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A visit from the U.S. national team brought out the competitor in virtually every Tennessee Lady Vol.
As for their inner rebounders, they were waiting for another day or a less imposing opponent.
That's the sort of trade-off Tennessee wrestled with throughout Sunday afternoon's women's basketball exhibition game. The best the Lady Vols could do against their accomplished opponent was to make crunch time matter.
They literally scrambled to within three points before the U.S. asserted its final authority to win 83-72 before a crowd of 13,927 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"They obviously made the big plays when they had to make the big plays,'' UT coach Pat Summitt said. "I thought we had a great run late in the second half."
Senior guard Alexis Hornbuckle, balancing on one foot near the sideline, saved a loose ball and set a transition play in motion that ended with Shannon Bobbitt's 3-pointer, pulling UT within 73-70 with 3:48 left. The U.S. responded by scoring the final four baskets and 10 of the last 12 points, snuffing any chance of Tennessee recreating the rally of 1999 that ended in a 65-64 victory over the national team.
"We had a great challenge,'' said U.S guard Kara Lawson, a former Lady Vol who hit the game-winning shot against the U.S. in '99. "Tennessee played very, very well. They forced us to execute in the second half and get the win."
U.S. guard Diana Taurasi reprised her role as Tennessee tormentor by scoring a game-high 28 points. The former University of Connecticut star also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists.
The UT fans were mostly cordial to their old nemesis. Taurasi complimented the new and improved arena.
"It looks great,'' she said. "It's like an NBA arena with the seats and boxes. I don't see why Knoxville wouldn't be the next franchise for the WNBA."
Taurasi was one of four U.S. players scoring in double figures. Center Lisa Leslie, who's four months removed from having a baby, scored 18 and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. She more than covered for her seven turnovers with six steals, six blocks and five assists.
"I haven't been through a pregnancy," teammate Seimone Augustus said. "But to see Lisa (Leslie) come back and be in that great of shape and form, to be able to come back and do what she's done, it's amazing."
Augustus added 12 points, and Sue Bird had 11.
Tennessee's best response came from Candace Parker, who recovered from a slow first half to record team highs for points (22) and rebounds (seven). In her first start, freshman Angie Bjorklund scored 13. Hornbuckle played 39 minutes, gathering six rebounds, five assists and five steals to go with her seven points while committing no turnovers.
Summitt predictably zeroed in on the 45-31 disparity in rebounds. The U.S. advantage essentially snuffed Tennessee's final rally. After Bobbitt's aforementioned trey, Taj McWilliams-Franklin rebounded a Leslie miss and was fouled. She converted both free throws for her only two points. On the next U.S. possession, Leslie scored a rebound basket. The Lady Vols never recovered.
"Our board play has got to pick up,'' Summitt said. "... We talked about this a year ago. We're talking about it the first exhibition game."
This wasn't any exhibition game, however. Hornbuckle realized that every time she jousted with the opposition.
"Those are some big girls,'' said Hornbuckle, who was quick to emphasize: "Not in a bad way."
Regarding the rebounding, she said the physical disparity sometimes made her feel like a girl going against women.
"They own you like a little kid,'' Hornbuckle said.
Likewise, it's not every day that Parker faces a hero. She said that she's been watching Leslie play since she 10 or 11 years old.
"I'm not aging her on that,'' she Parker said. "I'm just saying I've grown up watching her. (She's) been my hero."
At 6-foot-5, Leslie presented an imposing challenge. The U.S. also used extra defenders to shadow Parker and eclipse her at times in the first half.
"I think it was just me,'' Parker said. "I wasn't demanding the ball in the first half. I made an adjustment."
If it wasn't for Tennessee's freshmen, the game could've been a rout by halftime. Bjorklund and Sydney Smallbone, who scored eight points, combined for the Lady Vols' first five baskets and 14 of their first 16 points.
A Smallbone 3-pointer gave UT its first lead at 16-13 at 10:25 before halftime. The first-year guard also scored points by getting back on defense despite losing a shoe after a driving layup.
"I thought Angie and Syd had a lot of composure,'' Summitt said.
