Stanford and Tennessee always seem to write the same story, dramatic right down to the agonizing ending for the Cardinal.
If it isn't Tasha Butts scoring with 1.7 seconds left to send the Lady Vols to the Final Four in March 2004, it's Shanna Zolman burying a running, 30-footer at the buzzer to beat the Cardinal last December.
Sunday, when second-ranked Tennessee visits Maples Pavilion, No. 12 Stanford will try once again to revise the script. The Cardinal has lost nine in a row to the Lady Vols, including six that have gone down to the wire.
``It's pretty obvious that Tennessee is the date that's circled on our calendar,'' Stanford star Candice Wiggins said Tuesday. ``We've just got to do it. You either prepare to win or you prepare to lose. I don't think we've prepared to lose in the past, but I think it's all mental, your mindset, going in there knowing that you can beat this team.''
Tennessee (5-0) is richly talented, maybe more so than last season. Candace Parker, who won the McDonald's All-America dunk contest against male counterparts two seasons ago, is healthy again after redshirting to recover from knee surgery. The 6-foot-3 small forward leads the Lady Vols in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (8.8).
Zolman is Tennessee's top perimeter threat and second-leading scorer. The 5-10 senior guard averages 14.6 points and two three-pointers per game.
And, of course, Pat Summitt is still diagraming the X's and O's. She has more victories (887, with only 172 losses) than anyone in the history of women's or men's college basketball.
``We're excited about the opportunity to play them,'' Stanford center Brooke Smith said. ``They're a really great team and have done really well this year. They're incredibly deep and incredibly talented, so it's a really good challenge. It will give us an idea of where we are.''
Stanford (3-1) is gradually gaining momentum after replacing five seniors from the core of last season's team. The Cardinal won Sunday at then-No. 14 Texas Tech 66-63 and will aim for a third consecutive victory Thursday at Pacific.
``We're just getting better and better,'' Wiggins said. ``Texas Tech was huge for us. It wasn't necessarily our best game, but to be able to play on the road and not play your best game and win says a lot about your team.''
A victory Sunday would say even more. The Tennessee series has become so one-sided that Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer called it ``masochistic'' after the loss last season.
Stanford last beat Tennessee 82-65 in December 1996 at Thompson-Boling Arena. That Cardinal team featured Kate Starbird and Jamila Wideman and was the last from Stanford to reach the Final Four.
Last season at Tennessee, it looked as if the Cardinal might finally beat the Lady Vols again. Stanford overcame an 11-point deficit with 6:51 left and tied the score 67-67 on Kelley Suminski's three-pointer with 5.6 seconds to go.
But then Zolman quickly drove downcourt and, as she said that night, ``just let it fly.''
When her desperation three-pointer went in, the Cardinal had to deal with one more crushing defeat.
``It was tough,'' Wiggins said Tuesday. ``It was hard because we worked so hard, and we were right there. When you're so close, those are the hard losses.
``It's going to be important for everyone to realize that it does come down to one box out or one shot. It's just going to be an intense game, but luckily it will be in the comfort of our own home.''
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