What's Next
No. 13/14 Stanford (20-5, 10-3) goes for its first top-10 win of the season when it hosts No. 9/10 Arizona State (21-4, 12-1) on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. Ann Schatz, Mary Murphy and Kyndra de St. Aubin have the call on Pac-12 Networks.
Pink Game
Sunday will serve as Stanford's annual Pink Game to benefit breast cancer awareness. The Cardinal will don pink-accented uniforms and wear pink shoes. Pink shirts sponsored by Stanford Healthcare will be given to the first 250 fans in attendance.
Against Arizona State
Stanford is 57-14 all-time against Arizona State dating back to Jan. 5, 1979 and 31-2 against the Sun Devils at home.
ASU has won three of the last four against the Cardinal. Stanford’s win in that stretch came in a Pac-12 Tournament semifinal on March 7, 2015, 59-56.
Earlier this season, Stanford held ASU to 49 points and a season-low 30.9 field goal percentage, but the Sun Devils won by 18 by limiting the Cardinal to a program-low 31 points.
ASU’s win in Maples last season was its second in 33 tries and first since 1984.
Catching You Up
Twelve players scored, including three in double figures, and Stanford had its best shooting performance of the season in an 82-58 win over Arizona on Friday night.
The win was Stanford’s fifth straight, matching a season high, and its longest in conference since the first five league games of the 2014-15 campaign.
The Cardinal shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the floor, its third game over 50 percent this season and best clip in its last 27 outings. Stanford hadn’t had a better field goal percentage since March 23, 2015 against Oklahoma (.522) and not in Pac-12 play since Feb. 13, 2015 against USC (.552).
Stanford never trailed against Arizona, led by 20 at halftime and went up by as many as 34 midway through the fourth.
The Cardinal also nabbed 13 steals, its most since Nov. 28, 2013 against South Dakota State (14), a span of 90 games.
With the victory, Stanford reached 20 overall wins for the 15th straight year and 10 conference wins for the 29th consecutive season.
Setting The Stage
Since 2007-08, the Cardinal sports a conference road record of 69-9, a Pac-12 home record of 75-3 and is 63-5 in the month of February.
Stanford is 131-6 (.956) in Maples Pavilion since 2007-08.
The Cardinal is 160-132 (.548) vs. AP ranked opponents all-time, including 3-4 this season.
Arizona State has won three of the last four against Stanford, including each regular-season meeting the past two years. The Sun Devils are the first Pac-12 team to beat the Cardinal in three straight regular-season games since 1988.
Last year, Arizona State became the first league squad to sweep Stanford in the regular season since UCLA did so in 1987-88. The Cardinal has never been swept in back-to-back regular seasons by a Pac-12 opponent.
Arizona State won 49-31 in Tempe on Jan. 4, holding Stanford to 25.6 percent shooting. The Cardinal’s 31 points were the fewest in program history, one shy of the 32 it scored against No. 16 Missouri at the Dial Classic in Miami on Jan. 2, 1984.
Arizona State is responsible for three of the Cardinal’s 12 games shooting less than 30 percent since 1988-89, also accomplishing it in 2003-04 and 2011-12. Tennessee (2014-15), Chattanooga (2014-15), Connecticut (2009-10 and 2012-13), UCLA (2007-08 and 2015-16), Cal (2006-07), Maine (1998-99) and Arizona (1992-93) are the others.
The Sun Devils defeated the Cardinal in their last trip to Maples Pavilion on Jan. 19, 2015, only their second win in 33 chances on The Farm and first since March 3, 1984.
Notes entering the weekend
Against Arizona
Stanford is 62-13 all-time against Arizona and is 30-3 against the Wildcats at home.
Earlier this season, Brittany McPhee scored 21 and Alanna Smith added 16 as the Cardinal rolled past Arizona in Tucson, 59-34, to win for the 26th time in the teams’ last 27 meetings.
Both Arizona’s point total and field goal percentage (.208) were program lows for a Pac-12 game. The 34 points allowed also tied a Stanford record for fewest surrendered in conference play, matching the same total from a 60-34 win against Washington State on Feb. 8, 2007.
Catching You Up
Stanford packed four games in eight days last week and was victorious in each. The Cardinal beat No. 25 Washington on Jan. 29 (69-53), Washington State on Jan. 31 (69-52), Cal on Feb. 2 (53-46) and the Golden Bears again on Feb. 5 (60-55).
