1996–97 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team Intercollegiate basketball season
The 1996–97 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team represented Stanford University as members of the Pacific-10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinal were led by head coach Tara VanDerveer and played their home games at Maples Pavilion . They won the Pac-10 Championship (18–0) and reached the Final Four for the sixth time in eight seasons.
The Cardinal finished the season with a record of 34–2 with both losses coming to National runner-up Old Dominion . This season capped a 3-year run with each season ending at the Final Four, and with an overall record of 93–8 and a 53–1 record in Pac-10 games.
Roster
1996–97 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Year
Hometown
F
0
Olympia Scott
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Jr
Los Angeles, California
G
10
Jamila Wideman
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sr
Amherst, Massachusetts
F
13
Vanessa Nygaard
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
RS Jr
Carlsbad, California
G
15
Regan Freuen
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Jr
Spokane, Washington
G
21
Charmin Smith
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sr
St. Louis, Missouri
G
Milena Flores
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Fr
F
24
Kristin Folkl
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Jr
St. Louis, Missouri
F
30
Kate Starbird
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr
Tacoma, Washington
C
32
Chandra Benton
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
RS So
Lake Oswego, Oregon
F
33
Tara Harrington
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sr
Klamath Falls, Oregon
C
34
Naomi Mulitauaopele
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Jr
Seattle, Washington
F/C
44
Heather Owen
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Jr
Moscow, Idaho
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
[ 1]
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 16, 1996 *
No. 1
No. 2 Alabama
W 74–65
1–0
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Nov 21, 1996 *
No. 1
Northern Arizona
W 96–48
2–0
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Nov 23, 1996 *
No. 1
Purdue
W 83–57
3–0
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Nov 28, 1996 *
No. 1
vs. Houston Wahine Classic
W 83–51
4–0
Honolulu, HI
Nov 29, 1996 *
No. 1
vs. No. 24 Stephen F. Austin Wahine Classic
W 85–62
5–0
Honolulu, HI
Nov 30, 1996 *
No. 1
vs. Michigan Wahine Classic
W 77–74
6–0
Honolulu, HI
Dec 5, 1996 *
No. 1
vs. UMass
W 100–47
7–0
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Dec 7, 1996 *
No. 1
at San Francisco
W 61–46
8–0
War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, CA
Dec 14, 1996 *
No. 1
at No. 5 Tennessee
W 82–65
9–0
Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
Dec 17, 1996 *
No. 1
at No. 4 Old Dominion
L 66–83[ 2]
9–1
ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, VA
Dec 19, 1996 *
No. 1
vs. Ohio Diet Coke Shootout
W 95–59
10–1
Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA
Dec 20, 1996 *
No. 1
at Santa Clara Diet Coke Shootout
W 80–57
11–1
Leavey Center Santa Clara, CA
Dec 27, 1996 *
No. 3
at Colorado
W 64–48
12–1
Coors Events Conference Center Boulder, CO
Jan 1, 1997
No. 3
Arizona State
W 96–64
13–1 (1–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Jan 4, 1997
No. 3
Arizona
W 91–68
14–1 (2–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Jan 9, 1997
No. 3
at UCLA
W 74–62
15–1 (3–0)
Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
Jan 11, 1997
No. 3
at USC
W 77–76
16–1 (4–0)
LA Memorial Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
Jan 15, 1997
No. 3
Oregon
W 85–61
17–1 (5–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Jan 17, 1997
No. 3
Oregon State
W 72–54
18–1 (6–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Jan 22, 1997
No. 3
at Washington
W 90–64
19–1 (7–0)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA
Jan 24, 1997
No. 3
at Washington State
W 84–75
20–1 (8–0)
Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA
Jan 30, 1997
No. 3
California
W 95–44
21–1 (9–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 5, 1997
No. 3
USC
W 103–69
22–1 (10–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 7, 1997
No. 3
UCLA
W 98–68
23–1 (11–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 12, 1997
No. 3
at Oregon State
W 79–67
24–1 (12–0)
Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
Feb 14, 1997
No. 3
at Oregon
W 69–66
25–1 (13–0)
McArthur Court Eugene, OR
Feb 19, 1997
No. 3
Washington State
W 82–45
26–1 (14–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 21, 1997
No. 3
Washington
W 106–76
27–1 (15–0)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Feb 27, 1997
No. 3
at California
W 82–50
28–1 (16–0)
Haas Pavilion Berkeley, CA
Mar 5, 1997
No. 3
at Arizona
W 90–65
29–1 (17–0)
McKale Center Tucson, AZ
Mar 7, 1997
No. 3
at Arizona State
W 81–62
30–1 (18–0)
Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ
NCAA women's tournament
Mar 15, 1997 *
(1 W) No. 3
(16 W) Howard First Round
W 111–59
31–1
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Mar 17, 1997 *
(1 W) No. 3
(8 W) No. 17 Texas Tech Second Round
W 67–45
32–1
Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA
Mar 22, 1997 *
(1 W) No. 3
vs. (4 W) No. 12 Virginia Regional Semifinals – Sweet Sixteen
W 91–69
33–1
Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT
March 23, 1997 *
(1 W) No. 3
at (2 W) No. 6 Georgia Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 82–47[ 3]
34–1
Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT
Mar 28, 1997 *
(1 W) No. 3
vs. (1 ME) No. 2 Old Dominion National Semifinal – Final Four
L 82–83 OT[ 4]
34–2
Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=Stanford, CA regional.
All times are in
Pacific Time .
[ 5]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Final AP 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Not released Coaches 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics