Slideshow Stanford's Brittany McPhee wants to fully experience the Final Four atmosphere. Photo courtesy of Stanford Athletics. Brittany McPhee played in the USA national women's basketball program over the summer. Photo courtesy of USA Basketball. Previous Next

Senior forward Brittany McPhee got a taste of the Final Four last season. But it was just a taste. Appetite whetted, she’d love nothing more than to luxuriate and relish the gastronomic experience of the whole meal this time around.

“I think going to the Final Four and getting a taste for it left us returners wanting more,’’ McPhee said Wednesday at Pac-12 women’s basketball media day in San Francisco. “We want to go back and we want to go further. I think that's kind of a drive for us. And I think we're trying to create that culture for our freshmen, too.’’

The team is going to miss Erica McCall, Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson, key members of last season’s team who departed through graduation. But a strong nucleus returns.

“We are very excited about our upcoming season,’’ Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “I feel like we've kind of started it, and then it got put on hold. We took our team to Italy. We had a great trip. It's hard to believe -- even Larry Scott said to me, Brittany's been playing forever at Stanford. It's hard to believe Brittany's a senior. We're really excited about Brittany's senior year and Kaylee Johnson's senior year, and Alanna (Smith) being a junior. So we have a great group. We're playing a very competitive schedule, and we're very, very excited.’’

The Cardinal will get tested early with non-conference games against Ohio State, UConn, Baylor and Tennessee.