 is 1,004-312 (.763) and 828-174 (.826) with Tara VanDerveer at the helm.
Stanford, which reached the milestone in 1,310 total games, is the third-fastest to the mark, behind Louisiana Tech (1,210) and Tennessee (1,232).
Applying Pressure
The Cardinal finished sixth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.338) and ninth in blocks per game (6.0). Its field goal percentage defense is third in Stanford history and its 211 total blocks set a school record
| Opponent Field Goal Percentage - Stanford History | ||
| No. | Pct. | Year |
| 1. | .316 | 2012-13 |
| 2. | .336 | 2010-11 |
| 3. | .338 | 2015-16 |
| 4. | .339 | 2009-10 |
| .339 | 2011-12 | |
The Cardinal held 11 of its 35 opponents to less than 50 points, surrendering an average of just 56.0 per game, tied for sixth in program history. One game after holding Chattanooga to 30 points on Dec. 28, the sixth-fewest for an opponent in program history, the Cardinal only surrendered 34 on Jan. 2 at Arizona, a total tied for 10th in its record books and for the fewest allowed by the program in a Pac-12 game.
Stanford's 13 blocks against USC on Jan. 22 tied the school record from Feb. 3, 1989 against Arizona State. Stanford also had 12 against CSU Bakersfield, 11 against Utah, 11 against Oregon and 10 against UC Davis. Stanford had a school-record five games with double-digit blocks in a single season. Its 2000-01 squad had four games with at least 10 blocks.
| Stanford Single-Season Blocks | ||
| No. | Blocks | Year |
| 1. | 211 | 2015-16 |
| 2. | 196 | 2001-02 |
| 3. | 189 | 2006-07 |
| 4. | 187 | 2007-08 |
| 5. | 186 | 2012-13 |
Bird Is The Word
Erica McCall closed her year by averaging 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in Stanford's last 10 games. She shot 55 percent from the floor and 41 percent from behind the arc over that span.
McCall's 66 blocks are tied for third in school history. Jayne Appel, Chiney Ogwumike and Joslyn Tinkle are the only other Stanford players to have as many in a single year. Her 137 career blocks are sixth in school history.
Bird watching. ???? @_mediumE #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/TFQ6zJZLkq
— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) March 1, 2016
McCall finished 10th in the Pac-12 in scoring, fifth in rebounding, third in blocks and fourth in field goal percentage. She was also 13th in the nation with 18 double-doubles, scoring in double figures 30 times and grabbing at least 10 rebounds in 20 games.
A psychology major with a 3.53 cumulative GPA, she was selected to the 2015-16 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team on Feb. 11. Her honor continued a run of five straight years with a Cardinal receiving academic all-district accolades, the longest streak in the Pac-12.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Feb 11, 2016 at 1:28pm PST
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 stepped in to keep up the family's sharpshooting legacy.
Karlie was 80-of-169 from behind the arc this season and checked in at third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.473).
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Feb 29, 2016 at 1:30pm PST
The junior is second in Stanford single-season history in 3-point field goal percentage behind Jennifer Azzi (.495; 1988-89) and ninth in 3-point makes (80).
Sixteen of her 30 career games in double figures scoring came in Stanford's last 26 outings and in the season's final 21 games, Samuelson was 52-of-100 on 3-pointers (.520).
In the Cardinal's 22-point win over No. 7 Oregon State on Feb. 26, the junior tallied the first double-double of her career, with 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Sniezek Steps Up
In the final 15 games of the season, Marta Sniezek averaged 5.0 assists with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio following a 20-game start to the year which saw the freshman hand out an average of 1.8 assists and own an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.9.
She was fifth in the Pac-12 with a 1.73 assist-to-turnover ratio and 13th in the conference in assists per game (3.1).
Sniezek became the eighth Stanford freshman to reach 100 assists (109) and fourth to tally that many in the past 20 seasons (Amber Orrange, Ros Gold-Onwude, Nicole Powell).
