Lady Vols stun No. 1 LSU for SEC tourney title
Victory moves Summitt within game of Smith's career win record
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GREENVILLE, S.C. - Milestones can wait for Pat Summitt. The Tennessee coach has a Southeastern Conference tournament championship to celebrate for the first time in five years.
Tennessee beat top-ranked LSU 67-65 on Sunday in the SEC final, moving Summitt within a victory of Dean Smith’s career record with her 878th win.
“Nothing has broken the spirit of this team. I’ve worked them hard and they’ve bought into it. That’s more important to me right now than numbers,” Summitt said. “I’m glad to get up on the ladder and do something other than wash windows. I got to cut down the nets.”
The fifth-ranked Lady Vols (26-4) had been in LSU’s shadow this season ever since Feb. 10 when the Lady Tigers had their way inside in the 68-58 defeat. And while Summitt never focused on payback, the loss galvanized her team, which has won its past eight games since.
“Our philosophy is to take that and learn from it,” Summitt said. “We went back to work and became a better basketball team because of that loss. That’s when I saw a team that understood we can not do this individually.”
Those lessons were evident late in this one.
Trailing 65-61 with 1:28 left, Tennessee rallied with Shanna Zolman’s 3-pointer and Shyra Ely’s fast-break layup to move in front 66-65.
LSU (29-2) had the play it wanted the next time down, but a wide-open Sylvia Fowles couldn’t handle Temeka Johnson’s pass beneath the basket. Alexis Hornbuckle collected the loose ball for Tennessee and made a foul shot for the final points.
Scholanda Hoston had a straightaway 3-point try at the end that hit hard off the rim and bounced away, ending LSU’s 16-game winning streak — and possibly its hopes for landing the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
Ely, who led Tennessee with 25 points, grabbed the ball after the horn sounded and flung it high into the stands, as her teammates jumped high in celebration.
“It’s been a long time since Tennessee has done this, not just here, at any tournament,” Zolman said.
No one on the roster was around for the team’s last tournament title. While they’ve gone to the past three Final Fours, Zolman says anything short of victory doesn’t cut it.
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