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Getting even Tennessee takes down UConn
Updated: Thursday February 01, 2001 11:37 PM
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- With Chamique Holdsclaw watching, Gwen Jackson put on a Chamique Holdsclaw-type performance to lead Tennessee to victory in one of the biggest rivalries in women's basketball. Jackson scored a career-high 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked five shots as the third-ranked Lady Vols (22-1) outlasted the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies 92-88 Thursday. "If you had told me that we would be able to win with Michelle Snow and Semeka Randall playing the way that they played and Tamika Catchings in street clothes, I wouldn't have believed it," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who earned her 750th win. "Gwen Jackson was our biggest player on both ends of the floor." Holdsclaw, a member of three national championship teams at Tennessee, had her No. 23 jersey retired in a halftime ceremony. In a frenetic and riveting game between the top programs in women's college basketball, Snow and Randall cooled off for the first time since Catchings went down with a torn ACL on Jan. 15. Kara Lawson added 23 points and Kristen Clement had 10 for Tennessee, which has won 11 straight since losing 81-76 to the Huskies (17-2) on Dec. 30. Connecticut had won the last two meetings in the series, including last season's national championship. The rematch lived up to its billing and remained close the entire way as neither team was able to extend a lead past nine points. Tennessee led by seven with 1:02 remaining, but Connecticut refused to back down. Jackson and Lawson each made two free throws down the stretch after the Huskies pulled within four on Sue Bird's basket to keep the Lady Vols in front. Connecticut's Tamika Williams, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, scored with 4.3 seconds left, cutting the lead to 88-90, before Tennessee's Ashley Robinson, who has struggled from the line, made two free throws after she was intentionally fouled on the next possession to ice the victory. The Lady Vols rushed to center court as orange and white confetti fell to the floor after time expired. "There's a lot of talent on this team. With Michelle and I playing like we did, it showed that there are other people there," Randall said. "Gwen and Kara did an awesome job. I'm glad I'm on their team." The Huskies had an answer for just about everything Tennessee did. They outrebounded the Lady Vols 47-38 and scored 25 points off 11 turnovers. "In any other game, we would have won, but not tonight," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. "We played pretty well and they still beat us." Connecticut had won four straight since being overpowered by Notre Dame 92-76 on Jan. 15. The Huskies weren't about to outplayed like that again. "We really fought this game," Bird said. Tennessee went up by seven with 1:02 left after Snow was fouled hard by Diana Taurasi, who picked up her fifth foul. The call enraged Auriemma and he was called for a technical. Lawson made both technical free throws and Snow added a free throw for an 86-79 lead. Bird hit a 3, missed two more 3s, then finally drove the lane for a basket to cut the lead to 88-84. The Lady Vols built an eight-point lead to start the second half before Shea Ralph's basket cut the margin to 52-46 with 18:12 left. Tennessee went ahead 61-52 on Jackson's jumper with 14:12 remaining before the Huskies went on a 15-2 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes to take the lead. Svetlana Abrosimova's 3-pointer gave Connecticut its first lead of the second half before Taurasi hit another 3-pointer for a 67-63 lead with 8:47 to go. Abrosimova, the Huskies' main scoring threat, left the game with 9:22 to go after she crashed hard to the floor going for a loose ball. She played only a few minutes the rest of the game and was diagnosed with a sprained left foot, finishing with 18 points. The Lady Vols tied the score at 67 on Jackson's basket and Snow's two free throws with 7:28 left. The teams traded baskets until Clement was fouled twice and made three free throws to put Tennessee in front 79-74 with 3:25 remaining. Ashja Jones fouled out, sending Snow to the line for two free throws to boost Tennessee's lead to 81-74 with 3:03 to go, setting up the furious ending. Taurasi led the Huskies with 24 points, including six 3-pointers, and Bird had 14. Ralph, Connecticut's other All-America, finished with just four points.
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