Olympics audio
Olympics 2008
-
Executive sports editor Steve Ahillen is in Beijing covering the Olympics.
- Read his blog
- More Olympics blogs
- Watch his videos
- Follow him on twitter
- A slide show of highlights from the first week of the Olympics
- All stories
BEIJING — Anne Donovan won’t say it but she feels vindicated.
Kara Lawson was essentially the last player picked to the United States women’s basketball team. Her selection hardly received a unanimous endorsement.
After the gold-medal game against Australia on Saturday night, no one could deny she belonged. The former Tennessee guard exploded off the bench to turn the game around and led the U.S. team in scoring with 15 points in a 92-65 victory. She was 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line.
“There was never any doubt in my mind that she belonged on this team,” said Donovan in the press conference after the game. “I pushed my rear end off to get Kara Lawson on this team. She has been solid gold for us every time she has taken a trip for us: Her leadership, her enthusiasm and her energy whether she is on the bench or on the floor . . . besides the fact the girl can play basketball. She knocked in some big shots tonight. ”
Lawson came in with the U.S. and Australia tied at 10-10. Katie Smith and Diana Taurasi both had two fouls and it was essential for Lawson to be a factor.
A factor she certainly was, hitting her first short jumper, adding two free throws and a mid-range jump shot. With Lawson at the controls, the U.S. scooted ahead 16-13 and never trailed again.
“Kara has always been this ball of energy coming off the bench,” said forward Candace Parker, another UT alum. “She is doing it with every bit that she has. Kara came out and really set the tone for us and she was the reason why we were able to dominate this game.”
An ESPN analyst when not playing in the WNBA, Lawson has been the go-to person for post-game comments through this tournament. But it has been nearly impossible to get her to talk about herself.
According to her, the big night was just a matter of role-playing.
“We felt like we could attack their ball-screen defense,” said Lawson, draped in an American flag in the press room. “I am a realist. I know if I am in a ball screen with Tina Thompson or Lisa Leslie they are going to pay more attention to them than they are to me.
“So I just tried to be aggressive and was able to get to the middle of the paint, that free-throw line area, and that’s a great shot for me. . . . The shots were there and I was able to knock them down.”
Donovan sounded like a proud mother after the game. The selection of Lawson as one of the last three players picked to the team came as a shock to many. Some much bigger names were left off the team.
“There were a lot of people questioning that selection,” Donovan said. “She showed tonight why she belonged on this team. For me personally there was big satisfaction in that.”
All three former Lady Vols distinguished themselves in the championship game. Parker, who has been sluggish at times in earlier games, came out determined against Australia. She had eight points by halftime and finished with 14. She even made an abbreviated attempt at a dunk to end the game.
“Yeah, a little bit,” was her response when asked if she was thinking dunk, “but a gold medal more so.”
The other member of the UT trio, Tamika Catchings, is the only one of the three to have also collected gold in Athens.
“They are both really, really fun,” Catchings said. “I can’t pick between one or the other. The first one was my first one and just being able to play with my idols like Lisa (Leslie), Dawn (Staley) and Sheryl (Swoopes). This one, being in the transition period and coming off the injury, I’ve had a great road.”
She had six points and five rebounds in the gold-medal game.
Donovan was happy all three were wearing USA jerseys here.
“All played big tonight led by Kara Lawson,” she said. “Candace does what Candace does. She played great and gave us great minutes in the post. Catchings . . . just every game. There is no better sixth man in the world. For her to embrace that role and give us all that energy . . . Those three just did a phenomenal job. Tennessee is very proud I’m sure.”
Parker Pain: Parker fell hard in the first half when fouled on a layup attempt. She said her arm and shoulder felt numb afterward, but she played the rest of the game. It was not the shoulder on which she wears a brace. She said she would have to wait until today to see if it is anything serious.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 16
utvol008 writes:
Congrats Candace, Tamika, Kara
LadyVolFanForever writes:
Great TEAM effort for a GOLD win. The way basketball is meant to be played.
Congrats to all, especially our beloved Lady Vols.
pammyvol1000 writes:
Congrats to Team USA and Lady Vols!
Tamika, Kara, Candace..Way to go!
98reax writes:
We can really be proud of the way our Tennessee Lady Vols represented today. Catchings was all over the defensive stance. She's a super Olympian, tough as nails. Kara lead the offence with courage and knocked down some crucial shots to make that first run. Candace came in with a solid game rebounding and scoring. She ran the court with such energy. She took some phooey from the Aussies and kept her poise. I think she changed her mind about throwing that one down to end the game. I'm glad she didn't follow through. I would have enjoyed seeing her be the first to dunk in the Olympic Games, but not then, it would have been meaningless to the game and detrimental to her image. I think she realized that too. I'm so happy to be a Lady Vol fan today and a proud American. USA!!!!!
MillisaAnn writes:
GO USA!!! And Go Lady Vols!!!
Congrats to Candace, Tamika and Kara!!! :) :) :)
andefromtn#212139 writes:
Congratulations to every member of the US Women's team. They all played so well over the course of this championship. Every woman had something special to bring to Team USA and I am so happy to see three Lady Vols contribute to this gold medal. Well done!
ncvol writes:
The game was close at the beginning but the USA Women's Dream Team pulled off the win...
