The last time Dawn Staley faced Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer in the 1990 Final Four, she was sporting a Virginia uniform and sneakers.
The then-sophomore guard had just marched the Cavaliers through the NCAA Tournament’s East Region, earning MVP honors along the way, but was stopped short of the championship game by VanDerveer’s one-loss Cardinal squad.
This time, Staley will be coaching against the four-time national coach of the year in the NCAA women's basketball semifinals in Dallas Friday.
“Well I mean, there isn’t a whole lot of difference,” Staley said of the two Final Fours. “You know that you’re going to be well-prepared for any situation that you’ll see in the game.”
Along with playing against VanDerveer in 1990, Staley played under the Hall of Famer in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The USA Basketball team, which included WNBA All-Stars Lisa Leslie and Ruthie Bolton, went 8-0 to earn the Olympic gold.
“That entire year, just opened my eyes to seeing basketball coached and played at a different level,” Staley said. “That amount of pressure that was on our team, on Tara, she made us feel all of the pressure that was on her. She didn't want the team to fail."
According to Staley, teaching the game comes naturally to VanDerveer, who has led Stanford to two national championships (1990, 1992) in her 31 years as head coach. Eighteen of VanDerveer's former players and assistant coaches have pursued careers in basketball coaching and management.
“I feel like from my experiences with her, she taught me how to approach the game, how to approach pressure situations, and how to execute while being under that amount of pressure,” Staley said.
The two coaches faced each other in the 2012 Sweet 16 in Fresno, California, where forward Nneka Ogwumike scored 39 points to lead the Cardinal to a 16-point victory. As Division I head coaches, VanDerveer holds a 5-0 advantage over Staley, including the most recent matchup, a 53-49 victory at Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 19, 2012. Staley and VanDerveer are known to be good friends off the court, but remain competitive with each other on the court.
“If she tells you she beat me in chess, she's a liar,” VanDerveer said smiling.
“I texted her 'congratulations' after the Florida State win," VanDerVeer added. "We had been in communication because of her being, you know, announced as the national team coach. I said, I have just one problem, I can't cheer for you on Friday night.”
While Staley has yet to defeat VanDerveer as a player or coach, she’s hoping this season's one-seeded Gamecocks have the tenacity and resolve to reverse the pattern.
“She’s a hard win. She’s been in these situations a number of times, and she definitely uses her experience against us,” Staley said. “We’re hoping that Dallas brings us a little bit of different luck.”
Old friends. #GoStanford #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/dUa6LEEhTz
— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) March 29, 2017