Stanford–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry

The Stanford–Tennessee rivalry is a college basketball rivalry between the Tennessee Lady Vols and Stanford Cardinal women's basketball programs.[1][2] The two schools are among the most storied in women's basketball history with Tennessee holding 8 national championships (2nd all-time) and Stanford with 3 (T–3rd all-time). Former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and former Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer are among the winningest coaches in the sport.[3] They have played each season since 1988 with the exception of 2020, due to COVID-19 travel concerns and 2023, with Tennessee leading the all-time series 25–14.

Stanford–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry
SportWomen's basketball
First meetingDecember 18, 1988
#1 Tennessee 83, #5 Stanford 60
Latest meetingDecember 18, 2022
#2 Stanford 77, Tennessee 70
Next meetingTBD
Statistics
Meetings total39
All-time seriesTennessee leads, 25–14
Largest victoryTennessee; 105–69 (1994), 98–62 (1998)
Longest win streakTennessee, 11 (1997–2006)
Current win streakStanford, 4 (2018–present)

Series History

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The rivalry began in 1988 when both schools were at the top of women's basketball, with Tennessee claiming national championships in 1987, 1989, and 1991, with Stanford winning in 1990 and 1992. For Stanford, Tennessee is their most played non-conference opponent, while the series ranks fourth for Tennessee (behind series with Texas, Louisiana Tech and Old Dominion).[4][5] The schools have met three times in the NCAA basketball tournament, playing in the 1991 Final Four, 2004 Elite 8, and in the 2008 national championship, all games won by Tennessee. They are the first (Tennessee) and fifth (Stanford) in all-time women's basketball wins, and throughout out their 39 meetings, at least one school has been ranked in the AP poll each time and both teams have been ranked 36 times.[6] The two teams have met three teams as the #1 and #2 teams in the nation (twice in 1992, and 1994), with Tennessee leading 3–0 in these games. The rivalry long centered on the close friendship between legendary coaches Tara VanDerveer and Pat Summit, with the games carrying a strong level of respect between the programs.[7][8] Tennessee dominated the early years of the rivalry highlighted by an eleven-game winning streak that ran from 1997 until 2006. Since the end of that run, Stanford has found more success against Tennessee, leading 10–6 since 2007, and winning 7 out of 10 games since Pat Summit's retirement at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Rival accomplishments

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The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[9][10]

Team Stanford Tennessee
National titles 3 8
Final Four appearances 15 18
Sweet 16 appearances 28 36
NCAA Tournament appearances 36 41
NCAA Tournament Record 100–33 130–33
First Team AP All-Americans 8 8
Naismith Players of the Year 2 4
Weeks in AP Top–25 619 771
All-time program record 1115–283 1183–266
All-time winning percentage .798 .816

Results

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Sources[11][12]

Stanford victoriesTennessee victories
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing team
1December 18, 1988Knoxville, TN#1 Tennessee83#5 Stanford60
2December 15, 1989Stanford, CA#3 Stanford81#2 Tennessee71
3November 25, 1990Knoxville, TN#6 Tennessee95#2 Stanford80
4December 30, 1990Hilton Head Island, SC#7 Tennessee84#8 Stanford77
5March 30, 1991New Orleans, LA#4 Tennessee68#11 Stanford60
6December 14, 1991Stanford, CA#3 Stanford96#1 Tennessee95OT
7December 6, 1992Honolulu, HI#2 Tennessee74#1 Stanford73OT
8December 21, 1992Knoxville, TN#1 Tennessee84#2 Stanford79
9December 3, 1993Stanford, CA#1 Tennessee81#9 Stanford75
10December 1, 1994Knoxville, TN#1 Tennessee105#2 Stanford69
11December 16, 1995Stanford, CA#9 Stanford90#2 Tennessee72
12December 15, 1996Knoxville, TN#1 Stanford82#5 Tennessee62
13November 29, 1997San Jose, CA#1 Tennessee88#11 Stanford70
14December 19, 1998Knoxville, TN#2 Tennessee98Stanford62
15November 26, 1999Stanford, CA#5 Tennessee79#23 Stanford73
16December 17, 2000Knoxville, TN#2 Tennessee63#15 Stanford58
17December 16, 2001Stanford, CA#2 Tennessee68#6 Stanford62
18December 18, 2002Knoxville, TN#4 Tennessee71#5 Stanford56
19December 14, 2003Stanford, CA#2 Tennessee70#6 Stanford66OT
20March 30, 2004Norman, OK#2 Tennessee62#10 Stanford60
21December 21, 2004Knoxville, TN#9 Tennessee70#2 Stanford67
22December 4, 2005Stanford, CA#2 Tennessee74#12 Stanford67
23November 24, 2006Knoxville, TN#4 Tennessee77#11 Stanford60
24December 22, 2007Stanford, CA#5 Stanford73#1 Tennessee69OT
25April 8, 2008Tampa, FL#3 Tennessee64#4 Stanford48
26December 21, 2008Knoxville, TN#11 Tennessee79#3 Stanford69OT
27December 19, 2009Stanford, CA#2 Stanford67#3 Tennessee52
28December 19, 2010Knoxville, TN#6 Tennessee82#3 Stanford72OT
29December 20, 2011Stanford, CA#4 Stanford97#6 Tennessee80
30December 22, 2012Knoxville, TN#1 Stanford73#10 Tennessee60
31December 21, 2013Stanford, CA#3 Stanford76#6 Tennessee70
32December 20, 2014Knoxville, TN#11 Tennessee59#7 Stanford40
33December 16, 2015Stanford, CA#15 Stanford69#14 Tennessee55
34December 18, 2016Knoxville, TNTennessee59#10 Stanford51
35December 21, 2017Stanford, CA#7 Tennessee83#18 Stanford71
36December 18, 2018Knoxville, TN#8 Stanford95#9 Tennessee85
37December 18, 2019Stanford, CA#1 Stanford78#23 Tennessee51
38December 18, 2021Knoxville, TN#3 Stanford74#7 Tennessee63
39December 18, 2022Stanford, CA#2 Stanford77Tennessee70
Series: Tennessee leads 25–14

References

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  1. ^ Araton, Harvey (2008-04-09). "A Rivalry That Could Blossom in Women's N.C.A.A. Championship (Published 2008)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  2. ^ "Tennessee vs. Stanford is more than a game. It's tradition and a tribute to greatest coaches in history". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  3. ^ Witz, Billy (2020-12-14). "Stanford's Tara VanDerveer Ties Record for Coaching Wins (Published 2020)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  4. ^ "Records vs. Opponents". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  5. ^ "Lady Vol Record book, page 197" (PDF). University of Tennessee athletics. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  6. ^ "DIVISION I WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECORDS - page 45" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  7. ^ Boren, Cindy (2020-12-16). "Stanford's Tara VanDerveer passes Pat Summitt as winningest coach in women's Division I basketball". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  8. ^ Cash, Meredith. "Stanford's Tara VanDerveer toasted late legend Pat Summitt as she overtook her record as the winningest coach in women's college basketball history". Insider. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  9. ^ "Tennessee Volunteers Women's Basketball Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  10. ^ "Stanford Cardinal Women's Basketball School History". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  11. ^ "Women's Basketball History vs Stanford University". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  12. ^ "Women's Basketball History vs Tennessee Lady Vols". Stanford University Athletics. Retrieved 2023-08-04.