Parker played through the pain

OKLAHOMA CITY - The arena went quiet and all you could hear was a Candace Parker scream.

Her left arm hung loose by her side as she slumped over and her face torqued into a grimace.

A thought of "why now?" was the first thing to cross the mind of Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt.

She knew exactly what had happened after getting a good look at her All-American.

"I just dislocated my shoulder (chasing a raccoon off her deck at home)," Summitt said, "so as soon as I saw it, I knew it was out."

Parker suffered the shoulder dislocation after scoring 18 first-half points and willing UT to a six-point lead in their Midwest Regional final against Texas A&M.

It was a game the Lady Vols eventually won 53-45, securing their 18th Final Four berth, but not many Elite Eight victories had the drama of this one.

During one stretch, Parker reeled off 16 consecutive points as UT took a 27-21 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

At the 3:50 mark, she reached with her left arm to strip A&M's Patrice Reado of the ball and knew quickly she had done some damage.

She has experience with this kind of thing.

Parker has a history of problems with her right shoulder, injuring it in preseason and aggravating it against Purdue in the NCAA tournament last week.

But this was new. It was a different arm and a totally different feel.

"I've never gone through it coming out and me not being able to get it back in," Parker said after being named the region's Most Outstanding Player.

This one wasn't going back in without some help.

Lady Vols athletic trainer Jenny Moshak sprang off her seat, tried to pop the shoulder back in while on the court and then escorted Parker back to the locker room.

She returned to the court just minutes later, but the shoulder popped out again with 15.9 remaining in the half.

"You just have to try and put yourself in a different place," Parker said of the pain.

Then she had to put herself in the hands of Moshak and another unlikely hero.

The Lady Vols decided a protective sleeve for the shoulder was the best course of action.

But finding one was a chore.

Jimmy Delaney, director of promotions and marketing for the Lady Vols, went on the most important scavenger hunt of his life and eventually found one on the VIP bus buried under some dirty clothes.

He raced back into the arena and gave Moshak the prize just in time for Parker to return to the bench and receive a standing ovation with 14:20 remaining.

She re-entered the game at the 10:39 mark, but her first two shots didn't give anybody a burst of confidence. UT eventually trailed 42-37.

"It was weird because I was thinking I was all right, and I drove left and put up a hook jump shot short," Parker said. "Then I shot a layup short."

Then instincts took over for Parker.

She scored eight points down the stretch, finished with a game-high 26 and got a chance to think about defending last season's national championship.

"Oh, she's gutsy," Summitt said. "She's a great competitor and a winner through and through. She wanted to go to Tampa."

No other ending would have been suitable.

"I kept believing and the Lord gave me strength to come back and play to the best of my ability," Parker said. "It never really crossed my mind this was going to be our last game."

So, will she play Sunday against LSU?

"Heck yes," Parker said.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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