Stanford women’s basketball team got a big win on Sunday, taking down Oregon State 65-56 to improve to 17-2 on the season and 6-1 in Pac-12 play.
And while Kiki Iriafen’s career-high 36 points and 12 rebounds were mighty impressive as the Cardinal won comfortably without All-American center Cameron Brink – who was sidelined with a lower body injury – there was one statistic from the game that was more important than the rest.
For Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, it marked the 1,203rd victory of her career, pushing her past former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski for the most wins all-time in the history of men’s and women’s college basketball.
Congratulations, Tara, you did it #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/XxfsIupljA
— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) January 22, 2024
VanDerveer, 70, has been a head coach in women’s college basketball since she was 24 years old. She started her career at Idaho, spent five years at Ohio State, and – aside from taking one season off to coach the 1996 U.S. Olympic team – has been leading Stanford since 1985. She’s led the Cardinal to three national championships, 13 Final Four appearances and 27 regular season Pac-12 titles.
The 2011 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee celebrated in style, with this custom jacket from Nike:
Tara got this jacket from Nike that has a tally for all 1,203 wins pic.twitter.com/AEi7UNu7LT
— marisa ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi) January 22, 2024
Congratulations for VanDerveer came from across sports from across the country, including this one from tennis legend Billie Jean King:
Congratulations to @StanfordWBB Coach Tara VanDerveer who has just become the winningest college basketball coach in history with 1,203 wins, passing former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s total of 1,202! pic.twitter.com/tSFAtqMCNz
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 22, 2024
And although VanDerveer broke his record, Coach K was nothing but complimentary.
He said in a statement:
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy. More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.”
It’s fitting that VanDerveer broke the record this season too, which is the last for the Pac-12 as we know it. With her on the sidelines, Stanford has often been the league’s best in women’s college basketball. In a season where — as of this week — four Pac-12 teams are ranked inside the top 10 of the AP Poll, VanDerveer will aim to end her reign in the league in style and on top in one of its most competitive campaigns.
