Final Four not kind to seniors

INDIANAPOLIS — When the clock ran out, Shyra Ely walked over to the bench and put her hands over her mouth.

''I didn't believe it,'' Ely said. ''I thought we had five more minutes or something.''

The clock had run out in Tennessee's 68-64 loss to Michigan State, and it had run out on the college careers of Ely and fellow seniors Loree Moore and Brittany Jackson. That group made it to four Final Fours, but came up short each time.

''Not many classes get to do what Shyra, Loree and Brittany have done,'' UT Coach Pat Summitt said. ''It just speaks to the impact that they have had on our program.''

The Final Four has not been kind to Ely in her career, and yesterday was no different. Playing in her hometown, she finished with nine points, but was 4-of-14 from the floor and had five turnovers.

Despite five turnovers, Moore played one of her better games with 11 points and six rebounds.

''I'm really proud of our team for the type of season they have had, and I thought Loree Moore was terrific tonight in pushing tempo and playing the kind of defense she had to play,'' Summitt said.

As freshmen, they lost in the semifinals 79-56 to Connecticut. They lost to the Huskies in the title game 73-68 the following year, and UConn beat Tennessee 70-61 last year in the final.

Freshman Alexis Hornbuckle said she looked Moore in the eye at the beginning of the season and told her that this year's Final Four trip would let her finish out her career with a national title.

Tennessee has not won a title since winning three straight from 1996 to 1998.

''It's like promising a family member something, and then not showing up,'' Hornbuckle said.

Hornbuckle can't take much of the blame. She led Tennessee with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, had six assists and eight rebounds.

UT junior Shanna Zolman finished with 13 points.

Michigan State got four players in double figures during their run that turned a 16-point deficit into a lead. Tennessee had 18 turnovers in the game — most of those coming during the Spartans' run.

Lindsay Bowen led all scorers with 18.

Earlier in the night, LSU suffered a similar fate at the hands of Baylor. The Lady Tigers led 24-9 in the first half, but the Lady Bears had the game tied by halftime and pulled away for a 68-57 win.

''The first thing that went through my mind was the LSU-Baylor game, because that was the same exact thing that happened,'' Zolman said. ''We knew they were going to make a run.''

This was a homecoming for both Zolman (Syracuse, Ind.) and Ely (Indianapolis).

''I don't care where it's at,'' Zolman said. ''It could be in Alaska, and I wouldn't care. It's a loss.

''Obviously, it's all the excitement of coming into it, yeah, there's all the hype coming in, playing in your home state, in front of home family and crowd, but a loss is a loss. It doesn't matter if it's here or Nova Scotia, it's a loss.''

• Michigan State assistant coach Al Brown, who worked on Summitt's staff from 1995-2002, picked up a technical foul in last night's game. Zolman's free throws made it a 51-40 game at that point.

• Former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning attended last night's game. He sat a few rows behind the UT bench. Former Lady Vols Ashley Robinson and Kara Lawson were also at the game.