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Tennessee blasts Lady Cats in NCAA first round game
The first trip for Western Carolina’s women to the NCAA Basketball Tournament didn’t last long as the Lady Cats (18-14) were blasted by Tennessee, the top seed in the Philadelphia Region, 94-43 Sunday at Knoxville.
Shanna Zolman hit 10 of 13 shots, including five of eight three-pointers, to score 28 points for the Lady Vols. Shyra Ely and Alexis Hornbuckle added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Western Carolina’s Chevon Keith led the team with nine points and eight rebounds in Sunday’s 94-43 loss to Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. – WCU photo by Mark Haskett
No WCU player scored in double figures. Leading the way were Monique Dawson and Chevon Keith with nine apiece.
The game was a homecoming for WCU Coach Kellie Harper. The former Kellie Jolley helped the Lady Vols to three straight national championships from 1996-98. Many of the 10,534 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena gave Harper a standing ovation when she came on the court.
“It was emotional to get a standing ovation from your alma mater in front of a lot of your friends and your family,” Harper said. “Once you are a Lady Vol, you are always a Lady Vol. It was incredible, and it brought back a lot of memories.”
The Lady Cats led 4-3 after Shaketia Barnes hit an 18-footer with 19:02 to go in the first half, but the hospitality toward Harper ended shortly thereafter.
Nicky Anosike’s three-point play gave Tennessee the lead for good, 7-4, at the 17:47 mark.
Loree Moore had five points in a 19-2 run that turned the game into a rout and left UT on top 47-18 with 4:37 on the clock. Brittany Jackson beat the halftime buzzer with a three-pointer sending the Lady Vols to the dressing room on top 62-24.
Another Jackson trey gave UT an 81-32 advantage with 11:17 left in the game, and the Lady Vols matched that 49-point margin on two occasions.
The teacher and student visited Sunday prior to Western Carolina’s game at Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Legendary Tennessee Coach Pat Summit (left) and WCU Coach Kellie Harper were reunited at Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena, where Harper, then known as Kellie Jolley, played point guard for Summit on three national championship teams from 1996-98. – WCU photo by Mark Haskett
“I would like to say how proud I am of this team,” Harper said after the game. “What this team has accomplished this year with winning the conference championship, they have nothing to hang their heads about.”
The Lady Vols shot 47.3 percent from the floor while holding WCU to 25.8 percent.
Tennessee dominated the boards 57-36. Leading the way were Hornbuckle with 12 and Ely with 10. Keith pulled down eight for the Lady Cats.
Western committed 23 turnovers, and the Lady Vols had 15.
Completing the WCU scoring were Barnes, Jennifer Gardner, Ki-Ki Glass, Ashley Pellom and Teyawna Hardy all with four, Lori Tanner and Jessika Johnson with two apiece and Sigita Maleraite with one.
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