It’s No Waltz, but Tennessee Wins

AMES, Iowa —  Tennessee earned this Final Four trip the old-fashioned way-- with defense.

The Lady Vols disrupted Vanderbilt’s normally efficient offense for much of the game and beat the top-seeded Commodores, 68-63, in the Midwest Regional final Monday night, sending Tennessee to the Final Four for the 13th time.

“I thought through the course of the game we really guarded people,” Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt said. “We just tried to take them somewhat out of their rhythm.”

Tennessee (29-4) succeeded and got contributions on the offensive end from several players. Gwen Jackson led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Michelle Snow made three key shots down the stretch.

The second-seeded Lady Vols played off their defense in building a 15-point lead early in the second half against their Southeastern Conference rival, then survived a rally that got the Commodores (30-7) within two points.

“A lot of different people made plays for us tonight, and that’s what team basketball is all about,” Summitt said. “This basketball team, I felt they deserved to get there and they earned it. They earned some respect and earned an opportunity to go to the Final Four.”

Now, Tennessee, a six-time national champion, gets another crack at unbeaten and top-ranked Connecticut, the Mideast Regional champion. They’ll meet in the national semifinals Friday night at San Antonio. Connecticut beat Tennessee, 86-72, at Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 5.

Chantelle Anderson’s 35 points and 12 rebounds weren’t enough to get Vanderbilt to the Final Four for the second time.

On Monday night, a first-half scoring drought left the Commodores in an early 10-point hole and forced them to play catch-up the rest of the game.

“We picked up our dribble a lot, and when you pick up your dribble, their pressure gets in your face,” Anderson said. “You have to keep your dribble to keep the pressure off you, and we didn’t do that.”

Anderson’s layup left Vanderbilt trailing, 63-60, with 1:14 to play, but Snow came through again, making a turnaround jump shot for a 65-60 lead with 48.3 seconds remaining.

“Snow made some big shots,” Vanderbilt Coach Jim Foster said. “We were behind her. We shouldn’t have been behind her. We should have been in front of her. She’s got a nice touch, a nice turnaround. She was in a rhythm.”

The victory was No. 788 for Summitt, tying her with Jody Conradt of Texas for first place among women’s coaches.