VanDerveer truly knows how Virginia feels

So far, the NCAA Tournament is going great for the Stanford women’s basketball team.

Not only did the Cardinal beat Gonzaga 82-68 in the first round to advance to Monday’s second round against Florida Gulf Coast.

But Stanford also lost its ignominious status.

For two decades, Stanford has held the sad distinction of being the only school in tournament history to take a No. 1 seed into the tournament and lose to a No. 16 seed. In the Cardinal’s case, the loss was to Harvard.

But with Virginia’s loss to UMBC on Friday night on the men’s side of the NCAA Tournament, Tara VanDerveer

finally doesn’t stand alone. She and Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett have each other.

“I feel sad for him . ... They had an exceptional year and everything to feel proud of,” VanDerveer said. “I feel like I’m in really good company.”

The most annoying thing about Virginia’s loss wasn’t the millions of brackets destroyed, but the claim echoed around the media that a No. 1 seed had been defeated by a No. 16 “for the first time in NCAA history!”

Um, no. As false a claim as saying the United States has not won a World Cup.

Though VanDerveer might be OK with people forgetting about her 1998 tournament team, it was actually a learning experience. Bennett can take solace in the fact that being historically humbled by an opponent is not some sort of death sentence. All the former Washington State head coach (which is why VanDerveer was rooting for him) needs to do is look to Stanford and VanDerveer.

“As bad as they felt (Friday) night, they probably felt worse when they woke up this morning,” VanDerveer said. “But he’ll be stronger because of it, and so will his teams.”

If we take Stanford as an example, she’s right. VanDerveer teams haven’t missed the tournament since 1988. Since the loss to Harvard, she has guided her team to the Final Four seven times, twice losing

in the championship game. Last year was one of the biggest surprises to make the Final Four — a team with few notable players.

This March, VanDerveer is doing it again, as she almost always does. This Stanford team started 6-6, with losses not only to heavyweight teams like UConn, Baylor, Tennessee and Ohio State, but also to Western Illinois.

But as Saturday’s opposing head coach, Lisa Fortier, said, Stanford teams get progressively better as the season goes on. VanDerveer pushes and works to turn the group of players she has into the team she wants to have. Those early losses help the players buy in to what their coach is selling.

“They have an answer,” Fortier said.

Stanford had an answer, both offensively and defensively, for almost everything Gonzaga offered. The Cardinal pushed the pace, and dazzling freshman guard Kiana Williams hit

five three-pointers.

“For her first game, Kiana looked very comfortable,” VanDerveer said.

After the game, VanDerveer was holding an ice bag. When she claps, her hands swell. She clapped a lot Saturday.

“So that’s a good problem,” VanDerveer said.

Sitting behind her bench was former Cardinal guard Jennifer Azzi, who said she was impressed with the young team. Also on hand at Maples Pavilion were John Stockton, whose daughter Laura is Gonzaga’s point guard, and Stanford football head coach David Shaw.

This year, the Cardinal are a No. 4 seed. Twenty years ago, they were the No. 1 seed, with a loaded team. But both Kristin Folkl and Vanessa Nygaard went down with knee injuries before the tournament.

“We weren’t a No. 1 seed when we were selected,” VanDerveer said.

The Cardinal lost to a gritty Harvard team led by Allison Feaster, who took over the game. The loss was historic and stunning, and the reverberations lasted for a while. Stanford exited the tournament in the first round again in 1999 and in the second round the following two seasons. But VanDerveer learned lessons, developed resilience and rebuilt her program into regular dominance.

“It taught me an important lesson, and he’ll learn from it,” VanDerveer said.

“The thing I learned is that all year they’re talking about the No. 1 seed! March Madness! But enjoy each day. I’m excited for our team today to beat Gonzaga. You don’t know when someone will get hurt or when you’ll run up against a buzz saw.

“Enjoy,” VanDerveer said, “each day.”