STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer took the mic after a standing ovation and told the Stanford crowd her team would do everything possible to repeat as national champions.
The next two opponents will provide a true test: Tennessee and top-ranked South Carolina in consecutive road games.
"We're playing basically the semifinals of a national tournament in the next few days," VanDerveer said.
Hannah Jump had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, and No. 3 Stanford overcame a slow offensive start to run away from UC Davis for a 68-42 victory Wednesday night in its final home game of the non-conference schedule.
VanDerveer was saluted on the one-year anniversary of her becoming the winningest women's coach in Division I history, passing the late Pat Summitt with her 1,099th victory on Dec. 15, 2020, at Pacific. This time, the home fans got a chance to celebrate and cheer the milestone.
"We were talking about it in the locker room after the game just how crazy it was that that was a year ago," guard Lacie Hull said. "It's great to be able to relive something like that again and celebrate Tara and everything that she's accomplished. It's been an absolute journey to be with her for the last four years and I feel really grateful to have been coached by her and just to see all that she's done, what she's done since I've been here and what she did before."
Cameron Brink, coming off a career-best 25 points in Sunday's 91-62 win against Pacific, added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NCAA champion Cardinal (7-2). Hull had 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, while twin sister Lexie also had four steals as Stanford finished with 13.
Evanne Turner scored nine points to lead UC Davis (5-4).
Stanford won its 15th straight in the series dating to a loss on Feb. 7, 1978, and all those wins have been by double digits.
"I think we can grow from this game. I think we can get better," VanDerveer said.
UC Davis missed 11 straight shots spanning the first and second quarters before Kayla Konrad connected 5:06 before halftime.
Both teams had long scoring droughts late in the first quarter, with Stanford missing four straight shots during one scoreless stretch of 3:27 while the Aggies were held without any points for the final 4:16 of the period and committed three turnovers while missing four shots in a row.
COACHING CONNECTION
VanDerveer has leaned on UC Davis counterpart Jennifer Gross and Gross' husband and Aggies assistant Joe Teramoto over the years as she implemented new systems for the Cardinal when personnel changed. Gross is the five-time reigning Big West Coach of the Year.
In 2018, Gross and Teramoto visited campus a third time to work with VanDerveer and the Cardinal on the Princeton system. In appreciation, VanDerveer treated them to an overnight in San Francisco — during baseball season so they could catch a Giants game.
BIG PICTURE
UC Davis: Didn't get to the free throw line until the 4:20 mark of the third period. ... The Aggies shot 4 for 23 from beyond the arc, 1 of 12 in the first half. ... UC Davis dropped its 13th straight on Stanford's home floor. ... The Aggies haven't scored more than 59 points during their losing streak to Stanford. ... This game marked the highest-ranked opponent for UC Davis since it faced No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 14, 2014.
Stanford: Has 24 steals in its past two games. ... The Cardinal shot 4 for 17 on 3-pointers, with Jump making three from deep. ... Stanford began 5 of 16 as UC Davis opened 5 for 9 from the field to stay close. ... The Cardinal are 16-7 against the Aggies, including 14-0 under VanDerveer.
UP NEXT
UC Davis: Hosts Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon.
Stanford: At Tennessee on Saturday afternoon before completing a daunting two-game stretch at No. 1 South Carolina on Tuesday.
"Our team is really looking forward to the opportunity to play great teams," Lacie Hull said.