University of Tennessee Athletics
ROBINSON'S 16 POINTS LEADS TENNESSEE OVER GEORGIA, 70-67
February 12, 2004 | Women's Basketball
Feb 12, 2004
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
ATHENS, Ga. - Tennessee center Ashley Robinson looked at the halftime stat sheet and was incredulous. Georgia made only 20 percent of its shots before the break, yet only trailed by 12 points.
"I couldn't believe it," Robinson said with a shake of her head. "And they were still in the game."
Robinson and reserve Brittany Jackson each scored 15 points, helping No. 3 Tennessee hold off No. 19 Georgia 70-67 Thursday night.
Janese Hardrick missed a tough layup in traffic in the final seconds that could have won it for the Lady Bulldogs, who lost to Tennessee for the 10th time in 11 games. Jackson made two free throws with less than a second left to seal it.
"I take full responsibility for missing that layup," Hardrick said.
Tasha Butts finished with 10 points for the Lady Vols (20-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference), who never trailed in winning their 29th straight conference game. They reached 20 wins for the 19th straight year under coach Pat Summitt.
"I look at what this team has done in the league, and it's about having players, it's about having warriors," Summitt said. "They will just gut it out."
Somehow, Georgia (16-7, 5-5) made a game of it despite shooting only 8-of-41 in the first half. And the Bulldogs actually rallied a bit after missing their first 10 shots, 22 of their first 24 and 26 of their first 30.
"It's frustrating, but you have to keep shooting to get your shot back," Georgia guard Sherill Baker said. "Everybody on the team has to keep shooting."
Tennessee helped by committing 28 turnovers - 16 in the first half - and Georgia finally found the range in the second half.
"We panicked on the out-of-bounds plays, we panicked when we get the ball," Summitt said. "Tennessee just doesn't play that way."
Baker and Hardrick each had 14 points for Georgia.
Trailing by 12 at the break, the Bulldogs rallied to tie it at 45 with a 24-12 run in the first seven minutes of the half, the first deadlock of the game. They shot 11-of-14 from the field in that stretch, including their first two 3-pointers.
But the Vols kept moving ahead, taking the lead for good on a layup by LaToya Davis with 11:05 left. They eventually pulled away by seven before Georgia came back again in the final minute.
Hardrick made two free throws and Kara Braxton scored inside to cut it to 68-67 with 25 seconds left. After a timeout by the Bulldogs, Tennessee made its final turnover, with Shanna Zolman stepping out of bounds while taking an inbounds pass.
"After that last turnover, I got nervous," Robinson said. "But I just knew we had to get a defensive stop."
The Vols did just that. Hardrick dribbled down the clock near halfcourt, then started her drive with about 10 seconds left. She went right to the basket, but the 5-foot-6 point guard had a tough time getting her shot off.
It bounded off the backboard and was knocked out of bounds by one of her teammates, and the Lady Vols held on from there.
"We battled hard and I'm proud of that," Georgia coach Andy Landers said. "I'm proud of the effort and the way we fought back. We fought like crazy to get back in it. The players should be proud of the way they played, I am."
The Bulldogs shot 32 percent for the game.
"I thought they missed a lot of open shots," Summitt said. "And that's what we've seen on tape from them."
