Zolman leads the way with 28 points; Parker and Fuller earn double-doubles
Knoxville, Tenn. -- The No.1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols opened the 2005-06 basketball season with a 131-40 thrashing of Dalhousie (Canada) University in an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon. A crowd of 10,436 welcomed the Lady Vols to Thompson-Boling Arena for the inaugural Lady Vol game at "The Summitt," the court named at the end of last season for UT's legendary head coach, Pat Summitt.
Senior guard Shanna Zolman led the way for the Big Orange with a career-high-tying 28 point performance, including 19 points in the first half, as Tennessee took a 63-20 lead into the locker room. The Syracuse, Ind., native connected on six of seven attempts from the field in the first 20 minutes, including four of five from beyond the arc. She would finish the game 10 of 11 from the field, with five treys, four assists and three rebounds.
Fellow senior Tye'sha Fluker played through a broken index finger on her shooting hand for 14 points, three rebounds and two assists. She went six of seven from the field and was perfect (2-2) from the charity stripe.
Redshirt freshmen Candace Parker and Alex Fuller combined for 38 points and 21 boards. In the game for only 19 minutes, Parker finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Fuller went eight of 12 from the field to finish with 18 points in just 21 minutes. The Shelbyville, Tenn., native grabbed ten rebounds and recorded three steals in her collegiate debut.
Dalhousie falls for the third straight game to a U.S. Collegiate squad. The Tigers also suffered setbacks to Kentucky, 90-34, and Morehead State, 72-64. DU was led by Ryan McKay, the only member of the squad to score in double figures (13).
Tennessee saw five players finish in double figures, including two ladies with double-doubles (Parker and Fuller). In addition to the aforementioned quartet, sophomore Nicky Anosike joined the double figures club with 16 points, connecting on all seven attempts from the field and two tries from the free throw line.
The Lady Vols shot a sizzling 69 percent for the game, including 28 of 38 marksmanship in the second half for a rate of 73 percent. UT's defense, meanwhile, held Dalhousie to 19 percent shooting for the game and forced 32 turnovers off 24 steals.
The win marked the 14th straight exhibition victory for the Lady Vols, and the 131 points are the second most tallies ever scored by Tennessee in an exhibition game.
The Lady Vols host Carson-Newman on Thursday evening for the final exhibition game of the year. Tip-off in Thompson-Boling is set for 7 p.m.
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