By 1985, VanDerveer had developed Ohio State into a nationally ranked team, breaking into the Top 20 in 1984, and reaching number 7 in the final rankings of 1985. Their success in 1985 earned a two seed in the 1985 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament. They made it to the Elite Eight, but lost by four points to eventual national champion Old Dominion. While Stanford would later become one of the nation's powerhouses in women's basketball, in 1985 it was coming off a 9–19 year following a 5–23 year, with only 300 fans a game. Despite this challenge, Andy Geiger convinced VanDerveer to come to Stanford to become the head coach. VanDerveer later recounted that her friends told her going to Stanford was a bad move, because Stanford was too "brainy" to be good in sports. She said, "My dad told me I was crazy to take this job. He said, 'You’ll be unemployed and coming home to live with us in three months'."