Dec. 18, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Gwen Jackson scored 16 points and Kara Lawson added 12 and No. 4 Tennessee built an early lead in a 71-56 victory over No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday.
The Lady Vols (8-1) led from the beginning and prevented the Cardinal (5-1) from making any significant runs to mount a comeback. Tennessee outrebounded Stanford 41-33 and forced 16 turnovers.
Ashley Robinson and freshman Shanna Zolman each scored 10 points for the Lady Vols, who have beaten Stanford six consecutive times. Robinson also had nine rebounds.
The Lady Vols led by 13 points at halftime and pushed the lead to 21 in the first five minutes of the second half. Loree Moore hit a 3 and Robinson had consecutive rebound baskets in a 7-0 run that made it 52-31 with 14:53 left.
Tennessee played most of the second half without Lawson and Jackson, the lone seniors. But Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt put Lawson back in after the Cardinal whittled the lead to 15 with 6:36 to go. Jackson came back two minutes later as Tennessee went back ahead by 19.
Stanford kept the game close at times with 3-point shooting. Sebnem Kimyacioglu was 4-of-10 as the Cardinal shot 8-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Kimyacioglu led the Cardinal with 18 points while Azella Perryman and Kelley Suminski each had 14.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said her team was disappointed about the loss but believes it will help prepare the players for the rest of the season. The Cardinal have no seniors, and all five starters are sophomores.
"This is a tough place to play. This is a young team. I think it will only help us," she said. "We've had some really good teams get beat (by Tennessee) more than this."
Stanford cut the lead down to a basket twice in the first half but couldn't sustain a rally.
The Lady Vols pushed their lead to nine on Lawson's 3-pointer with 8:05 to go before halftime. The Cardinal got as close as 28-21 before Tennessee got its biggest lead, 36-23 with 1:50 left, after Zolman converted a four-point play.