Saturday, December 21, 2013

#6 Stanford 76, # 3 Tennessee 70

STANFORD, CA -- Bashaara Graves tried to keep Chiney Ogwumike off the boards on both ends of the court any way she could to no avail.

For a Tennessee team so well accustomed to owning the rebounding advantage against opponents, Ogwumike's dominance on the glass made all the difference in the third-ranked Lady Vols' 76-70 loss to sixth-ranked Stanford on Saturday for Tennessee's first defeat.

Ogwumike had 32 points, a season-best 20 rebounds -- 11 on the offensive end -- and three blocks as Stanford held off a late Tennessee rally.

"Everything I tried to do, I tried to box her out, it just didn't work," Graves said. "There's no way she should have had that many offensive rebounds."

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer had one simple message for her players before tipoff that rung true: "If we rebound, we win."

Amber Orrange scored on a left-handed layin and was fouled with 25.8 seconds left and converted the free throw, helping seal the win.

Andraya Carter's baseline 3-pointer with 1:02 remaining cut the Cardinal's lead to 70-68 but Stanford kept possession with 36 seconds to go on a jump ball in a big break, and Orrange came through.

Stanford (10-1) has its first three-game winning streak in the rivalry between perennial national powers.

"It's going to be a great teaching tape for us when we get back from break," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said.

Ariel Massengale scored 17 points and Meighan Simmons 15 to lead the Lady Vols (10-1), who were hurt 35.8 percent shooting.

Tennessee has lost its last four matchups at Maples Pavilion since its last win on Stanford's home floor on Dec. 4, 2005. The Lady Vols have lost 13 straight road games against Top 10 teams dating back to 2008.

The Cardinal held a 24-19 rebounding advantage in the first half and wound up with a 43-40 edge on the boards -- the first time all season Tennessee has lost in rebounding. The Lady Vols had a 52.1 to 36.3 mismatch on the boards entering the game.

"We're a very strong rebounding team but we can't allow somebody to dominate on the boards like we did Chiney," Warlick said.

While Ogwumike did her part with a fourth 30-point game of the season, she had plenty of support on both ends with teammates crashing the boards and hustling for loose balls -- just the kind of balance and energy VanDerveer has been calling for from her young team.

"We didn't bring that Tennessee pressure we know we're capable of playing," Massengale said. "We knew we would have to disrupt them on the offensive end for us to win this game. We did that in spurts but not for 40 minutes."

Ogwumike had 18 points and 11 rebounds by halftime and shot 15 for 25 overall for outsized Stanford, which needed a big second half to hold on for its ninth straight victory.

"I have a great support system," she said. "It's just being aggressive. It's those little things."

After Graves scored to cut the Cardinal's lead to 38-33 with 18:10 remaining, Orrange and Thompson hit consecutive 3-pointers for Stanford.

But Massengale then scored five straight points to keep Tennessee close.

Ogwumike drove the lane for easy layins, converted athletic putbacks or plain out-jumped Tennessee to catch high lob passes into the paint before pivoting around to score.

"This game really boiled down to we had Chiney," VanDerveer said. "Chiney had a monster game."

The Cardinal, who haven't lost since a 76-57 defeat at No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 11, have won five of the last eighth meetings and four of five.

Tennessee, facing just its second ranked team of the season, missed a chance for its first win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 10 Georgia in the Lady Vols' SEC home opener last Jan. 6.

Stanford snapped Tennessee's five-game winning streak here last Nov. 20, 2012, 97-80 loss for the fifth-most points allowed in program history.

Tennessee began the game 6 for 23 and never recovered despite making things interesting down the stretch with Simmons taking charge.

"I thought we got good looks," Warlick said. "You've got to make free throws, layups and free throws. If you don't make those you're not going to win games. At crucial times we didn't make free throws, and at crucial times we gave up the 3-point shot. Little things for us got magnified today."

After Tennessee jumped to a quick 4-0 lead, Stanford then scored 13 unanswered points for a 13-4 lead that forced a Lady Vols timeout at the 14:54 mark of the opening half. Tennessee missed seven straight shots over a nearly 3 1/2-minute stretch.

"We don't give up," Warlick said. "We could have really folded when we got down by 12. For that I'm extremely proud of them."

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