Lady Vols dispatch of upstart Marist

DAYTON, Ohio – Coach Pat Summitt spares no one her stony glare – even Candace Parker.

It didn’t matter that Parker hit her first eight shots, or that top-seeded Tennessee was in command and about to end Marist’s inspiring tournament run with a 65-46 victory Sunday in the Dayton Regional semifinals.

This is how the winningest Division I college basketball coach works, and how she keeps everyone in line.

Parker keyed a 14-0 first-half run that put Tennessee in control, and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. But when she didn’t fight through a pick that resulted in a Marist layup early in the second half, Summitt called timeout. The coach stared at Parker all the way to the bench, a stern lecture to follow.

“Since it was aimed at me, I’ll answer the question,” Parker said with a grin when Summitt’s displeasure was mentioned. “Coach very calmly told me that I needed to play better defense. I didn’t come out with the same intensity in the second half. So it was a timeout for Candace.”

And tournament time was up for the Red Foxes.

Marist, a 4,000-student school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was just the third No. 13 seed to make it to the round of 16 in NCAA history.

“We went up against a tremendous basketball team today,” coach Brian Giorgis said. “It’s tough to lose, but to lose to that team is really not that tough.”

Shannon Bobbitt and Sidney Spencer each had 11 for Tennessee (31-3), which improved its record to 22-4 in regional semifinals. The Lady Vols, a part of all 26 NCAA tournaments, ran their record to 95-19 in the tournament.

Meg Dahlman had 16 points and Rachele Fitz 13 for Marist (29-6), which had never won an NCAA tournament game until last weekend. The Red Foxes stunned fourth-seeded Ohio State 67-63 in the first round and fifth-seeded Middle Tennessee 73-59 in the second round, ending the Blue Raiders’ 27-game winning streak.