Candace Parker
Tennessee’s Candace Parker became the first woman in college basketball history Sunday to perform two slam dunks in leading the second-seeded and sixth ranked Lady Vols to a 102-54 runaway victory over fifteenth seeded Army in the opening round of the NCAA tournament’s Cleveland Regional in Norfolk, Va.
Parker, the 6-3 freshman from Naperville, Ill. who became the first female to win the McDonald’s All-American slam dunk contest while attending Naperville Central High School, finished with 26 points and a career high seven assists in a day in which she rewrote the history books and cemented her status as a basketball legend.
The first dunk occurred with 13:44 remaining in the opening half with UT trailing 14-13 when Parker caught a pass from Sidney Spencer and proceeded to break away while sailing over Army’s helpless Margaree King as her teammates and the spectators at the Ted Constant Center erupted having witnessed history.
The Lady Vols (29-4), one of two teams never to have missed an NCAA tournament in its 25 year history, then proceeded to outscore an Army (20-11) team making its first appearance 37-12 to go into intermission with a 50-26 lead.
However, Parker wasn’t finished with her unprecedented day quite yet as she put an exclamation point on behalf of her team that was clearly upset with its number two seeding in the regional that has top-ranked North Carolina as the number one seed.
With 14:18 left in the game, Parker took the feed from Nicky Anosike and cleared the lane for her second slam dunk and increasing the likelihood that she will be the only Lady Vol to ever wear the number three jersey.
For a tournament celebrating its silver anniversary, it was a golden day for Parker and her team which has never lost in either the first or second round of the NCAAs. The Lady Vols will attempt to make their 25th consecutive trip to the Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday when they face a familiar foe in George Washington University. The seventh-seeded Colonials defeated number ten seed Old Dominion 87-72.
UT posted a 59-43 victory over GWU on Dec. 7 in Washington, D.C.
While the game will be remembered for Parker’s accomplishments, it was also a defining day for sophomore reserve Sybil Dosty who scored a career high 12 points.
It was also a day to remember for sophomore point guard Alexis Hornbuckle, who made an unexpected return to the Lady Vol lineup after breaking her wrist last month during UT’s win over Vanderbilt in Knoxville.
All indications were that Hornbuckle would be lost for the remainder of the season, but she has made a remarkable recovery. Hornbuckle did not start, but scored three points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists.
Senior guard Shanna Zolman making her final trip to the NCAAs and sophomore Anosike finished with 15 points each. All of Zolman’s points came from three point range as she connected on five shots.
Cara Enright led Army with 21 points. Army coach Maggie Dixon is the sister of Pittsburgh’s mens’ coach Jamie Dixon.
The Lady Vols are attempting to win their first national championship since 1998 and seventh overall.
When the tournament pairings were announced last week, controversy erupted after the Lady Vols despite having a brutal schedule rated the toughest in the nation and successfully defending their Southeastern Conference Tournament championship over a Louisiana State squad that was awarded one of the four top seedings, was given the lowest number two seeding.
UT also posted wins over co-number two seeds Connecticut and Maryland during the regular season.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who said her team wasn’t shown any respect by the selection committee, predicted the slighting would give the Lady Vols the motivation they needed.
Parker’s double dunk sealed the deal.
However, Parker is not the first Lady Vol to accomplish a slam dunk. On Nov. 25, 2000, Michelle Snow performed the maneuver during UT’s victory over Illinois in the Maui Invitational.
Wendy King
tnwendy1@comcast.net