UTSA coach Karen Aston leads her team into its toughest game of the season Monday afternoon at Stanford. – File photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Tara VanDerveer will not be coaching the Stanford Cardinal on Monday afternoon, but her name will be on the court at Maples Pavilion, and that alone likely will be enough to light the competitive fires inside each and every member of the upstart UTSA women’s basketball team.
“Even though Tara’s not there, she built that program,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “To be able to play on a court that has her name on it, first of all, and to play a team that has such a rich tradition and footprint on our game, is a gift for our players.
“You know, we don’t take that lightly,” the coach added. “We appreciate the opportunity, and we’ll try to make the most of it. I expect our team to be competitive. I’ll be surprised if we’re not.”
The 2023-24 season was the last at Stanford for VanDerveer, who retired after 38 years as the school’s head coach. In the wake of her departure, the school put her name on the court, to honor a woman who led the program to 15 Pac-12 tournament championships, 14 Final Fours and three national titles.
Stepping into the job this fall was Kate Paye, one of VanDerveer’s former players, who was also one of the legend’s longtime former assistants.
Under Paye, the Cardinal (7-3) won seven of their first eight games before dropping the last two. Stanford had fourth-ranked LSU beat a week ago before giving up a lead in the final minutes and then losing in overtime in Baton Rouge, La.
On Friday night, they opened play in the Atlantic Coast Conference on the road against the Cal Bears. Surprisingly, the Bears walloped the Cardinal, 83-63. As a result, Stanford will be trying to avoid a three-game losing streak in the same season for the first time since January 2001.
Despite back-to-back losses, the Cardinal remain heavily favored to win on their homecourt. Yes, the Roadrunners (7-1) have forged a seven-game winning streak, the longest at the school in 11 years. But Aston, who faced the top teams in the country regularly as the head coach at the University of Texas, knows what she is up against.
Stanford is 7-0 this season on Tara VanDerveer Court and can light up the scoreboard with anyone.
Led by forward Nunu Agara and a fleet of talented perimeter players, the Cardinal have one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, averaging 83.2 points per game on 48.6 percent shooting from the field. In three-point accuracy, they lead NCAA Division I with a percentage of 42.8.
“It starts with the players,” Aston said. “They are able to recruit … players who can shoot and come into their (college) careers already having that skillset. And what they do offensively lends to that.
“They run a lot of motion, a lot of movement, a lot of actions, is what I would call it, and it puts a lot of pressure on your defense to not make … minor mistakes that get one of them open for a clear 3-point shot. So I think their system is really good, and the concepts they run, they’re really comfortable with.”
The Stanford offense will be a good test for UTSA, which has held its last four opponents to an average of 43 points on 29.7 percent shooting. Aston said she hopes her players are ready for Stanford 3-point artists Elena Bosgana, Brooke Demetre and Jzaniya Harriel.
“I think it will be a huge challenge for us on Monday to make sure they don’t have a hey-day on the 3-point line,” Aston said.
Records
UTSA 7-1
Stanford 7-3
Coming up
UTSA at Stanford, Monday, 2 p.m.
UT Arlington at UTSA, Thursday, 4 p.m.
UTSA at Texas State, Saturday, noon
Notable
Dating back to the 2010-11 season, UTSA women’s basketball has lost 24 games in a row to teams from power conferences. In other words, to teams that come from conferences bringing in the most revenue. Aston is 0-8 against the power elite in a little more than three seasons at UTSA, including a 55-51 loss on Nov. 7 at Texas A&M in this year’s opener. The Roadrunners’ last win against a power conference opponent came on Dec. 16, 2010, when they defeated the Kansas State Wildcats, 72-55, at the Convocation Center.