ESPN Women's NCAA Tournament 2008

Asked about the previous time her Stanford program met Connecticut in the Final Four -- a 27-point Cardinal loss -- coach Tara VanDerveer said, "When I think about 1995, I get amnesia."

That is an especially funny line when you consider that 13 years ago, VanDerveer might not have said it. She wasn't as likely to let her sense of humor show. I used to say that VanDerveer in interviews sometimes sounded like the teacher in the "Charlie Brown" cartoons: "Mwa-mwa-MWA-mwa."

But she doesn't anymore. For the past few years, in fact, even her tone of voice has seemed lighter, not just the things she has said.

It didn't take going back to the Final Four for VanDerveer to open up her personality. But now that she and the Cardinal have returned after an 11-year absence, it's a good time to reflect on VanDerveer and this program, the gold standard of West Coast women's college basketball.

"I see a completely different person," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said of VanDerveer now as opposed to VanDerveer in 1995. "The times I've spent with her, more recently, I think she's much more relaxed and a little bit looser to be around, and I think is enjoying it more probably than ever before. And that comes across.

"You're so obsessed with getting to the Final Four and winning national championships, that I think you do come to a point where later on, you appreciate the other things that come with coaching and dealing with kids. You see the big picture, and you get to enjoy yourself a little more."

Stanford made the Final Four six times in the first eight seasons of the 1990s, winning two NCAA titles. But its last visit to the Final Four, in 1997, was so emotionally painful Stanford very much needed another trip so the memory of that one would be erased.

But for 11 years, it didn't happen. And the lingering tableau of the program was its agonized locker room on March 28, 1997, after an 83-82 overtime loss to Old Dominion in Cincinnati. It was a team of distinct and memorable personalities such as Kate Starbird, Jamila Wideman, Vanessa Nygaard, Naomi Mulitauaopele, Olympia Scott, Charmin Smith … and then Kristin Folkl, who rode in on the cavalry call in February and had the most brilliant two-month hoops season ever.

That was the third consecutive Final Four appearance for Stanford, which lost in each. VanDerveer and Folkl weren't part of the program in 1995-96 because of Olympic obligations and aspirations. VanDerveer was coach of the U.S. national team, which toured the country and overseas, then won gold in Atlanta and helped pave the way for the WNBA. Folkl was trying to make the U.S. volleyball squad.

But all of them were together again for that '97 NCAA tournament run, making for a cast of characters as perfect as that of "Casablanca." Of course, the movie had a pretty bittersweet ending, too.

Perhaps it was karmic justice (not that I necessarily believe in such hokum, but still …) for the fact that Stanford had ended Virginia's national-title runs in 1990 and '92.

In fact, Virginia in 1992 was -- in personality, talent and bonding -- very much like Stanford in 1997. The Cavs went to three consecutive Final Fours from 1990 to 1992 without winning it all, too.

Two of UVa's losses in that stretch were in the semifinals to Stanford -- to the Jennifer Azzi/Sonja Henning-led team in 1990 and the bunch that VanDerveer called her "bucket of bolts" squad in 1992. That group's star was Val Whiting, but sharpshooter Molly Goodenbour was the '92 Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.

In 1992, Stanford and Virginia were there at the top of the elite list in women's basketball. UVa hasn't been to a Final Four since then. Stanford stayed at the very peak longer, but the Cardinal's recruiting success began to falter right around the fulcrum of 1995.

A couple of key things happened that year: UConn ascended to the penthouse and has been there ever since. Duke made it to the NCAA tournament -- just the second appearance in program history, but the first of 13 appearances in a row under Gail Goestenkors.

So there were some seismic power shifts in the game in 1995, and those affected the Cardinal.

"There's more competition for players," VanDerveer said of the past decade-plus of her tenure at Stanford as opposed to from 1985 to 1995. "I will just give an example. When I first came to Stanford, there really wasn't … the resources and the excitement that's going on in the ACC [now]. So we could really easily out-recruit Duke.

