# 1996–97 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team

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.

## 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 |