March 21, 2005

Final Stats

Knoxville, Tenn. - For Western Carolina's first-year head coach Kellie Harper, the scenery was familiar, but the final outcome was not. The top-seeded University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers improved to 45-0 in NCAA Tournament first-round games with a 94-43 victory over the Western Carolina Lady Catamounts Sunday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Harper, a three-time National Champion for the Lady Vols in the mid-to-late 90s, helped compile a 58-3 overall record inside Thompson-Boling Arena. Sunday, when the slender skipper made her first appearance on the floor prior to tip, she received a standing ovation from the 10,534 fans that were in attendance.

"It was emotional," said Harper during her post-game press conference. "To get a standing ovation from your alma mater, in front of a lot of friends and your family, once you are a Lady Vol you are always a Lady Vol. It was incredible and it brought back a lot of memories."

Also on the night, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt tied former North Carolina head coach Dean Smith for all-time career college basketball victories at 879. Harper, who was a large part of Summitt's success during from 1995 through 1999,

"Pat Summitt is huge for the game of women's basketball. She is a pioneer, a legacy, a legend and all of those adjectives. And now her tying Dean Smith allows her legacy to move over to basketball, not just women's basketball. And I think a person like Pat Summitt needs to be a legend in the game of basketball," Harper said.

But for the Sparta, Tenn., native, the most important issue at hand was the performance of her Lady Catamount basketball squad, which made the school's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Field of 64.

"First of all, I would like to say how proud I am of this team," began Harper in her opening statements. "What this team has accomplished this year with winning the conference championship, they have nothing to hang their heads about."

She added, "You don't want to ever see it end. We have enjoyed the run, and you don't want to see it end. We ran upon one of if not the best teams in the country tonight. I thought our kids showed heart, and they played hard. At times there is not much you can do when you are playing against a superior team. And tonight Tennessee looked very tough."

The Lady Vols were tough to the tune of 62 points in the deciding first half, while the undersized Lady Cats were beaten on the boards and on the point totals in the loss. Tennessee drained seven of its school-record 11 3-pointers in the opening stanza to lead by 38 at intermission. Conversely, Western was held to a season-low 43 points on 16-of-62 shooting from the floor.

For just the second-time this season, no Lady Catamount reached double-figures in scoring as a tough Tennessee defense held first-team All-SoCon performer Jennifer Gardner to four points on 2-of-12 shooting on the night. Despite being hampered by a shoulder injury sustained in the double-overtime win in the SoCon Championship game, Gardner secured six rebounds to move her into third on Western's all-time rebounding list, finishing with the third-best single-season mark of 295 boards this season.

But the big story for the Cats was a look into the future of the program. Western (18-14) was led by a dynamic duo of diaper dandies in the form of freshmen Monique Dawson and Chevon Keith. Dawson was Western's driving force in the second half, scoring all nine of her points in the second stanza while adding a pair of steals. Keith continued her strong showing from the conference tournament equaling Dawson's point total while leading the team with eight rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end.

The Lady Vols were led by junior Shanna Zolman, whose shooting exhibition set or tied several records. Her five 3-pointers is a UT record in NCAA games, while her 28 points is a personal record in the NCAA tournament and ties her season and career highs.

Senior Shaketia Barnes gave Western Carolina an early one-point advantage when she drained an 18-footer to make the score 4-3 at the 19:02 mark of the first. Yet, back-to-back fouls helped Tennessee embark on a 20-8 run which stretched the deficit to 15, 26-11. After freshman Jessika Johnson drained one of two from the free throw line, the Lady Vols continued the run, limiting the Lady Cats to 12 points over the final 11:56, while scoring 36 to head to the locker room with the 62-24 lead.

In the second, Tennessee was able to grow its advantage to as many as 49 as WCU was outscored 32-19 after the half in the losing effort.

The mentor, Pat Summitt (left) talks with the mentee, Kellie Harper (right) prior to the game on Sunday in Knoxville. Harper helped the Summitt-led Lady Vols to back-to-back-to-back National Championships in the mid-to-late 90s.

Whereas Harper had nothing but praise for what her mentor had accomplished with the record victory, Summitt sang the praises of her protégé just the same.

"I'm not sure I could have done that," said Summitt in relation to Harper guiding the Lady Catamounts to the conference title and the NCAA tournament in her first season. "It speaks well for her ability in her first year (as a head coach) to get off to a slow start then have a strong finish. I'm proud of her--I think she knows that. To get a standing ovation, I think she knows that people appreciate not only what she did at Western Carolina this year, but also what she did during the four years during her career here."

Summitt's praise was not only limited to her former player. She was also quick to compliment her adversary following the contest.

"They came at us. They competed hard." Summitt stated on Western's play. "Their one-on-one offense caused us to break down defensively. We did not contain the dribble drive. I think that's Kellie's (Harper) personality, to play aggressively. While I'm sure that she was not pleased with their total points, I'm sure she was pleased with how they played and fought."

Harper concluded her comments by stating, "What this team has done has helped put (Western Carolina's) program on the map. They have gotten a lot of attention and I am proud because they have deserved that attention. I am glad they got a chance to play in this type of atmosphere. I told them I couldn't wait for them to play in front this crowd. I know they were going to be yelling for the other team, but playing in front of a crowd of 10,000 plus is not something a lot of young ladies can say they have ever done. Just to be in this situation is remarkable, and I always want them to have special memories of their time at Western. The last couple of weeks are something I will never forget."

In addition to Gardner, four other seniors ended their playing career at Western Carolina. Point-guard Ki-Ki Glass concluded her four years in Cullowhee ranked fifth on the all-time assists list. On Sunday, she was perfect from the line, 2-for-2 while scoring four and boarding four misses. Guard Shaketia Barnes opened up Western's scoring in the first, tallying the first four points from the floor to help WCU build an early lead over UT.

Despite struggling from the floor on Sunday, seniors Sigita Maleraite and Lori Tanner each had a major impact on the WCU program. The tandem both transferred in prior to their junior seasons but were solid contributors all season, including both earning All-SoCon Tournament honors in Chattanooga. Tanner had five rebounds in the loss to Tennessee Sunday night.