Tennessee starts timid, finishes torrid
By Melanie Jackson
ESPN.com
PHILADELPHIA -- The Tennessee Lady Vols knew exactly what they had to do to beat Rutgers' matchup zone -- even if it didn't show in the first half of Friday's national semifinal game.
|  | | Kara Lawson directed Tennessee's second-half surge. |
The Vols spent the first 20 minutes looking baffled and timid against the Scarlet Knights' vaunted defense. But after the break, the Lady Vols were able to accomplish everything they couldn't early on.
They drove to the basket, started hitting shots from the perimeter and had solid leadership at the point -- in other words, everything necessary to beat a good zone defense.
After getting things right in a 2:22 span that produced a 7-2 run, Tennessee took the lead for good en route to a 64-54 victory in front of 20,060 fans at the Final Four in the First Union Center.
Rutgers' zone defense, one of the country's best since the season tipped off 4½ months ago, paved the way for a six-point Knights' lead late in the first half. Before the break, Rutgers scored 15 points off 12 Tennessee turnovers, and the Lady Vols shot just 35 percent in the first half. All-American Tamika Catchings attempted just four shots and didn't sink a field goal until 36 seconds remained in the half.
Rutgers' defense was dominating, but Tennessee played right into it.
"Against a zone like Rutgers', you have to penetrate the gaps and get some open looks, hit some shots from outside and force them to come out and defend you," Vols senior Kyra Elzy said. "If you don't, you're just standing there, like we were in the first half."
Tennessee freshman Kara Lawson said the Vols "played on our heels" in the first half.
"We weren't in an attack mode and let Rutgers dictate how we were going to play offensively," said Lawson, the Vols' starting point guard. "In the second half, we wanted to push tempo, try and put them (the Scarlet Knights) on their heels and work the ball around."
And after clutching to a two-point lead at halftime, Tennessee turned it around in that 7-2 run. The spurt was jump-started on a Lawson drive for a layin, which put the Vols up 38-36 with 13:54 to play. Then, after a defensive stop, junior Kristen Clement sent a no-look pass to Michelle Snow, who sank a short bank shot.
At the other end, Rutgers' Davalyn Cunningham hit an 8-foot jumper, but Catchings answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Vols a 43-38 lead with 12:32 remaining.
"In the second half, we were able to really pick them apart," Lawson said. "We were able to exploit the baseline and the middle, which were areas that we thought we could get good shots."
Lawson had a lot to do with it.
"She did an excellent job of breaking down the defense and running our offense," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "(At halftime) we talked about soft spots in the zone or open spots on the baseline, and at the elbows, and also told the guards they had to penetrate the gaps, get aggressive.
"And that's all Kara needed. She had the green light then to penetrate, and I thought that helped our team understand that we wanted to play aggressive, get on our toes and push the tempo."
After Catchings' 3-pointer, Rutgers turned the ball over on its next three possessions and never recovered as Tennessee's defense took over.
"That was a big run; it changed the game," Elzy said. "We were waiting for that run we usually get every game, and tonight it came through." |