They were awesome and our ladies that used to wear UT Lady Vols uniforms helped in a big way to make the win happen. We truly had an elite group of ladies that got the job done. Thanks USA
Women's Basketball Team......Hope the men do the same and bring home the gold....
NOLAvol writes:
...and CPS continues to make positive contributions to the success of the USA Women's Olympic basketball program!
Thank you, Coach Pat, that your influence exceeds the bounds of Rocky Top. You make us proud. Your girls make us proud. And the young women we observe years later make our entire country proud!
98reax writes:
Yes, Kara, I forgive you for picking against the Orange in the National Championship game. You were not the only one who doubted Pat's ability to win the big ones. Aside from that, I doubted your ability to lead this USA Team. I was wrong. You not only lead the team, you were the spirit of the team. Sometimes I'm so happy to be proven wrong. Aren't you?
johnlg00#206211 writes:
98reax, it was not so much that Kara and many of the other "experts" doubted Pat's ability to "win the big ones" as it was that they doubted the team's ability to win THAT game. Stanford was on a roll in the tourney, especially their masterpiece dismantling of UConn, while UT had struggled in some of their games. Besides, everyone had to wonder how effective Candace could be with her bad shoulders. The LV's showed the heart of champions in that game, but it should not be surprising that more objective observers couldn't honestly pick them to win in advance. The Olympic gold surely had a strong orange tinge; the US team played its best ball throughout the series when Candace, Tamika, and Kara were on the court together, as the commentators repeatedly said. Congratulations to Anne Donovan for her judgment in picking that team and playing the LV's together, no matter what the other "experts" said!
NOLAvol writes:
Has anyone read Jim Caple's report on the game for ESPN?
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer0...
Looks like Jim had his column written before the game began, and just filled in a few stats before posting--TOTALLY MISSING LAWSON'S ROLE IN THE VICTORY! Ridiculous! ESPN readers have no idea what they're missing.
Does Lisa Leslie deserve a column devoted to her Olympic career? Absolutely--but forcing that template over the game that was actually played by Lawson, Parker, Catchings, et al, ...he should be professionally and personally embarassed.
Thank you, Steve Ahillen, for watching, listening, asking and REPORTING what we would not have learned from other "sources."
98reax writes:
Yes, I enjoyed Ahillen's attempt at covering the women's presence in Beijing, sparse as it was. I agree with your sagacious summary, NOLA, that he "filled in the blanks" instead of reporting the real story that a Lady Vol trio lead by point guard, Lawson took control of an early first quarter which had Katie Smith and Diana Taurassi struggling with two fouls apiece.
Was not Catchings first off the bench to play some of her pattened "meek defense" on the Aussies who were throwing their weight around at will? It looked to me like Katie and Diana were reaching and grabbing at the ball frantically, just as if it had been scripted by the Opals to out-bully Team USA. Candace entered the game, set the tone, and immediately began to draw the fouls instead of committing them, effortlessly creating a couple of 3-point plays. The rest was Team USA playing awesome defense forcing the Aussies to play on their heels.
98reax writes:
Here's a question I would submit. I would enjoy reading some sensible in-depth reasoning why you think Candace will or will not be wearing 4 Gold medals by the time she turns 35 years of age. Will she be as good or better than Leslie? Is she as good now?
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Interesting question, 98reax. Great as she is, I for one would be surprised if Candace is still playing by the time she is 35. I think she will be making so much outside income from commercials, modeling, and possibly even acting on TV or movies that she won't still be hungry to play by age 35. She also seems somewhat injury-prone with her knees and shoulders, a situation not likely to improve with age. Look at the Williams sisters. They can still play, but they have so many outside interests that playing is not the main thing in their lives anymore. It might be different for Candace if WNBA players made NBA-type money, or even pro tennis money for that matter. I'm not sure this meets your standard for "sensible in-depth reasoning", but that's my take off the top of my head. BTW, great post on the LV's impact on the gold-medal game.
ladivolfan writes:
Lady Vols are going to take over the world.
98reax writes:
You know what, johnlg? I had not really considered the longevity issue as it pertains to Parker. I suppose in the back of my brain I wanted to believe a Pat-mentored superstar could one day wear 4 gold medals in her sport, as Leslie does. One difference in Lisa and Candace is the fact that Candace has been playing basketball since she was a tot, and Lisa did not "put on a uniform until 11th grade" says Leslie. That could factor in to the wear and tear on a 6'4" frame, perhaps.
Candace has been beaten up since she suited up as a Lady Vol, and now in the pro league. She's become a target for the bully-ball players who know they can't stop her unless they hurt her or get her sucked into their scuffles. Lisa has also been in the middle of some overly physical matchups.
You are right about the outside interests that will consume Parker, and she has said she wants to start a family. I truly hope she takes care of herself physically and emotionally. I would hate to see a repeat of the "Holdsclaw Story." I still miss seeing her play her game. She gave me goose bumps when she had the rock in her hands. If she was around now, 100%, she would still be the one the young'uns want to emulate.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.