University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS GET PAST SOUTH CAROLINA, 80-61
January 17, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan 17, 2002
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A sold-out arena. A top-10 showdown. No matter where it was held, this was Tennessee's kind of game.
"If they had 900 people here tonight, I would've worried," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, whose second-ranked Lady Vols won their 26th straight over No. 8 South Carolina, 80-61 on Thursday night. "The fact that they had a sellout crowd, I thought our players would be ready to play. I think we enjoy that, we're accustomed to that at home. And also, obviously, we're accustomed to that on the road."
South Carolina nearly doubled its all-time attendance record of 6,219 set in 1981 against UCLA with 12,168 people - all paying $1 to get in.
But Kara Lawson scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half as the Lady Vols (15-1, 4-0 SEC) rolled to their 28th consecutive league win.
The Lady Gamecocks (16-2, 4-1) came in with a 12-game winning streak, victories against Vanderbilt and Georgia and the passionate crowd. And for the first 25 minutes, the fans who filled the place got what they came for.
Teresa Geter's foul shots gave South Carolina a 45-42 lead, but then the Lady Vols got going.
"We felt that early there was going to be a lot of emotion, a lot of intensity, a great atmosphere," Lawson said. "But we felt that if we could get in that middle stretch of the second half and break open a double-digit lead, we could take the game."
That's pretty much what happened.
Lawson made two free throws and a 3-pointer during a 15-3 run that turned a three-point deficit into a 57-48 lead for the Lady Vols.
A breakaway basket by Loree Moore put them ahead for good 47-45. LaToya Davis followed with a similar layup, Lawson hit a long 3-pointer and Michelle Snow had a fastbreak basket to end the run.
The Lady Gamecocks missed 12 of 13 shots in the face of Tennessee's full-court pressure and 3-2 zone.
"Overall, I think that was the best 40 minutes we played," Summitt said.
Snow, as she did twice last season, capped the victory with a clean, one-handed dunk at the 1:51 mark that brought the fans who hadn't left and her Tennessee teammates to their feet.
Summitt said it was Snow's first one-handed slam after two-handing both dunks a year ago.
"I can't wait to get home and watch SportsCenter," said Ashley Robinson, a backup center who scored 11 points.
Snow finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and Gwen Jackson had 17 points, among five Lady Vols in double figures.
Jocelyn Penn led the Lady Gamecocks with 19 points, but only two in the last 16 minutes.
"We saw this game as an opportunity to step out for our fans," said South Carolina coach Susan Walvius, 0-5 against the Lady Vols. "I think we showed we are one of the better teams in the country for a stretch."
South Carolina, helped by the loud, sellout crowd, made nine of its first 12 shots and led 20-10 with 11:10 to go. Tatyana Troina had consecutive 3-pointers during a 10-0 run as Tennessee was 0-for-4 with three turnovers.
But reserve Ashley Robinson had seven points as the Lady Vols came back with a 17-4 surge, closed by Moore's jumper, to lead 27-24.
Jackson's final bucket of the half - she had 14 points and eight rebounds in the period - gave Tennessee its biggest lead at 35-31.
Then, Gortman made a 3-pointer with 29.3 seconds left for South Carolina to cut the margin to 35-34 at halftime.
But sustaining the effort against Tennessee was too much said Geter, who transferred from Tennessee to the Lady Gamecocks in 1999.
"I think we kind of dropped our heads for a while," Geter said. "We've got to come together as a group and get on with the rest of our season."
