On Sunday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Tennessee 77-70 on The Farm. Cameron Brink led the way for the Cardinal with 21 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 blocks while Haley Jones and Hannah Jump each had 19 points. Jordan Horston was the top performer for the Lady Volunteers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Stanford improves to 11-1 overall while Tennessee falls to 7-6.
“I’m glad the game was four quarters,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “I thought our team really kept with things really well, stepped up big. I thought Cam’s shot going into the fourth quarter was a big momentum. I thought the crowd was into it and excited and I thought gave us a lot of good energy. It’s really exciting. I mean, Cam was just unstoppable in there and we just needed to keep getting the ball to her. They put a lot of different bodies on her.
“Hannah Jump and Haley really led the way. Hannah played 40 minutes, didn’t even look tired. She could go out and run another 40 minute marathon here. She was knocking down shots, they were running really nice plays for Hannah and Cam. I thought Haley did a really nice job. She played the 1 for us a little bit today. Different people came in, I thought Brooke Demetre was a real big key to our team success, making the passes in there and they only gave her, how many assists did give her? Two assists, but I thought she had more. Agnes came in and it really helped us defensively. We had a lot of contribution from a lot of different people. It’s a great win. We’re still way behind Tennessee in terms of number of wins, but this is the first time we’ve won four in a row and we’re very excited.”
The game was tight early on as Stanford led 11-10 with 5:21 to go in the 1st quarter. Jump was up to 5 points having made a 3-pointer while also knocking down a pair of free throws. Stanford would maintain their lead at the end of the quarter, leading 20-17 as Jump was up to 7 points as was Brink. Both players were in a nice rhythm for the Cardinal. As for Tennessee, Sara Puckett and Jordan Horston each had 6 points. They were doing their part for the Lady Vols.
With 5:23 to go in the 2nd quarter, it was a 30-26 lead for Stanford after a bucket inside from Haley Jones. She was starting to get rolling as well. To Tennessee’s credit, they found a way to finish the quarter on a 9-5 run to make it a 35-35 game at halftime as Puckett (11 points) and Horston (12 points) were playing really strong. As for Stanford, Jump was their leading scorer at halftime with 11 points. She was feeling it.
With 4:58 to go in the 3rd quarter, it was a 46-44 lead for Tennessee. Stanford had 0 points in the last 2:49. Their offense had stalled and really needed to wake up.
Tennessee would lead 58-53 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but Stanford had a bit of momentum as Jump found Brink for a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer. That was a huge sequence as Stanford was looking for something to kickstart their heart. Turnovers had been a major story up to this point. Tennessee had 10 while Stanford had three.
“Yeah, I mean, that was huge,” Jump said of that final play of the quarter. “That was a big shot by Cam, like you said, it was a momentum kinda swing. Going into the fourth quarter we were fired up, we were ready to go, we wanted this game really bad. So yeah, it was a big shot.”
“I thought we were running it for Brooke,” Brink joked.
“I think we were,” Jump replied with a laugh. “But you were there.”
With 8:33 to go, it was a 58-57 game as Stanford now trailed by just one point. Brink had a nice bucket inside followed by a spin move to the cup by Jones that went down. Tennessee called for time.
Stanford then pulled ahead, leading 66-60 with 4:40 to go. Brink (18 points), Jump (16 points), and Jones (15 points) were leading the way for the Cardinal. Stanford was outscoring Tennessee 13-2 in the 4th quarter. Their defense was excellent.
“Well, I think that the confidence that Haley and Cam and Hannah Jump have, it’s contagious,” VanDerveer said. “And I thought Brooke did a nice job facilitating our offense. Making great passes into Cam, moving the ball, playing defense, coming up with loose balls. She had a real good, right in the beginning in the 4th quarter she had a real good poke away, forced a turnover, which they didn’t have very many turnovers. So she was instrumental in a lot of different ways.
“I thought this is a great game for somebody like Talana to recognize wow, this is NCAA competition. Let’s look at the players that they have: They have two first round draft picks with Jackson and Horston. Horston is a phenomenal player. Jackson, tremendous athlete. And they surround them with great shooters. Puckett, three for six from three. You had to guard, you had to be out on 33, you had to be out on 13, and they’re really, I think that they’re a really good team. They’re just, they’re finding themselves in the same way that we’re finding ourselves…They have top 25 talent and it’s just a matter and we knew we were going to get their A-game and we did.”
Over the next few minutes, Tennessee would do a good job to extend the game, but not a good enough job to actually pull ahead. Stanford had a couple of turnovers that were ill-advised, but a 3-pointer from Jump with 1:15 to go made it a 75-65 lead, extinguishing all hopes of a Tennessee victory. 77-70 would be the final score as Stanford escaped with the win.
“Hannah Jump has the as-green-as-it-gets light,” VanDerveer said when asked if she didn’t like Jump taking that three so early in the shot clock. “There were some other people taking shots I didn’t like. But not Hannah.”
“I worked really hard on my conditioning level,” Jump said of making a clutch three without ever being subbed out. “It’s something I kinda take pride in. I knew that I wanted to play a lot, so that was something I had to focus on. And I take end-of-practice reps a lot and I think I’m tired after practice, so getting those in every day is something that kinda helps me to hit those late game shots.”
For Tennessee, this is a disappointing loss in that they came up short handed. But, they played Stanford hard and played better for the first three quarters. This is definitely a game they can build upon as they head into SEC play.
“I’m pleased that our team fought and played hard,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said after the game. “Would love to have been able to close this one out, finish stronger in the fourth. But, you saw Stanford’s efficiency. Especially in that fourth quarter on the offensive end sharing the basketball and getting themselves to the free throw line. At the same time, I think they made some adjustments defensively and we just kept coming up empty.”
As for Stanford, a win is a win and Tennessee is still Tennessee. The game was closer than I thought it was going to be, but to their credit, Stanford found a way to win and do so without it being in question in the final moments. They really came alive in the 4th quarter, outscoring Tennessee 24-12, showing why they are the number two team in the nation.
“I think our team really stepped up,” VanDerveer said. “I think they showed great poise and great competitive drive down the stretch. It was awesome.”
Stanford also honored the 1992 national championship team at halftime. The current team got to spend time with them over the weekend, making for a very memorable event. VanDerveer felt like it really capped off what is always an important week for them, the week they face Tennessee.
“Yeah, last night our whole team had dinner with them,” VanDerveer said. “It was really fun. And I know they were really cheering because they really wanted us to win. This is historically, almost like a little bit of a bellwether game. How do you do against Tennessee kinda tells you how you can do the rest of the year. And I think should give our team a lot of confidence.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Tuesday against Creighton, who is ranked inside the top 20. That will tip-off at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area and Varsity Network radio.
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