by Wendy King
posted February 11, 2008
To say that the Tennessee Lady Vols scored a last-second victory over Rutgers in their NCAA title rematch Monday night in Knoxville would be an exaggeration.
For the Scarlet Knights it was a moment frozen in time.
Nicky Anosike sank a pair of free throws with two-tenths of a second remaining to give the top-ranked Lady Vols a miraculous 59-58 win over #7 Rutgers when it appeared that the Scarlet Knights had not only ended a three game losing streak to UT, but had become the first team to defeat number one teams back to back after upsetting Connecticut 73-71 last Tuesday.
Anosike was fouled by Kia Vaughn when the clock seemed to stop at the two-tenths mark but after the officials conferred, Anosike was allowed to go to the free throw line where she made the shots to cap off UT’s comeback after the Lady Vols trailed 56-51 with less than two minutes left in the game.
Tennessee (22-1) had led 34-23 at intermission due almost entirely to the performance of Candace Parker who scored 17 of her 27 points in the opening half. Forty-eight hours ago Parker’s playing status was in question after she hyper extended her left knee in the closing minutes of UT’s win over Mississippi State last Thursday in Starkville.
The Scarlet Knights (19-4) went on a 10-0 run to open the second half and held UT scoreless for over six minutes until Angie Bjorklund connected on a jump shot at the 13:56 mark.
Bjorklund was also allowed back in the UT lineup after breaking her nose in the MSU game.
Tennessee made just six of 26 attempts from the field in the closing 20 minutes which allowed Rutgers to regain their momentum taking a 39-38 lead on a Rashidat Junaid lay-up with 10:21 remaining.
When UT was down 44-43 at the 6:40 mark, Shannon Bobbitt was assessed with a technical foul after taunting Rutgers’ Matjee Ajavon when she was whistled for her fourth personal. UT coach Pat Summitt, who was miked for portions of the game, unleashed her fury on Bobbitt after officials told her the reason for the technical.
Rutgers was leading by five with 1:53 left after Vaughn’s lay-up which resulted in Summitt calling a 20 second timeout to map out UT’s strategy. Bobbitt rebounded from her technical and Bjorklund who despite four personal fouls, answered as both players sank three pointers to close the gap to 57-56 sending the over 17,000 in attendance at Thompson-Boling Arena into a pink clad frenzy on a night where both teams and fans commemorated “Think Pink” as a part of the national tribute to breast cancer awareness.
After Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer called her 20-second timeout, Essence Carson hit on her jumper to regain the lead for the pink-uniform clad Scarlet Knights with 26 seconds left.
Rutgers players were beginning to celebrate their first win in Knoxville and temporarily ending the frustration of having been eliminated from the NCAAs by UT the last three seasons most notably at the 2007 final which saw Tennessee win its seventh national title 59-46.
That is until Vaughn’s foul on Anosike in a call that could have major repercussions should the teams collide again during the post-season.
Bjorklund finished with 13 points. Epiphanny Prince led Rutgers with 21 points while Carson added 18.
The Lady Vols will have little time to recover from Rutgers as they prepare to face no. 8 Louisiana State Thursday night in a showdown between the Southeastern Conference rivals. Both teams are unbeaten in SEC play with UT at 8-0 while LSU (20-3) is 9-0.
Tennessee vs. Rutgers Post-Game Notes
February 11, 2008
Notes…
-Tonight’s game was THINK PINK night in Thompson-Boling Arena. The entire lower bowl of the arena was filled with pink tee shirts before the game started.
-Tennessee made a three-point basket for the 325th consecutive game.
-The Lady Vols were held without a field goal from the 8:15 mark until 41 seconds remained in the first half, during which time they connected on all seven free throw attempts to maintain the lead.
-It took Tennessee until 13:47 showed on the clock to score from the field to start the second half as Rutgers went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead the one. Angie Bjorklund made the Tennessee bucket. It was the only Lady Vol field goal until 5:18 left in the game when Candace Parker scored.
The win tonight…
-Improves the Lady Vols to 22-1 on the season and a 10-1 mark against ranked foes.
-Gives UT an all-time record of 77-22 against ranked opponents when ranked No. 1 in the AP poll and a 4-4 record when that opponent is ranked No. 5.
-Gives UT an all-time record of 390-149 against ranked foes, including an 80-75 record against the AP top-five.
-Gives Tennessee a 14-3 lead in the all-time series with Rutgers, including four straight victories
-Gives Tennessee a 4-0 record this season and a 75-19 all-time mark against teams from the BIG EAST.
-Gives the Lady Vols an overall record of 582-124 in non-conference games.
