University of Tennessee Athletics
A Familiar Comeback
March 28, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Brian Rice
SPOKANE, Wash.
UTSports.com
A heavily-favored Tennessee team trailed by 17 in an NCAA regional to a scrappy team playing before a hometown crowd. Then there was the valiant, furious Tennessee comeback to survive and advance. Two games, separated by 19 years and three days that were so unbelievable that a TV audience would not believe them if scripted.
In 1996, it was the NCAA regional final in Charlottesville, Virginia. The homestanding Cavaliers upset Old Dominion to draw the Lady Vols with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Michelle Marciniak and Chamique Holdsclaw led Tennessee from 17 down to defeat Virginia for a trip to Charlotte.
Marciniak did not want her career to end that night and willed her team to a victory. Cierra Burdick knew the feeling.
Spokane Arena may not be the home floor for 11th-seeded Gonzaga, but the 8,686 in attendance just down the road from campus surely made the Bulldogs feel right at home.
So when Gonzaga began the second half with a 21-6 run over the first 13 minutes to take a 57-40 lead, it seemed as if it would be a premature exit for Tennessee.
"I think Ariel and myself being the senior leaders out there, we just try to keep everybody calm, cool and collected and positive," Burdick said of the moment. "Jordan [Reynolds was] getting hype, Jamie [Nared]'s bringing great energy, Alexa [Middleton] is just hounding the basketball, our actions are what build up the energy.
"Then vocally, our coaches did a phenomenal job with just keeping us in sync. Telling us what we needed to do. At some times all four of them were talking to us, but that's just how passionate they are. So, I think it was a group effort."
From that moment, Gonzaga would score just six points in regulation. Tennessee scored the 23 needed to force an additional five minutes.
Burdick led the effort with 22 points and 15 rebounds, each a team high on the night. If it would be her last night in a Lady Vol uniform, it would not be for her lack of effort.
"That was definitely my mindset," said Burdick. "Being a senior, we went out early last year in this same round and I did not want that to happen again. I don't want to leave Spokane this early. I love Knoxville but I'm in the ready to go back yet. We got more business to take care of. Our goal was to get to Tampa. It's been that since day one. So, whatever it took, we were willing to do."
Head coach Holly Warlick saw that 1996 comeback led by Marciniak as an assistant coach under Pat Summitt. She saw the same resolve from her leader on Saturday night.
"Cierra is our work horse," Warlick said. "We have asked her to do a lot of things to lead the team. I thought she was great on the boards, she hit big shots for us, she kept her head in the game. She keeps the team pretty focused and in the huddles I thought she did a great job of getting our kids to focus in and listen to what we were trying to do."
Overtime was a different challenge altogether. Andraya Carter and Bashaara Graves entered the extra period with four fouls each. Burdick picked up her fourth in OT. And Tennessee managed to win the game without a field goal in the extra 5:00. Just free throws, 10 of them made on 10 attempts. It was an exclamation point on a 21 of 22 performance at the line on the night.
"It was huge for us to only miss one free throw, obviously," Warlick said. "It was a pressure situation in overtime and we didn't miss a free throw. We had kids up there that were pretty solid, strong, head strong, and I think we got the right people on the free throw line to take the shots."
It was the first overtime game in the NCAA Tournament for Tennessee since the game that followed the 1996 comeback over Virginia, an 88-83 victory over Connecticut in the Final Four.
The victory gave Tennessee its 30th win on the season. Win number 31 would give the Lady Vols the chance to repeat history with a trip to the Final Four. Warlick hopes the lessons learned on Saturday night will pay dividends when UT faces Maryland on Monday.
"You have to have faith in your kids and how hard they play and hopefully you've instilled in them not to give up," Warlick said. "To date, this is the biggest victory for me and absolutely in the tournament. It just is a sign of kids that are resilient and great staff."
