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Hornbuckle's active hand is part of suffocating defense by Lady Vols
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Alexis Hornbuckle does steals.
She doesn’t do the math.
Not in this case anyway. Her haul in Tuesday night’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament game against Purdue was so prolific, the Tennessee senior guard couldn’t keep track of herself.
“I felt like I had three (steals),’’ she said.
She wasn’t giving herself enough steals or enough credit for the havoc she created in the first half of a Midwest Regional second-round game. She matched her career high with seven steals in the first 20 minutes alone as the Lady Vols bolted to a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to a 78-52 victory before a crowd of 5,472 at Mackey Arena.
The victory advanced Tennessee (32-2) to the Sweet 16 for the 27th consecutive time. The regional’s top seed will play No. 5 seed Notre Dame, a 79-75 overtime winner over No. 4 Oklahoma, in the regional semifinals Sunday in Oklahoma City.
UT senior star Candace Parker played her usual lead-scoring role with 24 points. But even she was paying homage to Hornbuckle’s contributions.
“Her stat line was ridiculous,’’ Parker said. “It was hustle and heart.”
Hornbuckle finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a career-high eight steals.
“Her energy is so contagious,’’ UT assistant coach Dean Lockwood said. “It’s infectious. When she plays like that, it’s like she creates a reservoir that people can draw from.’’
Her teammates drew deeply in joining a defensive effort that helped create 15 first-half turnovers and held No. 9 seed Purdue (19-15) without a basket for more than eight minutes. At one point, the Boilermakers missed 11 consecutive shots.
“I told them after the game that we had 30 minutes of the best defense we played all season,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said.
Hornbuckle was gathering her booty from all points on the floor. She was covering ground like a free safety, making steals in the open court and then ranging back toward the basket to steal passes.
Hornbuckle’s final steal was arguably her most opportunistic. She sneaked around behind Purdue’s Danielle Campbell and snatched the basketball as the Boilermakers center was preparing to go up for a shot.
Instead of a Purdue basket, Hornbuckle was going the other way, setting up Parker for a transition layup.
Tennessee center Nicky Anosike speculated that Hornbuckle’s active hand in UT’s effort might have been inspired by a line of questioning during Monday’s media session.
“There was a lot of talk about how our guards would match up with their guards,’’ Anosike said. “I guess Lex took that to heart.”
Hornbuckle didn’t exactly second that notion.
“They didn’t ask me,’’ she said.
She chose to characterize her agenda in this manner: “I just wanted to be a defensive disruption.”
Along with Hornbuckle and Parker, freshman Vicki Baugh was Tennessee’s other double-figure scorer, tying her career high with 12 points in 12 playing minutes. She connected on 6 of 7 field-goal attempts before fouling out with 7:31 left.
Parker tweaked her right shoulder lunging for a steal in the first half. She lingered on the sideline, holding her arm while Purdue’s Keshia Mosley converted a layup.
Although Parker appeared to favor her right arm for a few moments thereafter, Hornbuckle said that she wasn’t worried.
“Nah, she’s a soldier,’’ Hornbuckle said of her teammate. “When she looked at the bench and waved it off, I knew she would be all right.”
Parker was wearing an ice pack afterward on the shoulder, which initially was injured during the preseason.
“It’s sore, but it’s OK,’’ she said.
The Lady Vols led by as many as 33 points in the second half before suffering a lapse that was reminiscent of the regular season.
Led by Mosley’s 14 points, Purdue cut 12 points off its deficit before Tennessee got back on track and back on course to Oklahoma City.
“That’s been an ongoing problem for us,’’ Anosike said. “We get up and then we get complacent. It’s something we need to work on.”
© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Posted by bustervols on March 25, 2008 at 9:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nice win. Grats to Coach Summit.
Posted by plumbervol on March 25, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am ready to put a beatdown on UCONN
Posted by LadyVolFanForever on March 25, 2008 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
2 down 4 to go !!!
Great win Lady Vols. Lex and Candace are on a mission. Good all round effort, keep it up and we will keep the faith.
Coach, you are the best !!!!!
Posted by mdvol on March 25, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Now that is Lady Vol basketball! One step closer to Pat versus Geno.
Posted by VolnFlorida on March 25, 2008 at 10:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Keep it up ladies! Leave no doubt!
Posted by garyfmtn on March 25, 2008 at 10:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sure would have been nice to see more than the first 18 minutes of the game.......Since ESPN2 changed over to the Dook - AZ State game, Knoxville was left in the cold as far as the Lady Vols are concerned....Shouldn't surprise me
Gary
Knoxville
Posted by Einstein on March 25, 2008 at 10:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tennessee fans and Tennessee graduates were also left in the cold in Texas. If ESPN is going to make such a big deal of televising the whole tournament they need to get more stations. Prior to the game I thought I could at least see it on ESPN.com but even that link disappeared.