-Extends the Lady Vols’ overall winning streak to 12 games and their home winning streak to 17.
-Gives Pat Summitt a career record of 969-181 in her 34th season at Tennessee.
Alexis Hornbuckle…
-Started for the 104th time of her 123-game career, tying her with Sheila Frost for 11th place in the UT annals.
-Reached the 1,200-point plateau for her career.
-Moved past Michelle Marciniak (449) and into a tie for fifth place with Kellie Jolly in the UT record books for career assists (452).
Angie Bjorklund…
-Scored the first points of the night for the Lady Vols and reached double figures for the 10th time this season
-Scored the go-ahead three-point bucket with 47 seconds left to go ahead 57-56
Candace Parker…
-Started for the 94th time in her career, tying her with Gwen Jackson and Tanya Haave for 15th place in the UT record books.
-Moved past Haave (1,771) and Sheila Frost (1,790) into sixth place for career points (1,795) at UT.
-Moved past Semeka Randall (439) and into third place in the UT record books for career free throws made (446).
-Moved past Bridgette Gordon (610) and Tamika Catchings (611) and into third place in the UT record books for career free throw attempts (616).
-Attempted at least 10 free throws for the seventh time this season and was the recipient of 13 of Rutgers’ 24 fouls.
-Reached double figures for the 29th straight game and the 90th time of her 95-game career.
-Scored at least 20 points in a game for the 12th time this season and the 39th time of her career.
-Moved into 10th place in the all-time SEC record books for career blocks (234).
Nicky Anosike…
-Moved past Mary Ostrowski and Dena Head and into a tie with Debbie Groover for career free throws made (356), none more important than her last two with 0.2 seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Lady Vols.
-Moved past Daedra Charles (539) and into seventh place in the UT record books for career free throws attempted (537).
TENNESSEE vs. RUTGERS
FEBRUARY 11, 2008
POST-GAME QUOTES
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH PAT SUMMITT
(opening remarks): “I’m not sure how we managed to win. Statistically, what I was proud of, was that we were able to keep ourselves in the game, even though midway through the second half we were 1-of-15 from the floor. You’re not going to win many games shooting that way unless you take care of the ball. We kept our turnovers down. Nicky Anosike struggled all night, but I told (assistant coach) Dean (Lockwood) at the end of the game that I thought she could help us on defense specifically. And then she made both of those free throws. Rutgers did a tremendous job. They are so good off the dribble and in their halfcourt offense. Their shot selection was more impressive than ours was tonight.”
(on Tennessee’s shooting): “Rutgers is a great defensive team. Shannon (Bobbitt) was 1-of-9, Alexis (Hornbuckle) was 1-of-4, and Alberta (Auguste) was 0-of-4. Their defense brought the pressure and we got overanxious offensively. I kept saying, “We’ve got to get the ball inside. We had players who were trying to do too much. Those three specifically were trying to do too much. Shannon was trying to do too much offensively, and I think she has some friends on the Rutgers team with whom she has had one-on-one battles.”
(on Rutgers’ defense): “Rutgers extended their defense. They did a great job in the passing lanes. They are like they’ve always been. (Rutgers head coach) Vivian (Stringer) always does a great job on defense. We were fortunate to win. I’m just proud we found a way to win.”
(on Nicky Anosike): “Nicky was not pleased with her offensive game. We gave her a chance to step up, and she made the plays to win. She has a tremendous competitive spirit and had composure at the line tonight. I was happy for her.”
(on game overall): “We will learn from it. We found a way to win. They outplayed us in the second half. We shouldn’t go back to our apartments and dorms and think we are the best team in the country. We’ve got a lot of growing to do. Rutgers is one of the best teams we’ve played.”
(on Shannon Bobbitt’s technical): “I think they know each other. I’m not happy with what she did. She has to stay within herself. You can’t have your point guard doing what she did.”
(on Candace Parker): “We’ve got to get the ball inside to Candace. We are so much more effective when she can get paint points. We have to have her and she has to get points in the paint, not on the perimeter.”
(on the three-pointers by Shannon Bobbitt and Angie Bjorklund late in the game): “They were huge threes. Shannon had not made a shot, but she was aggressive and confident and so was Angie. They got good looks.”
(on Rutgers not scoring early in the game): “I don’t specifically think we got complacent on defense. We should try to capitalize on those situations. Rutgers was committed to their sets, and we let the ball get reversed. They forced us to maintain intensity on defense.”
TENNESSEE SENIOR CENTER NICKY ANOSIKE
(on scoring the winning points): “Basically, I hadn’t done anything to help my team or help us win. I knew I was going to have to step up.”
