OKLAHOMA CITY — The milestone must wait.
Oklahoma’s first women’s basketball victory over Tennessee took priority Monday night over Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and the quest for her 1,000th career win.
The second-ranked Sooners saw to that in resounding fashion, staging a stampede that trampled a 15-point first-half deficit and paved the way to an 80-70 victory before a crowd of 12,552 at the Ford Center.
Freshman Whitney Hand led four double-figure scorers with 20 points for Oklahoma (19-2). Ashley Paris scored 19.
Sooners star Courtney Paris’ NCAA record double-double streak ended at 112 games when she fouled out with nine points with 38 seconds left.
“That’s the only thing we did well,’’ Summitt said half-jokingly.
Shekinna Stricklen led No. 12 Tennessee (16-5) with 21 points. But she had just six in the second half.
To make matters worse for UT, forward Vicki Baugh limped away from a layup in the final minutes and had to be helped to the bench. She played 26 minutes and scored 11 points in her most extensive action since suffering a sprained left knee on Jan. 1. She went to the locker room afterward in a wheelchair. There was no immediate word on her condition.
Tennessee had four double-figures scorers, too. The Lady Vols also had a 33-29 rebounding advantage. But the statistics that really mattered began with their 24 turnovers.
“Some of those turnovers, quite honestly, were ridiculous,’’ Summitt said.
Oklahoma’s 53.4 percent field-goal shooting also stood out. Hand was 8-for-9 from the floor. She made four of five 3-point attempts.
“It’s not like we didn’t watch her on tape,’’ said Summitt, who remained stuck on 999 career victories. “For whatever reason, our guards didn’t defend.”
The first half played out like two halves in one.
Tennessee got the early jump, making its break after Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris picked up two fouls inside the first five minutes and came out.
Stricklen led Tennessee’s surge. The Lady Vols freshman guard was a terror on both ends, recording four first-half steals and scoring 15 points. She swished consecutive 3-pointers, hollering for joy after the second gave UT a 32-18 lead.
At that point, Courtney Paris returned and the game’s momentum swung in whiplash-like fashion back toward Oklahoma. It wasn’t a matter of her production. She scored just one basket before the break. But her presence coincided with a 23-4 Oklahoma scoring run to conclude the half.
“We played possession by possession and pulled on that reservoir of comebacks we have,’’ said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale, referencing the Sooners overcoming a 26-point halftime deficit against Cal on Dec. 13.
After a Glory Johnson free throw, UT went 10 possessions and more than five minutes without scoring.
OU regained the lead at 33-31 on a basket by Danielle Robinson, who had 17 points and 12 assists.
“I think we let down and we started turning the ball over,’’ Stricklen said. “We started rushing things.”
At halftime, Tennessee trailed 41-36 and was the team with the most pressing foul problem after guard Angie Bjorklund picked up three before the break.
Bjorklund picked up her fourth foul inside the first four minutes of the second half and was limited to four minutes and three points in the final 20 minutes.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, was limiting itself to seven second-half turnovers after committing 12 in the first half. The Sooners also made a point of shadowing Stricklen.
“We stopped throwing them the ball and we decided not to let Shekinna Stricklen shoot any more 3s,’’ Coale said. “That was key.”
Oklahoma pushed its lead into double figures (57-46) on Hand’s 3-pointer with 13:11 left and led by as many as 18 points.
Tennessee returns home to face SEC rival Georgia on Thursday night. At the moment, the milestone is the least of Summitt’s concerns.
“I’m concerned about this team investing in our system,’’ she said, “and not picking and choosing when they play hard.”
Dan Proctor draws Tennessee Football…
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Cordarrelle Patterson drafted by the…
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Comments » 76
huntined#565710 writes:
Good try and great start we were not expected to win but had them going the first 9-10 min
CHS52VOL writes:
Pat Summitt - Second to None!
huntined#565710 writes:
You are right there BIG TIME
jr2miles writes:
This team had this game it upset me as a fan to see them stop playing in the first half. Bass need to play like a point guard I for one reason do not see how see made this team. I hope Tenn can finish the season strong and get coach this much deserve win. Go Vols!!!!!
bmaples writes:
Not tonight -- and probably to be expected. OU this year looks like UT last year: tough on the inside, quick on the outside.
