Tara VanDerveer thought about pausing Stanford’s season while on the road
The COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County left Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer wondering if the Cardinal should pause the season.
Santa Clara County’s strict COVID-19 guidelines that forced Stanford to play on the road for nine weeks was almost too much for coach Tara VanDerveer.
“There was a point where — I don’t even know that I should admit this — but I was like, I don’t know that we can keep doing this, in terms of going to Santa Cruz,” VanDerveer said Saturday. “Testing like we were testing. There were some days where I just said, ‘Whoa, this, might be too much. We might have to just take a pause, ourselves.’ ”
The Cardinal, which plays Pac-12 rivals Arizona on Sunday in the NCAA championship game, could not play or practice on campus from early December through early February because of county restrictions to help stop the transmission of coronavirus.
VanDerveer had told this news organization before the season’s start she wasn’t sure any schools should play during the pandemic. But Stanford (30-2) now is on the precipice of winning its first national title since 1992.
“We have great leadership,” VanDerveer said. “We have competitive, motivated, talented, really strong women on our team, and they have dug deep. I think that off-the-court experience has made us tougher, stronger and more determined. We’re not going to let COVID get us down, whether it’s testing or Zooming. We’re going to be the best Stanford basketball team we can be, and I’m proud of our team for that.”