On Sunday, #8 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Oregon State 65-56 at Maples Pavilion. As a result, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer became the winningest coach in NCAA history with 1,203 wins, passing legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. A crowd of 7,022 was in attendance and given the production Stanford put on post-game, it’s really good they won. A loss would have stung. And as I’ll get to in the recap, it’s not like they were facing a cupcake team. Oregon State is really good.
VanDerveer received tributes from various former players such as Chiney Ogwumike, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, and Jennifer Azzi. On top of that, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Mike Krzyzewski, tennis icon Billie Jean King, and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shared pre-taped remarks as well. VanDerveer was given a commemorative jacket by Nike that had tally marks for each and every one of her 1,203 wins, and also a long video tribute that chronicled her impact on the game of basketball.
“Well, I think Mike Montgomery kind of put it in perspective for me last night a little bit,” VanDerveer recalled. “I was watching the men’s game and he said I’d have to coach twenty more years and win twenty five games a year to reach that. And I was like wow! You know what I mean? It is a big number and I’m very appreciative of the great players I’ve coached and the great places I’ve been and the attention it has brought to women’s basketball. I’m not always really comfortable in the limelight, but I understand that kinda goes with the job.
“And I’m just really thankful that this team, we have not talked about it as a team, but I mean we kinda knew what was going on. Great crowd today and our team really stepped up and that’s what I’ll remember from the day. And then obviously Ros, Chiney, and Jennifer, so many great tributes. I’m very humbled.”
Once again, just for their own sake, it’s really good Stanford won this game. If they had lost this game, I don’t know what they would have done. I guess hold off until their next home game, but it really is good they were able to hold the celebration after the win that broke the record. No way they would have wanted to carry that production on the road away from Maples Pavilion. Where else but Maples Pavilion? It had to be Maples.
“It wasn’t planned out this way, but I think the games early on in the season that we had lost kind of, it was like a blessing in disguise almost,” Stanford point guard Talana Lepolo said. “Because we got to be here on a Sunday early enough to have a nice ceremony and basically just give Tara her flowers that she deserves…Oh absolutely [there was pressure]. Yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean how could there not be? I mean, the stands were filled up to the top. And we want to give Tara the limelight.”
Admittedly, I was surprised at the level of production that Stanford put into this. I was expecting Mike Krzyzewski to make a video statement and that’s it. They went well above and beyond my expectations and I mean that in a good way. VanDerveer has meant so much to the sport of basketball, especially women’s basketball, and is also the greatest coach in the history of Stanford. It’s really neat that Stanford honored VanDerveer in the way that they did.
“To have Coach K who, I mean, it’s a record that, it will be broken,” VanDerveer said. “This record will be broken. So, but for him to say congratulations; I had met Coach K sitting next to him before we went into visit in the White House President Bush. And they had won in 92 and so had we. And President Bush decided that our teams should do a free throw shooting contest or something. Our women had heels on. Chris MacMurdo took those shoes off, she’s in her stockings out there shooting against Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, so I’ve been an admirer of the great job he’s done at Duke and I can’t say I’ve had a lot of interaction, but I really appreciated the tributes from Billie Jean King. I mean, who’s bigger than that? Coach K, Steve Kerr, I mean obviously Lisa [Leslie] I coached on the Olympic team and Chiney, Jennifer. So, it was really nice and very well done.”
In addition to his video tribute, Krzyzewski also released the following statement:
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy. More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.”
Just to add my own personal testimonial, it’s been an honor to cover VanDerveer. My earliest memory interacting with her goes back to my days covering Cal. I remember wanting to ask her a question post-game and I got cut off by some other reporter. VanDerveer noticed that I hadn’t gotten a chance to ask my question and requested I get to ask my question before she left. I thought that was really nice. I didn’t know at the time that I would one day get the chance to cover her program and get to know her personally.
The other thing I’m struck by is how VanDerveer treats everyone with respect and dignity. She’s always willing to accommodate reporters with whatever questions they want asked. Even if it’s after her formal press conference. She’ll take the time to take a photo with somebody, answer some extra questions outside the media room, etc. She was the same way on Sunday. It was a long day for her, but she was willing to take that time to talk to everyone and make them feel valued. Pretty amazing. That’s a side of VanDerveer that not everyone gets to see and I feel honored to be able to say I see it on a regular basis.
“I want to be a good person,” VanDerveer said. “We live in a tough world. We live in a challenging world and I want to be there for the players on our team when they need me.”
Only Her | Tara VanDerveer: The All-Time Winningest Coach in NCAA Basketball History
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference | Oregon State
BOX SCORE: Oregon State at Stanford-Sunday, January 21st
As for the game itself, it was an entertaining contest. Stanford junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the way for the Cardinal with a career-high 36 points and 12 rebounds while sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo had 14 points and six assists. Oregon State forward Raegan Beers was the top performer for the Beavers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Stanford improves to 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-12 while Oregon State falls to 15-3 overall and 4-3 in the Pac-12. On Monday, both teams rose in the AP Top 25 rankings. Stanford moved up to #6 while Oregon State moved up to #25.
“First of all, I just want to say that Oregon State is a really really tough team,” VanDerveer said in her opening statement after the game. “And for us to come out and play the way we did, especially without Cam, I am super impressed with the confidence, the absolute competitiveness that I saw from everyone on our team, but I love the fact that Kiki decided today was the day to knock down her three and go back-to-back on her three-point shot. Kiki had an all-American performance. She was fantastic.
“Talana really stepped up in terms of being aggressive offensively. I thought Jzaniya came in and gave us great defense, so did Chloe, big steals, I don’t think this was necessarily Hannah’s best game, but you know, she didn’t come out because she always stretches the floor. She missed some shots that are good looks. But, Brooke helped us, doing a great job out there, Nunu, different people really contributed and that’s kinda what we’re counting on.”
The game got off to a slow start as it was tied 4-4 with 4:36 to go in the 1st quarter. Iriafen was up to four points for the Cardinal while Talia von Oelhoffen had four points for the Beavers.
At the end of the 1st quarter, it was tied 10-10. It was kind of a choppy game so far. Stanford appeared to be a bit nervous, knowing what was at stake. Stanford was shooting 4-17 from the field while Oregon State was shooting 4-13.
With 4:22 to go in the 2nd quarter, Stanford led 20-18. Iriafen was up eight points for the Cardinal while Brooke Demetre had six points. Jzaniya Harriel had a nice layup off an Oregon State turnover.
At halftime, Stanford led 28-22. Iriafen was up to 14 points and three rebounds for the Cardinal after making a tough bucket inside to beat the buzzer. She was starting to heat up. Beers was leading the Beavers with eight points and three rebounds.
The 3rd quarter remained tight as it was a 38-33 lead for Stanford with 3:32 to go in the quarter. Lepolo was up to 13 points for the Cardinal after a nice floater. Iriafen was leading the charge with 16 points and six rebounds.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 50-43. Iriafen was going berserk with 26 points and eight rebounds. She had made a couple of corner threes, really catching fire. It was clear she was determined to win this game for VanDerveer.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time coming,” Iriafen said of her 3-point shooting. “This is the first season that I’ve attempted, so I attempted I believe three prior to this. And then I was in the corner, I heard Kate talking to me, she was like ‘let’s see your shot’, so I shot it. It went in! Talana gave me a great assist, so after I made the first one, I was just feeling it and I got it again in the corner, same play, made it again, but I didn’t want to ruin my percentage, so the next one I just gave it up [laughing].”
With 3:02 to go in the 4th quarter, Stanford led 58-49 as Iriafen was up to a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds. Stanford was in a good spot. They just needed to finish strong.
In the end, Stanford would win by a final score of 65-56. VanDerveer officially is the winningest coach in NCAA history with 1,203 wins. Oregon State put up a great fight, but Iriafen and the rest of her Cardinal teammates made sure that they got the win for their coach.
What made the win all the more impressive is Stanford pulled it out with Cameron Brink out with a lower body injury. Her absence made things a bit more dramatic going into the game. The fact that Stanford was able to win this one without her is a testament to the kind of team they are.
As far as when Brink might return, that remains up-in-the-air, but from what I’ve learned, her injury is nothing catastrophic. Really best to say she’s day-to-day. VanDerveer suggested it was possible for her to go against the Beavers, but they decided to hold her out. That indicates a return shouldn’t been too far off.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Arizona State on Friday. That will tip-off at 5:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
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