The Cardinal swept Cal in the regular season for the 22nd time in the past 29 years. Down seven at the half, Stanford used a 13-0 run coming out of the break to beat the Bears in Berkeley on Friday night.
Stanford’s posts combined for 35 points on 52 percent shooting and the Cardinal had five players score in double figures for the second time this season.
4:46 Q2 | @kaileejohnson32 is a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor. Stanford down one, 25-24.
— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) February 6, 2016
Watch on @Pac12Networks.https://t.co/04tarEm4CW
In the first installment of the Battle of the Bay, Stanford limited Cal to just 29 percent shooting, the eighth opponent it has held below 30 this season and third in conference play.
It was the 17th time Stanford held the Golden Bears to less than 50 points in 85 all-time meetings.
Stanford limited Cal to its lowest point total in a conference game since a Jan. 2, 2011 Cardinal victory in Haas Pavilion (78-45).
Lili Thompson accounted for 41 percent of Stanford’s points (57) against UW and WSU, going for 27 against the Huskies and a career-high 30 against the Cougars. She was named both espnW National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week on Feb. 1.
Thompson averaged 28.5 points per game in those two wins and shot 63 percent from the field (22-of-35) and 71 percent from the 3-point line (10-of-14). On Jan. 29, she scored 17 of her 27 in the first quarter, making six of her seven shots in the period, going a perfect 5-of-5 from deep and single-handedly outscored Washington (17-13) in those opening 10 minutes.
She did herself three better on Jan. 31, ripping off a career-high 30 points. Thompson scored 24 in the second half on 9-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-5 from deep. As a team, Washington State scored 25 points on 8-of-27 shooting, including 2-of-8 from behind the arc during the same period.
It was the second espnW National Player of the Week award of Thompson’s career. Last November, she was honored after averaging 26.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Stanford’s games against No. 1 Connecticut and No. 10 Texas. Her conference accolade was her league-leading third of the season and the fourth of her career.
Kaylee Johnson averaged 13.8 rebounds per game in the four wins, including a season-high 19 in the victory over Washington State, while Erica McCall tallied averages of 12.0 points and 10.5 rebounds.
Setting The Stage
Since 2007-08, the Cardinal sports a conference road record of 69-9, a Pac-12 home record of 74-3 and is 62-5 in the month of February.
Stanford is 130-6 (.956) in Maples Pavilion since 2007-08.
The Cardinal will be going for its 20th win overall and 10th in conference play. Stanford has won at least 20 games for each of the past 14 seasons and has won double-digit conference games for 28 straight years.
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 Perspective
Four of Stanford’s five losses this season have come on the road to teams ranked in the AP top 20 at the time of the game. All four of those squads are currently in the top 15 of the AP poll.
Texas (RPI No. 9), Arizona State (RPI No. 8), Oregon State (RPI No. 7) and UCLA (RPI No. 10) are all also in the top 10 of the RPI and are a combined 41-5 at home this season.
In the most recent in-depth NCAA RPI report released Tuesday, Stanford sits at No. 6 and has played the nation’s third-toughest schedule.
Through games as of Feb. 3, Stanford’s 24 opponents this year have the second-highest combined winning percentage in the country of .666 (333-167). Tennessee leads that category with opponents that have gone 338-139 (.709).
The Cardinal is 14-5 against the RPI top 100. Only Notre Dame (17) has more RPI top 100 wins.
| Teams With 10+ RPI Top 100 Wins | |
| Team | W-L |
| Notre Dame | 17-1 |
| Stanford | 14-5 |
| South Carolina | 13-1 |
| Connecticut | 12-0 |
| Baylor | 12-1 |
| Oregon State | 12-3 |
| Ohio State | 12-4 |
| Arizona State | 11-4 |
| UCLA | 11-6 |
| Texas | 10-1 |
Stanford’s 19 games against RPI top 100 foes are also the most in the nation.
Past and Future
On Jan. 25, former Stanford All-American sisters Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike were named as two of 25 finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. The 25 finalists were chosen by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee, which will select the official 12-member U.S. Olympic Team later this year.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 25, 2016 at 12:28pm PST
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 have the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each.
They will be 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 current juniors 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 ties a program record from 2007 when Ashley Cimino, Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen were each named McDonald’s All Americans.
