Stanford FBC: Stories of the Season: Orange crushed

December 19, 2009

Orange crushed

67-52! So-o-o-o-o Sweet!!

One of the nicest things of the day happened as the Lady Vols began to leave the court after the game. They turned back and all the players – Tennessee and Stanford both – formed a big circle with arms entwined. When asked about it at the postgame tent, Jeanette said that it, "... wasn't planned, it just happened."

Tara said, "Every game we play against Tennessee is a win. You learn something and get better because of it. If you don't also get the most points, it's a little 'w'. Today we got the big 'W'."

The victory was emphatically a team effort, beginning with Kate Paye's scouting report, which the entire team studied and learned. Learned so well that the Stanford bench was calling out Tennessee's plays during the game.

They practiced hard, with the reserves taking the roles of Lady Vols. Sarah was so enthusiastic in her impersonation of Kelley Cain that she was warned not to injure Jayne.

They learned well from their "F" in rebounding against Duke – they outrebounded Tennessee 44-34.

Their defense was excellent. They, primarily JJ, were all over Angie Bjorklund (Tennessee's threat on the perimeter) and held her to 15 points and just three 3-pointers, two of them easy ones towards the end of the game. They, primarily Jeanette, held Shekinna Stricklen (Tennessee's top scorer and second-best rebounder) to eight points and two rebounds.

Jeanette was Ms. Do-Eveything. She guarded Stricklen without committing a single foul, she had six assists with just two turnovers, she maintained her 100% free shot percentage, she scored seven points and had three rebounds, three blocks and a steal.

Kayla played the full 40 minutes and quietly made her presence felt, as usual. She was the top scorer with 16 points, and had three rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.

Nneka had a double-double (14 points and 11 rebounds). She got a lot of defensive attention again, as she did from Duke – eight of her points were on free throws, which she made at a rate of 80%.

Jayne had her second double-double of the week (10 points and the game-high 14 rebounds), three assists and three blocks.

Ros found her shot against Tennessee again and hit two three-pointers and a layup in less than two minutes towards the end of the first half. That extended Stanford's lead to 12 points, and Tennessee never really recovered.

Here are the game reports: