Tennessee Lady Vols end losing streak at Stanford with 83-71 victory

Dan Fleser
Knoxville
Tennessee's Jaime Nared, shown dribbling between two defenders against Texas earlier this month, scored 28 points to lead the Lady Vols to an 83-71 victory at Stanford Thursday night

Tennessee emerged from a dicey fourth quarter Thursday night with some long-awaited holiday cheer.

A 17-point lead shrank to six inside the final four minutes before the Lady Vols steadied themselves for an 83-71 women's basketball victory over Stanford. The result ended a five-game losing streak at the Cardinal's Maples Pavilion. It was UT's first victory there since 2005. 

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After the victory, the players scattered for the Christmas break with a gift in hand.

"We're back on social media for the break, so we're happy about that," UT's Jaime Nared said during a postgame interview on the Lady Vols radio network. "I mean when you win, you get some things."

Nared provided plenty to tweet about. She led No. 7 Tennessee (12-0) with a season-high 28 points. She also had career-high seven steals and five assists. The senior forward had a key steal and block inside the final two minutes.

More:How do the Lady Vols end losing streak at Stanford?

The senior forward, who played all 40 minutes, also hit all eight of her free throw attempts in the final quarter and was 13 for 14 overall from the free throw line.

"She was the catalyst of our team," UT coach Holly Warlick said. "We fed off her energy on both ends of the floor." 

Along with Nared, three other Lady Vols scored in doubles figures. Evina Westbrook had a season-high 17 points, scoring in double figures for the third consecutive game. Fellow freshman Anastasia Hayes had 12 points and Mercedes Russell scored 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds.

More:Lady Vols' Evina Westbrook has Hoop dreams grounded in a real place

Brittany McPhee, who had missed nine consecutive games with a foot injury, returned to score 27 points for No. 24 Stanford (6-6). But no other Cardinal had more than nine points. 

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Tennessee is 12-0 for the fifth time in program history and the first time during coach Holly Warlick's tenure. With five first-year players, Warlick, who's in her sixth season as head coach, conceded that she didn't expect UT to be undefeated at this juncture. She's being won over, though, by the team's resolve.

"I love our resilience," Warlick said. "I love how hard we play.

"As the season went on, I'm thinking this team can be really special and they are. They're just very, very persistent. They have a will to win."

 Nared said she didn't know what to expect but has been pleased with the Lady Vols' competitiveness.

More:Tennessee Lady Vols score big on 3-pointers in win over Long Beach State

"I think this team continues to show our toughness every single game," she said. "When things don't go our way, we just continue to find ways to battle back."  

Trending

Two season-long trends continued in the Lady Vols' favor on Thursday. Their 23-14 lead after the first quarter increased their scoring margin in the first 10 minutes to plus-127 for the season.

The Lady Vols also outscored Stanford at the free throw line, 31-11. Tennessee, which shot 31 for 36 overall and 19 for 20 inside the final 2:15, has outscored the opposition at the free throw line 240-101.

On the other hand, UT was outrebounded for the first time this season. Stanford's 48-35 advantage translated into a 17-3 edge in second-chance points.

Nared referenced the rebounding in saying, "We know there's some things that we need to clean up on our game. But I just like the way we compete. We aren't perfect in games. Our toughness that we relied on tonight brought us through."

Up Next

After Christmas break, Tennessee will prepare for the SEC season rather than play a non-conference warm-up game.

UT will open conference play at Kentucky at noon on Dec. 31. The game will be played at Rupp Arena.

Tennessee's next home game will be Jan. 4 against Auburn.

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