Stanford’s McPhee enjoys terrific return, but Tennessee prevails

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Brittany McPhee was back on the floor for Stanford on Thursday, and at times, it seemed as if the senior guard might be able to will the Cardinal back into the game against seventh-ranked Tennessee.

McPhee wasn’t enough by her lonesome, though, and No. 18 Stanford lost 83-71, snapping a string of home victories over the Lady Vols at five.

McPhee, who hadn’t played since Stanford’s second game of the season, scored 27 points to lead the Cardinal. Jaime Nared had a game-high 28 for Tennessee.

“It’s great having Brit back. For not playing for five weeks, it’s a real credit to her conditioning and hard work,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We just needed a little bit more from other people to help her out but she sure made a statement tonight.”

The Lady Vols improved to 12-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season and earned their first win at Maples Pavilion since Dec. 4, 2005.

“We obviously haven’t won out here in a long time,” Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick said. “Stanford — their record is no indication of how good they are. They’re going to get better and better. And I’ll be honest: When I saw McPhee was in the lineup, I didn’t like it.”

With McPhee sitting much of the final quarter — VanDerveer planned to play her only 25 minutes and she wound up with 28 — the Cardinal made a late surge to make things interesting, trimming a 17-point Tennessee lead to six with 3:12 left. That was as close as Stanford (6-6) got; Nared’s steal with 2:03 left helped halt the Cardinal’s momentum.

“That’s a Jaime-type play,” said Tennessee guard Evina Westbrook, who scored 17 points. “We count on her to make those kinds of plays.”

Mercedes Russell of Tennessee boxes out Stanford Forward Alana Smith during an NCAA women's basketball game between Stanford and Tennessee at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. on Thursday December 21, 2017. Mercedes Russell of Tennessee boxes out Stanford Forward Alana Smith during an NCAA women's basketball game between Stanford and Tennessee at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. on Thursday December 21, 2017. Photo: John Todd / ISIPhotos / John Todd / ISIPhotos Photo: John Todd / ISIPhotos / John Todd / ISIPhotos Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Stanford’s McPhee enjoys terrific return, but Tennessee prevails 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The Cardinal held Tennessee without a field goal for nearly four minutes to open the game, as the Lady Vols missed their first five shots, but after Rennia Davis’ three-pointer, the floodgates opened and the Lady Vols went up by 11. McPhee went on a roll midway through the second quarter, though, to get Stanford back into it, making three shots in a row to cut Tennessee’s lead to 30-26.

“I was just focused on the team and doing whatever I could,” McPhee said.

The Lady Vols, taking advantage of several turnovers, then took control for the remainder of the first half, outscoring the Cardinal 16-4.

Overall, McPhee was 11-for-23 and the rest of the team 18-for-50. In addition, Stanford made just 2 of 15 three-point shots and 11 of 22 free-throw tries.

Stanford is the only team in the country to have played five top-10 opponents; no one else has played more than three. The Cardinal was without McPhee for 10 games, and guard DiJonai Carrington has missed three games after being hit by an elbow in practice.

VanDerveer said Carrington likely will be back when Pac-12 play opens next Friday, and McPhee won’t be on limited minutes any longer.

“We could schedule and be 12-0, 10-2, whatever,” VanDerveer said. “But we really need this tough schedule to pay off for us. ... If we’re a Final Four team, this is a team you beat, teams like this.”

The Cardinal might fall out of the rankings next week after losing to Western Illinois and Tennessee; the last time Stanford wasn’t ranked was the final poll of 2001.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser