Who needs Simon, Paula and Randy?
The sixth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols and the top-rated North Carolina Tar Heels have their own American Idols who will face off tonight in the final of the Cleveland Regional where a trip to next weekend’s Final Four in Boston awaits the victor.
Game time at the Quicken Loans Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN HD (Chattanooga Comcast 28 and 202) with radio coverage on WGOW-FM (102.3).
The second-seeded Lady Vols (31-4) have disposed of Army, George Washington and Rutgers to reach the highly anticipated showdown with the Tarheels (32-1) in a match up that many had hoped would take place in Boston instead of Cleveland.
However, while Cleveland will be the ultimate destination next year when the city hosts the 2007 Finals, the Lady Vols want to depart the Lake Erie shores with a fifth consecutive journey to the Final Four and the opportunity for its seventh national title.
Ironically, the last time UT and UNC met on the hardwood, it was the 1998 Regional Final in Nashville where the Lady Vols disposed of the Tarheels 76-70 on their way to their perfect 39-0 season which ended with their third straight and most recent national championship.
Carolina’s lone victory over UT in 13 meetings occurred just over two decades ago when the Tarheels won 82-68 in Chapel Hill. UNC’s sole loss this season was to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland. The Terrapins will be awaiting the winner of the UNC-UT game as they captured the first slot in the Final Four Monday night with a victory over Utah at the Albuquerque Regional championship. Tennessee’s Southeastern Conference rival Louisiana State also sealed a trip to Boston by defeating Stanford late Monday at the San Antonio Regional.
The Tarheels lost to the Terrapins in overtime 98-95 on Feb. 9 in Chapel Hill. The Lady Vols meanwhile, defeated Maryland 80-75 in December at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.
UNC is led by 5’6” junior point guard Ivory Latta who has captured her share of the media attention although UT’s slam dunk freshman sensation Candace Parker has dominated the headlines in her history making rookie season.
Latta, who was carried off the floor with leg cramps after she scored the winning basket in lifting UNC past Purdue in their semifinal on Sunday, has recovered and will be in the starting lineup.
Latta is the UNC’s leading scorer averaging 18.5 points per game and on defense, she has made 73 steals. She is a finalist for the Naismith Award which is bestowed on the national player of the year.
Sophomore forward Erlana Larkins is the team’s top rebounder averaging 7.1 per game and is the second leading scorer with a 13.5 point average. Junior forward/guard Camille Little averages 11.5 points per game.
Reserve LaToya Pringle has made 70 blocks for the Tarheels and averages 5.5 points.
Meanwhile, the Lady Vols will rely on the tandem of Parker and Shanna Zolman. The freshman and the senior respectively combined for 58 of UT’s 76 points in the victory over Rutgers.
Parker is leading UT with a 17.2 point average but she will forever be known as the first woman who made two slam dunks in a collegiate game in the Lady Vols’ opening round win over Army on the 19th.
The Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year also leads in rebounds with an 8.3 average and in blocks with 84. However, she has also is credited with 100 assists.
Zolman, who established UT’s all time three point scoring record last week, is averaging 15.5 points per game. The senior from Syracuse, Ind. established a new career high with 29 points in the Rutgers victory.
As effective as Zolman has been at the three point line, she has been even more so at the free throw stripe missing only five of 90 shots this season.
In the team statistics, UT is trailing UNC in most categories. The Tarheels average almost 83 points per game to Tennessee’s 78.7. UNC’s victory margin is at almost 25 points while UT is winning by an average of 18.
The Tarheels, who are riding a 10 game victory streak, leads in rebounds with 41.3 while Tennessee is averaging 39.5.
On steals, Carolina has the edge 12.9 to 8.9 as well as on assists 18.3 to 15.5.
The Lady Vols have committed fewer turnovers on average with 15 to UNC’s 18.5.
Wendy King
tnwendy1@comcast.net