# 2020–21 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team

The 2020–21 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team represented Stanford University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinal, led by thirty-fifth year head coach Tara VanDerveer, played their home games at the Maples Pavilion as members of the Pac-12 Conference. As a result of Santa Clara County, California health orders, the Cardinal were unable to play in Palo Alto for much of their season, moving home games to Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. They finished the season 31–2, 19–2 in Pac-12 play to finish in first place. They won the Pac-12 women's tournament by defeating UCLA, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Utah Valley and Oklahoma State in the first and second rounds, Missouri State in the Sweet Sixteen, Louisville in the Elite Eight, South Carolina in the Final Four and Arizona in the National Championship Game to win its third NCAA title overall and first since 1992. Haley Jones was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 25, 2020* 11:00 am, Stanford Live Stream | No. 2 | Cal Poly | W 108–40 | 1–0 | Maples Pavilion (0) Stanford, CA |
| November 30, 2020* 2:00 pm, Stanford Live Stream | No. 2 | San Diego Canceled due to Santa Clara Public Health Department | | | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| December 5, 2020* 2:00 pm, Mountain West Network | No. 2 | at UNLV | W 101–54 | 2–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (0) Las Vegas, NV |
| December 6, 2020 2:00 pm | No. 2 | vs. Washington | W 83–50 | 3–0 (1–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (0) Las Vegas, NV |
| December 11, 2020* 4:00 pm | No. 1 | UC Davis Canceled due to Santa Clara County ban on athletic activities. | | | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| December 13, 2020 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at California | W 83–38 | 4–0 (2–0) | Haas Pavilion (0) Berkeley, CA |
| December 15, 2020* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 1 | at Pacific | W 104–61 | 5–0 | Stockton, CA (0) Alex G. Spanos Center |
| December 19, 2020 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at USC | W 80–60 | 6–0 (3–0) | Galen Center (0) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 21, 2020 12:00 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at No. 10 UCLA | W 61–49 | 7–0 (4–0) | Pauley Pavilion (0) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 1, 2021 4:00 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at No. 6 Arizona | W 81–54 | 8–0 (5–0) | McKale Center (0) Tucson, AZ |
| January 3, 2021 3:00 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at Arizona State | W 68–60 | 9–0 (6–0) | Desert Financial Arena (0) Tempe, AZ |
| January 8, 2021 11:30 am, P12N | No. 1 | vs. No. 11 Oregon | W 70–63 | 10–0 (7–0) | Kaiser Permanente Arena (0) Santa Cruz, CA |
| TBD TBD | | Oregon State postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the Beavers' program. | | | Kaiser Permanente Arena Santa Cruz, CA |
| January 15, 2021 12:30 pm, P12N | No. 1 | at Utah | W 82–54 | 11–0 (8–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (0) Salt Lake City, UT |
| January 17, 2021 11:00 am, P12N | No. 1 | at Colorado | L 72–77 | 11–1 (8–1) | CU Events Center (0) Boulder, CO |
| January 22, 2021 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 5 | vs. No. 6 UCLA | L 66-70 | 11–2 (8–2) | Kaiser Permanente Arena (0) Santa Cruz, CA |
| January 24, 2021 4:00 pm, P12N | No. 5 | vs. USC | W 86-59 | 12–2 (9–2) | Kaiser Permanente Arena (0) Santa Cruz, CA |
| January 27, 2021 6:30 pm, P12N | No. 6 | at Washington State | W 71-49 | 13–2 (10–2) | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 29, 2021 12:00 pm, WSU Live Stream | No. 6 | at Washington State | W 77-49 | 14–2 (11–2) | Beasley Coliseum (0) Pullman, WA |
| January 31, 2021 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | at Washington | W 74–48 | 15–2 (12–2) | Alaska Airlines Arena (0) Seattle, WA |
| February 5, 2021 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | Colorado Breast Cancer Awareness Game | W 62–54 | 16–2 (13–2) | Maples Pavilion (1) Stanford, CA |
| February 7, 2021 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | Utah | W 83–41 | 17–2 (14–2) | Maples Pavilion (1) Stanford, CA |
| February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, P12N | No. 5 | at Oregon State | W 83–58 | 18–2 (15–2) | Gill Coliseum (0) Corvallis, OR |
| February 15, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | at No. 13 Oregon | W 63–61 | 19–2 (16–2) | Matthew Knight Arena (0) Eugene, OR |
| February 19, 2021 7:00 pm, P12N | No. 6 | Arizona State | W 80–41 | 20–2 (17–2) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| February 22, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | No. 9 Arizona | W 62–48 | 21–2 (18–2) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| February 28, 2021 1:00 pm, P12N | No. 4 | California | W 72–33 | 22–2 (19–2) | Maples Pavilion (0) Stanford, CA |
| Pac-12 women's tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2021 2:00 pm, P12N | (1) No. 4 | vs. (8) USC Quarterfinals | W 92–53 | 23–2 | Michelob Ultra Arena (0) Paradise, NV |
| March 5, 2021 5:00 pm, P12N | (1) No. 4 | vs. (5) Oregon State Semifinals | W 79–45 | 24–2 | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 5, 2021 5:00 pm, P12N | (1) No. 4 | vs. (3) No. 9 UCLA Championship | W 75–55 | 25–2 | Michelob Ultra Arena Paradise, NV |
| NCAA women's tournament ||||||
| March 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (16 A) Utah Valley First Round | W 87–44 | 26–2 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| March 23, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (8 A) Oklahoma State Second Round | W 73–62 | 27–2 | UTSA Convocation Center San Antonio, TX |
| March 28, 2021* 12:00 pm, ABC | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (5 A) No. 20 Missouri State Sweet Sixteen | W 89–62 | 28–2 | Alamodome (1,072) San Antonio, TX |
| March 30, 2021* 4:00 pm, ESPN | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (2 A) No. 8 Louisville Elite Eight | W 78–63 | 29–2 | Alamodome (1,483) San Antonio, TX |
| April 2, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (1 H) No. 6 South Carolina Final Four | W 66–65 | 30–2 | Alamodome San Antonio, TX |
| April 4, 2021* 3:00 pm, ESPN | (1 A) No. 2 | vs. (3 M) No. 11 Arizona National Championship | W 54–53 | 31–2 | Alamodome (4,604) San Antonio, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A=Alamo H=HemisFair. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes |
| NR | Not ranked |
| ( ) | Number of first place votes |
^ Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll