Adams: Lady Vols need time to mature

You knew this was coming. You just didn't know it was coming so soon.

You thought Tennessee could at least make it to Thanksgiving without missing superstar Candace Parker and all the other departed veterans from back-to-back national championships.

But that was before you got a load of 16th-ranked Virginia and junior guard Monica Wright, who delivered a Parker-like performance in the Cavaliers' 83-82 victory at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday night.

Wright gave the Cavaliers what UT's freshman-heavy team lacked: a go-to offensive player. She also magnified UT's defensive shortcomings.

Last season, Wright likely would have had to contend with Alexis Hornbuckle, a tenacious perimeter defender. And if Wright got the best of Hornbuckle, UT could have countered by moving center Nicky Anosike outside.

But the fifth-ranked Lady Vols had no answer for Wright, who had 35 points on 14-for-26 shooting from the field and also contributed eight rebounds and five steals.

Not all of UT's problems were Wright-induced. The Lady Vols too often looked lost at both ends of the court in the final minutes.

And there was no Parker to save them from themselves. Also, they were playing without injured Angie Bjorklund, the 2007-08 SEC freshman of the year.

"We don't have an established go-to player," UT coach Pat Summitt said. "That hurt us as a team. They had two go-to players (Wright and center Aisha Mohammed, who scored 19 points).

"I have to remind ourselves that we are young. Eventually, someone has to step up and take more responsibility."

Virginia coach Debbie Ryan won't have to wait on her most talented players to grow up.

"It's incredibly easier to formulate who you will go to and how you will do it (when you have established go-to players)," Ryan said. "They haven't quite developed that. I think Glory (Johnson) will end up being their go-to player."

In the second game of her collegiate career, Johnson had 13 points and six rebounds, but she also had five turnovers and a costly technical foul with 3:38 to play.

Point guard Briana Bass was the most productive of UT's freshmen against the Cavaliers. She had 13 points and five assists in 20 minutes, and enthralled the crowd with a couple of dazzling drives to the basket in the early-going.

But there was nothing dazzling about UT's offense down the stretch. While Summitt scolded her team for its lack of toughness, its lack of poise was just as evident in the last three minutes.

"Give Virginia a lot of credit," Summitt said. "They maintained their composure."

They also overcame a lot of dreadful history, which Ryan shared openly with her team before tipoff.

"My memories being in this building are not very good," Ryan said.

"I was in the exact same locker room as in 1990 (when Knoxville hosted the Final Four). We didn't win that game against Stanford. Every other time we came here, it was pretty much a complete drubbing."

UT fans might have sensed another drubbing was in the works when the Lady Vols opened up a 13-point lead with 3:50 to play in the first half. But the Cavaliers cut the lead to eight by halftime and outscored UT 15-6 to start the second half.

"I didn't say hardly anything at halftime," Ryan said. "They already had decided what they needed to do."

After a rare home loss, Summitt knows what her own team needs to do. And it's not complicated.

"We just need to grow up," she said.

A growth spurt is recommended before mid-December when the Lady Vols play back-to-back road games against nationally ranked Texas and Old Dominion.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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