When I was the sports editor at my high school paper, I’d read a number of stories per issue that had the same line in one form or another: “This team’s chemistry is great, and it’s showing on the court.”

My response was always: “Prove it.”

Unity is an important aspect of any team sport that every team searches for, many unsuccessfully. Some professional franchises won’t even consider signing or drafting “bad character” athletes — someone who may not play well with others or has a history of disrupting the peace — because they are so intent on building a team, in every sense of the word. Total cohesion goes a long way toward the team’s success. It’s an intangible part of every team sport that is rarely seen unless a squad blatantly has it — or doesn’t.

Chemistry isn’t built over one night, weekend, month or maybe even a season. It can’t be created artificially. To merely state, then, that “this team’s chemistry is great” is not nearly enough. It must be demonstrated over a lengthy period of time, and its effect on the team’s play must be apparent.

The Stanford’s women’s basketball team is the poster-group for team cohesion. They play for each other as much as they play for the school. They rarely, if ever, get down on each other, always picking a teammate up when needed. And it is always evident on the court, as their enthusiasm, high-fives and huddles permeate their games.

For the Cardinal, it starts at the top with coach Tara VanDerveer and her staff, and senior guard Candice Wiggins. VanDerveer is a strict coach, but her affection for her players is obvious.

“I have a great rapport with basically everyone on our team, and I love that. It’s a really great place to be,” she said. “I think that any coach would really love to coach this team.”

“Tara has been great for us this season. She’s believed in us from day one and is really the force that has made us the team we are,” said Wiggins. “I think this is a special team, with a special coaching staff.”

The quote from Wiggins is par for the course — she’s a superstar, but boasts no ego. She’s quick to share credit with her teammates and coaches, a point I’ve made so often in my basketball coverage that I’m becoming a broken record. But it’s worth repeating often because of how rare such a mentality is for a player with her talent and success.

When she was questioned about winning the Wade Trophy — an award given not only for her individual success on the court, but for her leadership abilities as well — she was quick to talk about the importance of her teammates.

“I think just to have it this year, my last year with this team, that I just so desperately love . . . I think that’s what makes it the most special, because I can share it with the team,” she said. “This group is amazing.”

Wiggins isn’t afraid to let her emotions show, and her teammates feed off of her.

“Candice is an incredible player, and we’re all just so lucky to get the opportunity to play with her,” said junior forward Jillian Harmon.

Wiggins is the type of player that makes everyone around her better, and she is the tone-setter for the Cardinal. The team’s cohesion has become more noticeable as the season has progressed — not that they didn’t have chemistry to begin with, but the team has settled into a groove where their play has become, to a certain extent, instinctive.

The team unity has thus found its way to the floor: the Cardinal is clicking, and the offense — particularly in transition — has excelled. Engineering a successful attack on the run is largely due to knowing where your teammates will be on the floor. The team struggled here at the beginning of the year, but the Stanford women have proven that they can run with the best of them — see: Connecticut.

Chalk part of it up to court awareness, but credit the team for having the cohesion to do it at all.

Wiggins attributes their recent play with the team’s unity. When asked about the “magic” behind the Cardinal’s success, she said, “You know, it’s the type of chemistry that you cannot fake.”

The proof is in the results, and as Stanford has outlasted and dominated opponent after opponent during its run to the championship game, the team has only gotten tighter.

And its play has only gotten better.