BUT -- lots of great experience for our Baby Vols, who will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come.
Pat, come on home and win that 1K at The Summitt!
Bruce in Louisville
budd#207344 writes:
The first 12 minutes showed how well these players can play when they try. The rest of the game showed them to still be spoiled high school hotshots. It is truly unfortunate because, if they learn to play as CPS is trying to teach them, they could be a very imposing addition to UT BB history. As it is they are quickly on their way to being one of the poorest teams UT has had on the court. You are no longer freshman ladies. Your coach and your universtiy deserve better.
PureOrange writes:
We looked great for most of the first half. They showed just how good they can be, but then they seem to want to show us how bad they can be. Pat is the best there is, but her patience must be able to blow her head off with this group that cannot muster up a 40 minute effort.
I harp on it a lot, but the stupid lazy passes helped do us in again. Our girls, over and over, look right at the other team's player standing closer to them than our own player and then tries to throw a lazy pass to them. The other team does not even have to make an effort to pick it off.
The officiating was pathetic, but we were good enough to overcome it if we only wanted to win more. Until we do, then we are going to continue to suffer these disappointments.
To Vicky Baugh, it was great to see her back on the floor. I only hope and pray she is not out for the year. We really need her.
Pullingguard writes:
Maturity will help this team... Its so evident of the youth and lack of control by the team... Come 2 years down the road and possibly next year they will be good... I suspect Pat is very unhappy because its taking these girls longer than expected to mature into a polished team...
LadyVolFanForever writes:
We started out like gangbusters and gave everyone a glimpse of what the Lady Vols will look like in the future (hopefully, the near future).
We surely are a different team with Baugh in the game. She gave it her all and I hope she did not pay too big a price for it.
Win 1,000 will come and go....the Lady Vols will become a TEAM and Coach Summitt will have another feather in her cap.
abnermc writes:
We will beat them if we play again. Had the game & let it slip away. Worst officiating of the year so far.
YankeeVol writes:
Good News: Maybe they'll win 1000 at home, Pat Summitt still rocks, Stricklen is awesome.
Bad News: These girls are turnover machines.
dbgray writes:
Hey Budd, these kids are not spoiled hot shots. They are an extremely young team playing with the best (except UCONN) in the nation. Give me a break they will get better fast! You are the one who is spoiled!! This year Pat is earning her huge salary!
ggriggs939#223122 writes:
I did not believe Pat would be allowed by the big 12 to win the game. Why did the shots suddenly begin to quit falling after the Lady VOLS went up by 14? OU called a time out and then everything turned against the Lady VOLS.
LadyVolFanForever writes:
Let's not be sore losers. This IS a rebuilding year, it is just taking longer than expected.
utang1602#204610 writes:
The only person this team needs to answer to is Pat Summitt. The university doesn't "deserve" anything. The players are not indentured servants; they are student-athletes, and Pat Summitt would probably call you out for calling them 'spoiled high school hotshots.'
They were not expected to win this game (and shouldn't have been, with a No.2 vs a No.12, and seniors vs. freshmen), and they gave glimpses of a bright, bright future. They are insanely young, and haven't played with a full deck of players the entire season.
Suck it up, buddy, because this team deserves true fans, and more respect than you just showed them.
eefor10c writes:
It is hard for me to admit but I am in agreement with coach Bob Knight. When it became apparent that OU was doing everything in its power to keep Courtney Paris' double-double streak going he commented that he thought it took away from the game because they had the victory and were only worried about the record. I do not believe that this is something that Pat would do. I hope that Vickie hasn't caused permanent damage by trying to come back and play this year. If healthy she would have added so much leadership that is sorely needed!
doctorfingervol writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
don't worry, your meds should kick in shortly....there you go, take it easy, relax now....
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
WYH game did some of you watch??? These girls came out and played their butts off in the first half. They played as hard as they could play.
Problem is, you can't play that way 40 mintues, no matter who you are. When the effort trails off, the lack of experience, the mistakes on defense, and the little things take over.
Yeah, the officiating stunk, HUGE cnotact under the basket. But, I'm not going to whine about it. Also, I saw ZERO sign of 'ego-baaketball'. What I saw is girls who don't have all the tools yet for great team basketball.
