A question that will linger for four days was being asked after Stanford’s No. 2-ranked women’s team beat No. 3 Tennessee 67-52 on Saturday.

Is this Tara VanDerveer’s best Stanford team ever?

Tennessee coach pat Summit thinks this may be the best Stanford team after the Vols got handled Saturday -- Associated Press photo by Wade Payne

It wasn’t the fact that Stanford beat Tennessee for just the second time in the teams’ last 15 meetings that evoked the question; it was the fact that the Cardinal dominated Tennessee, much as it dominated Duke four days earlier.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt has played every one of VanDerveer’s Stanford teams, and the person who has more college coaching victories than any person ever tends to think this may be the best of the Cardinal bunch, reaching her conclusion in the process of thinking out loud.

“I think it’s one of their best teams,” Summit said initially, “maybe even the best.   It’s certainly one or two.   I think it’s probably her best team.”

That appraisal will sit there and simmer for four days until Stanford plays No. 1 Connecticut on Wednesday, Dec. 23, in Hartford, Conn.    That game may supply the definitive answer, because, unlike every previous Stanford game this season, the Cardinal will an underdog in that game. 

(See notes on Cal-Kansas men’s game and other West Coast happenings in men’s basketball section on home page.)

So far, Stanford has only beaten good teams on its home court, where the Cardinal has won 35 games in a row, so conclusions must be delayed.   But the talent on this team certainly rivals the talent on what seem to be Stanford’s two best teams — the 1990 squad that went 32-1 on its way to a national title and 1997 Cardinal team that went 34-2 and lost to Old Dominion by a point in the NCAA semifinals.

Both of those Cardinal teams beat Tennessee rather easily, too.   The 1990 Cardinal beat Tennessee by 14 points at Maples Pavilion, and the ’97 squad beat the Vols by 17 points in Knoxville, Tenn., before more than 12,000 Tennessee fans.   The latter is the most impressive of Stanford’s six victories against Summit’s Vols, and it was the only one achieved at Tennessee.

But this Stanford team deserves at least to be compared to those squads.   This Cardinal team is so talented that Jayne Appel, who was the second-leading vote-getter in Associated Press’ preseason All-American team, has been only the fourth best player on the Stanford team this season.   Guard Jeanette Pohlen has been remarkably consistent at both ends of the floor, and forwards Nneka Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen have improved significantly and are in a virtual tie for the Pac-10 scoring lead.

Appel is not exactly stinking the place up, averaging 13.1 points and 9.8 rebounds, but she is still finding her rhythm and regaining full strength after being inactive the entire summer following knee surgery.  So she should be better by March, although she won’t be there by the time Stanford faces UConn on Wednesday.

There is one thing to understand here.  Even if Stanford loses to UConn, which is a distinct possibility, it will not rule out the possibility that this is VanDerveer’s best team.   UConn has one of the best teams in women’s basketball history this season, returning four starters from a team that went undefeated last season.   Junior Maya Moore was considered the best player in the country last season, and Tina Charles was also a preseason All-American.   And playing the Huskies in Hartford, which is not their official homecourt but may as well be, makes the task that much more difficult.

So Stanford will have to be graded on a curve in that game.   If the Cardinal gets blown off the court, then talk of being the best Stanford team may die.   But if the Cardinal makes a game of it and remains in contention in the second half, the question will continue to be asked.   

And if Stanford somehow manages to win Wednesday’s game . . .