Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt acknowledges the fans' cheers as she leaves the court following the Lady Vols' 80-68 win over Vanderbilt on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 in Nashville, Tenn. It was the 900th career college basketball win for Summitt as a coach.
Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt waves to the fans as she leaves the court following the Lady Vols' 80-68 win over Vanderbilt on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 in Nashville, Tenn. It was the 900th career college basketball win for Summitt as a coach.
(1) Tennessee 80, (19) Vanderbilt 68
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Pat Summitt didn't have to wait long to get her 900th career victory.
Shanna Zolman led five Lady Vols in double figures with 16 points, and top-ranked Tennessee rallied from its biggest deficit this season in beating No. 19 Vanderbilt 80-68 Thursday night, giving Summitt her 900th win in her first shot at the milestone.
Tennessee (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) had never gone through a first half without leading at least once until this game, and the Lady Vols trailed by 14 late in the half.
But the crowd of 13,127 with lots of Tennessee orange got to serenade Summitt by chanting "9-0-0" in the final minute as the Lady Vols won for the 10th straight time in the series.
Vanderbilt (13-5, 2-2) looked ready to end that skid and get its first victory against the Lady Vols since Feb. 2, 2002. As well as the Commodores shot, they couldn't stop Tennessee from turning their turnovers into 25 points.
Alexis Hornbuckle had 15 points for Tennessee with Candace Parker adding 14. Sidney Spencer and Nicky Anosike each had 10. The Lady Vols outshot Vandy 54 percent (31-of-56) to 46 percent (27-of-58).
Caroline Williams led Vanderbilt with 21 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Dee Davis added 20 points.
The Lady Vols, who trailed 33-19 in the first half, didn't take their first lead until 45-44 with 14:53 left on a pair of fast-break layups by Hornbuckle coming off a Parker block, then an Anosike steal.
Vanderbilt last led 50-49 on a 3-pointer by Cherish Stringfield. Then Tennessee scored 19 of the next 21 points in taking its biggest lead at 68-52 with 5:47 to go on a pair of Anosike free throws.
The Commodores came into the game as the nation's fourth-best shooting team, and they shot 54 percent in the first half. They finished 10-of-22 from 3-point range.
They hit four 3s in a 14-0 spurt capped by Davis' 3 from the top of the key for a 33-19 lead with 5:13 left in the first half.
Tennessee struggled with Zolman missing her first five shots, and Hornbuckle played only seven minutes after picking up her third foul in the first half.
But they finished the half with a 13-2 spurt that included a steal and a layup by Parker and capped by Zolman's first bucket, a 3-pointer, with 26.1 seconds left. Still, they trailed 37-32 at halftime for only the second time this season.
Vanderbilt tried to muster some mojo before tipoff by showing highlights from the football team's 28-24 victory last November over Tennessee -- the school's first in the rivalry since 1982.
It didn't help, and Summitt got to walk off the court with a wave and a thumb's up to the fans gathered behind her bench.
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