|
Stanford 73, UT 60
KNOXVILLE,
Tenn. -- Taking on the No. 1 team in the nation, just days after
falling at the No. 3 team, the Lady Vols battled, but fell to
undefeated Stanford, 73-60 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday before
13,016.
Stanford moved to 11-0 overall with a powerful post
presence and strong defense limiting the Lady Vols to just 31.9 percent
from the floor. Tennessee made just 4-of-18 shots from 3-point range.
Tennessee
(7-3) was led by freshman Bashaara Graves, who tallied 15. Graves has
scored in double-figures in nine of her 10 college games. She also
grabbed 12 rebounds for the fourth double-double of her career. Meighan
Simmons (12), Cierra Burdick (11) and Ariel Massengale (11) also scored
in double-figures.
The Lady Vols fell at third-ranked Baylor
on Tuesday night, 76-53, as their seven-game win streak came to end.
Tennessee is 7-3 overall for the second year in a row. Last season, UT
finished 27-9 and advanced to the Elite Eight.
Chiney Ogwumike
posted a double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds. She had
double-figures in both categories before halftime.
Her
rebounds are the most by an opponent ever at Thompson-Boling Arena. The
record of 18 was held by JoKeirra Sneed of Louisiana Tech set in 2007.
Ogwumike came up two boards short of the record for most rebounds
against the Lady Vols. Back on March 3, 1978 Linda Street grabbed 21
boards for Memphis State.
Four other Cardinal players scored
in double-figures: Amber Orrange (14 along with six assists), Tony
Kokenis (11), Bonnie Samuelson (11) and Joslyn Tinkle (10).
Stanford outscored UT in the paint, 36-18, as the Cardinal shot 47.5 from the floor.
Down
by as many as 19 with 15 minutes left, Massengale and Simmons converted
back-to-back 3-pointers to bring UT within 10 at 65-55 with 2:27 left.
But Stanford closed the game making four free throws in the final 41
seconds to seal the win.
Stanford pounded the ball inside to
start the second half and used an 11-2 run to expanded its lead to
44-25 on a Mikaela Ruef layup with 15 minutes left in the game.
The
Lady Vols continued to claw back. Burdick's driving layup with 10
minutes left in the second half brought UT within 10 at 50-40.
The
margin was sliced to single-digits for the first time since the 9:18
mark of the first half on a Burdick free throw with 8:21 left, making
it 52-43. Stanford quickly answered with the next three buckets by
Ogwumike, Kokenis and Tinkle to take a 58-43 advantage with 6:40 left.
Simmons
finally broke UT's drought from beyond the arc with the Lady Vols'
first 3-pointer -- after they missed the first 12 -- with 6:26 left.
The Cardinal scored seven of the next nine points to go up 65-49 with 3:34.
The
Cardinal built a 33-21 lead at halftime thanks to a double-double by
Ogwumike (13 points, 12 rebounds) in the first 20 minutes. Tennessee
did not make a 3-pointer in the half, missing all 10 trifecta attempts.
UT shot 10-of-39 (26 percent) from the floor against Stanford's
towering roster.
Stanford pounded the ball in the post early
on to take a 21-10 lead with 9:22 left in the first half. Stanford
scored 10 of first 21 points in the paint as Ogwumike piled up nine
points and 10 rebounds in the game's first 10 minutes.
Ruef finished an 8-0 for the Cardinal as it grabbed its first double-figure lead at 11.
The
Lady Vols struggled to shoot the ball early on missing 23 of their
first 31 shots and their first eight 3-point attempts. Stanford led
25-12 before Graves converted a 3-point play with give minutes left in
the half.
UT has now lost five straight to No. 1 teams dating
to its last win over a top-ranked team in 2005. The Lady Vols' last win
over a No. 1 team came on March 6, 2005 as UT knocked off LSU, 67-65 in
the SEC Championship game in Greenville, S.C.
Tennessee has
also lost six consecutive home games against No. 1 teams dating to a
77-72 win over top-ranked Louisiana Tech on Jan. 22, 1996. Prior to
last year's loss to No. 1 Baylor at home, UT had not played a No. 1
team in Knoxville since 2007 (losing to Duke 74-70).
|
