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NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Recap (Appalachian St-Tennessee)
Posted: Sun March 14, 1999 at 1:23 a.m EST KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- No. 16 seed Appalachian State did not come close to beating top seed Tennessee, but it may have had a say in who will be national champion. Tennessee guard Semeka Randall left the game and was diagnosed with a serverely sprained left ankle. Randall, who scored 20 points before she left a 113-54 rout, is listed as doubtful for Monday's second-round game with Boston College. "Semeka has a severely sprained ankle and is day-to-day," said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. "She will be spending a lot of hours with Jenny (trainer Jenny Moshack) and hopefully will be ready on Monday. When I saw that it was her ankle, in my mind, that was a better situation. She said that she came down on someone's foot." Chamique Holdsclaw scored 23 points as the Lady Vols (29-2) began their march to a fourth straight national title. Tennessee captured its 19th consecutive NCAA Tournament win and extended its victory streak at Thompson-Boling Arena to 39 games, second-best in the nation. It has won all 23 home tournament games. The game was over practically at the opening tip. Tennessee scored the first 19 points, holding the Mountaineers (14-15) scoreless until the 13:31 mark, when Beth Schoolfield scored a 10-foot jumper to end the drought. Holdsclaw keyed the spree with 11 points. "It has been a while since we played," said Tamika Catchings, who scored 18 points. "Everybody was up for this game, and we excecuted our game plan. It was fun just being out there on the court." The Lady Vols built a 53-19 halftime lead, holding Appalachian State to eight baskets while making 20 themselves. Tennessee shot 60 percent (44-of-73) from the field overall and had 18 fast-break points to zero for the Mountaineers. All 11 players who saw action for the Lady Vols scored. Natasha Lettsome scored 10 points and was the only player in double figures for Appalachian State, which was playing its first NCAA Tournament game. "I felt we played 15 minutes of good basketball in the second half," said Appalachian State coach Barbie Breedlove. "We played better defense and made better decisions in those 15 minutes. Even though we are obviously disappointed in the outcome, this was still a good experience for our young team."© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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