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Home > SECWB News & More! > Our Staff & Contributors > LeAnne Harrington > UT Touches Third Base and Brings an Eighth Championship Home
UT Touches Third Base and Brings an Eighth Championship Home
by LeAnne Harrington, SECWB.com
Posted: April 9th, 2008 @ 1:00am
Source: View Box Score
UT senior Nicky Anosike wore a black t-shirt emblazoned with the UT logo and the phrase “Touching Third Base” to the media interview sessions on Monday. When questioned about the meaning, Anosike first checked with coach Pat Summitt and her teammates before revealing the secret: it was a vow the team had made to each other concerning focusing on all the little things it takes to be successful. Anosike stated: "We all just kind of made promises to each other we would touch third base, which basically means you don't make it to the finish line unless you do what's necessary beforehand to be successful at the end. You can't get a home run unless you touch third base." The University of Tennessee Lady Vols not only touched third base, they came all the way home with their 64-48 win over Stanford tonight, winning their eighth National Championship and second in a row.
With All-American Candace Parker still not at a hundred percent with the aftereffects of her left shoulder injury, most everyone was picking the Cardinal and their 4-time All-American Candice Wiggins to take the championship over the women in Orange. But if history has taught us anything it is to never count out the Lady Vols. Surely coach Pat Summitt used the prognostications to her advantage, stating on the championship podium that she liked the fact everyone was picking Stanford to win. Summitt said, “The team may have entered the game as underdogs, but they’re top dogs now.”
There are two points of emphasis that are pounded into the brain of every young woman who is lucky enough to put on an orange jersey and play ball for Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt: defense wins games, and rebounding wins championships. The Lady Vols ramped up the defense against a Stanford team that entered tonight’s matchup on a 23-game win streak and having scored 180 points in their last two games combined. UT was a half-step quicker than the Cardinal all night, stepping in the passing lanes, being disruptive in every possible way and never allowing Stanford to get in their offensive groove. Candice Wiggins, the only player in history to have two 40-point games in an NCAA tournament, was held to 14 points. Wiggins’ 151 points scored over the Cardinal’s six games was still good enough for the fourth best total in NCAA Tournament history. UT, which had relied so heavily on Parker throughout her career, gave a complete team effort tonight, with Anosike putting up tremendous numbers, tallying 12 points, 8 rebounds and 6 of the Lady Vols’ 13 steals. Fellow senior Shannon Bobbitt scored 13, hitting 3 key three-pointers to go along with Parker’s game-high 17 points. Parker was named Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row, and Bobbitt and Anosike joined her on the all-tournament team.
Stanford committed 25 turnovers which UT was able to exploit for 26 points. The Cardinal, who entered the game with a 72.8% free throw percentage, hit only 7 of their 14 free throws for 50% in tonight’s championship. Although Wiggins is graduating as the PAC-10’s all-time leading scorer, the remainder of the Cardinal team are fairly young, with their starting lineup having consisted of 3 sophomores and 1 freshman. Look for these talented young women to make a serious commitment to making sure it’s not another 11 years before the Cardinal make it back to the Final Four. Tonight’s starting lineup for the Lady Vols are all seniors and they depart Rocky Top having won back-to-back championships, becoming only the third team in NCAA history to do so. Congratulations to both teams for their run to the 2008 Final Four and to UT for their eighth National Championship. Go SEC!
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