Officials needed to take more time

Photo by Saul Young

Tennessee's Vicki Baugh (21) waits in the locker room before the start of team practice Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL. The Lady Vols will play in the NCAA Championship game on Tuesday against Stanford.

TAMPA, Fla. - The controversial ending to Tennessee's 59-58 victory over Rutgers on Feb. 11 was a hot topic at the state of the championship press conference Monday.

Sue Donohoe, the vice president for Division I women's basketball, conceded, "I think all of us know something happened."

The Thompson-Boling Arena game clock appeared to freeze with two-tenths of a second remaining that night, allowing for a foul call and two decisive free throws by UT's Nicky Anosike. Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer attributed the ending to "human error."

What exactly happened was never explained in any detail.

"I think if you went and asked the officiating crew what happened, I think there was information that they had and didn't have at the time and they were living in the moment,'' Donohoe said.

". . . Now, in hindsight, probably would they go back and take a little more time to review and to assess, I think they would say, 'Yeah, we would do that.' And I think that's the message that from a national officiating perspective that we've tried to deliver is in a situation like that, take the time that you need to make it right.

"Did they miss a play or rule? Absolutely not. Did they go through protocol? They absolutely did. Could they have taken more time? I think they would say yes."

Tops in Tampa: Former Lady Vol Dominique Redding was voted the top all-time player from the Tampa area in a contest conducted by the Tampa Tribune.

From 101 different high schools in a 10-country area, a list of 35 players initially was compiled. The list was whittled to five players by a panel of 15 coaches.

The final stage was on-line voting with 1,600 votes cast.

Redding was unable to attend the awards ceremony. She's playing professionally in Sweden.

Moving On: Danielle Donehew, the Lady Vols assistant athletic director for basketball operations, is leaving UT to become the executive vice president of the WNBA expansion franchise in Atlanta. The WNBA draft will be held in Palm Harbor, Fla., on Wednesday.

"I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and hopefully win another championship,'' Donehew said. "On the same accord, I'm excited about the new opportunity for me. Hopefully I'll be able to help the Atlanta franchise and use all the experience and blessings I've learned from Tennessee."

Donehew wants to have UT players on Atlanta's roster, along with other players with regional ties.

"We're excited to try and pull some of the regional names into the franchise,'' she said, "to try and build our fan base.

Moving Up: Despite her offensive struggles Sunday, Lady Vol Candace Parker reached several milestones.

Her 13 points against LSU moved her into third place on Tennessee's career scoring list with 2,120 points. She moved into fourth place for single-season points with 792.

Parker's 15 rebounds, meanwhile, moved her into eighth place on the career list (962).

Notebook: The 35 victories are the most for Tennessee since the 1997-98 undefeated season. . . . UT coach Pat Summitt said that she respects the media's ongoing interest in why UT dropped the regular-season series with Connecticut but added, "It doesn't mean I'm going to reveal anything. But that's just - when I make my mind up, I'm as stubborn as my father was.'' . . . UT is making its 13th appearance in the national championship game and has a 7-5 record.