In a Bruising Battle, Tennessee Comes Out on Top
Tennessee had the height advantage and the historical advantage: 25 straight years in the N.C.A.A. tournament's Round of 16. When it counted, the Lady Vols also had Shanna Zolman and Candace Parker, two players who knew what had to be done and had the ability to do it.When they finished Sunday, they had led the second-seeded Lady Vols to a 76-69 victory over third-seeded Rutgers (27-5) in the Cleveland Regional. Now Tennessee (31-4), seeded No. 2, will face top-seeded and top-ranked North Carolina (32-1) in the regional final Tuesday. The winner will advance to the Final Four in Boston.
North Carolina moved on with a hair-raising 70-68 victory over fourth-seeded Purdue (26-7). Ivory Latta, North Carolina's undersized point guard, drove for the winning basket with 2.8 seconds left. She got up after making the shot, then fell back down when the game ended and remained on the floor for five minutes.
Team officials said she had a cramp in her left calf and would be ready for Tuesday's game.
The Tennessee-Rutgers game was physical from the start. Tennessee has four starters 6 feet 3 inches or taller, and Rutgers has one — the 6-4 freshman center Kia Vaughn — with three starters 6 feet or smaller. Tennessee's height advantage did not stop Rutgers from jumping to a 23-14 lead, but the Lady Vols responded with a 13-0 run late in the first half to take a 27-23 lead.
Tennessee led by 29-27 at halftime. The crowd of 8,428 at the Quicken Loans Arena watched Zolman, a 5-10 senior point guard, and Parker, a 6-4 redshirt freshman who plays equally well inside and outside, combine for Tennessee's first 20 points of the second half. They helped the Lady Vols extend their lead to 49-37 with 12 minutes 37 seconds left.
Parker did it with low-post play against the 6-foot Essence Parker, a sound defender who was overmatched. Zolman did it with deadly outside shooting. Each finished with 29 points, a career high for Zolman, who shot 10 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.
In the deep post, Parker backs in relentlessly. From 3-point range, Zolman entered the game shooting 42.4 percent this season.
"At halftime, we said we wanted to get the ball to Candace inside, but they doubled down on her, so that left me free outside," Zolman said.
Tennessee led by as many as 13 points in the second half, and Parker gave credit to Zolman.
"She was unreal," Parker said. "She was unconscious."
Rutgers, like Tennessee, relied heavily on two players: the senior shooting guard Cappie Pondexter and the sophomore point guard Matee Ajavon. Each played 40 minutes, with Pondexter scoring 22 points and Ajavon 24. But against Tennessee's insistent defense, each also had five turnovers.
The 5-9 Pondexter was guarded by Nicky Anosike, Tennessee's 6-4 sophomore center. "She likes to do the dirty work," Tennessee Coach Pat Summit said of Anosike, who despite Pondexter's scoring, did it well.
Pondexter, who could be the top pick in next month's W.N.B.A. draft, stayed an extra year in college because she dreamed of a national championship. After the game, she had a tough time trying to explain what happened.
"I never thought about us losing," she said. "We worked so hard. I'm definitely happy I made the decision to come back."
There was sympathy all around for Pondexter.
"She came back to get a ring and beat us," Zolman said. "I feel for her."
Summitt said: "After the game, I told her, 'I have tremendous respect for you.' I wanted her to know that. She's truly a winner."
C. Vivian Stringer, the Rutgers coach, said, "Losing Cappie is like losing a daughter."
Stringer and Summitt are Hall of Fame coaches and close friends. This was the third time in seven years that Tennessee had eliminated Rutgers late in the tournament, and both were unhappy before the game about meeting before the Final Four.
"I told her I never want to see her in this situation again," Summitt said. "It's tough to play against your best friends."
Stringer was philosophical.
"You learn in life that you get everything you possibly can, and when that's all you can do, you accept it," she said. "Tomorrow, the sun is going to come up. It is what it is. But if we coulda, shoulda, mighta, woulda done better, it would have been nice."
North Carolina moved on with a hair-raising 70-68 victory over fourth-seeded Purdue (26-7). Ivory Latta, North Carolina's undersized point guard, drove for the winning basket with 2.8 seconds left. She got up after making the shot, then fell back down when the game ended and remained on the floor for five minutes.
Team officials said she had a cramp in her left calf and would be ready for Tuesday's game.
The Tennessee-Rutgers game was physical from the start. Tennessee has four starters 6 feet 3 inches or taller, and Rutgers has one — the 6-4 freshman center Kia Vaughn — with three starters 6 feet or smaller. Tennessee's height advantage did not stop Rutgers from jumping to a 23-14 lead, but the Lady Vols responded with a 13-0 run late in the first half to take a 27-23 lead.
Tennessee led by 29-27 at halftime. The crowd of 8,428 at the Quicken Loans Arena watched Zolman, a 5-10 senior point guard, and Parker, a 6-4 redshirt freshman who plays equally well inside and outside, combine for Tennessee's first 20 points of the second half. They helped the Lady Vols extend their lead to 49-37 with 12 minutes 37 seconds left.
Parker did it with low-post play against the 6-foot Essence Parker, a sound defender who was overmatched. Zolman did it with deadly outside shooting. Each finished with 29 points, a career high for Zolman, who shot 10 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.
In the deep post, Parker backs in relentlessly. From 3-point range, Zolman entered the game shooting 42.4 percent this season.
"At halftime, we said we wanted to get the ball to Candace inside, but they doubled down on her, so that left me free outside," Zolman said.
Tennessee led by as many as 13 points in the second half, and Parker gave credit to Zolman.
"She was unreal," Parker said. "She was unconscious."
Rutgers, like Tennessee, relied heavily on two players: the senior shooting guard Cappie Pondexter and the sophomore point guard Matee Ajavon. Each played 40 minutes, with Pondexter scoring 22 points and Ajavon 24. But against Tennessee's insistent defense, each also had five turnovers.
The 5-9 Pondexter was guarded by Nicky Anosike, Tennessee's 6-4 sophomore center. "She likes to do the dirty work," Tennessee Coach Pat Summit said of Anosike, who despite Pondexter's scoring, did it well.
Pondexter, who could be the top pick in next month's W.N.B.A. draft, stayed an extra year in college because she dreamed of a national championship. After the game, she had a tough time trying to explain what happened.
"I never thought about us losing," she said. "We worked so hard. I'm definitely happy I made the decision to come back."
There was sympathy all around for Pondexter.
"She came back to get a ring and beat us," Zolman said. "I feel for her."
Summitt said: "After the game, I told her, 'I have tremendous respect for you.' I wanted her to know that. She's truly a winner."
C. Vivian Stringer, the Rutgers coach, said, "Losing Cappie is like losing a daughter."
Stringer and Summitt are Hall of Fame coaches and close friends. This was the third time in seven years that Tennessee had eliminated Rutgers late in the tournament, and both were unhappy before the game about meeting before the Final Four.
"I told her I never want to see her in this situation again," Summitt said. "It's tough to play against your best friends."
Stringer was philosophical.
"You learn in life that you get everything you possibly can, and when that's all you can do, you accept it," she said. "Tomorrow, the sun is going to come up. It is what it is. But if we coulda, shoulda, mighta, woulda done better, it would have been nice."
posted by Michelle at 11:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home