WOW! What a Weekend!

1203!

She never stops teaching!

                    There are several important stories from the weekend games against the Oregon teams.  Let's get the BIG story out of the way first...Tara VanDerveer is now the winningest coach in college basketball!  Even with All-American Cameron Brink going out with an injury in the first quarter of Friday night's game and missing Sunday's game entirely, the CARD got it done for their coach!  They beat Oregon 88-63, then took down Oregon State 65-56 in front of over 7000 screaming fans to provide Tara with her 1203rd win.  

                  Tara's mindboggling record was celebrated spontaneously by players and fans -- then honored by an elaborate and well-organized celebration with t-shirts (available for fan purchase on the Stanford website), confetti canons, gifts from Nike (a jacket with a hashmark for every win) and Stanford University (a jersey with the number1203), video tributes, and commentary from Ross Gold-Onwude, Chiney Ogwumike, and Jennifer Azzi. The full ceremony is available on the Stanford Women's Basketball site and the PAC-12 website (https://pac-12.com/videos/demand-stanfords-postgame-ceremony-coach-tara-vanderveers-record-1203rd-win) along with the post-game press conference and on-court interviews. It was recognition worthy of the occasion. 

 

                  Reflections on Tara's coaching achievement could fill pages -- and have in articles from the New York Times, to Sports Illustrated, all the local papers and more.  We as fans have been privileged to watch her and her teams, her positive forward-looking approach, her integrity, her ability to adapt and grow...it has always been about the team and the players -- never about her.  Such a refreshing attitude in this "me-me-me" world.  If she had not taken a year off to build interest in women's basketball with US Olympic team Tara would, of course, have even more wins (probably at least the 29 her team won during her absence).  That Olympic team played 52 exhibitions games in route to a gold medal for the USA -- and proved that there was enough support for women's basketball to make a professional league a viable proposition.  It is hard to imagine any other high-profile coach making such a sacrifice. But Tara has always been about building opportunities for women and advancing women's basketball. 

 

                  Of course, Stanford fans all knew this moment was going to happen this year.  Tara only needed 17 wins to break the record and Stanford hasn't had a season with fewer than 17 wins since 1986-87, Tara's second year at Stanford.  What made this special was that it happened in Maples, on Sunday, during women's basketball's Alumni Weekend.  The timing allowed for an occasion worth of Tara's achievement. 

 

Learning and Getting Better!

 

                  Another story worth talking about is how this team is improving!  Before this season started "experts" predicted that Stanford would struggle. They questioned whether Cameron Brink was good enough to carry this team to the Elite Eight.  There were doubts that the "supporting cast" was good enough to win without her or even with her.  Up until this weekend Stanford has struggled when Cam was not available. That difficulty was most notable in the Gonzaga game - but happened to some extent every time Brink has sat due to foul trouble.  Certainly, the team is stronger with Cam than without her.  For the Oregon games, everybody helped compensate for Cam's absence.

 

                  Coaches report that when the team watched film from the loss to Colorado, the players concluded that Colorado had been the more aggressive team and the more aggressive team wins.  Against the Oregon schools the CARD showed that they have learned that lesson.  On defense multiple players got steals and "bothers." Talana continued to be more aggressive on offense.  She scored in double figures for both games while passing out 14 assists over the two games with only one turnover per game.  That increased offensive assertiveness will portent well for Stanford's on-going success.  Becoming a point guard who distributes AND scores takes Talana to the next level. 

 

                  On Friday night, five Stanford players scored in double figures.  Hannah Jump only scored eight but she pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, and had a steal.  On Sunday everybody contributed with their intensity and their defense.  Brooke Demetre showed up big in her first career start.  Harriel had five critical steals while playing strong  defense. But the biggest story was Kiki Iriafen, Stanford's angelic annihilator! 

 

Kiki Iriafen -- A Star Shines Bright

An angel on fire!

 

                  The final important story of the weekend is what Tara called the "blast off" of Stanford's emerging All-American. Opening the PAC-12 broadcast Mary Murphy said that Kiki Iriafen needed a career game if Stanford was going to defeat a strong Oregon State team.  Kiki had that and more. By the end of the game Murphy said Kiki wasn't just good, she was great. Iriafen obliterated her previous career high, scoring 36 points, including the first three pointers of her career, while collecting 12 rebounds and playing strong defense against an All-American candidate. For the two games, Kiki scored 57 points, collected 27 rebounds, spent 72 minutes on the floor, nailed the first three-pointers of her college career, while displaying impressive efficiency (hitting over 60% of her shots), great defense, and terrific leadership. Not surprisingly, for the weekend's performance Kiki was named the PAC-12 Player of the Week.  

                   Earlier in the year Iriafen was most impressive powering the ball to the rim, finishing strong through contact.  More recently, particularly in these two games, Kiki showed more of her face-up game. Despite shooting from mid-range and even the three point line, Kiki continued to be a high percentage scorer.  

 

                  The Stanford game opening video ends with Kiki smiling as she blows a kiss to the camera with her hand which then dissolves into a crumbling wall.  That is Kiki -- sweet, smiling destruction!  In interviews she smiles and deflects praise to her teammates and coaches. On the sidelines Kiki giggles and smiles. After her second three pointer she ran up the floor with a huge grin.  At the same time, she is incredibly strong, fierce, and fearless on the floor.  That was obvious against Oregon State's Raegan Beers -- a beefy player who generally pushes opposing players out of her way.  Kiki didn't completely shut Beers down, but the Wade Trophy Watch List candidate was held to below her average in both rebounds and points and obviously struggled in her battle against Iriafen.  Kiki wasn't on the mid-season list for the Wade Trophy, Beers was.  After watching this game one thinks perhaps the committee needs to add Iriafen's name. 

 

Going Forward

 

                  One last thing that stands out about the weekend victories was Cameron Brink's continued leadership. It's not a new story, but it should be mentioned. Some stars might have focused on their own disappointment about missing out on this historic game.  Not Cam. She was a cheerleader for Kiki and the rest of the team.  She was confident in her teammates and encouraging of their success.  That positivity from the team's Player-of-the-Year candidate can help a team go far.  

 

                  At one point Tara noted that the last time she broke a record for career wins, the team followed it with a National Championship.  That is, of course, always the players' goal.  The first steps toward that goal are winning the PAC-12 Championship and the PAC-12 Tournament.  The emergence of a new star, the continued improvement of all the players, the team's new found commitment to being aggressive, and the leadership from Brink and Jump make those achievements seem quite reachable.