Stanford–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry

Stanford–Tennessee women's basketball rivalry

Stanford Cardinal Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Sport	Women's basketball
First meeting	December 18, 1988 #1 Tennessee 83, #5 Stanford 60
Latest meeting	December 18, 2022 #2 Stanford 77, Tennessee 70
Next meeting	TBD
Statistics
Meetings total	39
All-time series	Tennessee leads, 25–14
Largest victory	Tennessee; 105–69 (1994), 98–62 (1998)
Longest win streak	Tennessee, 11 (1997–2006)
Current win streak	Stanford, 4 (2018–present)

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.

Series History[edit]

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[edit]

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

Results[edit]

Sources^[11][12]

References[edit]