Lady Vols basketball guard Talaysia Cooper drove to the net with the clock nearing zero in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Vols’ California road trip was just a few seconds from ending with back-to-back losses.
Cooper connected with a go-ahead layup to give the Lady Vols the late lead over Stanford. Eventually, the back-and-forth battle ended with the No. 19 Lady Vols winning 65-62, handing Stanford (8-1) its first loss of the season.
Just three days prior, the Lady Vols (6-2) dropped their second game of the season in a tough loss to UCLA. The defense faltered for one of their worst performances of the season, allowing 99 points amid the loss.
In response to the defensive faults in the loss on Sunday, the Lady Vols forced Stanford to a program-record high 30 turnovers, all while allowing just 62 points. The Lady Vols scored 25 points off turnovers, compared to Stanford’s ten.
Despite just shooting 35% from the field as a team, the Lady Vols were able to find a way.
Cooper had a big night against Stanford on both sides of the ball. On offense, she hit the game-winning shot, totaling a game-high in both points with 19 and six assists.
On defense, Cooper tallied a career high of ten steals in the win. She earned six steals in the first half, with four coming in the first quarter. She added three more in the third before tallying her final steal in the fourth.
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo also continued to carve a role in the offense. In 19 minutes, she earned 14 points on an efficient 60% shooting, three rebounds and two steals off the bench.
The game itself was as back-and-forth as it could get. At the halfway point in the game, the Vols led by just four; no team found themselves leading by more than 10 at any point in the contest.
In games like this, the Lady Vols need their veteran presence to shine through, especially in the frontcourt. They saw just that when it mattered with Zee Spearman.
Spearman finished her day with not the most impressive shooting numbers, shooting 4-for-11 with 13 points, but she also added a team-high eight rebounds, seven of them coming from the offensive side.
The offense is still far from completion, so the defense being the reason the team won the contest, especially on the road, is crucial.
As a team, the Lady Vols shot just 19.2% from the three-point line. After breaking a program record for most threes against Coppin State just a few weeks ago, Nya Robertson went 0-for-6 on the day beyond the arc.
The next matchup on schedule for Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols is at Food City Center on Dec. 14, welcoming in Winthrop at 2:00 pm ET.
