Lady Vols Hold Off Colonials
Tennessee 71, George Washington 59

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Mike Bozeman, the first-year coach of the George Washington women's basketball team, couldn't stay still as he watched his young team stay close to seventh-ranked Tennessee last night at Smith Center. He paced the sideline and stomped his feet. He waved the white towel he kept clenched in his hand, and he egged on the student section. At one point, he even whirled around and ripped off his suit jacket after one of his players missed an open layup.

But when the final buzzer sounded and the two-time defending NCAA champions had secured a 71-59 victory, Bozeman stood for a moment with his head bowed and his hands on his hips. George Washington trailed by only two heading into the final five minutes, but couldn't finish off what would have been its first win in nine tries against the perennial national power.

"Give GW a lot of credit," Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt said. "They fought hard and played tough. There's a toughness to this team. I think they're going to win a lot of games if they play the way they played against Tennessee."

This was Tennessee's fourth trip to Smith Center, and the Lady Vols, not surprisingly, drew a good crowd -- the largest to watch a basketball game, men's or women's, at George Washington thus far this season. Roughly a third of the 3,459 fans seemed to be wearing Tennessee's distinctive orange, and they greeted Summitt with a warm ovation when she walked into the arena shortly before tip-off.

What they saw was a gritty, albeit sloppy, effort from both teams. George Washington (4-3) and Tennessee (6-1) combined for 40 turnovers and missed 78 of 125 shots. Bozeman attributed that, in part, to the relative youth of both teams. The Lady Vols started two freshmen and two sophomores, and they were led by freshman Glory Johnson, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Two freshman reserves -- Tara Booker (14 points) and Tiana Myers (10 points) -- sparked the Colonials, whose two leading scorers struggled. Senior forward-guard Antelia Parrish missed her first eight shots and finished with seven points on 2-of-14 shooting. Senior center Jessica Adair fouled out after playing just 15 minutes and scoring six points, roughly half of her season average and 17 less than her output the last time the teams met in December 2006. Her twin sister, Jazmine, scored 12 points.

Tennessee's first possession of the game was a preview of what was to come for much of the next 40 minutes: The Lady Vols flew around the court, missing three shots and grabbing three rebounds. They finally scored on their fourth shot attempt, a short jumper by Vicki Baugh. Tennessee shot only 35.3 percent for the game but held a 51-35 rebounding edge. A 14-3 advantage on the offensive glass in the first half helped the Lady Vols take a 35-27 halftime lead.

"I think if you add all their height up together, they're probably a 50-footer out there," Bozeman said. "They're big, and not big and slow. They're big, strong and athletic. You emphasize blocking out in practice, but you can't mimic the size and athleticism they come with."

Every time it appeared as if Tennessee was ready to pull away, the Colonials battled back. The Lady Vols led 50-39 with 11 minutes 14 seconds to play, but George Washington went on a 13-4 run to draw within two points. Myers made two free throws and forced Shekinna Stricklen into a dribbling the ball out of bounds, and then Myers sank a long jump shot to cut Tennessee's lead to 54-52 with six minutes remaining.

Parrish fed Jazmine Adair for a layup that would have tied the score at 56 with about 4 1/2 minutes to play, but Adair's shot rolled over the basket. The Colonials scored only five more points the rest of the way.

"It definitely hurts to see how close we were to beating them," Parrish said. "We had a possession where we could've tied it. It hurts, but we have to take the positives from this win. I think we gained a lot of confidence, that we can play with anybody."