STANFORD – The Stanford women’s basketball team will have a bit more motivation than expected heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Despite being ranked fourth in the AP Top 25 and the NET, the NCAA selection committee’s primary sorting tool for evaluating teams, Stanford received a No. 2 seed in the Portland Region.
The Cardinal (28-5) will host No. 15 Norfolk State either Friday or Saturday at Maples Pavilion. The winner will play No. 7 Iowa State or No. 10 Maryland in the second round at Maples two days later. Times and dates will be announced later Sunday.
Stanford won the final Pac-12 regular season by two games over eventual No. 1 seed USC and fellow No. 2 UCLA, but lost in the Pac-12 tournament final to the Trojans. All four No. 1 seeds won their conference tournaments – South Carolina (SEC), Iowa (Big Ten), USC and Texas (Big 12), which is the top seed in Stanford’s region.
“I think the loss against USC can be a positive for us,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Every disappointment is a blessing and we’ve used it that way. Being a 2 seed can get under your skin a little bit too, and we have something to prove.”
Stanford has won three national titles under VanDerveer (1,214-270), who earlier this season became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history. All three titles, in 1990, 1992 and 2021, came as a No. 1 seed, which Stanford has received in each of the last three seasons.
“The seed is not what’s important,” VanDerveer said. “It’s your team, how they’re playing. I think we’re in a great place. Our team is working really hard. I think we’re pretty healthy, and that’s the most important thing. I know there’s a lot of talk that we would be a one-seed. In our minds, we’re the same team.”
The Cardinal has advanced to the Final Four as a No. 2 seed six times in 13 previous tournaments, most recently in 2017.
The Stanford Cardinal and fans cheer for their No. 2 seed in Regional 4 for the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., on Sunday, March 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
VanDerveer said the team has worked on transition defense, being more patient on offense, setting better screens and boxing out in the three practices since losing to the Trojans.
Its first test will be against MEAC champion Norfolk State (28-5). The Spartans, led by 5-foot-5 N.C. State transfer point guard Diamond Johnson (20.3 points per game) and MEAC player of the year Kierra Wheeler (17.6 points, 9.7 rebounds), have won 15 in a row.
NSU lost to No. 1 South Carolina 72-40 in the opening round last season.
Iowa State and Maryland will also be coming to Maples. The Cyclones (20-11) lost to Texas in the Big 12 title game and have appeared in 15 of the last 17 NCAA Tournaments, while Maryland (19-13) has won 18 straight first-round games under coach Brenda Frese.
If the Cardinal wins twice in Maples, it will advance to Portland, the hometown of Pac-12 Player of the Year Cameron Brink.
“I love to go home and see my family, see my dogs,” Brink said. “So it’s exciting. It’s just more motivation.”
The senior announced last week that she will enter the WNBA Draft, where she is expected to be a top-two pick, instead of returning to The Farm next season. She is the only player in the country averaging 17 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks a game.
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The Cardinal’s most likely opponent in the Sweet 16 would be No. 3 N.C. State or No. 6 Tennessee. Texas, No. 4 Gonzaga and No. 5 Utah are the highest-ranked teams in the top half of the bracket.
But first, Stanford must win its two home games this week, which it failed to do last season. The loss to No. 8 Ole Miss in the second round last year was the first time the Cardinal failed to make the Sweet 16 since 2007.
“Tara said it to us right after (the selection show), it’s one game at a time,” fifth-year guard Hannah Jump said. “We do have last year in the back of our minds, but we know that if we play Stanford basketball we’re going to be successful. But not taking anything for granted.”