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The Vols won their eighth NCAA title — and second in a row — with a 64-48 victory over Stanford at the St. Pete Times Forum on Tuesday. Tennessee, a No. 1 seed out of the Oklahoma City Regional, controlled the game throughout.
Just like last year when they won it all, the Vols held both their Final Four opponents to 50 points or fewer. Last year, they limited North Carolina to 50 and Rutgers to 46. In the semifinals here Sunday, Tennessee beat LSU 47-46.
It was more of the same high-pressure defense on Tuesday against Stanford, a No. 2 seed out of the Spokane Regional.
“This is a very special night for our program and our basketball team,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. “I particularly like the way they committed to each other on the defensive end. I’m just really proud.
“Obviously, it’s a happy but sad time with the seniors leaving.”
Starters Candace Parker, Nicky Anosike, Shannon Bobbitt, Alexis Hornbuckle and Alberta Auguste all depart with their second title. Parker is a junior athletically but a senior academically. She is bypassing her final year of eligibility to turn pro.
For the second year in a row, Parker was chosen the Final Four’s most outstanding player. This year, she achieved that despite a sore left shoulder that dislocated twice during the Vols’ regional final win over Texas A&M.
“I believe that a lot of people underestimate our defense,” said Parker, who finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Stanford actually had seen Tennessee in person earlier this season, when the Cardinal beat the Vols 73-69 in overtime at Maples Pavilion. The Vols said that loss kind of put a damper on the holiday season.
The way Stanford’s offense had looked for its regional final and national semifinal victories, many predicted the Cardinal would be able to do the same thing against Tennessee.
Instead, the Cardinal had its lowest point total since December 2003, when it scored 46 points against Texas Tech. Sophomore center Jayne Appel had 16 points for Stanford, 35-4. Senior Candice Wiggins, also expected to go high in today’s draft, finished her college career with 14 points.
“We were very well-prepared for this game,” Wiggins said. “Nothing was really new. You just get in the game and you’ve got to play. You can’t second-guess yourselves. They just did a great job on defense.”
Bobbitt had 13 points and Anosike 12 for Tennessee, 36-2. The Vols forced 25 turnovers.
“I just know my mind-set coming into this game was, I wasn’t going home without a championship,” Anosike said.
“If we lost, I was going to live here. Because I wasn’t going back home.”
But she and the Vols will go back to Knoxville — and take another trophy with them.
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