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Home > SECWB News & More! > SEC Teams > Tennessee > Hornbuckle Has Happy Homecoming as UT Beats West Virginia
Hornbuckle Has Happy Homecoming as UT Beats West Virginia
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: November 22nd, 2007 @ 4:25am
Source: View Box Score
The #1UT Lady Vols traveled to Alexis Hornbuckle’s home state and came away with their fourth victory of the 2007-2008 season, defeating the #16 West Virginia Mountaineers 67-49. It was the Lady Vols’ third victory over a ranked opponent in the last six days. When legendary UT coach Pat Summitt scheduled the series with West Virginia two years ago, she had Hornbuckle in mind. The game was played in Charleston, WV at the Charleston Civic Center, where Hornbuckle, a 3-time West Virginia Player of the Year, had won 4 straight high school state championships. Although the Mountaineers had to travel 2 hours south for the matchup against UT, the 10,677 fans who attended the game marked the largest number to ever see a women’s basketball game in the state of West Virginia.
UT was led by Candace Parker’s 29 points and 13 rebounds, her second double-double of the season and the 33rd of her career. But it was Hornbuckle who garnered the most attention and the loudest ovation of the night, scoring her 1,000th career point in front of a home-state crowd. With the game firmly in hand, Hornbuckle had gone to the bench, only to discover she was one point shy of the milestone. Hornbuckle asked coach Summitt to put her back in, and Summitt obliged the request. "I said, 'Coach, I wanted to get my 1,000th point at home,’ " Hornbuckle said. "She was gracious enough to allow me to do that and I appreciate that." Hornbuckle finished with 12 points on the night, to go along with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
West Virginia came into the game averaging 83.3 points, but were held to their lowest point total of the season, shooting only 31% from the floor. The Vols outrebounded the Mountaineers 50-35, and the game was never really close. UT led by 11 at halftime, but quickly stretched that lead at the beginning of the second half. WV was led in scoring by Olayinka Sanni, who tallied 16 points and pulled down 8 boards before fouling out with 6:27 remaining in the game. The only other double-digit scorer for WV was LaQuita Owens with 10.
Game note: Another familiar face to SEC fans could be seen on the Mountaineer bench. Semeka Randall, former UT All-American and WNBA player, is in her first season as an assistant coach for West Virginia. Remember: there’s always an SEC connection…
The Lady Vols will next play the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters on Monday, Nov. 26 in Knoxville.
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