Pulling away

Freshman keys Lady Vols' run to regional final

Tennessee's Shyra Ely (43) sparked a key 15-0 run for the Lady Vols in the first half. AP

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Tennessee got past the third round of the NCAA tournament this time. For that, the Lady Vols can thank Shyra Ely and their other freshmen.

Ely scored the first 12 points of a game-turning 15-0 run late in the first half and finished with 21 as second-seeded Tennessee beat 11th-seeded Brigham Young 68-57 in a Midwest Regional semifinal Saturday night.

Tennessee (28-4) had lost to Xavier in the regional semifinals last year, the Lady Vols' earliest NCAA tournament exit in seven years. But with four freshmen contributing 41 points, Tennessee survived and advanced to a regional final for the 17th time in 21 years.

Tennessee will play Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt, the No. 1 seed, on Monday night. Vanderbilt beat fourth-seeded North Carolina 70-61.

"I just wanted to go out there and go to the boards and go after every ball and try to get some momentum and consistency and energy," Ely said.

Ely also led Tennessee with seven rebounds and came up with a steal.

"The one thing she brings to the court every game is great intensity," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "She could miss 14 shots and she'd shoot the ball like she'd just made 14.

"That speaks to the kind of competitor she is and how she's willing to step up and take on responsibility for a team."

BYU (24-9), which upset sixth-seeded Florida and third-seeded Iowa State in the first two rounds, was trying to become the first No. 11 seed to reach the regional finals.

The Cougars played gamely and trailed by only six with less than 3 1/2 minutes left, but their strength, outside shooting, failed them. BYU shot a season-low 32.3 percent, including 5-for-27 from 3-point range.

"We've had a great run here," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "It's sad we didn't play one of our better games. We missed a lot of open shots, a lot of easy baskets."

Tennessee's first-half run erased a 29-20 deficit and sent the Lady Vols to a 35-29 lead. BYU continued to struggle early in the second half, and Tennessee stretched its lead to 47-34 on a jumper by Munoz.

At that point, Tennessee had outscored BYU 27-5 since the Cougars led by nine. The Lady Vols then held off repeated comeback attempts by BYU to keep their Final Four hopes alive.

Freshman Michelle Munoz finished with eight points, all in the second half. April McDivitt also scored eight and two other freshmen, Brittany Jackson and Loree Moore, added six points each.

"Our freshmen stepped up, obviously," Summitt said. "We've talked about this class all along."

The freshmen helped Tennessee survive an off night by season scoring leader Kara Lawson, who was 1-for-12 and scored only five points.

Melanie Pearson led BYU with 23 points. But Erin Thorn, who shot 16-for-24 in the first two rounds, scored only eight on 3-for-22 shooting. She was 2-for-18 on 3-point shots and said she let her frustration bother her.

"It probably shouldn't have, but it did," Thorn said. "When the shot's aren't falling, sometimes I get it in my head and that's got a lot to do with it."

Still, BYU managed to stay in it.

The Cougars trailed 50-45 after Pearson scored on a baseline drive with 8:45 left, and Tennessee led just 60-54 when BYU's Stacy Jensen scored on a runner with 3:25 remaining.

But the Cougars got no closer and Tennessee made enough free throws to stay in control.

BYU did what it had to do early to stay in the game. The Cougars took care of the ball, patiently ran their offense and kept Tennessee in a half-court game that seemed to frustrate the Lady Vols.

Danielle Cheesman's hook shot finished a 9-0 run that gave BYU a 26-17 lead, and Thorn's 3-pointer made it 29-20 with 5:21 left in the half. BYU then failed to score on its next 10 possessions and Ely took over.

She made a layup, scored inside on a turnaround and converted a three-point play off a layup in transition to cut the lead to 29-27. And, she wasn't finished.

Ely converted another three-point play off a drive, then scored on a spinning 1-on-1 move to give the Lady Vols a 32-29 lead. Loree Moore's 3-pointer capped the 15-0 run, making it 35-29.

Ely got going after BYU's Jennifer Leitner went to the bench with her second foul.

"She's the one player on my team that we cannot afford to have in foul trouble," Judkins said. "That's why Ely went off, bottom line, because Jennifer Leitner wasn't guarding her."

Lisa Osguthorpe hit one of two free throws to end BYU's drought, leaving the Cougars down 35-30 at the half.

 

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