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STANFORD — Tara VanDerveer stood in her usual spot Friday night waiting for the Stanford Cardinal to start pre-game warmups at Maples Pavilion.

The Hall of Fame coach wasn’t going to change a routine just because she about to enter rarified “Tara-tory” by joining the late Pat Summitt and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the only Division 1 basketball coaches to win 1,000 games.

But VanDerveer, 63, could feel the moment before her No. 8 Cardinal routed USC 58-42 in a Pac-12 game at Maples Pavilion in front of 4,490 fans.

“I told our team I’d be lying if it was just any other game,” she said about 80 minutes before tip-off. “But we will play bigger games than this.”

At least that’s the plan for the Cardinal (20-3, 10-1, Pac-12), which extended its winning streak to seven games as seniors Karlie Samuelson had 21 points and Erica McCall added 18.

This wasn’t just another notch for VanDerveer in 37-plus years of coaching. It was a moment to treasure for a Bay Area institution who sat in her regular seat between long-time assistants Amy Tucker and Kate Paye.

With 10 seconds left Cardinal fans stood and began the celebration with rhythmic clapping. The players gathered at center court holding cardboard numbers that said, “1,000” as red and white confetti floated in the air.

The coach in her patent charcoal pants suit high-fived each of her players.

“We had a great game,” VanDerveer told the crowd. “I’m glad to celebrate with this team. I love coaching you all.”

VanDerveer showed no signs of nerves beforehand when inviting four local reporters to take a courtside photo with her. She stopped to chat with friends and former players while keeping an eye on her team warming up at the far end of the floor.

VanDerveer’s mother, Rita, flew from Colorado to watch her daughter’s milestone victory. Rita, 90, said her daughter told her, “Mom, it’s not like the Olympics. Don’t be mad if we lose.”

The Cardinal players didn’t want that to happen. They huddled around McCall just outside the court before the game.

“Let’s get this win for Tara,” McCall said. “Y’all, get a 1,000 wins.”

McCall, who was part of VanDerveer’s 900th victory as a freshman, knew how momentous it was Friday.

“Everybody was a little tense this week,” she said.

On a night brimming with magic, VanDerveer could not escape an incandescent atmosphere in front of a crowd that included Stanford Olympic swim stars Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky.

One thousand victories, after all, represents a record book overflowing with accolades:

• national coach of the year in 1988, ‘89, ‘90 and 2011.

• Pac-12 coach of the year 14 times and Big Ten coach of the year twice.

• VanDerveer’s Cardinal has won two NCAA titles, made 11 Final Four appearances and 28 trips to the NCAA tournament.

Along the way, there have been national and conference players of the year and 30 first-team All-Americans.

“We are forever bonded with Tara,” said former player Ros Gold-Onwude, who was part of the Pac-12 broadcast crew Friday. “Those thousand wins, we’re all connected.”

Past players formed a chat group this week to share their memories.

“Time stands still with Tara,” said Candice Wiggins, a four-time Stanford All-American who graduated in 2008. “Because it has been 10 years it really hits me harder and harder than ever before. I can really understand, appreciate the impact Tara has had in my life. I promised myself from the first day we had to go to the track and run a mile: I would spill my guts for her.”

The current 13 players played with characteristic VanDerveer intensity. Although Stanford built a nice lead the Trojans (12-10, 3-8) stayed close enough to stop any notion of an early celebration.

Then sharpshooting Samuelson exploded for three 3-pointers and a buzzer-beating jumper in the final 2:52 of the third quarter.

Suddenly Stanford was up 52-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the end, VanDerveer would call it another victory on a long journey that isn’t close to ending.

Summitt finished at Tennessee with 1,098 victories whereas Krzyzewski has 1,060 and counting. The 1,000 club should swell by next season when Geno Auriemma (Connecticut), Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina) and C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers) also reach the landmark number. With 988 victories, Hatchell is close enough to do it this season if the Tar Heels (13-9) make a late-season run.

But VanDerveer doesn’t count her victories by how many games her teams have won.

“I’m not about me,” she said.

Then the coach couldn’t help but turn a poignant moment into something comedic.

“Mom, you can go back home tomorrow,” she told Rita, who had planned to stay with her daughter until the 1,000th victory happened.

“Back to 14 degrees in Boulder, Colorado,” Rita shot back.