When Tara VanDerveer began coaching women's basketball at Stanford University a decade ago, she was horrified that "I could count the fans in the stands on my fingers and toes." But when VanDerveer, on leave to coach America's national team through the 1996 Olympics, returned to Stanford this month with her barnstorming U.S. squad, 1,200 raucous fans showed up—for team practice. The next night, a sellout crowd of 7,391 at Stanford's Maples Pavilion—along with a national TV audience—watched America rout a hardworking but outwomanned Cardinal team 100-63. "I always tell my teams that someone out there is watching women's basketball for the first time and I don't want them to leave disappointed," says the coach.
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