As noted, the Lady Vols also had a lot of fight, but that wasn't enough.
"I told our basketball team we didn't invite (the U.S) here just to compete with them,'' Summitt said. "We wanted to beat them."
© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by Plasticman on November 4, 2007 at 9:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Poor sportsmanship by LV fans to boo Taurasi, even though none of us can stand her. SHe's not wearing Huskies attire anymore folks
Posted by lempga on November 4, 2007 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Plasticman, I agree with you. At the end of the game, I gave Taurasi an ovation. She shot lights out.
What I have not liked about her is her foul mouth. I can read lips and unless she has cleaned it up since she played for the midget Geno, she was very vulgar at U-Conn.
Posted by mparker on November 4, 2007 at 11:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
UT's gotta work out the roles. We all know what the vererans can do, but a lot will depend on how well Candace adjusts to the night she is having.
what I mean by that: if the J is not there, then it's back-to-the-basket time. Or, maybe it's time to play the passing game.
I was really heppy to read the freshman guards did well. We know we need the shooting.
Posted by Hunter on November 5, 2007 at 12:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am proud of our fans booing Diana Taurasi. If I had been there I would have been the loudest. She is a jerk in every way. She is a foul, disgusting representative for the sport, her team, her former school, and her family. I refrain from further comment in order that I may not say anything mean about her....
Not to mention the beak.....
Posted by Chrisoda751 on November 5, 2007 at 7:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Plasticman is right. If Taurasi represents the USA, then I'm all for her.
Posted by drwfocus on November 5, 2007 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Hunter. I was there and I booed Taurasi every time she touched the ball - which was a lot! I totally agree with your assesment of her personal character. She is like Randy Moss, with all that talent she believes she can say and act however she pleases and to hell with everyone and that goes back to Geno. No other team in America could have played that collection of talent as well as the Lady Vols. That USA team will go a long way if they don't let personal character BS get in the way. BTW, I cheered for the Lady Vols a lot longer and louder than I booed Taurasi. Isn't that what a rabid, totally supportive fan does?
Posted by alfrizzle097 on November 5, 2007 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If Taurasi represents the USA......
Try supporting the kids in the military.
Posted by marc_ash on November 5, 2007 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it's important to look at the game in the context it was played. Essentially the Lady Vols played a pro WNBA team and only lost by 11. Moral victories aren't "W's", but a very strong showing for the LV's.
Would have loved to have seen Lawson get more minutes however.
Strong showing for LV's. Nice way to start off the season, playing the best.
Posted by hueypilot on November 5, 2007 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Not just a pro NBA team, weren't Taurasi, Leslie, Augustus and maybe Bird the NCAA's best players in their last year? Add Candace Parker to that starting lineup and you've got a heckuva (Fulmer plug) team for next year. I'm surprised any college team could stay within shouting distance of them. I guess that's why the LV were picked so high by so many preseason. As for Taurasi, I hope she has painfully agonizing hangnails.
Posted by jrichas on November 5, 2007 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nobody has ever said that ol' "Rat Face" isn't a great player. Best clutch player in every phase I have ever seen- men or women. To boo her is understandable but poor sportsmanship. It just gives bad boy Geno another way to dig at Pat.
Posted by bmgvirgo on November 5, 2007 at 10:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it was ok to boo her some. Heck, she even hoped and wanted to be booed. She expected it because of her UConn connections. In the end Team USA should have been applauded.
Posted by william111 on November 5, 2007 at 6:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You folks are really clueless. Pat "the chin) is a loser and displays it all the time.
Ms. Taurasi, Lisa Lesly Lauton, and Bird are wonderful ladies in the first order. Taurasi, is a unique player. If you do not like here style turn off your black and white tv.
Pat is Good mother but no class. Stopping the game against the Midget (Geno) and his class act teams. She is a coward and has hurt the game.
I was at the Uconn game and the Tenn game.
And your fans are classless. Must be all the insest
Posted by YankeeVolsFan on November 5, 2007 at 7:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Loser really William111 why are the recruits coming to UT and for that even the SEC and not beloved UCONN. The only reason you have trouble in our building is seeing around all those banners that read "National Champions" hangin in our rafters!!! Class brings longevity and I think our program speaks for itself. You gotta admit that nose is in another hemisphere!!!