(on being fouled to go to the line with .2 seconds left): “Honestly, I just saw Candace miss her shot, and I just threw it up.”
(on Rutgers): “It really doesn’t matter who is on the court with us. We have to play our game. It is about us. We can’t focus on the other team.”
(on Shannon Bobbitt’s technical foul): “They were talking the whole game. You try to ignore it, but after a while it, gets to you and you reach a breaking point. She is my teammate, and I am going to stand behind her.”
TENNESSEE JUNIOR FORWARD CANDACE PARKER
(on Nicky Anosike): “She had ice in her veins. She always stays after practice and shoots free throws. She stepped up huge, and I am happy for her.”
(on Tennessee’s shooting woes in the second half): “Coach Summitt said at one point that we were 1-of-15. We had to stay positive. In the first half, we were making stops. In the second half, we weren’t making stops, and we weren’t scoring.”
(on facing Rutgers): “It is about us. We came out lax in the second half. Our fans had to stand seven minutes, probably even longer (before Tennessee scored in the second half). It is all about us. It was about our energy.”
(on the late three-pointers by Tennessee): “I was so excited Shannon got that three. It gave us a spark, and then when Angie shot, I was just looking and praying that it would go in. We were down five, and we went on a 6-0 run… that shows what we are capable of doing.”
(on the physical play of the game): “Honestly, there are times under the basket when you are getting fouled. You may not make the best play all the time. We came out with a win. The W was on our side.”
TENNESSEE SENIOR GUARD ALEXIS HORNBUCKLE
(on Rutgers): “They are a lot better team than they were last year. They are up there with Duke and North Carolina.”
(on Tennessee’s play): “We are going to get better…one day soon.”
RUTGERS HEAD COACH C. VIVIAN STRINGER
(Opening Comments) Great game wasn’t it? I hope you all enjoyed it. Very good. Down to the last second.
(On the game) It was a great game with two ranked teams in a great atmosphere for a great cause for all the right reasons. It’s just unfortunate that those kinds of things happen. I’ll probably write a book on all that. I’m getting used to it by now, but we’ll learn from it. It doesn’t take away from a great Tennessee team and a great coach and a great everything.
(On the explanation she received from the officials) “They told me that they reviewed it and that there were 0.2 seconds left when the foul occurred. I spoke to both officials and it seems like one was telling me about what the other one had said. In other words, that’s what he said he saw, so what did you see. I asked them if I could see and of course that was not allowed. It’s too bad. They said that in that circumstance they could not let me see the clock. I might have been able to help them see something that they needed to see.”
(On whether she asked the officials about the clock) ”Yes. They said everything was fine. The foul was called before and they had looked at the clock on the monitor and the foul was called before time went off the clock. So now we’ve got bad eyes too. I think that (Rutgers SID) Stacey (Brann) said that they looked at it in slow motion. Whether you look at something in slow motion or real time, it seems to me that we ought to have some professional education about how you do that. In other words, it seemed to me that they looked at it in slow motion, so they somehow missed it in real time.”
(On the final outcome of the game) “The two teams are too good for that. It’s not Pat’s (Summitt) fault and it’s not Tennessee’s fault, unfortunately. Probably what I would have to say about that situation is that I just want to be able to coach my team in the next couple days. It has nothing to do with Tennessee and it has nothing to do with those players and those coaches. Unfortunately, that is human error. I just happen to be on the end of human error too many times with too many erasers at the end of my name and I’m so sorry, because these young women deserve better. The clock froze.”
“The game did not deserve this. Tennessee didn’t deserve this. Pat didn’t deserve this. Those great players didn’t deserve this and neither did my great team deserve this. It is what it is.”
(On whether she saw contact on the final play) “If Kia fouled her, I would have had to see the shooter. I grabbed my assistant because I was sure we had won, and then while she had me thrust in the air, she said, ‘Oh, wait a minute.’ And then that’s when we were told that there was a human involvement.”
(On thinking she had won the game) “We really thought we had won. That’s an interesting emotion. Being picked up and before you can even come down, you’ve been tapped and ‘hello.’ That’s a cruel joke they’re playing down here. That’s an amazing thing to go from the extreme high to the extreme low.
RUTGERS GUARD/FORWARD ESSENCE CARSON
(On the vantage point on the final play) “I myself was watching the clock the whole time. My position on the floor had me under the basket, had me facing the basket. It’s just unbelievable how anyone can take that many shots in that amount of time and still have time left on the clock. It bothers me.”
(On the second-half comeback) “We played our basketball. We played defense first. We made them take a lot of last second shots. We played pretty good defense. They shot 29 percent from the field for the entire game. We made sure that this time we boxed out and tried to make it one-and-done.”
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