Applying Pressure
The Cardinal has held 19 of 24 opponents below 40 percent shooting, eight below 30 percent and one below 20 percent. Stanford is second in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.318) and 15th in scoring defense (53.1).
Says Tara Vanderveer » Our defense is what we’ve been hanging our hat on...This is one of the most committed defensive teams we’ve had.
Each of Stanford’s 23 opponents (not counting the season opener at UC Davis) have been held below their season shooting average. Those foes have also put up 16.7 points less than their scoring average when facing Stanford.
In its last 16 games, the Cardinal has surrendered 49.0 points on 30.6 percent shooting (276-of-903). Oregon is the only school to score more than 60 against Stanford during that stretch. In its first eight games of the season, Stanford gave up 61.2 points on 33.8 percent shooting (179-of-529) and allowed more than 60 points six times.
Stanford’s defensive pressure comes without fouling. The Cardinal is called for an average of 13.8 fouls per game, the 10th fewest in the country.
| Stanford Points Allowed | |||
| Opponent | Average PPG | vs. Stanford | Difference |
| Gonzaga | 88.0 | 48 | -40.0 |
| George Washington | 81.5 | 63 | -18.5 |
| Santa Clara | 56.3 | 61 | +4.7 |
| Missouri State | 72.2 | 65 | -7.2 |
| Dayton | 76.8 | 66 | -10.8 |
| Purdue | 66.0 | 65 | -1.0 |
| Texas | 72.6 | 77 | +4.4 |
| Tennessee | 66.0 | 55 | -11.0 |
| Cornell | 61.3 | 38 | -23.3 |
| CSU Bakersfield | 64.3 | 41 | -23.3 |
| Chattanooga | 54.7 | 30 | -24.7 |
| Arizona | 63.4 | 34 | -29.4 |
| Arizona State | 64.9 | 49 | -15.9 |
| Utah | 72.2 | 52 | -20.2 |
| Colorado | 68.0 | 56 | -12.0 |
| Oregon | 78.6 | 62 | -16.6 |
| Oregon State | 70.2 | 58 | -12.2 |
| USC | 71.9 | 47 | -24.9 |
| UCLA | 78.7 | 56 | -22.7 |
| Washington | 75.9 | 53 | -22.9 |
| Washington State | 67.2 | 52 | -15.2 |
| California | 71.3 | 46 | -25.3 |
| California | 70.1 | 55 | -15.1 |
| Average Difference | 1,612.1 | 1,229 | -16.7 |
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 now tied for 10th in its record books and for the fewest allowed by the program in a Pac-12 game. Stanford had never before held back-to-back opponents to less than 35 points.
Stanford has held its opponent below 10 points 24 times in 96 quarters, or 25 percent of the time this season. It did so in eight straight over games against CSU Bakersfield, Chattanooga and Arizona.
Stanford is also eighth in the country in blocked shots per game (6.0) and has tallied seven or more blocks in a game eight times this season after doing it five times all of last year.
The Cardinal’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 Oregon and 10 against UC Davis.
Stanford has had four games with double-digit blocks in a single season for just the second time in program history (2000-01).
Its defensive prowess this season is a return to normal for the Cardinal. Last year’s 37.0 percent field goal percentage defense 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).
Splits
Stanford is 10-1 at home and 6-4 on the road, with all four of those losses coming to ranked teams. The Cardinal is scoring 72.2 points per game in Maples on 43.9 percent shooting, including 35.0 percent from deep, and has a +12.0 rebounding margin. On the road, Stanford is averaging 56.5 points per game on 37.1 percent shooting, 29.7 percent on 3-pointers, and has a +0.8 rebounding margin.
Opponents shoot 28.8 percent against Stanford on The Farm and 33.3 percent in their home gyms.
The Cardinal is 3-4 against the AP Top 25 this season, with all three wins coming at home.
Stanford started the year shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range in its first 10 games. The Cardinal went 8-2 and averaged 8.6 makes from deep, including draining at least 10 on four different occasions. Its percentage from behind the arc was 17th and its makes ranked 19th.
In the next 10 games, Stanford’s 3-point field goal percentage dipped to 28.1 percent (45-of-160) and its makes per game dropped to 4.5. But in its last four, the Cardinal has worked to improve its stroke, hitting 37.9 percent (25-of-66) from behind the arc and making 6.3 per game.
