NCAA women’s final—all signs point to Tennessee
Vic Dorr
Apr 08, 2008
How many points is mystique worth in a high-states basketball game? Eight? Ten? Fifteen? When the NCAA Division I women’s final begins in little more than an hour, we’ll find that mystique is worth whatever Tennessee’s Lady Vols want it to be worth. Tennessee probably shouldn’t beat Stanford tonight. But it will. Sure, sure, the Lady Vols’ best athlete, Candace Parker, is playing far below maximum efficiency. Senior guard Alexis Hornbuckle persists in swapping 39 nondescript minutes for one big shot. Tennessee is struggling with its 3-point shooting. It seems somehow out of sync – probably because of Parker’s limitations. But it will win because coach Pat Summitt will challenge the Lady Vols’, uh, womanhood and Tennessee’s players will respond they way they always seem to respond. They’ll play like demons beneath the boards and on defense, they’ll hit just enough big shots, they’ll frustrate Candice Wiggins and Kayla Pedersen with their ferocity, if not their X’s and O’s. And down the stretch, they’ll shoot free throws with considerably more success than Memphis’ men enjoyed last night. It won’t be a pretty game – call it, oh, Tennessee 63-54 – but the Lady Vols don’t care about pretty. They care only about results. That is why they have won seven NCAA titles. Seven going on eight. Summitt’s greatest stretgth as a coach is her ability to find players who are, first and foremost, competitors. On this night, more than any other, Tennessee will come to compete. Stanford will hang around for 20, 30, maybe even 35 minutes. But when it matters most, when the game is hanging in the balance and there is a rebound to be captured or a boxout to made or a putback to be nudged over the rim and into the net, a Lady Vol – Parker, perhaps; or Nicky Anosike; or Vicki Baugh – will make the play. Count on it. That’s why they are Tennessee. To beat them by two, you’d better be prepared to outplay them by 15.
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