It's been 29 years since Stanford University women's basketball landed a national title — a cause for celebration on Monday when the team paraded through campus and downtown Palo Alto.
The hometown welcome came after Sunday's close 54-53 win in the championship game of the NCAA tournament against the University of Arizona.
"It will probably hit me tomorrow," coach Tara VanDerveer said after the victory.
VanDerveer meshed together a team of veterans and youth to earn her third national title and the first since 1992, when current Associate Head Coach and Menlo School graduate Kate Paye was a member of the team.
Sophomore Haley Jones, who scored 17 points in the title game, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Former Pinewood School star Hannah Jump also contributed to the championship run.
Seniors Kiana Williams and Anna Wilson, and junior Lexie Hull, provided leadership.
Monday's socially distanced parade kicked off at 2 p.m. at the Stanford University campus, where the team waved to cheering community members from convertibles that drove around the Oval, according to social media posts.
They reached downtown about half an hour later, when they were seen outside City Hall donning championship T-shirts, hats and metallic red pompoms.
Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois joined the crowd at stops along the way. The team was escorted by units from Stanford's Department of Public Safety and Palo Alto Police Department.
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