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Putback sends UT to title game

By: Darren Epps

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TAMPA, Fla. — Alexis Hornbuckle missed the front end of a 1-of-1 late in the game, fouled Erica White with 7.1 seconds remaining and didn’t score a point for the first 39 minutes, 59 seconds of Sunday night’s national semifinal.

She will still be remembered as the player who gave Tennessee a chance to defend its national title.

Hornbuckle scored her first basket of the game on a putback with 0.7 seconds left to give the Lady Vols a 47-46 win over LSU in front of 21,655 at the St. Pete Times Forum. Tennessee play will Stanford in Tuesday’s national title game. The Cardinal beat Connecticut in the first semifinal.

“Of course, I realized I didn’t make a shot all night,” Hornbuckle said. “It was frustrating. But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t give up on myself and my team. I crashed the boards and looked up and I said, ‘I don’t want to pull this down. With my luck, I might as well try to tip it in.’ Luckily, it went in.”

Fittingly, Hornbuckle caught LSU’s desperation inbounds pass as time expired and flung the ball in the air as Tennessee’s players celebrated wildly. Candace Parker, who scored 13 points playing with an injured shoulder, screamed “Oh my God!” after Hornbuckle made the shot off the glass following a Nicky Anosike miss.

The Associated Press -- UT’s Candace Parker and LSU’s Quianna Chaney battle for a rebound in the Final Four.

“I was fearful the game was over with just because of the clock,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. “But I looked up at the time, and the next thing I know, it’s going in.”

Hornbuckle was going to be remembered in a much different way before her game-winning basket. With Tennessee holding a 45-44 lead, Hornbuckle airballed a shot and then fouled White with 7.1 seconds left as she dribbled past midcourt.

White, who was 1-of-3 from the line before the foul, sank both free throws to give LSU a 46-45 lead.

“I definitely felt good about our chances,” White said.

The Lady Vols (35-2) inbounded the ball to Parker, who dribbled the length of the floor before dishing the ball to Anosike in the post. Anosike missed, but Hornbuckle rebounded and put the ball off the glass in one motion in front of Quianna Chaney. LSU coach Van Chancellor said it was the toughest loss of his career.

“I was thinking we needed to stop the ball, which we didn’t do,” White said. “We let Candace Parker drive the length of the floor. Then I was thinking we need to box out and rebound. That’s something else we didn’t do. And we lost.”

The focus entering Sunday’s national semifinal matchup was the condition of Parker, who dislocated her shoulder twice in the regional final win over Texas A&M.

Parker, wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt underneath her jersey, battled against LSU star Sylvia Fowles numerous times in the paint. Parker shot just 6-of-27 from the floor but grabbed 15 rebounds. Summitt benched Parker for almost three minutes in the second half.

“I just thought, ‘Candace is emotionally struggling,’” Summitt said. “Candace hasn’t slept much. At halftime, I needed to switch my approach and just really be positive with her, because I realized she was a little emotionally whipped.”

Fowles, who battled cramps, scored 24 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for the Lady Tigers (31-6), who dropped their fifth straight national semifinal game.

Parker struggled early, launching an airball as she missed three straight shots to start the game. After Fowles later blocked her shot, which made Parker 1-of-9 from the field, the Tennessee star made three straight baskets — including a left-handed layup — to give her team a 19-11 lead.

Fowles scored 12 of LSU’s 18 points in an ugly first half in which the two teams combined to miss 21 of their first 23 shots. Tennessee’s lead was just 3-2 more than seven minutes into the game as Parker often expressed frustration and a grimace.

“I made the decision to step out on the court,” Parker said. “I’m not going to make any excuses about my shoulder or anything like that. It’s fine. I’m going to continue with the same rehab process and go from there. I’m just really excited we’re in Tuesday’s game.”

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