I would add: I thought the team really suffered with Bass running it. Pat got her to by another Latta or Little Bit, but unless she can shoot the 3 or get to hoop and darw fouls, she is more of a liability than a help.
Dan sure got it right: the elbow foul called on Johnson was frikin' HUGE. That is pretty much a no-call in the men's game, you have to have room to pivot and pass.
Finally, we played piss-poor against Hand. We made her look like the second coming of Diana Tarausi (sp). Courtney Paris looked like a slug, she certainly wasn't much of a threat. Too much to overcome with Hand's points.
MrBamSeydu writes:
Kelly Cain is the most over-rated player I can remember. Wasn't she a 5-star top 5 player? Was it just because she's like 6'6? She's basically terrible.
BSweet writes:
First football, now both the men's and women's basketball teams are struggling. I have faith in Pat to turn it around, but man, what a tough year to be a Vol. I look forward to better times.
faithfulvol writes:
These girls started this game out truly showing the talent and potential they have. Hopefully things will get better before tournament time.
Devastating seeing Vicki Baugh's injury. It didn't look good.
Has anyone heard any kind of update yet?
I am holding out hope for this young team. They just are making youthful mistakes. They will see a Natl Championship in a couple years.
lewhs93#205993 writes:
Remember our great team last year barely beat this OK team in Tampa.They are going to be a great team one of these days.I just i can live through the growing pains.GO LADY VOLS.
Seriouslyorange writes:
What rock did you crawl out from under?
You sound like somebody that is a Gino Ur-an-enema fan.
Get a life.
BigOrangeVol writes:
First and foremost we all need to pray for Vicki!!! That did not look encouraging at all when she was dragging that left leg to the bench. My heart aches for her.
Note: Nobody breaths and bleeds orange more than I do and it kils me to watch both of our basketball teams waste their talent and coaching with the uninspired performances they are turning in. They are simply cheating themselves and don't seem to understand that.
Now to my complaints...
Post Players
Turnovers have nothing to do with youth or injuries whatsoever; chalk those up to being lazy and a lack of focus! The Assist to Turnover Ratio is utterly abysmal and there is NO legitimate excuse for that!!! Tonight: 24 TO's and 9 Assists; that is pathetic. 41.7% of those TO's tonight were by Johnson and Fuller. For the season the Lady Vols have 100 more turnovers than assists. That's ONE HUNDRED more in 21 games and it's getting worse not better!!! 366 turnovers and 25% of those are by Johnson and Fuller. Kinna is no better; she's leads the team with 64 (17.5% of them all by herself). Glory and Kinna make up 35% of all our turnovers. Only Bri and Syd have more assists than turnovers. BTW Oklahoma had 19 Assists and 19 Turnovers.
Guards
Our opponents are shooting 33.5% behind the line. I'm surprised it isn't 50% because rarely is there anyone in the face of the shooter regardless of how much Pat screams at them to shift and cover. Standing four feet away, taking one step towards them as they shoot and raising your hand in the shooters general direction is not considered contesting the shot although they all seem really adept at doing just that. That isn't how Pat teaches defending a jump shot.
We're 21 games into the season with only eight more regular season match-ups and youth is not a viable excuse anymore. Injuries are legit but the players that are on the floor all seem to have their own version of Basketball A.D.D.! The talent is in place but the heart, effort and desire are not.
Their Freshman lit us up for 20 points, 2 steals, 1 assist and 1 block with only 1 turnover. Youth didn't seem to bother her at all! Their Seniors played less than a third of the game. Their Juniors only played 22.5% of the game. They only played eight players and only got 11 points from their bench. Their starters beat ours by 16 points.
Hopefully the only games left on the schedule that look like losses are Florida and Duke but with this group I'd say Bama is the only lock for a win.
I wouldn't be this critical if I didn't love these girls and want them to succeed above all else so pardon the negativity and frustration. This may be the very first year in history that we don't make it to the Sweet 16!
CHS52VOL writes:
That is pathetic. Does not deserve a response other than a Pat Summitt stare!
ncvol writes:
We will overcome and get the job done ...
Hang tough ladies and let's play the whole game like you did at the start of the first half.
We love for you to win every game but we still love you when you don't....Go Vols!
knoxdaniel#213742 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
pdhuff#552644 writes:
24 turnovers!
