Lady Vols win 68-39

KNOXVILLE, TN — Pat Summitt entered her team’s locker room at halftime Saturday and immediately knew something was wrong.

“That is the calmest I ever have been in 35 years in a locker room,” Tennessee women’s basketball coach said.

But her team, composed of six freshmen, was glaringly uptight.

And for the first half of the Lady Vols’ 68-39 season-opening win against San Francisco at Thompson-Boling Arena, it showed.

“They put so much pressure on themselves,” Summitt said, “it was obvious they were kind of like a deer in the headlights.”

Summitt had an idea why.

Before the game, the Lady Vols celebrated last year’s national championship, raising their eighth NCAA banner to the rafters before a cheering crowd of 13,400.

“I’m sure (the players) were thinking, ‘That’s what we’re supposed to do,’” Summitt said.

In attendance for the occasion was former All-American and reigning WNBA MVP Candace Parker, whose presence may have added to the nerves of the newcomers, Summitt said.

“The combination of having Candace, having the banner go up and having the crowd here, I think it was a little overwhelming for some of us,” Summitt said.

After jumping to a 9-3 lead with a 3-pointer from freshman Shekinna Stricklen, the Lady Vols struggled to find a rhythm in the first half. San Francisco (0-1) tied the game at 24 with 1:59 left before the break.

“I think we all went into the locker room at the second half and said we need to calm down and play more together,” Lady Vols senior forward Alex Fuller said. “We were kind of rushing our shots, just rushing our offense. We needed to settle down.”

And they did.

Leading 32-24 at the half, Tennessee convincingly pulled away, stretching its lead to 31 with 2:32 left in the game.

Freshman forward Glory Johnson had a team-high 17 total points and 12 rebounds.

Dons guard Shay Rollins led her team with 17 points, though she was held to one field goal in the second half. She is the sister of Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who was at the game.

Stricklen added 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The freshman wasn’t lacking in effort, either. In a second-half play, she dived into the first-row seats for a loose ball.

“I told her don’t ever go over a chair again,” Summitt said. “This is the second time. She didn’t listen to me after the first. I said, ‘Unless we’re in the national championship game and that could be the difference.’”

“She lays it on the line whatever you ask her to do.”

By necessity, Tennessee’s freshmen had a large role in the game, scoring 53 total points. As expected, sophomore Angie Bjorklund sat out with back spasms along with sophomore Vicki Baugh, who is still rehabbing from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee suffered in last season’s national championship game. Redshirt freshman Kelley Cain was unavailable with a head injury.

Even without them, Tennessee eventually overmatched San Francisco with its size advantage.

“I think what caught up to us was their physical dominance,” said San Francisco coach Tanya Haave, who played at Tennessee from 1980 to ’84. “I think they’re going to be very good, and I’m very proud to come back here as an alumnus and see that.”