Tracking Thompson
Against Colorado on Jan. 10, Lili Thompson became the 36th Stanford player to surpass 1,000 career points. Now at 1,130 she is 31st all-time at Stanford, between Jill Yanke (1,134; 1985-89) and Jillian Harmon (1,096; 2005-09).
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Basketball (@stanfordwbb) on Jan 10, 2016 at 12:57pm PST
Thompson has scored 20 or more seven times this season, including in recent wins against Washington and Washington State. She averaged 28.5 points per game and shot 63 percent from the field (22-of-35) and 71 percent from the 3-point line (10-of-14). Thompson scored 41 percent of Stanford’s points (57) and was named both espnW National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week for her efforts.
It was the second espnW National Player of the Week award of Thompson’s career. Last November, she was honored after averaging 26.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in Stanford’s games against No. 1 Connecticut and No. 10 Texas. Her conference accolade is her league-leading third of the season and the fourth of her career.
Flying High
Erica McCall, who entered 2015-16 with just two career double-doubles, has septupled that total in her junior season.
McCall has 14 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 14 double-doubles are tied for 11th in the NCAA.
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 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per outing.
Good Stretches
Brittany McPhee has made 15 of her last 37 attempts from 3-point range (.405) after starting her career going 9-of-48 (.188) in her first 37 career games.
Kaylee Johnson has come on strong in Stanford’s last 16 games, averaging 7.3 points on 55.6 percent shooting (45-of-81) to go along with 8.1 rebounds.
The nation’s third-best freshman rebounder a season ago, she has grabbed 12.0 boards in the Cardinal’s last six outings.
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 has scored 10+ six times in those 16 games after doing it all of six times as a freshman.
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 48-of-105 from behind the arc this season and is sixth in the nation (min. two made per game) in 3-point field goal percentage (.457). A career 40.3 percent 3-point shooter, Samuelson has made 121 from deep in her career.
Seventy-nine percent (453-of-571) of her career points have come on 3-pointers (363) and free throws (90). The junior captain has almost made twice as many field goals from behind the arc as she has from inside, converting 59 2-point attempts. She is 21-of-43 (.488) on such shots this season.
In her last 10 games, Samuelson is 20-of-36 on 3-pointers (.556).
Among The Best Ever
The Cardinal is 996-309 (.763) all-time since its first varsity season in 1975. Stanford would join an exclusive list with four more wins. Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, James Madison, Old Dominion and Texas are currently the only Division I institutions with 1,000 victories. Stanford is seventh on that list, also behind Stephen F. Austin (998 wins).
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 972-222 (.814) record in her 37 years as a collegiate head coach and an 820-171 (.827) on The Farm.
In November 2013, she became just the fifth college women’s basketball coach to win 900 career games. Last 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, P. Summitt (Tennessee), M. Krzyzewski (Duke), G. Auriemma (Connecticut), D. Smith (North Carolina), A. Rupp (Kentucky), A. Landers (Georgia), J. Boeheim (Syracuse), R. Selvig (Montana) and J. Phelan (Mount St. Mary’s).
| Winningest NCAA Coaches All-Time (By Victories) | ||||
| Coach | Years | Won | Lost | Percentage |
| Pat Summitt | 38 | 1,098 | 208 | .841 |
| Sylvia Hatchell | 40+ | 974 | 352 | .735 |
| Tara VanDerveer | 36+ | 972 | 222 | .814 |
| C. Vivan Stringer | 44+ | 966 | 361 | .728 |
| Barbara Stevens | 38+ | 947 | 265 | .781 |
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 28 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only coaches with 1,000 career wins.
Off the court, she served as Stanford football’s honorary captain for its Oct. 3 home win over Arizona. In another football connection, former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh and one of Tara’s coaching confidants delivered a pregame address to the team before its win over Utah on Jan. 8.
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 27, 2016 at 8:50am PST
Checking The Polls
Stanford is No. 13 in the AP top 25 and No. 14 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Stanford has appeared in the AP rankings 490 times out of 705 total polls since 1977 (69.5 percent), with an average positioning of 7.0. It’s been in the past 281 polls, the third-longest active streak behind Tennessee (564) and Connecticut (426). Stanford has also been in 287 consecutive coaches polls.
The Cardinal’s 490 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (691), Georgia (522) and Texas (496).
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.”