It was only a matter of time. That was the consensus opinion of observers within the program and from the outside that one day DiJonai Carrington would put together all her impressive physical skill with the ability to use it effectively.

Unfortunately for Stanford's competition, that time has arrived and the Tennessee game was a bonfire announcing her arrival that was visible across the country. Carrington was playing well before the Cardinal headed to Rocky Top for a top-10 showdown, but in front of a packed crowd she scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Stanford to a rare win at its rival's gym.

"I know that I've had these tools in my bag, but I think I finally got the confidence to play free, and play my game, and not focus on making mistakes or outside noise," Carrington said. "And knowing that we have lost a lot of scoring, rebounding ... I think responding to that has been huge. Especially 'Nad' (Nadia Fingall) going down and knowing how much she brings to the team, whether it's statistically noticeable or not, she brings a lot to the team. I have to put them on my back and do what's needed for the team."

Fingall tore her ACL Jan. 4 against USC. Maya Dodson has been out with a foot injury since Dec. 29 and head coach Tara VanDerveer said it may be a couple weeks until the talented sophomore plays. Stanford also was without freshman Lexie Hull for six weeks and she's working back into full-game shape. She showed great potential starting the first three games, averaging 10 points and seven rebounds.

Carrington stepped up in their absence and is averaging 13.4 points a game and 7.3 rebounds.

She was always capable of making the occasional acrobatic play, but more often during her two years on The Farm her rhythm would be derailed by a bad shot or an out-of-control drive. She still tries plays that are a high-level of difficulty, VanDerveer said, but now it's within the flow of everything else she's doing.

"You'd get glimpses of it in practice when you're like, 'Damn, she's unstoppable. What can you do?'" said senior Alanna Smith.

Carrington's scoring prowess is welcome while the Cardinal play without Dodson, but equally important is her rebounding.

"She's rebounding the heck out of it," VanDerveer said. "She's working hard on both ends of the floor. She's aggressive, she's strong and she grabs the ball. She has a good nose for the ball going after it."

Carrington gravitates toward physical play. It's the same personality trait that led her to play youth football, and she times her leaps for rebounds like someone with experience high-pointing a football.

Her willingness to tussle with players is best experienced when she's using it against opponents, Smith said.

"You hate to playing against it but love having it on your team. In practice it was awful playing against (her)," Smith said. "No one likes playing against pressure and aggressive players. When she's on your team and in games she's using that against other teams, it's awesome. It's hard to stop. That also brings the rest of the team's energy and aggressiveness up, too."

But physicality is wasted if you don't play fundamental basketball. Carrington laughs as she talks about a development in her game.

""I've recently added boxing out to my arsenal," she said. "I did not box out before this year. So, I think that has been a big help. We do box out drills in every practice and I finally decided to put into play in the games. And it's been very effective. I should definitely keep listening to my coaches about boxing out."

Carrington's emergence has created a clear separation on the stat sheet between Stanford's top three scorers and the rest of the roster. Smith leads the team with 19.7 PPG and 7.6 rebounds. Kiana Williams scores 13.9 a game and dishes out five assists a game.

"We have had kind of a 'Big Three' but I think some of that has been because Maya (Dodson) is out," VanDerveer said. "Lexie (Hull) has been out. Things will smooth out a little bit more. It won't be just these three having to shoulder everything. When Maya comes back I think she can carry a bigger load for us, and I think Lexie will, too."

The Hulls and Dodson have the skill to be a leading scorer or rebounder in any given game. But the current top three are unquestionably the best overall players on the team. Smith is putting together a strong case to be a first-team All-American. Williams and Carrington could be first-team Pac-12 and the conference is one of, if not the, best in the country.

"We just want to win," Carrington said. "We love each other, our whole team loves each other, and we're willing to sacrifice our bodies for a play. I think that's huge that we want to make that necessary extra step ... in order to make one another look good."

Smith said: "We're like a one-two-three punch. We can shoot the three, we can drive from the three-point line, we can play inside. Where are you going to guard us? There is nowhere the three of us can't play."

Washington is the next opponent to try to figure it out. The Cardinal host the Huskies at 7 p.m. Friday night.