Posted by calivol on November 5, 2007 at 8:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Aaah, William. I love people who hurl insults, throwing out words like coward and clueless...and THEN have the nerve to call UT fans classless. Interesting. Interesting indeed. And if you're going to throw out ridiculous stereotypes, at least learn how to spell them correctly. Is it incest you mean or did you perhaps want to comment on the amount of insects in our state? Try again.
Posted by tennesseevol on November 6, 2007 at 8:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sir Clueless William: Don't they teach you to spell at UConn? Your grammar is worse than your spelling.
Maybe if UConn didn't recruit illegally, the series would not have been cancelled.
BTW, Turasi represents anything but class.
Posted by mad_poly_uct on November 6, 2007 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey William111, as a fellow Uconn fan, why do resort to such sophmoric,moronic comments similar to those previous posts(Hunters in particular) regarding DT? Hey,DT'S a pro,and so is Geno and they can take the insults no matter how misguided,but Pat Summitt is far from a classless loser.As far as my take on PS, refer to my post following the article in Aug. about Delle Donne. No need to further elaborate. YankeeVolsFan...."trouble in your building..." I don't think the banners have anything to do with anything.We have 7 hanging in the rafters too....5 for the women 2 for the men!Perhaps just the competition? After reading article on game with U.S Nat'l. team, both TN. & Uconn handled themselves quite well for 1st pre season game.Think TN. played better 40 min. game than Uconn, but Uconn did manage to pull within 4 in 2nd half before losing by 16.Calivol...loved your post...Once camped in your beautifull state & got chewed up by many of your various insects! Good luck this season Vols. Hope we meet in March...
Posted by chefjorge on November 6, 2007 at 11:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah. One is supposed to not like the main competition. Why not boo? I don't like you, you don't like me and that's ok. I mean "there's what's right and there's what's right and never the twain shall meet." We all hate Bama and boo everything about them and that there's the way it is. UConn is the same thing. I really don't care how tall the coach is. Uconn and UT have done more for the sport of basketball in this country than just about evrything. I wonder what happens in a best of seven series. Think about where WNBA is without the players from these two teams? But, really how tall is he?
Posted by chattreader on November 7, 2007 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You people, with few exceptions (chef, mad, et al), are missing the point. Absolutely, we applaud what we like and boo what we don't like. But we don't have to make our likes and dislikes personal. So Pat has a stern look and Geno isn't very tall. So what? They make for one helluva ballGAME and their players GRADUATE. Classless? Hardly. And yeah, they've got attitude, but again, so what. And ending the regular seaon game can only be good for the sport. First, look at all the interest Pat's controversial decision has sparked. Second, it frees up one regular season game for both teams to play other, perhaps lesser known teams, a boon for the little guys and the whole sport (by growing interest in lesser markets). And third, just imagine a UT-UConn tourney matchup — in the final. Makes one salivate at the thought. I bet it makes ESPN and other media outlets salivate, too. One parting thought: try to exercise some semblance of the class both coaches show for their sport and themselves by doing what they do so well.
Posted by mad_poly_uct on November 7, 2007 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
chattreader...thanks. Well said....and after some thought on your point about NOT playing the game, I think that's a very valid point that it may actually turn out better for the game as a whole after all. Sure hope so.Chefjorge...He's really kinda short...I guess if he were bald & not wearing lifts...5'6"or7" maybe!So with that in mind, he's a guy from Philly whose suffers from a borderline Napolealonic complex!...and just imagine how that's exacerbated by standing next to Pat Summitt! Hey....maybe that's why he won't tell anyone why series was cancelled..."Geno,....I'm sorry,but we will not renew contract because....well Geno...YOU'RE SO DAMN SHORT SON & I'M TIRED OF BENDING DOWN TO SHAKE YOU'RE HAND EVERY YEAR...MY CHIROPRACTOR SAID ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!..." Ahhhh, if it were only so simple.....
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