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Saturday, Jan. 29 2:30pm ET
UT makes season-high nine 3-pointers | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND -- Tennessee had the perfect remedy to get back to its winning ways. "Playing like Tennessee," said Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt. "We're known for our work ethic and for playing with a lot of emotion. We weren't doing that. I think it's just time to roll up our sleeves." Tamika Catchings scored 14 points, Sameka Randall 13 and No. 4 Tennessee made a season-high nine 3-pointers and played more like itself Saturday in an 83-63 blowout of No. 8 North Carolina State. The Lady Vols (15-3), who get their second shot at No. 1 Connecticut on Wednesday, made five 3-pointers in the first half to open a 21-point lead, then coasted in the second half, building a 32-point advantage. Following a 27-point loss to No. 3 Georgia on Jan. 17, Tennessee's fans were concerned about the Lady Vols, who won four national titles during the '90s. But Tennessee, which plays Kentucky on Sunday before going to Connecticut for a rematch with the Huskies, appears to have figured out whatever was wrong. "It's time to step up," said Randall. "Every game when you're in a Tennessee uniform is a big game." Randall, who played her high school ball in Cleveland, scored 12 points in the second half after missing her first six shots from the field. "We had a team meeting and decided to come out with more intensity," said Randall. April McDivitt went 3-for-3 on 3-pointers and added 13 points for the Lady Vols, whose three losses this season have come against Connecticut, No. 2 Louisiana Tech and Georgia. Freshman Kaayla Chones, a Cleveland native, had 18 points for the Wolfpack (15-4), who have dropped four of their last five. NC State 6-foot-6 center Summer Erb, who also is from Cleveland, had 13 points and nine rebounds. Tennessee's trapping halfcourt defense forced North Carolina State into 22 turnovers, and the Lady Vols held the Wolfpack to 28 percent shooting in the first half. But despite the big lead, the Lady Vols didn't pull back and continued to toy with NC State in the second half. "We really don't look at the scoreboard," Catchings said. "We've got too much to work on as a team to worry about the score." The teams were playing for the first time since 1990 in the inaugural Women's College Basketball Classic. The matchup was scheduled partly to give the teams' Cleveland connections a chance to play in front of family and friends. For Chones, whose father, Jim, played for the Cavaliers and Erb, the homecoming was bittersweet. "It's disappointing. I was hoping we'd play better," said Erb. Tennessee's defense pressure helped the Lady Vols build an early eight-point lead. When Kristen Clement, who had 12 points, banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, everything appeared to be going Tennessee's way. Catchings followed with a 3-pointer, Clement hit another and McDivitt made a long-range 3 as the Lady Vols opened a 26-8 lead with 10:14 to play in the first half. The Wolfpack had some good looks at the basket, but either misfired or shot too quickly without running their offense. "We took ourselves out of contention in the first half," said a disappointed NC State coach Kay Yow. "A team like Tennessee is not a team have a lack of intensity with. Our focus and intensity is not where it should be right now." | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard North Carolina State Clubhouse
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