# 2015–16 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team

The 2015–16 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team represented Stanford University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinal, led by thirtieth year head coach Tara VanDerveer, played their home games at the Maples Pavilion and were a members of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 14–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of Pac-12 women's tournament to Washington. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated San Francisco and South Dakota State in the first and second rounds, Notre Dame in the sweet sixteen before losing to Pac-12 member Washington in the elite eight.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/07/2015* 1:00 pm | No. 16 | Academy of Art | W 81–48 | | Maples Pavilion (2,479) Stanford, CA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:30 pm | No. 16 | at UC Davis | W 74–45 | 1–0 | The Pavilion (3,366) Davis, CA |
| 11/15/2015* 1:00 pm | No. 16 | at Gonzaga | W 65–48 | 2–0 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| 11/21/2015* 12:00 pm | No. 15 | No. 22 George Washington | W 84–63 | 3–0 | Maples Pavilion (2,854) Stanford, CA |
| 11/23/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 13 | Santa Clara | L 58–61 | 3–1 | Maples Pavilion (2,668) Stanford, CA |
| 11/27/2015* 10:30 am | No. 13 | vs. Missouri State Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals | W 82–65 | 4–1 | Germain Arena (1,006) Estero, FL |
| 11/28/2015* 2:00 pm | No. 13 | vs. Dayton Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals | W 74–66 | 5–1 | Germain Arena (1,407) Estero, FL |
| 11/29/2015* 7:30 pm | No. 13 | vs. Purdue Gulf Coast Showcase championship | W 71–65 $^{OT}$ | 6–1 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 12/13/2015* 10:00 am, ESPN | No. 14 | at No. 5 Texas | L 69–77 | 6–2 | Frank Erwin Center (3,942) Austin, TX |
| 12/16/2015* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | No. 14 Tennessee Rivalry | W 69–55 | 7–2 | Maples Pavilion (3,768) Stanford, CA |
| 12/19/2015* 2:00 pm | No. 15 | Cornell | W 93–38 | 8–2 | Maples Pavilion (3,015) Stanford, CA |
| 12/22/2015* 2:00 pm | No. 12 | Cal State Bakersfield | W 83–41 | 9–2 | Maples Pavilion (2,625) Stanford, CA |
| 12/28/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 11 | Chattanooga | W 73–30 | 10–2 | Maples Pavilion (3,410) Stanford, CA |
| Pac-12 regular season ||||||
| 01/02/2016 2:00 pm, P12N | No. 11 | at Arizona | W 59–34 | 11–2 (1–0) | McKale Center (1,491) Tucson, AZ |
| 01/04/2016 5:00 pm, P12N | No. 9 | at No. 14 Arizona State | L 31–49 | 11–3 (1–1) | Wells Fargo Arena (1,708) Tempe, AZ |
| 01/08/2016 7:00 pm | No. 9 | Utah | W 72–52 | 12–3 (2–1) | Maples Pavilion (4,030) Stanford, CA |
| 01/10/2016 12:00 pm, P12N | No. 9 | Colorado | W 71–56 | 13–3 (3–1) | Maples Pavilion (3,188) Stanford, CA |
| 01/15/2016 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 11 | at Oregon | W 64–62 | 14–3 (4–1) | Matthew Knight Arena (2,030) Eugene, OR |
| 01/17/2016 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 11 | at No. 12 Oregon State | L 50–58 | 14–4 (4–2) | Gill Coliseum (4,314) Corvallis, OR |
| 01/22/2016 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 12 | at USC | W 57–47 | 15–4 (5–2) | Galen Center (612) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/24/2016 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 12 | at No. 20 UCLA | L 36–56 | 15–5 (5–3) | Pauley Pavilion (3,061) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/29/2016 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 16 | No. 25 Washington | W 69–53 | 16–5 (6–3) | Maples Pavilion (2,858) Stanford, CA |
| 01/31/2016 12:00 pm, P12N | No. 16 | Washington State | W 69–52 | 17–5 (7–3) | Maples Pavilion (3,421) Stanford, CA |
| 02/02/2016 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 15 | California | W 53–46 | 18–5 (8–3) | Maples Pavilion (3,268) Stanford, CA |
| 02/05/2016 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 15 | at California | W 60–55 | 19–5 (9–3) | Haas Pavilion (5,632) Berkeley, CA |
| 02/12/2016 7:30 pm, P12N | No. 13 | Arizona | W 82–58 | 20–5 (10–3) | Maples Pavilion (3,404) Stanford, CA |
| 02/14/2016 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 13 | No. 9 Arizona State | L 61–63 $^{OT}$ | 20–6 (10–4) | Maples Pavilion (3,250) Stanford, CA |
| 02/19/2016 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 15 | at Colorado | W 80–49 | 21–6 (11–4) | Coors Events Center (2,312) Boulder, CO |
| 02/21/2016 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 15 | at Utah | W 72–54 | 22–6 (12–4) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (983) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 02/26/2016 8:00 pm, P12N | No. 13 | No. 7 Oregon State | W 76–54 | 23–6 (13–4) | Maples Pavilion (3,613) Stanford, CA |
| 02/28/2016 11:00 am, P12N | No. 13 | Oregon | W 69–42 | 24–6 (14–4) | Maples Pavilion (4,082) Stanford, CA |
| Pac-12 Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/04/2016 8:30 pm, P12N | (4) No. 11 | vs. (5) Washington Quarterfinals | L 65–73 | 24–7 | KeyArena (5,789) Seattle, WA |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/19/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 L) No. 13 | (13 L) San Francisco First Round | W 85–58 | 25–7 | Maples Pavilion (3,106) Stanford, CA |
| 03/21/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 L) No. 13 | (12 L) South Dakota State Second Round | W 66–65 | 26–7 | Maples Pavilion (1,961) Stanford, CA |
| 03/25/2016* 6:30 pm, ESPN | (4 L) No. 13 | vs. (1 L) No. 2 Notre Dame Sweet Sixteen | W 90–84 | 27–7 | Rupp Arena (8,509) Lexington, KY |
| 03/27/2016* 10:00 am, ESPN | (4 L) No. 13 | vs. (7 L) Washington Elite Eight | L 76–85 | 27–8 | Rupp Arena (3,349) Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington, KY regional. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |