Stanford Gives Tennessee Unforgettable 'Butt-Kickin'

STANFORD, Calif. – A rare thing happened Saturday afternoon.

Stanford was better than Tennessee.

Not better on this day. Not luckier. Not the beneficiary of well-timed break or two.

The Cardinal are a better team that the Lady Vols and that hasn't been the case very often in a rivalry that goes back more than 20 years.

Tennessee coach Pat Summit couldn't nor wouldn't argue with that, not after the second-ranked Cardinal defeated No. 3 Tennessee 67-52 at Maples Pavilion Saturday afternoon.

"Stanford was by far the best team on the floor today," Summitt said. "They look like a Final Four team. They gave us a blueprint, we've just got to use it."

"You saw a butt-kickin' today. Don't forget it. I won't."
The theory in operation for most of the season so far, the one in which Connecticut and Stanford are the top two teams in the nation and everybody else is playing for a different prize, is as valid as ever now.

Stanford made a nationally-televised statement against the Vols that the Cardinal belong in any national title conversation that includes the Huskies.

Tennessee (9-1) will have to settle for being the best of the rest.

Stanford defended its way to the most decisive win in this series since an 18-point win by the Cardinal on Dec. 18, 1995. It was the least amount of points the Lady Vols have ever scored in the series.

The Cardinal (9-0) are now 2-0 in their "huge" stretch – beating both No. 7 Duke and the Lady Vols by double-digits. All that's left now is Wednesday's clash in Hartford with top-ranked Connecticut.

"This really kind of lets you know where you are at," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "I know our team. They are not going to be complacent. Is this a great win for our program? Yes. Is this is a great win for these women, all the players and the coaches who put a lot of time in it? Yes. They are a terrific team. I think we can play better and we're going to have to where we are going next week.

"But that doesn't take away from the satisfaction of playing well today."

Stanford outrebounded Tennessee 44-34 and held down turnovers (12), the first two things on the Cardinal to-do list not just this time, but every time these two teams match up.

Stanford ran out to a double-digit lead at the half, grew the advantage to 18 points in the second half and withstood a Tennessee charge in which the Vols closed the gap to 11 points.

"We tried to continue attacking," said Stanford senior center Jayne Appel. "I was telling people on the floor, 'just keep attacking.' I was always taught that teams that lose are teams that play to lose and not to win."

Kayla Pedersen led four Stanford scorers with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists in a full 40 minutes. Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Appel finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Appel was sporting a visible scratch over her left eye after battling with 6-foot-6 center Kelley Cain the entire game.

Cain ended up with four fouls and six points.

"I felt like a lineman out there," Appel said. "I was told to meet her at the free-throw line every time. It was very physical. I think tomorrow will be a recovery day for both of us."

Tennessee was led by guard Angie Bjorklund with 15 points, but she was 5-of-16 from the field. Sophomore forward Glory Johnson finished with 13 points, seven of those from the free-throw line.

The Lady Vols could never really get things going offensively, a function of Stanford's stellar perimeter defense and a slow start out the gate. The Cardinal handled Tennessee's defensive pressure with poise.

After hitting their first three shots, the Vols missed seven in a row. Meanwhile, Stanford got the triangle offense in gear.

After falling behind 11-4, Stanford closed the half with a 26-7 scoring stretch that included a key spate of eight straight points by fifth-year senior guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude.

The Cardinal were up 60-42 with 4:45 to go on a 15-foot jumper by Pedersen, but the Vols pulled to within 60-49 with a 7-0 burst. The Cardinal ended that rally with an offensive rebound and score by Ogwumike with 2:27 remaining on the clock.

Stanford players said they felt very well prepared for the game by the scout done by assistant coach Kate Paye.

"Every game we study our scouting reports," Appel said. "Maybe it's a trademark of Stanford kids, but we learn every detail of what the other teams do, what each players tendencies are, their plays, situations ... give all the credit to our coaches, because I feel like we are the most prepared team."

Tennessee will need to regroup from its first loss of the season, the degree of difficulty on this day much higher than in previous games, even against the likes of Baylor, Rutgers, Virginia and Texas, teams whose spots in the No. 2 tier look more obvious than ever.

Summitt was not happy that her team collected four assists for the entire game.

"That may be an all-time record for any Lady Vol basketball team," Summitt said. "The ball got stuck in players' hands. We played by ourselves a big part of the night."

She was not happy with her team's shot selection. She said she could count the shots she liked "on one hand and have some fingers left over." Shooting 21 percent in the first half is no way to win a tough game on the road.

She was not happy with her team's "investment" in this game.

"This team's got to make a decision here real soon," Summitt said. "We need to fully commit to getting to San Antonio (the women's Final Four) because right now we are way away, miles away and we could be years away."

Johnson said her team went away from its gameplan.

"We knew our guards and our posts were more athletic, and we didn't sprint the floor like we should," Johnson said. "Knowing that we should have ran on them and we didn't ... their shooting percent was a lot better than ours. We need to get in the gym."

For what's it is worth, Summitt said she'll be watching Wednesday's Stanford-Connecticut showdown with great interest.

"It's going to be great. I'm going to pop some popcorn and watch," Summitt said.

No one had enough guts to ask her whom she would be rooting for.