2016 – 17 Stanford Cardinal women 's basketball team represented Stanford University during the 2016 – 17 NCAA Division I women 's basketball season . The Cardinal , led by 31st year head coach Tara VanDerveer , played their home games at the Maples Pavilion and were members of the Pac-12 Conference . They finished the season 32 – 6 , 15 – 3 in Pac-12 play to finish in a tie for second place . They defeated Washington State , Oregon and Oregon State to win Pac-12 Women 's Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Women 's Tournament . Earning a No. 2 seed in the Lexington region , they defeated New Mexico State and Kansas State in the first and second rounds . In the Sweet Sixteen , they defeated Texas 77 – 56 . In the Elite Eight , they defeated Notre Dame 76 – 75 to reach their 13th Final Four in school history . At the Final Four in Dallas Texas , they were defeated by South Carolina 53 – 62 . South Carolina would go on to beat Mississippi State for the national title
Pac-12 Women 's Tournament
2017 Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
2016–17 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team