Posted by MillisaAnn on March 25, 2008 at 10:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Congrats to Pat Summitt on her 100th tourney win and Congrats to the Lady Vols on advancing to the Sweet 16. Go Lady Vols!!!
Posted by bmaples on March 25, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Solid, solid win, but even better, a solid, solid effort. Congrats, Pat and the Lady Vols!!
Four more, Ladies -- but you've got to get them one at a time! Let's get another! Go Lady Vols!
Posted by huntined on March 25, 2008 at 11:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Also lost the game in FLA. But had DUKE ON BOTH ESPN-2 AND ESPN-U..Just have to wait and go see them in Tampa live...
Great win...100 for CPS WOW
Posted by 98reax on March 25, 2008 at 11:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ESPN is so unfair. They call this coverage? 100 NCAA victories for Pat Summitt, the best college basketball coach in the nation. Congratulations Lady Vols for advancing to the OK City Regional.
Posted by Hacksaw57 on March 26, 2008 at 1:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ESPN coverage STUNK tonight!
Thank goodness for the Live Stream audio broadcast on UTLadyvols.com!
The Ladies finally played like the "Lady Vols" of days past - with DEFENSE, aggression and the "Put Em Away" type attitude. They were the BEST TEAM in the tournament tonight. Keep up the effort, Ladies, and another NCAA Championship Banner will be raised over the "Summitt"!
Posted by NOLAvol on March 26, 2008 at 2:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's really strange about the ESPN coverage... in Chattanooga (Comcast) we got to see nearly the entire game. Might be worth inquiring with your local cable provider about this one!
Posted by BallBreaker on March 26, 2008 at 6:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
First congrats to the Lady Vols!
The game was shown in its entirety on http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/e...
The only drawback if you can call it one its broadcast is 60 seconds behind.
Posted by GreerVol22 on March 26, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
CBS is not much better folks. In South Carolina, the mens game was on for all of 10 minutes. CBS kept it on Miami-Texas the whole time. Finally gave up and went to the computer to watch. And they wonder why rating are down.
be glad you got to see them at all. not on any of the ESPNs here. But I did see the "Summit of your career" / "Down Pat" commercial 5 times.
Posted by GreerVol22 on March 26, 2008 at 7:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
CBS is not much better folks. In South Carolina, the mens game was on for all of 10 minutes. CBS kept it on Miami-Texas the whole time. Finally gave up and went to the computer to watch. And they wonder why rating are down.
be glad you got to see them at all. not on any of the ESPNs here. But I did see the "Summit of your career" / "Down Pat" commercial 5 times.
Posted by adimatteo on March 26, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
great job girls, enjoy the rest, you all deserve it, great effort..
Best of luck the rest of the way, you all continue to impress and amaze,and wer'e all glad youre Lady Vols...
We truly have the classiest program, coaches and players, and thats something no one can change, never will...
Enjoy the ride, you've earned it.
Posted by jdcdjc on March 26, 2008 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We lost it in Georgia. Who in thier right mind would want to watch Dook. Go Vols, stay focused.
Posted by andefromtn on March 26, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have to agree coverage is lacking with both tournaments. The Lady Vols did a great job on defence last night. Alexis was amazing and it was so much fun to watch. I hope for 8 more UT wins in basketball this season, because I would love to see double champions. Go UT!
Posted by orngejuiced on March 26, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Can someone please tell me why Alexis didn't win player of the game? She has played well the whole tournament, but you would never know because all you ever hear about is how wonderful Candace Parker is.
Posted by dirislr on March 26, 2008 at 8:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In Morristown, the whole game was on ESPN channel 25. We have charter.
Posted by blewissmith on March 26, 2008 at 8:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The whole game was on ESPN2 channel 31(Comcast) here in Harriman. The ESPN2 HD was the one that gave the national coverage and 31 showed the local coverage.
Posted by KennesawVol on March 26, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If it aint UConn, ESPN won't show it!
They won't miss a cahnce to show their beloved Geno!
Posted by RockyTop1 on March 26, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In Alabama ESPN switched from the Tennessee game about 7 minutes in!!! ??? When UCONN was on they had to get a 30 point lead to leave it to ee a more competitive game! ESPN is just biased.....
they love Geno and hates Pat which just won her 100th playoff game ...again more that ANYONE else!
Posted by Catch24fan on March 26, 2008 at 9:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
On DirecTV you can order ESPN Full Court and see the whole game. It cost a lot but I live in Illinois and I Would pay whatever price it is to see the Lady Vol's play.
Great game, Great defense! Congrats to everyone on a well played game. Angie keep a positive attitude and keep shooting, it's gonna get better.Just relax and have fun, stop pressing.
You had a great game at Notre Dame in January, you can do it to them again.
