UT has controlled the recent matchups, amazingly having taken the last eight.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee has a habit of knocking unbeaten Stanford into the loss column.
The second-ranked Cardinal (8-0) will look to avoid its ninth straight defeat to the ninth-ranked Lady Vols (7-2) when it continues a five-game road trip on Tuesday.
In the past three seasons, Stanford has entered its regular season matchup with Tennessee undefeated only to suffer its first loss. The last time the Cardinal started the season 8-0, it fell 68-62 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Dec. 16, 2001.
Stanford also had its 5-0 and 6-0 starts spoiled in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and has lost eight straight against Tennessee since an 82-65 victory at Knoxville on Dec. 15, 1996 - their lone win in eight games on the Lady Vols' home court.
Stanford trails the all-time series 16-4, including a 62-60 loss in the regional finals of the NCAA tournament last season as Tennessee reached the championship game before losing to Connecticut. Two of the Cardinal's wins against the Lady Vols came on the way to championships in 1990 and 1992.
Stanford, one of three unbeaten teams in the rankings along with No. 1 Louisiana State and No. 18 Iowa, is coming off a 71-55 win at Missouri on Saturday.
Freshman guard Candice Wiggins had 12 points and five rebounds and Brooke Smith led the Cardinal with 16 points. Kelley Suminski added 13 points and hit three 3-pointers as Stanford finished 7-for-16 from the perimeter.
The Cardinal has only faced one ranked team this season, beating No. 12 Texas Tech 61-58 on Nov. 28. It averages 75 points per game while holding opponents to 49.1 points a contest.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt spent some time recruiting Wiggins, a freshman standout who paces the Cardinal with 16.5 points and has a team-high 25 steals.
"I love her game," Summitt said. "She can handle, she can shoot, she is a playmaker, she creates for everyone else and makes everyone else alert and better on the floor."
Despite Tennessee's dominance, Summitt will not take Stanford lightly.
"It is going to be another big challenge," she said. "They are good on the defensive end, and we are concerned their inside game is better. They have so many three-point weapons, and they are another team that stretches you and forces you to defend beyond the arc."
Tennessee has emerging talent in its own backcourt. Freshman point guard Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers in her collegiate debut and help the Lady Vols to an 82-55 win over Texas Christian at home on Sunday.
Senior forward Shyra Ely scored 23 points and Alexis Hornbuckle, the starting point guard, added 15 for the Lady Vols who have won three straight since a 59-57 loss to third-ranked Duke on Dec. 2 at home.
Wiley-Gatewood and Hornbuckle, another freshman, were put in charge of Tennessee's offense in place of Loree Moore, who is recovering from a tonsillectomy. Hornbuckle also had six assists and five steals while Wiley-Gatewood finished with nine points, four assists and four steals.
Tennessee is averaging 76.7 points in its last three games, after managing just 61.8 in its first six - which included a 74-59 loss at No. 4 Texas on Nov. 25.
The Lady Vols are 243-14 all-time at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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