by Wendy King
posted November 2, 2007
Eight years ago, Kara Lawson was a freshman whose buzzer beater resulted in the Lady Vols stunning the USA Senior National basketball team 65-64 in Knoxville.
Lawson, who is probably best known today as an ESPN women’s basketball analyst while continuing her pro career with the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs, will return to her alma mater on Sunday for a homecoming.
She won’t be broadcasting and she won’t be wearing orange. Instead, she will be wearing the red, white and blue of the USA team that will play the defending national champion and consensus pre-season number one UT as the teams celebrate the reopening of the “new” Thompson-Boling Arena Sunday at 3 p.m.
Lawson led Team USA with 17 points in its 90-73 win over Maryland on Halloween night and added 15 in the almost identical 90-74 triumph against UConn on Friday.
It will also be homecoming for Loree Moore of the New York Liberty. Moore was a member of the Lady Vols from 2001-05.
TBA underwent a $19 million renovation to commemorate its 20th anniversary this summer adding 32 luxury suites, 166 side court seats and installing a three million dollar scoreboard. However, the seating capacity has been reduced from 24,535 to 21,678 resulting in fewer of the new black seats.
Although the Lady Vols will be playing their first game in Knoxville since capturing the program’s seventh NCAA championship in April, the newest title banner will not be raised to the rafters until Nov. 18 when the University of Texas with new coaches Gail Goestenkoers formerly of Duke and Mickie DeMoss, the ex-UT assistant who resigned as Kentucky’s head coach last season, visit TBA in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Leading the Lady Vols again this year is junior Candace Parker, whose trophy stock increased dramatically last season by becoming the first sophomore to win both the State Farm Wade Trophy and John Wooden Award. The Final Four MVP was also nominated for an ESPY as Female Athlete of the Year.
Parker will literally be surrounded by teammates on Sunday since she spent her summer helping Team USA qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The 6’4” Parker, who is engaged to Shelden Williams of the Atlanta Hawks, was the top scorer and also led in steals and blocks as the USA squad won the gold medal at September’s FIBA Americas tournament.
While Parker will once again this season be the subject of speculation as to whether or not she will forego her senior year to join the WNBA and capitalize on what is expected to be unprecedented endorsements for the undisputed dunking champion of women’s basketball, for now she and her Lady Vol teammates will be focused on defending their national championship.
Returning with Parker in the starting lineup are seniors Alexis Hornbuckle and Nicky Anosike who joined Parker on the Southeastern Conference Coaches Pre-Season first team earlier this week. Shannon Bobbitt, who is the third senior in the starting five, was selected to the second team by the SEC coaches.
Freshman Angie Bjorklund, the first Lady Vol basketball signee from the state of Washington, is expected to be the sole newcomer in the starting lineup replacing Sidney Spencer who just completed her rookie season with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks. Bjorklund is a 6’ guard/forward from Spokane who won numerous national and state honors throughout her prep career.
Joining Bjorklund in the Class of 2011 are Vicki Baugh, a 6’4” forward/center from Sacramento, CA, 6’6” center Kelley Cain of Atlanta, who is tied with former Lady Vol Vonda Ward as the tallest players in UT history and Sydney Smallbone, a 5’10” guard from Granger, IN.
Cait McMahan will be participating from the sidelines this season after undergoing off-season right knee surgery to further repair damage to a previously torn ACL. The 5’4” Maryville native is expected to be granted red-shirt status thus giving her three more years of eligibility.
Also returning to the Lady Vols are senior forward Alberta Auguste and junior forward/center Alex Fuller both of whom are expected to make major contributions both from the bench and possibly as starters.
The stop in Knoxville is the third of Team USA’s eight game college road trip. Team USA’s remaining games after playing the Lady Vols will be at Baylor, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Southern Cal and Stanford.
Several familiar faces will be making return visits to Knoxville besides Lawson and Moore. Among the members of Team USA is a trio of former UConn Huskies in Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Detroit Shock) and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) as well as Seimone Augustus, the LSU great who now plays for the Minnesota Lynx.
Three-time Olympian Lisa Leslie is making her comeback on the USA tour after giving birth to her daughter Lauren in June.
The Lady Vols will host Carson-Newman in the second and final exhibition on Tuesday night. The 2007-08 regular season officially gets underway with a TBA 20th Anniversary celebration next Sunday at 3 p.m. when UT hosts the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. The game will be televised on Sport South.
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Nicky Anosike
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