Posted by 98reax on March 26, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Here we go to OK City where a ticket to Tampa is ours for the taking. Just beat the Irish next Sunday night, then Duke or A&M. My biggest surprise last night was Oklahoma losing to Notre Dame. You just never know, do you? My brackets are busted for sure. Some good basketball games were being played, it's just too bad we couldn't see more of them. ODU and Virginia was a great game, Georgia gave NC a run at it, and from what I saw of it, Dookies did not have an easy time with Arizona St. UConn looks unbeatable to me. Don't hate me for saying so. It grieves me to say it, but it is what it is. The team is clicking on all cylinders. I can't see any team on the left side of the bracket giving them a problem. Of course we will beat them mercilessly when we get the chance.
Posted by johnlg00 on March 26, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for that link, BallBreaker. I thought I was forced to watch Duke-ASU because I have the present misfortune to live in NC. Now I see that ESPN shorted Lady Vols fans all over the country. I also did not know that the Lady Vols games were audio-streamed on their website, especially since the men's games are not carried on their site during the tourney. I gave up on CBS for the men's tourney, at least until the Final Four. The way to go in the earlier rounds is ncaasports.com/mmod. You can watch all the games being played, flipping around among them at will. What a great time to be a UT hoops fan! Women AND men still going strong! GO VOLS AND LADY VOLS!!! LET'S MAKE IT A DOUBLE!!!
Posted by bmgvirgo on March 26, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Apparently you could switch to channel 210 (Directv) and see the whole game. It is the ESPN alternate channel. I missed out, but my parents told me about it later. It is ridiculous though, that they cut away anyway.
Posted by BallBreaker on March 26, 2008 at 11:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If anyone is interested the complete rerun of the game can still be seen at http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/e....
ESPN360 I is available free to broadband users for certain services such as BellSouth. 6 games can be watched at the same time and the reruns are kept available for a few weeks. Smooth viewing with no hesitations.
NOW GO LADY VOLS! REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT!
Posted by brucealmightyfan on March 26, 2008 at 11:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yep the whole game was on ESPNA. Finally, we come out and get someone in a headlock and just keep tightening it the whole game.
Posted by topgun on March 26, 2008 at 11:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
98reax: called it: 20+. Any questions?
Posted by topgun on March 26, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Fortunately, I live in an area that has the VOLS on radio--always a good backup. But, regarding the ESPN coverage, with ESPN, ESPNHD, ESPN2, ESPN2HD, ESPNU, etc., they do bounce around. In my area(Nashville-Comcast), they generally always keep the scheduled game on the non-HD channel and switch big time to the dookies and U con games on the HD channel. Unfortunately, CBS is so bad there are no alternates and when they switch--out comes the radio.
Most of the TV announcers are so bad, they just rattle on, and on , etc. about trivial stuff. Sometimes, the mute button is hit just to watch without their noise. For example, last night, I did watch every second of the game, frequently backing up the DVR to check out the refs' calls, etc.--but, they never mentioned that Baugh fouled out. Rarely, if ever, did they tell us: who had how many fouls,how many team fouls there were, etc. Are these people just BS chit-chatting or covering the game?
The sideline lady interviewed C Parker after the game and asked only one question, something about the hurt sholder--Parker said it was not a problem and the side line lady said OK, that's all. What was that about??
Anyway, the UTLVs looked great. WOW, Purdue never had a chance. LVs go all the way and take down the U cons for the NC #8 in a thriller.
Posted by standowning2001 on March 26, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I live in Ga. for radio men and womens's both I listen to WLAC on their website. It has about a 2 minute delay from comcast
Posted by 98reax on March 26, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
topgun, I was very happy to see that onslaught from the tipoff to the 6 minute mark. They let up due to sloppy play, quick shots, missed easy wide open layups. Result, 12 to 3 run by Boilers. I hate being right about that part. Was not pleased with ESPN's insane coverage.
Yep, I want near perfection from the Lady Vols because it's going to take that to win it all. Yep, two questions: Can we put 40 minutes of smothering D together? Can Anosiki find her game when it counts?
Posted by volfanincarolina on March 26, 2008 at 7:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Angie, we are going to need your outside shooting. You can hit them girl, just keep shooting and say hey just like practice. You are good and very good passer and hustler. Proud of the Lady Vols last night. Keep going and kick UConn's butt.
Posted by topgun on March 26, 2008 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
98reax: You are not my wife are you? You sound just like her. I take a shower, shave, put on nice clothes, look real good and all she she ever says is: "you are not going out in public looking like THAT are you??!!" Maybe we didn't see the same game, but Hornbuckle and Parker played to near perfection!! PLease give the kids a break!
Still think the let ups you are so determined to so minutely dissect are due, in most part, to the subs Pat puts in early. Definite let up when the subs are in. But, the starters played well the entire game. Remember, Notre Dame might have the "glory" advantage, but the UTLVs win by 20+ again. GO VOLS!
Posted by LadyHusky on March 26, 2008 at 8:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You vols do not seriously believe you have a chance against UCONN do you?? Are you all serious?? Have you watched them lately???
Posted by pendav on March 27, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hi Ladyhusky
You are 100% right. Nobody can beat Uconn.
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