Hitting the boards

Lady Vols show Princeton how to rebound in lopsided victory

While Tennessee got the message about rebounding, the Lady Vols didn't limit themselves to one statistical achievement Tuesday night.

A 107-39 women's basketball thrashing of Princeton before a crowd of 10,650 at Thompson-Boling Arena was a triumph on several fronts. Against the overmatched Tigers, No. 1 Tennessee (10-0) set season highs for not only rebounds (52) but also points, field goals (40) field goal percentage (59.7) 3-point field goal percentage (73.3) and assists (25).

The eight turnovers, on the other hand, were a season low.

"Aside from Texas,'' said UT coach Pat Summitt, referring to a 102-61 victory over the Longhorns earlier this month, "this was as much energy as we've had one through 10 (players).''

The Lady Vols showed no ill effects from being rebuked for their rebounding after last Thursday's win over Louisiana Tech or from the departure this week of teammate Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, who plans to transfer.

Instead, they made a conscious effort to enjoy themselves and it showed in their performance.

"We worked hard in practice, but we were going out in games and not having as much energy or fun,'' said UT guard Shanna Zolman, who scored a game-high 23 points. "We were not playing to our potential. Our main focus was to get back to playing Tennessee basketball with defense, rebounding and a lot of energy.''

In the process, the Lady Vols didn't give Princeton (6-4) much chance for enjoyment. The Tigers' best highlight was a team-high 12 points from center Becky Brown, who is from Nashville. Brown said she had at least 30 family and friends in attendance. She estimated that her grandfather brought half of his East Tennessee hometown of Erwin.

The Brown fan club saw a lot of Becky but a lot more of the home team.

"I thought they came out with a real sense of purpose tonight,'' Tigers coach Richard Barron said of UT. "The worst thing to happen to us is for them to have a reason to play hard.''

The rebounding was the obvious point of emphasis. Offensive rebounding helped jumpstart the scoring and the overall effort eventually created plenty of transition chances.

With the Tigers scrambling back to defend the basket, the Lady Vols sharpshooters were able to take aim from the wings and shoot 11-for-15 on 3-pointers. Zolman was 5-for-6, hitting 5 treys in a game for the third time this season.

Tennessee was shooting so well that center Sybil Dosty beat the shot clock with a 10-footer off the dribble in the second half.

"I know Ty (Fluker) and I were on the court,'' said UT's Alexis Hornbuckle, describing their reaction to downtown Dosty's shot. "We jumped up.''

The Lady Vols also were feeling good about their efficiency. Three players -- Hornbuckle, Candace Parker and Lindsey Moss had at least five assists. Hornbuckle, who was calling more sets, had a team-high six.

"(Summitt) put a lot of confidence in me to run plays; she told me to mix up sets,'' Hornbuckle said. "Actually it made my job a little harder because I was having to think a little more. I think I've always had the freedom, I just haven't used it as well. I had to get a little smarter.''

Two of Parker's assists were highlight quality, particularly a pass she wrapped behind her head to a cutting Fluker for a layup.

In the process, Parker appeared to pass up at least one chance at a dunk highlight.

"No,'' said Parker, when asked afterward. "Well, maybe.''

Notebook: The Lady Vols did a running workout after the game in order to leave earlier today for Christmas break. ... UT's next game is Dec. 28 at Temple. ... Country star Kenny Chesney was a guest coach for the game.