Adams: Lady Vols answered with defense

It's a matter of priorities for UT fans. Beating Vanderbilt is so much easier than beating the traffic.

Never mind that the Lady Vols had just defeated a nationally ranked rival 73-53 or that they had completed another unbeaten SEC season.

Accomplishments that might tempt fans to storm the court elsewhere are taken for granted in a program that has won 49 of 55 games against its in-state rival and gone unbeaten in the conference five times in the last nine years.

UT's biggest competition isn't in-state or in the conference. It's in the tradition that dwarfs almost every other program in women's basketball.

Do you think anyone in the crowd of 19,201 was surprised by Sunday's results? If so, they're new kids on the Lady Vols' block.

The suspense surrounding this program is reserved for late March and early April. Veteran UT fans don't wonder if they can beat Vanderbilt. They wonder if they can win the national championship.

The Lady Vols hardly resembled a national championship contender in non-conference losses to No. 1 Duke and North Carolina. But on familiar SEC ground, they have played their way into a No. 2 national ranking and a surefire No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament.

When you check the stats, you wonder how they did it. They don't lead the SEC in any statistical category. They're third in scoring and field-goal percentage, fourth in free-throw percentage and fifth in rebounding margin. Yet they have beaten all but two of 14 SEC opponents by more than nine points.

UT coach Pat Summitt has a quick, one-word explanation. And it's not "Parker."

Forward Candace Parker provided more evidence Sunday for anyone championing her as the game's preeminent player. She had 21 points, 14 rebounds, six blocked shots and four assists. Although she's clearly the star of the show, defense provides the foundation.

"Statistically, we've struggled in some areas, obviously haven't shot the ball as well as we would have liked to," Summitt said. "But our defense has been the key.

"When we aren't scoring, we've been able to affect other teams as well. That's been huge for us. What this team can do is get people to turn it over and create scoring opportunities."

That virtue is close to Summitt's heart and prominent in the program's archives. Her 1997-98 unbeaten national champions often rendered opponents incapable of executing the basics of offensive basketball. That was never more evident than in a 106-45 SEC tournament victory over Vanderbilt.

Compared to that, the Commodores were on a roll Sunday. But compared to their SEC statistics, they were on the ropes.

Vanderbilt entered the game hitting a league-best 50.7 percent of its field-goal attempts and 43.9 percent of its 3-pointers. It was ineffective from near and far against the Lady Vols, who have become increasingly committed to disrupting opposing offenses.

"Certain people were bringing it (on defense) every night," Summitt said. "Now, we've challenged everyone to bring it every night."

UT was up to the challenge inside and outside against the Commodores, who made only 32.7 percent of their shots and were just 4-for-16 from 3-point range.

Parker's six blocks and point guard Shannon Bobbitt's four steals were the brightest examples of UT's defensive showing. But Alexis Hornbuckle also kept getting in the way of Vanderbilt's best offensive intentions. Her quickness and resolve on the perimeter were reflected in the 1-for-4 3-point shooting of guard Caroline Williams

Williams, who leads the SEC with 50.3-percent 3-point shooting, struggled to get a shot against the quicker Hornbuckle. That wasn't the only match-up which favored UT's defense.

Vanderbilt's Carla Thomas made eight of 13 field-goal attempts and scored a team-high 23 points. The rest of the Commodores were a combined 10-for-42 from the field.

Even at a program as successful as UT's and in a rivalry as one-sided as this one, you can't take defense like that for granted.