Tennessee Holds Off Rival Huskies
Sophomore Candace Parker scores 30 points, including the sixth dunk of her career.
HARTFORD, Conn. — Candace Parker had been waiting for a chance to make her mark in Tennessee’s storied rivalry with Connecticut.
Parker scored 30 points, including the sixth dunk of her career, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked six shots to help No. 4 Tennessee hold off fifth-ranked Connecticut 70-64 on Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center.
“I wanted to have a chance to dunk on Connecticut’s court and I did,” the 6-foot-4 sophomore said.
She didn’t start out well, missing five of her first six shots, but then got going.
“As the game went on she got better and better,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said of her star. “She stepped up big for us.”
Sidney Spencer added 14 points for the Lady Vols (14-1), who have beaten their rivals three straight times.
“I’m extremely proud of this team,” Summitt said. “I think our tough schedule, going on the road helped us prepare for this.”
Charde Houston scored 23 points to lead Connecticut (12-1). No other Huskies player was in double figures. Leading scorer Renee Montgomery held to four points on 2-for-11 shooting.
“Charde did about as much as she could do,” said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma. “She needed some help from other guys and they couldn’t do it.”
Parker’s fourth dunk this season came with 18:20 left in the second half, giving Tennessee a 45-29 lead.
“It’s a plus to be Candace Parker’s teammate,” said Lady Vols guard Alexis Hornbuckle. “She made the plays when we needed it.”
Parker is the fifth woman to dunk in a college game and has dunked the most. She joins Michelle Snow of Tennessee, Sancho Lyttle of Houston, Charlotte Smith of North Carolina and Georgeann Wells of West Virginia.
“Two points is two points,” Parker said. “It’s always a momentum builder for our team.”
This time it seemed her dunk ignited the opponent.
“It ticked me off,” Connecticut forward Brittany Hunter said. “It shouldn’t take that to get anyone going.”
After Parker’s dunk, Connecticut went on a 31-15 spurt to tie the game at 60 with 4:04 left. Houston had 12 points during the run.
Spencer answered with a 3-pointer to give Tennessee a 63-60 edge with 3:40 left.
“That was a designed play,” Spencer said.
After drawing an offensive foul on Hunter, Parker scored on a driving layup to just beat the shot clock and extend the lead to five.
Houston answered with a layup to cut the deficit to three, but the Huskies could get no closer.
“At the end of the game when we had to make some stops we did,” Summitt said.
