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No. 3 Lady Vols overcome slow start in 72-46 win over Miss. St.
Parker sets career mark for blocks
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Game time was two hours away and Alexis Hornbuckle barely could contain herself. Tennessee’s senior guard was raring to play.
She had the right idea. But it was the wrong game.
Hornbuckle was talking about the Vols’ game at Memphis on Saturday night, not the Lady Vols’ 72-46 SEC women’s basketball victory over Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon. As participants, the Lady Vols needed about 30 minutes to get fully revved up, building the bulk of their lead during the final seven minutes.
UT coach Pat Summitt sounded like a disheartened teacher afterward, wondering when her players will learn their lesson.
“I think our basketball team has to understand they’re going to get everyone’s ‘A’ game,’’ she said. “We talk about that all the time.”
For No. 3 Tennessee (25-2, 11-1 SEC), the best individual response came from Candace Parker, who shook free from State’s defense to score 14 of her game-high 19 points in the second half. She filled out her stat line with eight rebounds, five assists, five blocks and four steals. The blocks gave her the school career record with 247.
Teammates Shannon Bobbitt and Hornbuckle scored 11 points apiece.
Guard Alexis Rack scored a team-high 15 for Mississippi State (16-12, 4-9).
The Lady Vols were forewarned about the Lady Bulldogs. Rack scored a career-high 32 points in the first meeting on Feb. 7 in Starkville, Miss., and the Lady Vols struggled to prevail, 87-69.
UT wasn’t hurting for inspiration either after the Vols’ 66-62 victory over Memphis, which will catapult the men’s team to No. 1 in the national rankings.
Hornbuckle watched the game with Parker, Bobbitt and teammate Alberta Auguste.
“I was nervous,’’ Bobbitt said.
“I was nervous, too,’’ Hornbuckle said. “I thought I was out there playing.
“They did a great job. They came out inspired. They played 40 minutes very intense, never got discouraged.”
If that wasn’t enough to fire them up, the Lady Vols were greeted by a crowd of 20,249 at Thompson-Boling Arena, the largest turnout of the season.
But then the Lady Bulldogs erected a defensive barricade around the foul lane and used multiple defenders to make scoring difficult for Parker. The Lady Vols responded by struggling to shoot better than 30 percent from the floor for most of the first half. They sputtered to a 27-22 halftime lead, which tied for their lowest scoring output for a first half this season.
“I think we really settled (for jumpers) without attacking more off the dribble,’’ Summitt said. “I didn’t make a lot of calls to change up our screening action. I probably should (have) ... Sometimes you almost feel like you want them just to go play and not be so focused or married to plays.”
The Lady Vols weren’t able to count on their 3-point shooting, which produced only five treys in 19 attempts. Angie Bjorklund was 0-for-6 from long range.
“As opposed to Angie being 0-for-6 from the 3-point line, I’d rather see her take more dribble drives to the basket and get into her pull-up (shot),’’ Summitt said.
The Lady Vols did rely on their defense. They held Mississippi State without a field goal for a stretch of 10 minutes, 24 seconds in the first half. And, by their thinking, they played better in the second half, when they finished with a 25-6 scoring sprint across the final 7:15.
Parker’s blocks enabled her to surpass Sheila Frost (246), who held the record for 19 years.
“She plays behind players a lot, we allow that,’’ Summitt said of Parker. “It’s hard for people to score over her, particularly if you have undersized posts. I think Candace has worked hard on not going for her blocks early and being a little more patient defensively.”
If Parker and the Lady Vols weren’t blocking shots, they were contesting attempts. The Lady Bulldogs shot 28.8 percent from the floor (17-for-59). Rack, who shot 10-for-18 from the floor in the first meeting, was 5-for-15. After shooting 7-for-13 on 3-pointers in the first game, she was 3-for-10 this time.
“They were getting out to all the shooters so we were trying to find open shots,’’ Mississippi State guard Marneshia Richard said. “They did a good job preventing us from having those open looks.”
Notebook: Lady Vols freshman Vicki Baugh made her three shots in scoring eight points and is 7-for-7 from the field the last two games. ... UT football player Xavier Mitchell proposed marriage to Lady Vols softball player Tiffany Huff on the court during the second half.
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- Colquitt pleads guilty to first-offense DUI
- Julian: Aquatic center was UT's start
- Tennessee trio clicks for Sparks
- Bjorklund has knee surgery
- Letsinger takes on rare genetic disease just like diving
Posted by bmaples on February 24, 2008 at 7:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Might be hard to focus after watching the men's game last night. Still, the Lady Vols seem to lack the focus and killer instinct they need to bring, game in and game out. They got the win, which is good. Here's hoping they are focused enough to win out, including the SEC tourney. I think they are going to need to do that to keep their #1 seed in the Big Dance. C'mon, Ladies, finish strong!
