Sunday, March 19, 2006

No. 6 Tennessee Tops Army 102-54 - Parker Dunks Twice

NORFOLK, Va. - Candace Parker of Tennessee slam dunked her way into NCAA history with a feat that even fans of underdog Army had to appreciate.

The 6-foot-4 Parker became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game Sunday, jamming one-handed on a breakaway just 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols' 102-54 victory against a Black Knights team that was making its NCAA tournament debut.

Then, for good measure, Parker ensured her place in history by becoming the first to do it twice in a college game with another one-hander on the baseline. She finished with 26 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

The first came when Parker took an outlet pass from Sidney Spencer, causing the large contingent of Lady Vols fans to begin buzzing at the possibility that after dunking several times in pregame warmups, Parker would try it on the fast break.

She did, beating Army's Margaree King down the floor, elevating and throwing it down with her right hand as the fans at Constant Convocation Center erupted.

It was the second college dunk attempt for Parker, who missed against Auburn on Feb. 23. She became the fourth woman in college history to dunk in a game, joining Georgeann Wells of West Virginia (twice in 1984), Charlotte Smith of North Carolina (1994) and Michelle Snow of Tennessee, who did it three times in the 2000-01 season.

The play gave the Lady Vols a 15-14 lead against the pesky 15th-seeded Black Knights, who were adopted by most of the fans at Tennessee rival Old Dominion's home arena, and it spelled the beginning of the end of Army's whirlwind NCAA tournament experience.

First-year Army coach Maggie Dixon was making some history of her own Sunday. She and her older brother, Pittsburgh men's coach Jamie Dixon, are believed to be the first brother and sister to coach in the Division I tournament in the same year. Big brother didn't fare much better: The fifth-seeded Panthers lost to 13th-seeded Bradley 72-66 Sunday.

A little over eight minutes after Parker's first dunk, the Lady Vols (29-4) held a 37-17 lead thanks to a 24-4 run and the only suspense left was whether Parker would try to do it again.

She did, with 14:18 left, working a give-and-go with Nicky Anosike from the right corner, and taking a return pass with a clear path down the baseline. This time, it happened so fast that the crowd didn't even have a chance to anticipate the moment.

Less than a minute later Parker was summoned by Tennessee coach Pat Summitt to watch the last 13:42 from the Lady Vols' bench. Tennessee will face the winner of the game between George Washington and Old Dominion in the second round of the Cleveland Regional on Tuesday night.

For Army, which had West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Bill Lennox among its fatigues-wearing, face-painted fans, Parker's dazzling performance likely only enhanced their debut in the tournament, which had already sparked a frenzy at the academy.

The Blacks Knights (20-11), who were carried off the court by cadets after winning the Patriot League tournament, lost to the Lady Vols 96-44 in 2002, so they knew what they were up against. They gave away several inches at each position on the floor.

Cara Enright led the Black Knights with 21 points and Alex McGuire had eight.

The Lady Vols, who shot 60 percent and outrebounded Army 40-21, got 15 points each from Tye'sha Fluker and Shanna Zolman and had all 10 players that played score.

They cracked the century mark with 54 seconds left on a steal and layup by Anosike.

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