One of the marks of a fine basketball team is its players remember to observe the ABCs of the game they were taught as kids.
Such as hit your opponent with your “A” game in the opening moments of the game and the second half.
That’s what No. 2-ranked Tennessee did Wednesday night when it beat DePaul 80-66 in front of a capacity crowd of 3,025 fans at the Blue Demons Athletic Center.
Taller, quicker, deeper Tennessee (8-0) zipped to an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes 10 seconds of the game. It got a rebound basket apiece from 6-foot-5-inch Michelle Snow and 6-2 Gwen Jackson during the stretch.
In the first 4:30 of the second half, Tennessee outscored the Demons 10-0. Again, Snow and Jackson connected from inside.
That’s an 18-0 margin in less than eight minutes by a team that ultimately won by 14.
“We knew we had to jump on them quickly or we’d be in a close game all the way,” said Jackson, who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. “We knew DePaul plays hard for 40 minutes and doesn’t give up.”
The Demons did come back from both Tennessee runs, even though 26-point scorer Lenae Williams was troubled by a bad back and foul trouble that limited her to 19 minutes. She scored 10 points on 4-for-17 shooting, 2-of-12 from three-point range.
DePaul trailed 43-34 at the half and trimmed a 19-point deficit to 55-47 midway through the second half. Laura Sobieszczyk and Jamie Smith provided points usually scored by Williams.
“I thought in the opening minutes of the game, we were caught up in the exhibition,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “We were exhibitionists rather than competitors. But this team clawed back in both halves.”
De Paul’s record dropped to 6-5, all five losses coming to teams ranked in the Top 25–Iowa State, Maryland, George Washington, Purdue and Tennessee.
“We have to credit DePaul,” said Tennessee guard Kara Lawson, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds. “When Williams went out with foul trouble, [the Blue Demons] never let down.”
Sobieszczyk, a sophomore guard from Loyola Academy, hit a career-high 18 points, including four three-point shots. Smith, a 6-4 center, matched Sobieszczyk’s 7-of-11 shooting and scored 14.
“I admire the patience DePaul shows when it runs its motion offense,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.
Tennessee had four players in double figures: Jackson 17, Lawson 14, Snow 13 and Shyra Ely 12. It had a 50-36 edge in rebounding.