Young team but man!!!
Word to raccoons, don't be crawling up after dog food on Miz Pat's deck anytime soon!!
Azz be flying off in the darkness.
ladivolfan writes:
Pat will teach and Brianna will grow. I felt the same way about Glory that you do about Brianna....until tonight when I saw what Glory is capable of.
tedb#664810 writes:
I think the first comment is more on target than yours. This team has shown a lot of immaturity for this point in the season. Perhaps senior leadership is lacking here, but these girls need to suck it up and pay attention to their coaches.
BigRMan writes:
You see stretches of what this team is capable of and then they checked out for the last 7 min. of the first half when OU went on the 23-3 run-Value the basketball ladies treat it like it was gold. Vicki Baugh needs to be shelved the rest of the season for the sake of her long range health- Cain better get herself under a fire so she can contribute some intimidation in the paint and get on the boards consistently-Hope win # 1000 comes Wed. night-Stricklen and Johnson should be able to dominate most of their opponents-more direction is needed from the point guard position
DroopyDrawers writes:
I am sure that Bass is giving it her all but she just doesn't have it. She would be last in my rotation!
jackxx#237396 writes:
1. ABNERMC said: "...Worst officiating of the year so far." Evidently Abner must have missed the ODU game.
2. Bobby Knight should go back to coaching. He's not very good at being a commentator. And Brent Musberger! Give me a break! Watched most of the game with the mute on.
GO LV! 1,000th at home on Thursday!
Jackfergs in VA
perldoc writes:
I enjoyed the sideline shots of the Oklahoma coach. She was hot. ;)
adimatteo#261830 writes:
Vicki should not have been playing at all, no need to have rushed her back, sit is a shame for her mostly and the next few seasons for the team
utbacker writes:
Can't say she shouldn't have been playing because she didn't look bad. I will question why she was in the game with 2-3 minutes left and the game was clearly out of reach. Use the bench at that point in time. Why risk someone who's that important at that stage of the game. Doesn't always come back to bite you, but when it does... it's huge.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
The OU freshman was playing wiht veterans, not other freshmen. It makes a huge difference.
The turnovers are mostly from youth and inexperience at this level. Remember, Fuller is/has been just a role player.
One V one, these girls can play with maybe anybody. The problem is that college bball requires a LOT of team coordination, and when its missing, it shows up in things like turnovers and defense.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
yeah, giving up the big run just sucked. We missed every kind of shot, ft's, three's, whatever. OU got away with a ton of fouling inside during that stretch.
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
Something I'd add:
Robinson, the PG, actually won the game for OU. Look at her assists, scoring, low turnovers, and overall defense.
As with the men, the LV's cannot handle a team with a strong guard tandem.
I don't think OU is a great team. Courtney Paris cannot run, and even with our young team we had them frazzled. I think some of the east coast teams will pretty much clean their clocks.
jr2miles writes:
OU would not be a top team in the ACC or the Big East. Tenn should of won this game it make me mad as a huge fan of the ladies to see them go out there and not compete for 40 minutes. I am dissapointed the way the guards played last night. I hope this team get ready to play a good Georgia team. Go Vols!!!!!
houvol#438636 writes:
They will be fine. Go Lady Vols!
Diamonds527 writes:
I agree with jackxx237396 about the commentating. Bobby Knight and Brent Musberger, give me a break. Bring back the commentators the ladies have had all year. It seems as soon as Courtney Paris was put back into the game, the Lady Vols big run went right away. After the initial spurt to open the game, it seems like they just got lazy. Too many turnovers, not enough effort.
Good Luck Lady Vols on Thursday night, go and grab that 1000th win for Pat.
queens2183#661836 writes:
Let me pose a general question to the board and you guys can respond to me if you wish:
What makes this team of freshmen and sophomores different from the original super six (Candace, Nicky, Lex class) teams?
How quickly it seems people forget that as freshmen and sophomores, the original Super Six didn't achieve much and with more seniors and juniors to learn from. Nicky, Candace, and Lex didn't become the players they were overnight and it took them time to develop into the players they became. How quickly we forget that Pat took the names off the jerseys b/c of that group and even said she didn't know if Lex would ever develop into a leader. Also, how quickly we forget that last year's team pretty much sleep walked through the most of the season last year without playing a complete 40 minutes until postseason and were hounded for it but beat teams b/c they were more experienced and talented and had the roles on the team defined to where they could flip the switch when they chose. So again I ask what's the difference?