Against Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament on March 4, the freshman had 13 assists against zero turnovers. Her assist total was a Pac-12 Tournament record and also the most for a Stanford player in a single game since 1991.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Feb 29, 2016 at 1:28pm PST
The 13 assists are tied for third in program history and only equaled by a pair of Stanford greats in Jennifer Azzi and Sonja Henning. Azzi had a program-record 16 on Jan. 15, 1987 against BYU while Henning handed out 15 at Cal on March 1, 1991. Azzi also had 13 against Arizona on Jan. 24, 1987 and Henning the same number against Arkansas on March 24, 1990.
Tracking Thompson
Against Colorado on Jan. 10, Lili Thompson became the 36th Stanford player to surpass 1,000 career points. Now at 1,250 she is 28th all-time at Stanford between Julie Zeilstra (1,259; 1988-91) and Maggie Nelson (1,180; 1974-78).
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 10, 2016 at 12:57pm PST
Thompson finished 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring, 11th in assists (3.6) and fourth in free throw percentage (.777). She tied for eighth in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.0) and 15th in percentage (.344).
The junior scored in double figures 27 times and had seven 20+ point efforts. She tied Jillian Alleyne of Oregon for the most Pac-12 Player of the Week awards this season with three.
Stretches To End The Season
Brittany McPhee closed the season by making 21 of her last 52 attempts from 3-point range (.404) after starting her career going 9-of-48 (.188) in her first 37 career games.
In Stanford's final 27 games, Kaylee Johnson averaged 7.6 points on 54.1 percent shooting (79-of-146) to go along with 7.6 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.
Johnson finished 14th in the league in rebounding and sixth in the Pac-12 and 102nd in the country in blocked shots per game (1.54). She had 10 games with at least 10 rebounds and nine games with at least three blocks. Johnson led Stanford in rebounding 10 times and posted three double-doubles.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Feb 29, 2016 at 1:29pm PST
More Milestones On The Horizon For Tara
Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball Tara VanDerveer has accumulated an impressive 980-225 (.813) record in her 37 years as a collegiate head coach and owns an 828-174 (.826) record over 30 seasons at Stanford.
In November 2013, she became just the fifth college women's basketball coach to win 900 career games and is now 20 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women's basketball coaches with 1,000 career wins. In March 2015 VanDerveer 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. The Cardinal's win over South Dakota State on March 21 was her 1,000th game as head coach at Stanford.
| Winningest NCAA Coaches All-Time (By Victories) | ||||
| Coach | Years | Won | Lost | Percentage |
| Pat Summitt | 38 | 1,098 | 208 | .841 |
| Tara VanDerveer | 37 | 980 | 225 | .813 |
| Sylvia Hatchell | 41 | 975 | 358 | .731 |
| C. Vivan Stringer | 45 | 971 | 366 | .726 |
| Barbara Stevens | 39 | 957 | 268 | .781 |
On Jan. 26, VanDerveer was honored with the 2016 Coaching Corps Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization's 2nd Annual Game Changer Awards at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. VanDerveer's award was presented by former Stanford All-American and current San Francisco head coach Jennifer Azzi. The event supported Coaching Corps' mission to provide youth from under-resourced communities access to trained coaches and the benefits of sports activities and team-based learning.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 28, 2016 at 9:40am PST
Checking The Polls
Stanford finished No. 13 in the AP top 25 and No. 11 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings 495 times out of 710 total polls since 1977 (69.7 percent), with an average positioning of 7.0. It's been in the past 286 polls, the second-longest active streak behind Connecticut (431). Stanford has also been in 294 consecutive coaches polls.
The Cardinal's 495 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (692), Georgia (522) and Texas (501).
The Future
On Jan. 17, incoming freshmen DiJonai Carrington, Nadia Fingall and Anna Wilson were named to the West roster for the 15th annual McDonald's All American Game on March 30 in Chicago.
Of the 24 girls selected to be McDonald's All Americans, Stanford and Maryland had the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each.
They were the 16th, 17th and 18th Cardinal signees featured in the nation's premier high school basketball all-star event. Stanford most recently had a pair of McDonald's All Americans in 2013 in rising seniors Kailee Johnson and Erica McCall.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 20, 2016 at 9:00am PST
The three commits to earn roster spots tied a program record from 2007 when Ashley Cimino, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen were each named McDonald's All Americans.
On March 15, the same trio was selected to the West Team for the Jordan Brand Classic on April 15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. They were the first to represent Stanford at the event, which completed its second year on the women's side.
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."