KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Nine years have passed since Tennessee last won a national championship. Coach Pat Summitt believes she has found what's been missing since 1998.
After winning three straight national championships, Summitt kept recruiting talented players and returned to the Final Four five times — coming home empty-handed after each one.
The Lady Vols, holders of six national titles, are back in the semifinals this year for the 17th time overall and face North Carolina on Sunday. Rutgers and LSU will play in the other game in Cleveland with the winners advancing to the championship game Tuesday night.
What's different about Tennessee this season starts with All-American Candace Parker, who some believe is even more versatile than Chamique Holdsclaw, the star when Tennessee won its last three national crowns.
"I think that in the previous years, I would say we've had some very fine teams, but we also played against some of our competition that had better go-to players, players that could make plays," Summitt said. "You have to have that, and we didn't have a Candace Parker."
Teams with a go-to player, including arch-nemesis Connecticut, have gotten the better of Tennessee since 1998.
The Huskies won three straight national titles from 2002-2004, twice beating the Lady Vols in the finals, with star Diana Taurasi.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma also has learned what it's like without the go-to player. The Huskies haven't been in the Final Four since Taurasi left.
"I know Geno said many times, 'We have Diana and nobody else does,' and it does make a difference," Summitt said.
"Look at what Sylvia Fowles means to the LSU program, and it's just — it is what is it in this game. And it's true for the men's game and it's true at the pro level. If you have Kobe Bryant playing the way he is right now, they are going to win more times than not."
Parker, a redshirt sophomore, has spent most of her time in the post but is listed as a guard, center and forward on the roster. She is averaging 19.9 points and 9.8 rebounds.
She put on a show in the regional final, a 98-62 win over Mississippi, finishing with 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. She also had three assists and three steals. The only thing Parker hasn't done in the postseason this year is dunk like she did a year ago.
She has taken over the team since the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Lady Vols lost to LSU in the semifinals when Parker was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.
Parker doesn't believe she's good enough to be ranked with players like Holdsclaw until she wins a national championship.
"I know this is my first Final Four because my freshman year I wasn't able to play. So, I just wanted to come out and do what I could for my team and whether it was energy on the defensive end or the offensive end, that was my goal," she said after being named the Dayton Regional most outstanding player.
After last season, Summitt realized her team needed more speed on the perimeter and she went to the junior college ranks to sign two players — point guard Shannon Bobbitt and shooting guard Alberta Auguste.
Bobbitt, 5-foot-2 and quick, has been playing well in the tournament and is a threat from 3-point range. Bobbitt and her backup, freshman Cait McMahan, have allowed junior Alexis Hornbuckle to return to the two spot and be more productive.
"I think the play of Shannon has been more than I had anticipated and that has put us in a position to be a better basketball team with Hornbuckle at the off guard and freeing her up to be more creative offensively off the dribble and getting to the paint," Summitt said.
Nicky Anosike has been starting at center but has taken several defensive assignments on the opponents' perimeter players, taking advantage of her long arms and quickness.
Senior forward Sidney Spencer has been the Lady Vols' second-leading scorer this season at 11.8 points a game and has improved her shooting touch from a year ago.
The Lady Vols also are getting solid contributions from their reserves.
"Our starting five has been strong," Summitt said. "We've had some good play off of our bench, but we had not had that."
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