You ostracize this young team for doing the very same things that a vet team did last year. The difference is that this young team has had injuries, is inexperienced, lacks leadership, and has not played with a full team all year. They haven't completely grasped what it is to play at this level CONSISTENTLY and that really can be expected from a young team. It takes youth longer to mature and IMO it's not a lack of effort, it's a lack of execution. They have to understand that you have to focus longer at this level and can't have lapses against quality opponents. Their problems are fixable and no one should give up on them. They don't suck, don't not give it their all, and don't disrespect the program: THEY'RE YOUNG and it may take more time to grow than some people are willing to give them. It took Candace, Nicky, and Lex 2 years before they "bought in" and they still had to be reminded last year. Stick with this group, support them and help them; more than anything they need people that are willing to be on their side when they play great and even when they don't.
LadyVolFanForever writes:
queens, you just said it all ! Thank you.
johnlg00 writes:
Good points. There were at least a half-dozen times I startled my wife by jumping out of my chair and screaming some variation of, "Who the heck were you looking at???" It was as if some of them thought we were wearing white last night! It is one thing to be swarmed by defensive pressure and give it up a few times, but some of those turnovers were beyond ridiculous. As for your comment about the officiating I couldn't believe that BOB KNIGHT of all people repeatedly praised the officiating! Talk about Bizzaro World. As for Vicky, I know I had a sick feeling when I saw her carried off. Losing her would be WAY worse than losing that ball game.
johnlg00 writes:
So what are you saying? Did you think Big-12 stooges put cellophane wrap on our goal during that time-out? Did they bribe all our players to start throwing the ball to OU for no apparent reason? A more mature, mentally-tough LV team wins that game. This crew is just not that kind of team yet.
RLL59 writes:
I'm a big fan of the Lady Vols and women's basketball in general, but I have a few concerns about this team and the coaching. First, Glory, in both the MS game and the first half of last night's game, went back to shooting her free throws with virtually no arc. The results expectedly were poor. In the second half, she put arc on the ball and made 7 in a row. Hopefully a coach encouraged the change at half time, but why did it take more than a game for someone to figure out the problem? Glory's got all the athletic ability in the world, but plays out of control much of the time. In my opinion, the elbow throwing incident which knocked C. Paris down was uncalled for and certainly would have been called in the men's game as well.
Angie started out the game being very agressive and looking for her shot. But the first time the ball was stolen from her, she committed a cheap foul, one that's only called in the women's game, but nevertheless one which she needs to avoid. She should be the team's leader and she is vital to the team's success. She needs to avoid unnecessary fouls, so she can play most of the game.
Pat's comment about not contesting Whitney Hand puts too much blame on the guards for the loss. She only shot 9 times the entire game, which was only 4th on the team, and she played the entire 40 minutes. One shot was a layup after a steal, and her 3 pointers were nearly all off picks or well behind the 3 point line. She didn't score from the time the Lady Vols were up 32-18 with 8 minutes to go in the first half until Oklahoma was ahead 48-44 with 5 minutes gone in the second half. While there were a few mental lapses allowing open shots, and switching on defense was an issue just like it has been all year, it doesn't seem to be just a guard problem.
It's a bit discouraging not seeing more progress in many aspects of the this team's game. Hopefully, they'll put it together before the tournaments.
johnlg00 writes:
Good stuff as usual. I don't think that elbowing foul against Glory would have been called if there hadn't been a couple of well-publicized cases of elbowing in men's games recently. No doubt officials all over the country were told to keep the lid on that. Agree about Bass. She has had several games now where she has made bad decisions about driving and passing and her own offense has fallen to zero. I rather doubt Hand was in the first few lines of the scouting report. She had a phenomenal game and looks like a really good player, but it was clear the defensive emphasis was to slow or stop the Paris girls. We--and she--did a pretty good job on Courtney but Ashley was a big surprise to me, at least.
YankeeVol writes:
I pray to God that Nancy Lieberman and Bob Knight never call a game together again. The flirting between them, and the endless self-promotion was really, really yucky. Made me want to shower.
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