Lady Vols Hold Off Stanford 65-62 in Rivalry Renewal

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Talaysia Cooper scored a go-ahead layup with 6 seconds left on the way to 19 points and a career-high 10 steals as Tennessee forced 30 turnovers, and the 19th-ranked Lady Vols beat Stanford 65-62 on Wednesday night in the first matchup between the storied national power programs in nearly three years.

Stanford’s Lara Somfai missed two free throws with 13 seconds left but Nunu Agara rebounded the second and scored the putback to tie the game at 62, giving Tennessee (6-2) another chance with 12.1 seconds left. Agara missed a driving layup with 2 seconds to go.

Agara’s 3-pointer with 1:13 remaining pulled Stanford within 62-60 and she finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds as Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer watched her former team from the stands.

Freshman Hailee Swain scored five straight points during a decisive third-quarter stretch for Stanford and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, but the Cardinal (8-2) couldn’t take care of the ball in crucial moments.

Tennessee senior Janiah Barker came in averaging a team-high 16.6 points and finished with 10 on 3-for-10 shooting.

Mia Pauldo came off the bench to contribute 14 points as the Lady Vols earned a hard-fought win coming off a 99-77 loss at third-ranked UCLA on Saturday in which they allowed the Bruins to shoot 58.5% from the floor and 59% from 3-point range.

The Cardinal are showing they have more depth and versatility in coach Kate Paye’s second season since taking the reigns from VanDerveer just in time for conference realignment and a move to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Stanford had its longest winning streak in the rivalry snapped at four — and 10 of its 14 wins in the series came at home in Maples Pavilion, including 77-70 in the previous meeting 77-70 on Dec. 18, 2022.

Up next

Tennessee will enjoy an extended break before hosting Winthrop on Dec. 14, while Stanford breaks for finals before hosting rival California on Dec. 14.

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