Stanford's Vanderveer now all-time winningest coach
By The Associated Press
Tara Vanderveer became the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history Sunday, passing former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career victory when the No. 8 Stanford women defeated visiting Oregon State 65-56.
At 70 years old and a head coach since age 24, Vanderveer celebrated on her team’s home floor at Maples Pavilion with a couple dozen former players on hand to cheer the Hall of Fame coach on for yet another milestone in a decorated 45-year career filled with memorable accomplishments.
Fans chanted “Tara! Tara!” in the closing seconds before the celebration began.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara Vanderveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “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 was tense at times, with Vanderveer standing with arms crossed and pacing the sideline as Kiki Iriafen and her supporting cast made the big plays when it mattered most. Stanford was missing Allamerican Cameron Brink because of a lower left leg injury suffered in Friday’s win over Oregon.
Vanderveer improved to 1,203-267 overall and 1,051-216 over 38 seasons at Stanford. A 17-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year with five national Coach of the Year honors, Vanderveer has captured three NCAA titles with Stanford — 1990, ’92 and 2021 — and coached the 1996 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal at the Atlanta Games during a year away from Stanford.
Iriafen contributed a career-high 36 points on 16for-26 shooting and 11 rebounds and Talana Lepolo added 14 points and six assists for the Cardinal (17-2, 6-1 Pac-12).
Stanford led 28-22 at the break having shot just 12 of 34 but was willed in the second half as former star players such as Jennifer Azzi, Chiney Ogwumike, Ros Gold-onwude and Jayne Appel-marinelli were among those in attendance.
Raegan Beers scored 18 points to lead Oregon State (15-3, 4-3), which had won three straight games.
NO. 3 COLORADO 63, NO.6 USC 59 >>
Aaronette Vonleh hit a go-ahead layup with under a minute remaining as the Buffaloes took advantage of Trojans standout Juju Watkins fouling out to escape with a home victory.
Colorado (16-2, 6-1 Pac12) finished 2-1 over a difficult stretch of playing three straight against top-10 opponents. The Buffaloes beat No. 8 Stanford last Sunday before losing to fifth-ranked UCLA on Friday night.
Quay Miller scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Colorado.
Watkins scored 20 points before fouling out for the Trojans (13-3, 3-3), who were coming off a 78-58 road loss to 20th-ranked Utah.
The pivotal moment in Sunday’s game was when Watkins picked up her fourth foul and went to the bench with 8:17 remaining and Colorado leading 51-49. Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb rolled the dice, though, and brought Watkins back at 6:42 but Watkins quickly picked up her fifth on a charge call.
The Trojans led by as many as seven in the second quarter but went ice cold from the field. They were 1 of 13 from the floor to close out the half as Colorado led 32-30 at the break.
NO. 18 OHIO STATE 100, NO. 2 IOWA 92, OT >>
Cotie Mcmahon had a career-high 33 points and 12 rebounds as the Buckeyes stunned the visiting Hawkeyes despite 45 points from Iowa superstar Catheitlin Clark.
The Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1) rallied from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Clark scored all of Iowa’s nine overtime points. A 3-pointer from Rebeka Mikulasikova gave Ohio State a six-point lead with 1:14 left in overtime.
The Hawkeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) had a 15-game winning streak snapped.