MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Although top-ranked Tennessee had history
and the crowd on its side Saturday, Vanderbilt had Ashley
McElhiney.
The sophomore guard hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 3:16
and finished with 27 points as No. 15 Vanderbilt upset Tennessee
77-74 in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
|  | | Ashley McElhiney's 12 of 14 free throws in the final 3:16 helped Vanderbilt upset Tennessee on Saturday. |
Vanderbilt center Chantelle Anderson added 26 points as the
Commodores (21-8) ended a 14-game losing streak against its instate
rival with its first victory over Tennessee since the finals of the
1995 SEC tournament.
"Ashley is awesome," Anderson said. "You can't get in her
head. They tried to take her out of the game, and she runs this
team and it's very obvious. We all know that. Obviously, they did
too because they tried to take her out, and she refused to let it
happen."
The loss also snapped an 18-game winning streak for top-seeded
Tennessee (29-2).
Vanderbilt scored its last 16 points at the free-throw line,
going 16-of-20 in the final 3:16. McElhiney, who played all 40
minutes, handled most of the load despite Tennessee fans almost
shaking the court at times with cheering that made The Pyramid the
Lady Vols' home away from home.
"We all have confidence we can knock down big shots,"
McElhiney said. "We have to block all the extracurricular stuff
out like the fans hollering, whatever else, waving, and concentrate
on the basketball."
But the Lady Vols didn't go down easily.
Tennessee pulled within three twice in the final 19 seconds with
3s from April McDivitt and Semeka Randall, but ran out of time.
"They were the better team, and they made the plays and we
didn't," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.
It was a sweet victory for junior Zuzi Klimesova, who had lost
seven straight to Tennessee.
"We have been waiting for this a long time," Klimesova said.
"I hope that we finally will start to be a little bit arrogant
like other teams and believe in ourselves and do great things just
like everybody else."
Vanderbilt hadn't beaten a top-ranked team since February 1996,
when it upset Georgia. The Commodores ended the Lady Vols' hopes of
stringing together four consecutive titles at the tournament where
Tennessee had won its previous 10 games and the last three titles.
The Lady Vols have dominated this tournament since its
inception, playing in 14 of 21 finals and winning 10 titles. Now
they will head back to Knoxville and work on fixing mistakes.
"We have a chance to really learn from this," Summitt said of
her Lady Vols' first loss since losing to Connecticut on Dec. 30.
"The pressure's off. There's no No. 1. I hope there's still a
No. 1 seed, and we'll go back to Knoxville and hopefully, get
serious about what we want to do and where we want to end our
season, hopefully the next time not with a loss."
The Lady Vols did themselves in with poor shooting against the
nation's most accurate team.
Tennessee led by as much as 13 three times in the first half by
taking advantage of Vanderbilt's mistakes. The Commodores had 11
turnovers in the half and finished with 21, and the Lady Vols
turned them into 16 points.
But the Lady Vols went into a shooting slump that started with
eight minutes left in the first half. They shot just 7-of-27 during
an 18-minute period into the second half.
"As we struggled offensively, we were less committed
defensively. I think that's it in a nutshell," Summitt said.
Vanderbilt took advantage by scoring the final eight points of
the first half to pull within 36-30. The Commodores then used a
10-0 spurt in the second half to tie it at 44, the closest they had
been since the opening minutes.
Neither team could get an edge until Vanderbilt outscored
Tennessee 10-2. Anderson keyed the spurt, and her layup put
Vanderbilt ahead to stay with 5:08 to go at 58-56, and her
three-point play capped that spurt for a 61-56 lead.
Michelle Snow and Semeka Randall each had 15 for Tennessee,
which hadn't lost since Dec. 30 at Connecticut.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Vanderbilt Clubhouse
Tennessee Clubhouse
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