Stanford's Tara VanDerveer fuming over 3-point line debacle at women’s NCAA Tournament

Kevin Borba | Apr 2, 2024

Jan 21, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer calls out for / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

In the midst of what can only be considered a monumental moment with stars galore in the women's NCAA Tournament, a portion of it is now being clouded by a horrendous mistake.

In the Portland regional, which is where Stanford saw their season end against NC State following a second-half collapse plagued by foul trouble and missed shots. The Wolfpack also found their shot in the second half, going 5-of-10 from three after making just 2-of-7 in the first half. Following the game, it was revealed that the three-point line that the side that Stanford was shooting on in the second half, was marked 9 inches shorter than it was actually supposed to be.

Something that Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer has been very vocally upset about in the days after.

Jan 21, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer calls out for / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

“When you arrive at a gym, especially in the NCAA Tournament, at the very least you expect the baskets to be 10 feet and the floor markings to be correct,” VanDerveer said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “For an error of that magnitude to overshadow what has been an incredible two weekends of basketball featuring sensational teams and incredible individual performances is unacceptable and extremely upsetting.”

It was deemed to be a "human error" which the NCAA apologized for and corrected for Monday night's games with a painted line.

“We apologize for this error and the length of time for which it went unnoticed,” the NCAA said. “Simply put, this court did not meet our expectations, and the NCAA should have caught the error sooner.”

“We will work with all of the NCAA’s suppliers and vendors to establish additional quality control measures to ensure this does not happen in future tournaments.”

The game was Stanford's last following the loss, and also marked the end of a tremendous career for star forward Cameron Brink. It's not to say that Stanford would have won the game if the line was measured properly as NC State caught fire, was limiting Brink, and Kiki Iriafen and Brink were in foul trouble all game long, but it is an unfortunate mistake that should have never happened.