Tennessee waltzes into Final Four
DAYTON, Ohio – To beat Tennessee, Mississippi needed to play a nearly perfect game.
Instead, Candace Parker and the Lady Vols did.
With Parker dominating at both ends and the talented Lady Vols getting contributions from almost everybody else on the roster, they rolled over the Rebels and into their 17th Final Four 98-62 Tuesday night.
By winning the Dayton Regional, top-seeded Tennessee (32-3) moves on to play North Carolina in the national semifinals in Cleveland on Sunday. LSU (30-7) and Rutgers (26-8) meet in the other game.
Parker scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds, but she dictated the game in many ways. She hit 10 of 14 shots from the field and also had three assists, three steals and five blocked shots.
She might have posted gaudier numbers if coach Pat Summitt hadn’t rested her at the end of the first half and for the final 12:10 of the game.
Sidney Spencer had 16 of her 22 points in the second half. Shannon Bobbitt had 14 points, including 10 of Tennessee’s first 24 in a fast start. Alberta Auguste added 12 points.
Armintie Price dazzled for 30 points for seventh-seeded Ole Miss (24-11), which has been within a game of the Final Four five times and has lost every time.
The Lady Vols shot 52 percent from the field and hit 8 of 11 3-pointers while limiting Ole Miss to 32 percent shooting from the field. The Rebels were 3 of 20 behind the arc.
“This team is very special,” Summitt said after accepting the regional championship trophy. “Congratulations, ladies. Let’s move on.”
Parker, one of the most acclaimed players in the country, was at her best. After point guard Bobbitt, who averages 8.5 points, had 10 points in the opening 7 minutes, the 6-foot-4 Parker took over.
She had 14 points, nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in the first half as the Lady Vols took a 51-22 lead.
She wasn’t alone. The Lady Vols shot 59 percent from the field, making 5 of 7 3-pointers, to build the big lead. They were crisp on offense, tough on defense and seemed to come up with every loose ball.
No one can argue with Tennessee’s NCAA legacy, which is backed by staggering numbers. The Lady Vols are the only team to be included in all 26 tournaments, in which they have a 96-19 record. In regional championship games, they are 17-5.
Ole Miss, which lost 81-69 when the Southeastern Conference rivals met in the regular season, had hoped to set a frantic pace. But it was the Lady Vols who scored early and often to take control while completely disrupting the Rebels’ plans.