Beat SoCar by one in the Final Four, beat Arizona by one in the NCG last night. I don’t think that had ever happened in either the men’s or women’s tournament. Last night’s game was not an artistic masterpiece (Stanford won 54-53) but it had runs in both directions, and Stanford had to make a final stop after a shot clock violation gave Arizona the ball with 6.1 seconds left.
And Stanford had to basically leave campus for two months due to COVID and the Santa Clara County regulations regarding same. Couldn’t practice or play in their gym, never got to spend the night in their dorms, living in hotels. Sometimes practiced in high school gyms with no lights.
It kinda slid under the radar during this crazy season, but Tara VanDerveer is now the winningest coach in women’s college basketball history. She passed Pat Summitt and now has 1125 career wins. People thought she was crazy when she left Ohio State after reaching the Elite Eight to go to Stanford, which at the time stunk in women’s basketball. After three NCs, 13 Final Fours and 31 straight NCAA tournaments, it’s safe to say they don’t stink any more.
There’s only one coach in college basketball history with more wins than Tara, and he’s still coaching too, at a little place called Duke. Give her a few more years (she’s 67, Coach K is 74) and she may pass him. Of course Geno Auriemma is only 6 wins behind her and is also 67.