Tennessee thumps Stanford to win back-to-back women's titles

TAMPA, Fla. — Though bruised and braced, an injured left shoulder hardly prevented Candace Parker from hoisting that championship trophy on high for one last time.

Parker scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Tennessee capture its eighth NCAA women's basketball title with a 64-48 victory over Stanford on Tuesday night. The Vols also became the first repeat champs since Connecticut won three in a row from 2002-04.

"It's been an emotional last three days, obviously, just rehabbing my shoulder," Parker said, "but it was all worth it to win an eighth national championship."

The Associated Press player of the year will leave the Vols (36-2) with a year of eligibility remaining, but has accomplished one of her goals by winning multiple national titles.

"You know, it's funny because some players don't get one, and I'm fortunate enough to have two," Parker said with both hands raised and two fingers up on each. "It's that simple. It's that simple."

Parker also became the fourth player to win back-to-back Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four honors. She joined Connecticut's Diana Taurasi (2003-04), Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw (1997-98), and USC's Cheryl Miller (1983-84).

Stanford's loss ended Candice Wiggins' remarkable run through the NCAA tournament. She scored 14 points and finished with 151 over the six games — the fourth-best total in tournament history. Sheryl Swoopes holds the record with 177 points, when she led Texas Tech to the championship in 1993. Wiggins is the first player to have two 40-point games in the tournament.

Wiggins ended her stellar career by taking the Cardinal (35-4) further than they'd been since 1992, when the program won it all. Stanford hadn't reached the Final Four since 1997 or advanced to the championship game since the '92 team.

"I'm sad that it's over because of how much I love this program, this institution, this team, and my coaches teammates," Wiggins said, breaking into tears. "It's that amazing. This season, I could not ever have dreamed of this, so it's more than I could ever ask for."

She came in averaging 27.4 points in the tournament and opened the game with a three-pointer, but couldn't find an open look after that. The All-American finished 6 for 16 from the field and left to a standing ovation with just over a minute left in her college career.

Parker struggled with her shooting in the semifinals when she went just 6 for 27 from the field, but gutted out the championship game — not letting her injured shoulder bother her. For the second straight game, the All-American wore a long-sleeve shirt under her uniform to try, as she said, to not focus on the injury.

While still clearly not 100 percent healthy, the expected No. 1 pick in today's WNBA draft didn't shoot nearly as many jumpers as Sunday night, instead taking the ball to the basket on an array of moves. She converted one steal in the second half into a pretty layup that gave the Vols' a 10-point advantage. She then followed it up with a three-point play on a driving layup. The Cardinal, who had a season low for points, would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.

With the game in hand and a minute left, Parker went to the Tennessee bench for the final time, holding up four fingers on each hand to signify the eight titles the Vols have won.

"No. 8, it's all about this team," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "I've been very blessed with this team, these people I have around me."

Unlike earlier games in the tournament when Parker had to carry the Vols, her supporting cast came through. Shannon Bobbitt scored 13 points and Nicky Anosike had 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals for the Vols.

"They came out with a great mentality to play hard, especially on the defensive end," Summitt said. "On offense, we got more people involved, but it was our defense that got it done. I'm so proud of our seniors, I'm going to miss them."

The Cardinal looked tight on offense, committing 25 turnovers.

"We did not play well. We did not handle the pressure well," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "The turnovers absolutely killed us."

Jayne Appel finished with 16 points to lead the Cardinal, whose 23-game winning streak — the longest in the nation — ended. The Pac-10 champs hadn't lost since dropping consecutive road games to UCLA and USC in the first week of January.

STANFORD (35-4)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Pedersen	37	2-7	3-4	2-10	0	4	7
Appel	36	6-13	4-10	3-5	3	5	16
Hones	34	2-5	0-0	0-2	3	2	5
Wiggins	39	6-16	0-0	1-4	1	3	14
Gold-Onwude	16	1-2	0-0	0-3	0	2	2
Pierce	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Donaghe	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Pohlen	11	0-2	0-0	0-1	0	1	0
Cimino	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Clyburn	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Harmon	24	2-3	0-0	2-4	1	4	4
	200	19-49	7-14	11-36	8	21	48

Percentages: FG .388, FT .500. Three-point goals: 3-11, (Pedersen 0-2, Hones 1-2, Wiggins 2-5, Pohlen 0-1, Clyburn 0-1). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 0. Turnovers: 25, (Pedersen 2, Appel 4, Hones 4, Wiggins 6, Gold-Onwude 4, Pohlen, Harmon 3). Steals: 7, (Appel, Wiggins 4, Gold-Onwude, Harmon).

TENNESSEE (36-2)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Parker	37	5-10	7-11	1-9	1	2	17
Auguste	39	3-7	1-2	3-7	2	4	7
Anosike	29	6-11	0-1	3-8	0	3	12
Bobbitt	37	4-12	2-2	0-0	0	0	13
Hornbuckle	28	1-7	4-5	0-1	3	3	6
Bjorklund	15	0-5	0-0	1-1	0	0	0
Smallbone	1	0-0	1-2	0-1	0	0	1
Baugh	13	3-4	2-2	3-4	0	2	8
Fuller	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
	200	22-56	17-25	14-38	6	14	64

Percentages: FG .393, FT .680. Three-point goals: 3-9, (Bobbitt 3-8, Bjorklund 0-1). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 2, (Parker, Anosike). Turnovers: 14, (Parker 4, Auguste 3, Anosike 2, Bobbitt 3, Hornbuckle 2). Steals: 13, (Parker 4, Auguste, Anosike 6, Hornbuckle, Bjorklund).

Stanford	29	19	—	48
Tennessee	37	27	—	64

Attendance: 21,655. Officials: Dee Kantner, Eric Brewton, Denise Brooks. Technical fouls: None.