Lady Vols Advance To Elite 8 With Win Over Oklahoma
By Zach Ragan
Mar 31, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers forward Jasmine Jones (3) attempts a shot against Oklahoma Sooners forward Joanna McFarland (53) in the second half during the semifinals of the Oklahoma City regional of the 2013 NCAA womens basketball tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Lady Vols advanced to their first Elite 8 without former coach Pat Summitt on the bench, with a 74-59 win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday.
The game was tied at 11 with 15 minutes to go in the first half before the Volunteers went on a 15-2 scoring run to open up a double digit lead. The Lady Vols never trailed in the game and led by as many as 28.
The win puts the Lady Vols three games away from giving Holly Warlick a championship in her first season as Tennessee’s head coach.
Tennessee was able to overcome a poor shooting performance from guard Meighan Simmons. The junior, who led the Lady Vols in scoring this season, was 1-of-15 from the field and finished with only 5 points.
Tennessee used a well balanced offensive attack to make up for the lack of productivity from Simmons.
Kamiko Williams led the attack for the Volunteers with a game high 15 points. Williams was also key in holding Oklahoma’s Aaryn Ellenberg to 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting.
Cierra Burdick added 13 points for the Lady Vols. Taber Spani and Isabelle Harrison each contributed 12 points for Tennessee.
Oklahoma was led in scoring by Sharane Campbell with 22 points.
The Lady Vols will face the winner of fifth seeded Louisville and top seeded Baylor on Tuesday night with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Tennessee previously faced Baylor on December 18th. The Lady Bears came away with a 76-53 victory at home.
Update:
The Louisville Cardinals upset the top seeded Baylor Bears 82-81. Tennessee will face Louisville on Tuesday night at 9:oo pm est on ESPN.