Renewing a former long-standing rivalry, the Stanford women’s basketball team hosted No. 19–ranked Tennessee but lost 65-62 on Dec. 4.
Analysts could cite numerous reasons for the loss.
Chief among them were Stanford’s season-worst 30
turnovers, compared with 16 by the Vols.
Then there was Tennessee’s stifling, physical defense
and its full-court pressure on Stanford’s inbound plays. Just getting the ball
past the center-court line took great effort.
Some in the crowd of nearly 5,000 might also point to
the officiating, which they might say didn’t help Stanford.
With a starting lineup of senior guard Talana Lepolo,
junior forwards Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden along with two freshmen, forward
Lara Somfai and guard Hailee Swain, Stanford enjoyed a 16-14 lead after the
first quarter. Then, Tennessee outscored the Cardinal in the next three
quarters.
Still, it was a back-and-forth game with six ties and
five lead changes.
Although Stanford trailed 62-57 with just over three
minutes to go in the fourth quarter, it still had hope.
With just under a minute to go, Nunu scored a
3-pointer to make the score 62-60 in Tennessee’s favor.
Lara could have tied the game but missed two free
throws. Instead, Nunu rebounded and scored to secure the tie with just over 12
seconds left.
Tennessee scored again with 6.7 seconds left, giving
Stanford the ball. But when Lara committed her fourth foul with 5 seconds left,
Tennessee made a free throw for one more point. Game over.
Both Nunu and Hailee scored 14 points to lead the
team. Nunu also had 11 rebounds for a double-double. Junior guard Chloe Clardy
added 12 points while Lara had 10.
Courtney was limited by fouls and fouled out with just
over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s coach employed a platoon-style substitution
strategy, frequently changing all five players.
Stanford had 14 available players. Sophomore center
Kennedy Umeh, who had a sling on her right arm, was unavailable.
The crowd included some Tennessee fans, while Stanford
students packed the lower north section.
Among those students was the women’s gymnastic team,
the reigning 2024 ACC champion, which led Conga on the Court after the first
quarter.
A camera panning the stands during the second quarter
showed new football coach Tavita Pritchard with his family.
Shortly thereafter, the football team paraded onto the
court showing off the Axe trophy, which it had regained by recently defeating Cal
in the 128th Big Game.
The crowd had a chance to cheer the 2025 ACC champion
women’s volleyball team during the third quarter.
And then there was a quick glimpse of SWBB great Jayne
Appel-Marinelli, ’10, with her family during the fourth quarter.
The team has a break from competition to focus on
academics with classes ending Dec. 5 and finals through Dec. 12.
Competition resumes at 1 p.m. Dec. 14 when Cal visits,
followed by Washington at 7 p.m. Dec. 19. Both games will be streamed on ACCNX.
The team will play Oregon at 1 p.m. Dec. 21 in San Francisco’s Chase Center.
ESPN will televise this game.
