Women’s basketball loses nail biter to longtime rival Tennessee
Stanford hosted the No. 19 Tennessee Lady Vols on Dec. 3, battling down to the final possession before ultimately falling 65-62. Junior forward Nunu Agara and freshman guard Hailee Swain led the Cardinal in scoring with 14 points each, in addition to 11 and seven rebounds, respectively.
The longstanding rivalry between these two programs added fuel to the tightly contested matchup. Though built under the leadership of Tara VanDerveer and Pat Summitt, two of the winningest coaches in the sport, this rivalry is just as meaningful with new players on the floor and new coaches on the sideline.
“This is a storied rivalry and relationship. I got a chance to talk to [Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell] about that. Obviously it was started by Pat and Tara way back when, so it was a great early season experience for a team… Pat and Tara are part of women’s college basketball history and those two really set the standard,” said head coach Kate Paye.
From tipoff, the first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game: a high energy, gritty, defensive battle. The Cardinal and Lady Vols went back and forth on the first several positions, neither team able to find the bottom of the net. The first basket for either team was a smooth pull-up jumpshot from junior guard Courtney Ogden off an assist from Swain. Both teams continued to struggle in their shooting, more frequently opting to drive to the rim rather than take outside shots.
Another obstacle for Stanford was that Tennessee, known for its unconventional full lineup substitutions, began to pressure full court. Breaking the press was a struggle at times, resulting in several turnovers by the Cardinal — a trend that persisted for much of the game. Nonetheless, the quarter ended in favor of Stanford, with Swain swishing an elbow jumpshot to put the lead at 16-14.
The second quarter started with a similar back-and-forth pace as the first. Consecutive steals and turnovers left both teams running the length of the court, the first stop coming when Agara posted up and drew a foul. The last few minutes before halftime is when shots from deep began to fall for both teams. Swain hit a corner three, followed by a quick response from Tennessee’s Zee Spearman. The quarter ended on a three-pointer from Janiah Barker, who recently transferred from UCLA to Tennessee, leaving Stanford down 24-28 at the half.
The Lady Vols appeared to carry the momentum of Barker’s shot into the second half, building a nine point lead — the largest lead the game would see. Junior guard Chloe Clardy, however, quickly put a damper on Tennessee’s 11-point run with two consecutive three-pointers at the top of the key. Clardy’s offensive outburst was essential for keeping Stanford in the game.
“I think as a team, we’ve been down multiple times this year and maybe that’s something that in the past we haven’t come back from,” Clardy said. “I think just sticking together, having those tight huddles, being with each other and just continuing to play as a team is how we lead ourselves.”
Freshman forward Lara Somfai seemed to share Clardy’s mentality, quickly getting a basket out of a Tennessee timeout. Clardy and Somfai fueled an 11-point Cardinal run, giving Stanford a 47-44 lead going into the final quarter.
Swain punctuated the start of the fourth quarter with a traditional three-point play as she was fouled on a made layup. Continuing the moment of Swain and the Cardinal’s third quarter run, Somfai made her next basket while drawing the foul, bringing all of Maples Pavilion to its feet. Despite all the momentum being with the Cardinal, the Lady Vols managed to respond with a six-point run to take back a slim lead.
Victory seemed to be slipping out of grasp for the Cardinal, with Tennessee’s lead growing to five points as Ogden fouled out of the game with just over two minutes left in the game. Agara provided a big three-pointer, however, to make it a one-possession game with just over a minute remaining. Stanford continued to fight, with Somfai battling for a rebound and ultimately drawing a foul. With Tennessee in the bonus, Somfai found herself at the free throw line with a chance to tie the game. Though Somfai missed both free throws, Agara once again came to the rescue with an offensive rebound and putback, tying the game at 62-62 with 11 seconds left.
On the next possession, Talaysia Cooper, who recorded a game-high 19 points and 10 steals, made a quick layup to give Tennessee the lead, leaving only six seconds for the Cardinal offense. The Cardinal, coming out of a timeout, got the ball back into Agara’s hands. Guarded closely by two Lady Vols, she forced up a tough look which rimmed in and out of the basket. In an attempt to grab the rebound, Somfai fouled, putting Tennessee at the line. After Tennessee split the free throws, Stanford called its final timeout with 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Down 65-62, Clardy heaved the ball up from the three-point line. She missed the shot to the left, giving Tennessee a hard-fought win on the road.
Though an ultimately disappointing end, the fact that the Cardinal tied their program record in turnovers (totalling 30) and still remained competitive with a top-25 ranked team speaks to their resilience.
“I know we’re gonna play hard till the end,” Clardy said. “We’ve done it multiple times this season. I think we’re just continuing to learn from each other and building that chemistry.”
Agara doubled down on that sentiment.
“What I got from our team is that we’ll fight to the end, and I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. I think that we fight hard and we’re sisters at the end of the day,” Agara said.
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