"Now, whether it's the ACC or Big East -- you see, it's more competitive in the Big East than it was early on for Geno. We want it to be more competitive in the Pac10."

Stanford has done all it can to, as we in the media always say, "carry the Pac-10 banner." But from 1997 until this year, the Final Four was like a loose kite the Cardinal were chasing. A few times, Stanford seemed just about to grab the trailing twine … but then, another gust of wind blew it out of reach.

ACL injuries to Nygaard and Folkl right before the 1998 tournament devastated that team, and No. 16 seed Harvard was good enough to take advantage.

Then a dip in Stanford's recruiting mixed with the rise of other programs, and the Cardinal lost in the early rounds in four of the next five years. The other year in that stretch, Stanford made the Sweet 16.

Then, in 2004, the Cardinal made the first of three consecutive Elite Eight appearances as one star, Nicole Powell, ended her career and another, Candice Wiggins, began hers.

In those regional finals, Stanford lost by two points to Tennessee, by seven to Michigan State and by three to LSU. Last year was a disappointing upset at home to No. 10 seed Florida State in the second round.

This season, the Cardinal were a No. 2 seed and had to go through 2006 NCAA champion Maryland in the Spokane Regional final. Stanford did just that in high-scoring fashion. And former Cardinal competitors are celebrating right along with the current Stanford kids.

"A lot of the players that went to three Final Fours in a row or won national championships have kind of felt the drought," VanDerveer said. "They're like, 'Come on now, we went, how come you guys didn't go?'"

It is a harsh and exacting standard for a program to have, measuring success by Final Four trips.

As Auriemma said of VanDerveer's 11-year so-called drought, "Some people go their life without going to the Final Four. And it's funny when you build a program like she has where the expectations are so high … not being to the Final Four in 11 years? Some people coach 31 years and never get there.

"And I think that's part of the mystique of Stanford and how good they've been for so long, that it's like, 'Wow, you're finally going back there.'"

Which brings us to another thing that has changed since UConn and Stanford met in the 1995 Final Four. There seems to be genuine respect between VanDerveer and Auriemma. They compliment each other's programs without it sounding contrived or grudging.

Back in the mid-1990s, VanDerveer said she had "six Nykesha Sales" in her 1994-95 freshman class, a remark that rankled Auriemma and the then-burgeoning Huskies Nation.

Sales was a rookie on the 1995 UConn national championship team led by Rebecca Lobo … who then didn't have the greatest time playing on the Olympic squad coached by VanDerveer.

So for a while, there was a lingering sense that the coaches and/or programs disliked each other. Of course, Stanford didn't turn out to be UConn's "evil empire." Another of this year's Final Four teams has that distinction.

Stanford and UConn will face off again in the NCAA tournament on Sunday. They met in Kansas City in the 2005 regional semifinals, and that 76-59 Stanford win seemed cathartic for the program … until the Cardinal then lost to the Spartans in the final.

Now, though, Stanford officially has closed the file on 1997. It's not forgotten -- no, never that. Just finally put to rest in a way that Stanford, VanDerveer, the Cardinal alums and the fans needed it to be.

Stanford is back in the Final Four. What has been there this season that wasn't in recent years when the Cardinal were so close? Well, when you lose by single digits in three straight regional finals, it's hard to say that something "wasn't there." More like you just didn't get a break or make a shot that could have changed everything.

But VanDerveer tried to put her finger on what did make the difference for Stanford this year.

"Our preparation … we were more efficient. We were really ready for our [game with Maryland] in a way that I have not felt maybe in some other Elite Eight championship games," she said. "I also think that this particular team has a really special leader in Candice Wiggins. And everyone on the team has taken their role and embraced it.

"I think the camaraderie and the closeness of everyone … it's always special, but it just feels really extraordinary this year."

Mechelle Voepel of The Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached at mvoepel123@yahoo.com.