Candace Parker and the No. 1 Tennessee Lady Vols (22-1) escaped an enormous scare against fifth-ranked Rutgers (19-4) on Monday night, winning 59-58.
Parker carried the Lady Vols on her back throughout the night, scoring nearly half of the team's points with 27.
She also had 11 rebounds.
However Parker had no control over the deciding factor of the game.
After three missed shots, Nicky Anosike was fouled with 0.2 seconds left.
Anosike, a 58 percent free throw shooter at the time, made both shots to give the Lady Vols the win.
The game meant a lot to both teams for several reasons.
The defending national champion Lady Vols had to go through Rutgers in the national championship game last year.
Rutgers, who has never beaten Tennessee in Knoxville or on a neutral court, had been handed their last three season ending losses in the tournament to Tennessee.
To add to the big night, the game was part of a breast cancer awareness movement in women's college basketball.
Thompson-Boling Arena looked to be supporting the Lady Scarlet Knights as both were decorated in pink.
However, it was quite clear the fans were on Tennessee's side as they voiced their displeasure with several calls in the first half.
UT fought through foul trouble early in the first half to take a 34-23 lead into intermission.
Parker, who wasn't even guaranteed to play tonight with a knee injury, led all scorers with 17 points in the first half.
Upset-minded Rutgers had other ideas, and used a 14-4 run to jump in front early in the second half.
Rutgers would lead until Angie Bjorklund's 3-pointer gave the Lady Vols a one-point lead with 49 seconds left on the clock.
Essence Carson of Rutgers made a crucial two-point jumper with 14 seconds left to put her team back up by one before Anosike was fouled on the final possession..
The foul against Anosike came while shed tried to grab a rebound and gave Tennessee hope when it seemed like the game was over.
To relieve some pressure, it was Rutgers' 10th foul giving Anosike two guaranteed chances to tie the score and push the game to overtime.
Overtime was not needed as Anosike made both shots and UT escaped to remain the nation's top-ranked team.
The call came with a bit of controversy as the clock stopped with 0.2 seconds left on the clock before a whistle was heard calling the foul.
However, after checking replays the officials ruled there was still time remaining on the clock, allowing Anosike to give the Lady Vols the victory.
UT will return to action Thursday night against another top ten team, No. 7 LSU.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Comments
SECFanFirst commented, on February 11, 2008 at 11:44 p.m.:
Interesting take on a game where there is a substantial amount of speculation over "suspect timekeeping" and more.
This was not a "W" in any sense of the word. As an avid SEC fan, I'm ashamed of the way things were handled in Knoxville. There should be an investigation into the way the last seconds of this game were played and officiated.
And what's with the refs walking off before the clock even started to tick off the supposed .02 seconds when Rutgers was bringing the ball in and one of their own players is knocked down? What no foul called there?
And I don't even know what to make of the announcer stating the game was over while C. Vivian Stringer was trying to get any ref to pay attention to the clock yet one more time...do you?
This game is making headlines and not for the reasons we are lead to believe here. Something smells fishy in Knoxville to me...
JC commented, on February 12, 2008 at 12:39 a.m.:
Hmmm... Writer may need to take an extra journalism course. The news is buried here.
Comeback-Kid commented, on February 12, 2008 at 9:47 a.m.:
SECFANFIRST......GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!!
IWasThere commented, on February 12, 2008 at 10:21 a.m.:
The clock stopped when the ref blew his whistle after Nicky was horse-collared on the putback. Find the video, watch her being chopped over her shoulder and falling toward the court before the "suspect" clock stoppage. I think it should have been called an flagrant foul, as well; Kia just grabbed her and pulled her down.
mm commented, on February 12, 2008 at 5:33 p.m.:
Burying the leaaaaad
Oh Plueeze commented, on February 13, 2008 at 1:55 a.m.:
Yo Comeback-Kid - I bet your a UT fan - they can never see the truth - cheaters and hotdogs! Typical for UT - take the W no matter what the cost...
mtm commented, on February 13, 2008 at 10:22 a.m.:
The spin on this story makes me want to throw up.
People are saying the foul call was justifed because time was on the clock. THE POINT IS THE CLOCK FROZE.
SECNeedsHelp commented, on February 13, 2008 at 10:46 a.m.:
Ya really - it's all over the news but at least they can report it accurately. The fact is UT lost this game but Pat would rather take a W than do what's right. There's no W in my book for UT on this one...it's disgraceful and the NCAA needs to intervene and give this game back to the rightful winner - RUTGERS.
And yes, that's from an SEC fan - do the right thing!