It’s Tennessee and Stanford in final
TAMPA, Fla. – Walking off the basketball court at the St. Pete Times Forum late Sunday night, all Angie Bjorklund could say was, “I can’t even believe.”
It is hard to believe the Tennessee freshman from University High School is going to be in the championship game of the NCAA tournament after the Lady Vols’ dramatic 47-46 over win over snake-bit Southeastern Conference rival Louisiana State.
Alexis Hornbuckle scored on a put-back with seven-tenths of a second left, giving the Lady Vols (35-2) a chance to defend their championship against Stanford Tuesday night.
It was the Tigers’ (31-6) fifth straight loss in the Final Four semifinals.
“I’m still letting it soak in,” Bjorklund, who was on the court for the final basket, said in the lockerroom. “Those last two plays, oh my gosh, behind one point then up by one point. You only have to win by one. Keep fighting to the end.”
Hornbuckle was close to being the goat, after fouling Erica White with 7.1 seconds left and a 45-44 lead. White calmly swished both free throws, despite a Tennessee timeout between shots.
Then LSU called a timeout to set up its defense, obviously stellar most of the game with Tennessee shooting 30 percent.
“I definitely felt good about our chances,” White said. “I knew I’d knock it down. And I felt confident in our defense, but we just didn’t make a play.”
Tennessee superstar Candace Parker, obviously bothered by an injured shoulder in making just 6 of 27 shots, rushed the ball up the court, got to the lane and dished the ball to Nikki Anosike, who missed an easy shot.
However, Hornbuckle, left unchecked, went up for the rebound and put the ball in before coming down.
It was the only basket for Hornbuckle, which is a reflection of the way both teams struggled on offense.
“Of course, I realized I didn’t make a shot all night,” Hornbuckle said. “It was frustrating, but at the same time I knew I couldn’t give up on myself and my team.
“I crashed the boards and looked up and said, ‘I don’t want to pull this down, with my luck I might as well try to tip it in.’ Luckily it went in.”
Despite her shooting woes, mostly the result of dislocating her left shoulder in Tuesday’s regional final, Parker finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds and harassed LSU’s 6-foot-6 Sylvia Fowles into 10-of-24 shooting.
“I made the decision to step out on the court,” Parker said. “I’m not going to make any excuses about my shoulder or anything like that. It’s fine.”
Fowles also had 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, but she only had four offensive rebounds and four turnovers. She was also the biggest culprit in LSU’s 7-of-19 performance from the line, making just 4 of 11.
LSU shot only 35 percent and had just 18 points at the half , but trailed by only four points.
“We didn’t play with confidence offensively,” Tigers coach Van Chancellor said. “We played with it defensively.”
Tennessee only shot 30 percent and made just 2 of 7 free throws.
“We just knew that we were having an off night shooting, so we knew that if we weren’t scoring that they shouldn’t be scoring, either,” Anosike said. “That’s been our motto throughout the whole tournament.”
With the way the game was going, a Tennessee 10-point lead, 37-27 on Parker’s three-point pay with 11:15 to go, seemed like enough. Fowles, who had 17 of the Tigers’ points to that point, started a 10-0 comeback run with a hook shot and a free throw. Then Quianna Chaney hit LSU’s only 3 and Ashley Thomas got her only two buckets to tie the game.
“We fought through a lot of adversity tonight,” UT coach Pat Summitt said. “We did not shoot the ball particularly well but I thought our defense, for the most part, (was great). That’s what you have to have when you’re shooting the ball poorly.”
Tennessee 47, LSU 46
LSU (31-6)—Thomas 2-3 0-0 4, Fowles 10-24 4-11 24, White 2-5 3-5 7, LeBlanc 0-2 0-0 0, Chaney 4-10 0-1 9, Hightower 1-9 0-2 2, M.Williams 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 7-19 46.
Tennessee (35-2)—Parker 6-27 1-3 13, Auguste 5-9 0-1 10, Anosike 2-7 1-2 5, Bobbitt 4-7 0-0 11, Hornbuckle 1-8 0-1 2, Bjorklund 1-4 0-0 2, Baugh 1-1 0-0 2, Fuller 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 21-69 2-7 47.
Halftime—Tennessee 22-18. 3-Point Goals—LSU 1-9 (Chaney 1-6, LeBlanc 0-1, Hightower 0-2), Tennessee 3-12 (Bobbitt 3-5, Hornbuckle 0-2, Parker 0-2, Fuller 0-3). Fouled Out—Baugh. Rebounds—LSU 47 (Fowles 20), Tennessee 45 (Parker 15). Assists—LSU 11 (Chaney 5), Tennessee 6 (Bobbitt 3). Total Fouls—LSU 11, Tennessee 20. A—21,655.