Posted by rabidvolfan on February 24, 2008 at 7:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
THE KNS IS THE BEST PAPER IN AMERICA SIMPLY BECAUSE JOHN ADAMS IS THE BEST WRITER IN AMERICA. I ASK THAT EVERYONE BE ON STAND BY TO DONATE $50 TO KEEP JOHN ADAMS WHEN SOMEONE LIKE THE USA TODAY OR A MAJOR MAGAZINE HIRES THIS MAN OUT FROM UNDER US. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE CAN OFFER JOHN A COMPETITIVE SALARY! THIS WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!
Posted by vol4jesus on February 24, 2008 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Rabidfan you've been smitten/bitten by the Adams love bug! You showed that in post in another article when you were actually on article. You are off article this time aince it is about Lady Vol bball and not Mister adams. Stick to the topic or be banished like some recent poster children. Geaux Lady Tigers beat Geno's Lady Huskettes in Baton Rouge 2maro night. Vol fan's love Geno right? Next is Florida in Candaces and the other 4 seniors last regular season game for Lady Vols.
Posted by rabidvolfan on February 24, 2008 at 9:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ok VOL4JESUS, I just think it's important to get the word out any way I can. I'm just worried about people wanting Adams fired, and Adams does write about the Lady Vols from time to time and if Mr Adams wasn't here we would have to have a someone of lesser value to provide the Lady Vol info.
Posted by akkdowl on February 24, 2008 at 9:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Boys #1 and girls #3 both 25-2 overall and 11-1 in SEC!! Holy Crap!!
Posted by Hunter on February 24, 2008 at 10:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Since when did they start playing SEC West teams twice in a season?
Posted by mparker on February 25, 2008 at 12:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
hunter, there is no sec west in women's ball (yet).
Posted by 98reax on February 25, 2008 at 1:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
what's the big deal about john adams? did he not smack coach fulmer right between the ears?
Posted by volfan73120 on February 25, 2008 at 1:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good question Hunter. I would like to know the answer to that question myself.
Posted by chelseavol on February 25, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
For this team to do well, they must play like they on on the court with UCONN every game. Ball protection is all important, keeping those ugly turnovers to a minimum. It should be unacceptable to try to bounce pass through multiple defenders, to try to be too cute passing behind the back etc, and to charge instead of pulling up for short jumpers. Of course, putting the ball in the basket from short range is another story and it appears that little can be done about this issue.
This team can be great, they just need to play that way.
Posted by johnlg00 on February 25, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congrats to Candace for setting the career blocks record! And in less than three years, too! I love the way she does it, too. She rarely swings her arms down at the ball the way so many male players do in trying to swat the ball into the fourth row. I read a book in which Bill Russell, the guy who "invented" the blocked shot, explained his philosophy. He always tried to reach UP to the line the ball would follow toward the basket, not DOWN to the shooter. He had two reasons for this; not only is he less likely to foul that way, he thought that the POINT of defense was to secure possession for his team. Most of the time, he merely flicked his wrist when he hit the ball, usually trying to direct it toward a teammate. If you succeed in swatting the ball out of bounds without fouling, all you are doing is giving the other team another possession, like giving up an offensive rebound. Modern players would rather get a "Whoo-hoo!" reaction from the fans than do the smart thing. The approach of the "Master of the Blocked Shot" is way too "old-school" for them.
Posted by adimatteo on February 25, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
may have started slow, but I would hardly call a 26 point win, close, etc. Thirty three consecutive wins over an opponet is not a small deal!!
Congrats girls, keep it up, love what you do, and now lets hope LSU does their part for the SEC (and all UCONN) haters in general, and beat UCONN
Posted by blhvols on February 25, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Fire Adams. I'll donate to his retirement fund if he retires this year.
Posted by donniedem on February 27, 2008 at 11:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
After watching Connecticut defeat LSU I am considerably worried as to whether the Lady Vols will be able to win an 8th title this year. Then I read were the whole starting line up, except for Bjorklund is gone. Next season seems really scary to me. I know that Pat is a great coach, but still the Lady Vols will surely be a huge underdog to the likes of UConn. I would think the Lady Vols will be rated in the bottom half of the top 10 in pre-season. It pains me to think this way, but have any of you seen Mya Moore play? She is so impressive. Uconn is so good now and will be even better next year! Do we have any great Freshmen coming in next year.
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