Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford women's basketball team will spend its Thanksgiving holiday in Mexico as part of the 2016 Women's Cancun Challenge.
The Cardinal is in the Mayan Division along with Northeastern, Purdue and Wichita State. Each team will play the other in a three-game round robin from November 24-26. Game times and order of matchups will be announced at a later date.
The Cancun Challenge is one of the premier basketball events held each year and was rated as a top-five preseason tournament by Sports Illustrated in 2014. Teams stay and play at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. The resort's convention center ballroom is converted into an arena, which provides fans a special close-up view of the games. Once arriving to the hotel, teams and fans are treated to a spectacular all-inclusive rock star vacation with games, practices, unlimited dining and drinks, world-class entertainment and fun all in one location.
Seating is limited for the event and all fans should book land travel packages through Triple Crown Sports for admission into games in Mexico. Travel packages are the only way to guarantee admission to games at this time. For travel package information, contact Sarah Sullivan at 970-672-0533 or by email at sarah@triplecrownsports.com, or visit the website at www.cancunchallenge.net.
Stanford's last trip to Mexico was a memorable one. The program's 83-59 win over Florida Gulf Coast at the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on November 27, 2013 was the 900th in the career of Tara VanDerveer, the Cardinal's Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball and Naismith Hall of Famer.
Stanford made its 18th overall trip to the Elite Eight and 10th in the last 13 years in 2015-16, posting a 27-8 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal won 25 games for the 15th straight year and became the seventh Division I institution to reach the 1,000-victory plateau when it beat Oregon State on February 26.