Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, March 30, 1998
Volunteers net third straight title
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tennessee capped the perfect season by playing the nearly perfect game.
in a masterful display of running, shooting, passing and rebounding. Tennessee overwhelmed Louisiana Tech 93-75 last night, winning a record third straight women's NCAA title.
The Vols '45th straight victory produced their sixth title, and they finished 39-0 — the most victories ever for a women's team in NCAA play.
Tennessee set a championship game record for most points in a half with and missed the record for most points in a game by four.
All of Tennessee's titles have come under Summitt, who has more NCAA basketball championships than any Division I coach, men's or women's, except UCLA's John Wooden who won 10 championships.
The performance added back to the claim that this Tennessee team might be the best of all time—and there's not likely to be a letup next season. Coach Pat Summitt's team has only one senior.
"They were just awesome tonight," Summit said. "They were really ready to play."
Louisiana Tech (31-4) brought a quick, talented starting five that looked to be good enough to challenge the Vols.
But not on a night when Tennessee was at the top of its game. The Vols jumped to a 13-point lead 5 1/2 minutes into the game and never looked back.
Chamique Holdsclaw pulled up for jump shots did pretty much what she wanted while scoring 25 points.
TENNESSEE 93, LOUISIANA TECH.75
LOUISIANA TECH (31-4)
Maxwell 7-12-0 1-0, Wilson 2-6-0 0-4,
Burras 9-16-1 5-19, Stallworth 0-6-2 2-2,
Jackson 11-25-0 0-2 6, Cochran 0-0-0 0-0,
Scheppmann 1-5-0 0-3, Gilmore 0-0-2 2-2,
Bowman 2-3-0 1-4, Totals 32-73 5-10-75.
TENNESSEE (39.0)
Holdscawl 11-25 3-4 25, Catchings 8-11 1-13 27, Stephens 0-2 0 0 O, Jolly 7-10 2-1 22, Randall 4-9 2-4 10, Bits 1-1 0-0 2,
Elzy 0-1 0 0 O, Milligan 0 0 0 O, Greene 0 0 0, Laxton 0 0 0 O, Clement 3-4 0 0
6, Geter 1-1 1-2-3, Totals 35-69 19-25 93.
Halftime — Tennessee Tech 55, Louisiana Tech
32. 3-Point goals — Louisiana Tech 6-18
(Jackson 4-12, Maxwell 1-3, Scheppmann
1-2, Stallworth 0-1), Tennessee 4-9 (Jolly
4-5, Catchings 0-4). Fouled out — None.
Rebounds — Louisiana Tech 34 (Burras
10), Tennessee 47 (Holdscrawl 10).
Assists — Louisiana Tech 17 (Stallworth 9),
Tennessee 15 (Holdscrawl 6). Total
fouls — Louisiana Tech 16, Tennessee 13.
A — 17,976.
"We wanted to win a championship for this team —forget about the history," Holdsclaw said.
Freshmen Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randall keyed the Vols' defense that forced the Techsters to take tough shots and rarely gave them a second try.
Catchings scored 27 points, mostly by getting offensive rebounds. Randall flew down the court time and time again on a Tennessee fastbreak and finished with 10 points.
And when Louisiana Tech was completely occupied, Kellie Jolly would hit a wide open 3-pointer. Jolly scored 20, including four three-pointers.
Tamicha Jackson led Louisiana Tech with 25 points, Alisa Burras scored 19 and Monica Maxwell 15. For the longest time, Jackson was the only threat for the Techsters, who were as quick as Tennessee but not nearly as big. Tennessee won the rebounding battle, 49-34.
Burras got three baskets in the opening 2:10
and Tech trailed 8-6. Summit then replaced her center, and Burras went the next 13 1/2 minutes without scoring and Tennessee took off.
First it was an 11-0 run with three baskets by Holdsclaw and a Jolly 3-pointer. That made it 19.6. Then was an 8-2 burst capped by a Kristen Clement-to-Jolly-to Holdsclaw break that took the lead to 27-10.
It was 55-32 at the half.
Tech coach Leon Barmore rarely left his seat in the first half. But he must have said the right thing at halftime because the Teachers scored the first seven points of the second half, drawing to 55-39.
Tennessee came back with 10 straight. Jolly capped the run with a layup, and just like that, it was 65-39.
Louisiana Tech threatened twice more, and Tennessee answered both times.
The Techsters cut the lead to 72-54 when Melshika Bowman worked inside for a bucket with 11:37 left. Jolly responded with
GAME FACTS
- Tennessee cruised to its third straight national championship and its sixth in school history. All of the team's championships have come in the last 12 years.
- Tennessee finished the season 39-0, the most victories ever for a women's team in NCAA play.
- Chamique Holdsclaw scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kellie Jolly scored a career-high 20 points for the Vols.
- Tennessee set a championship game record for points in a half (55) and missed the record for points in a game by four.
Louisiana Tech fell behind by 13 in the first 5/12 minutes of the game.
Holdsclaw, named the most outstanding player in the Final Four, is now 7-for-7 in championships — four state titles at Christ the King High School in New York and three NCAA crowns at Tennessee.
- Tennessee coach Pat Summit has more NCAA basketball championships than any Division I coach, men's or women's, except UCLA's John Wooden. Wooden won 10 championships.
- Tennessee is the third unbeaten NCAA champion in Division I women's play, following Connecticut (35-0) in 1995 and Texas (34-0) in 1986.
Jackson's pull-up jumper capped an 8-0 run that got the lead down to 79-4. Again Tennessee answered, with six consecutive points, and the Techsters were finished.
back-to-back three-pointers and Holdswclaw sank a free throw to put the margin back at 25.
Tennessee player Final Four MVP
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This wasn't just an historic night for Tennessee, it was a coronation for Chamique Holdschaw.
Sav hello to Her Airness.
Already secure as the nation's best college player before yesterday's awesome 93-75 victory over Louisiana Tech, Holdsclaw dominated just like Michael Jordan, the man whose uniform number she shares and whose reputation she is earning.
Holdsclaw had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to earn her second straight Final Four MVP award, leading the Lady Volunteers (39-0) to an unprecedented third straight national championship, their record sixth overall.
Holdclaw had 12 points in the game's first 6:39 as the Lady Vols bolted to a 21-8 lead. She scored in traffic and on jump shots, using the familiar fade away that also has drawn comparisons with Jordan. She took command of the game and opened up opportunities for the rest of her talented teammates.
Holdcraw finished the first half with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Tennessee led 55-32 then, and never was seriously challenged in the second half.
Holdsclaw went to the bench with 39 seconds remaining, pumping three fingers in the air before hugging teammate Kellie Jolly as Tennessee's orange-clad fans briefly chanted "Three-peat" for the first time.
It was the seventh straight title for Holdscaw, a loping 6-foot-2 forward with long arms and a smooth gait. She won four straight state championships at New York City's Christ the King High School, and now is 3-for-3 in college.
Kansas' tournament loss to Arkansas ends sweet season
By Kevin C. Wilson
Kanson sportswriter
OAKLAND, Calf. — A second-half meltdown led to the end of a surprising season for the Kansas women's basketball team.
The Jayhawks postseason run came to an abrupt halt March 21 when the Arkansas Razorbacks outscored Kansas 51-31 in the second half. Arkansas won 79-63.
"I thought in the second half they really broke us down," said Kansas coach Marian Washington. "We did some good things,
but they really hurt us at the free throw line."
The Razorbacks were 19-of-25 from the free throw line, including 13-of-14 in the second half. The Javahaws made 5-of-9.
Kansas shot a season-high 60.9 percent compared to Arkansas' 35.7 percent from the field. The Jayhawks led 32-28 at halftime.
But the second half was a different story.
The Razorbacks took the lead with a 26-9 run after halftime. The Jayhawks never got closer than seven points.
game that we have not played our best game yet," said Arkansas coach Gary Blair. "I think we just played the best half of basketball this year."
"I told the team before the
Arkansas guard Sytia Messer scored 17 of her game-high 23 points in the second half.
Kansas forward Lynn Pride, the season's leading scorer and rebounder, had a poor performance.
Pride got her fourth foul with 13:09 left in the game and was on the bench until 5:48.
Pride went 0-of-4 from the field, scored a season low three
points and got one rebound in 27 minutes.
With Pride struggling, forward Jaclyn Johnson scored 18 points. Reserve guard Shandy Robbins had 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Guard Suzi Raymant added 14 points.
Washington said that she was delighted with her team's performance this season.
"Iam extremely proud of these women," Washington said. "They are competitors and they never stopped playing. We will be back."
ARKANSAS 79, KANSAS 63
ARKANSAS (21-10)
Karlin 6-16-4-5-16, Messer 6-10-
8-10-23, Jones 3-1-2-17, Smith 5-9
2-2-14, Wiltils 0-1-4-4, Adams 2-4-
0-4, Christensen 4-9-0-9, Stance
0-1-0-0-0, Bragg 1-1-0-2,
Anderson 0-0-0-0, Satterfield 0-
0-0-0, Wright 0-0-0-0, Totals 27-53
19-25 79.
KANSAS (23-9)
Johnson 8-14-2-3-18, Pride 0-4-3-4
Sanford 1-2-0-1-2, Jackson 4-7-0-8,
Raymant 6-13-0-1-0, Robbins
6-10-0-14, White 2-0-3-0, Scott
0-0-0-0, Fletcher 0-0-0-0, Totals
27-53-5-9 63.
Halftime—Kansas 32, Arkansas 28. 3-point goals—Arkansas 6-10 (Messer 3-3, Smith 2-5, Christensen 1-2), Kansas 4-11 (Robbins 2-6, Raymant 2-5). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Arkansas 27 (Messenger 8), Kansas 31 (Robbins 9).
Assists—Arkansas 8 (Smith 3), Kansas 17 (Jackson 5). Total fouls—Arkansas 16, Kansas 21. A—6,564.
The University Daily Kansan and the School of Journalism have established a memorial scholarship for a minority journalism student in honor of LaTina Sullivan. Sullivan, a
native of Memphis,
Income from the LaTina Sullivan Scholarship Fund will provide an annual scholarship for a minority student in the School of Journalism. The first recipient will be announced at the School's
annual scholarship awards ceremony, to be held in April 24.
"LaTina represented all that was good about our program and our student newspaper. This would be an ideal way to honor her." JAMES K. GENTRY, dean of journalism.
"LaTina reminded us in print and by her presence that we are and should be a multicultural voice in our newspaper's community. She made the Kansan better in that way and many others... Her loss, sadly, makes us less than what we were. Yet it challenges us to remember what was important to her as an African-American journalist. Tell the truth without fear or favor. Be fair. Reflect the American experience." TOM EBLEN, Kansan general manager and news adviser.
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