Brittany celebrated her return from injury rehab by scoring 27 points in 28 minutes of playing time, including a number of crowd-pleasing drives. Nevertheless, despite solid defense, Stanford was unable to match the accurate shooting of the Tennessee squad, especially in the first half when the Volunteers hit 57% of their shots.
In the pre-game talk, Tempe said they expected a zone defense, and the way to beat it was to hit threes. Unfortunately the threes didn't drop; Stanford hit only two of 15 tries, so the zone didn't open up. And the free-throw woes continued — the team hitting 11-22 and leaving points on the table.
Stanford did out-rebound Tennessee, 48-35, which is the first time anyone has out-rebounded the Vols this season. And the Stanford defense did hold 6'6" Mercedes Russell to eleven points, well below her average.
As a result, in the final quarter Stanford came within six, at 62-68. But in the final minutes Tennessee hit 16-of-16 free throws and the Cardinal were unable to find even an opening for a three-point shot.
Brittany opened the game with a driving layup and ended with 27 points (one short of her career high) and two steals.
Marta had nine points, and nine assists (with only one turnover), and a steal.
Maya started for the first time in her career. She out-jumped Mercedes Russell in the opening tip-off and gave the Cardinal the first possession. She scored eight points, plus five rebounds and one emphatic block.
Nadia contributed 21 minutes of strong defense and offense, mostly in the second half, and scored eight points and seven rebounds.
Alanna played 24 minutes, mostly in the first half, scoring six points, seven rebounds, and five blocks.
Kaylee scored four points, with seven rebounds and a block.
Here are game reports and commentary:
- Nared scores 28 points, No. 17 Lady Vols beat Stanford, the Associated Press game recap by Rick Eymer
- Stanford women's basketball can't overcome Tennessee in top-20 clash, the Pac-12 game recap video
- Lady Vols outlast #18 Stanford, 83-71, the Tennessee Athletics game recap
- Tennessee Lady Vols end losing streak at Stanford with 83-71 victory by Dan Fleser (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
- Stanford’s McPhee enjoys terrific return, but Tennessee prevails by Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Tennessee Lady Vols 12-0 after beating No. 18 Stanford: 3 Takeaways by Caleb Calhoun (All for Tennessee)
- WBB: Tennessee 83 Stanford 71 from the CARDboard
The video press conference with Tara and Brittany (begins at 16:30),
And the game highlights video.
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