NYT: Lady Vols Are Upset in Opener
I'm surprised at the early exit and now part of my bracket is skewed... oy.
March 23, 2009
Women's: No. 12 Ball State 71, No. 5 Tennessee 55
Lady Vols Are Upset in Opener
By JERÉ LONGMAN
A trying, exhausting season for Tennessee came to a stunningly premature conclusion Sunday night as the fifth-seeded Lady Vols, the two-time defending national women’s champion, lost to 12th-seeded Ball State, 71-55, in the first round of the Berkeley Region in Bowling Green, Ky.
It is difficult to overstate how unprecedented and unexpected the Lady Vols’ defeat was. Tennessee has won eight national titles and is the only university to have made the field every year since the N.C.A.A. began sponsoring a women’s tournament in 1982.
Until Sunday, the Lady Vols were 42-0 in first and second-round games. Meanwhile, Ball State (26-8) was making its first appearance in the tournament. The Cardinals were led by the senior guard Porchia Green, who delivered 23 points and 8 rebounds.
Some will say this game ranks among the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history. On reputation, perhaps, but Tennessee had lost its entire starting lineup from the 2007-8 season, including the country’s consensus best player in Candace Parker.
The Lady Vols (22-11) struggled to find consistency in 2008-9 because of a young roster and did not win the Southeastern Conference tournament. Never had the Lady Vols been seeded as low as fifth in the N.C.A.A. field. This was Coach Pat Summitt’s youngest team in her three and a half decades at Tennessee, one that included seven freshmen and that did not inspire the fear in opponents that its predecessors had.
On Sunday, the Lady Vols were not tough enough, at least after halftime, when the 6-foot-6 center Kelly Cain could not take the court. She aggravated an injury to her right knee, the same knee that needed surgery last season and forced Cain to redshirt as a freshman.
Afterward, Summitt congratulated Kelly Packard, Ball State’s first-year coach. Then Summitt told ESPN that the defeat was “one of the toughest losses I ever had to deal with at Tennessee.”
She was characteristically unflinching in criticizing her team’s performance as too soft.
“We never really seemed to defend one on one,” Summitt said. “They were a lot tougher physically, more aggressive. They made shots. We didn’t come ready to play.”
March 23, 2009
Women's: No. 12 Ball State 71, No. 5 Tennessee 55
Lady Vols Are Upset in Opener
By JERÉ LONGMAN
A trying, exhausting season for Tennessee came to a stunningly premature conclusion Sunday night as the fifth-seeded Lady Vols, the two-time defending national women’s champion, lost to 12th-seeded Ball State, 71-55, in the first round of the Berkeley Region in Bowling Green, Ky.
It is difficult to overstate how unprecedented and unexpected the Lady Vols’ defeat was. Tennessee has won eight national titles and is the only university to have made the field every year since the N.C.A.A. began sponsoring a women’s tournament in 1982.
Until Sunday, the Lady Vols were 42-0 in first and second-round games. Meanwhile, Ball State (26-8) was making its first appearance in the tournament. The Cardinals were led by the senior guard Porchia Green, who delivered 23 points and 8 rebounds.
Some will say this game ranks among the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history. On reputation, perhaps, but Tennessee had lost its entire starting lineup from the 2007-8 season, including the country’s consensus best player in Candace Parker.
The Lady Vols (22-11) struggled to find consistency in 2008-9 because of a young roster and did not win the Southeastern Conference tournament. Never had the Lady Vols been seeded as low as fifth in the N.C.A.A. field. This was Coach Pat Summitt’s youngest team in her three and a half decades at Tennessee, one that included seven freshmen and that did not inspire the fear in opponents that its predecessors had.
On Sunday, the Lady Vols were not tough enough, at least after halftime, when the 6-foot-6 center Kelly Cain could not take the court. She aggravated an injury to her right knee, the same knee that needed surgery last season and forced Cain to redshirt as a freshman.
Afterward, Summitt congratulated Kelly Packard, Ball State’s first-year coach. Then Summitt told ESPN that the defeat was “one of the toughest losses I ever had to deal with at Tennessee.”
She was characteristically unflinching in criticizing her team’s performance as too soft.
“We never really seemed to defend one on one,” Summitt said. “They were a lot tougher physically, more aggressive. They made shots. We didn’t come ready to play.”