Tennessee’s Dominance Challenged

Perhaps for the first time in women’s college basketball, a coach was asked to explain recently an “off-year” 31-3 season.

These days, of course, it’s an off-year in Knoxville when Tennessee doesn’t win the national championship . . . or, even worse, doesn’t even reach the Final Four.

Or, horrors, goes 31-3.

That’s what happened to the Lady Vols last season, causing some to wonder if the gap has narrowed between Tennessee and the rest of the women’s basketball universe.

In other words, was Purdue’s winning the national championship last season a fluke, or can the Boilermakers (ranked No. 23 in the preseason Associated Press poll) keep it going? And what of top-ranked Connecticut--are Shea Ralph and Svetlana Abrosimova ready for a title run? And what about UCLA? Georgia? Louisiana Tech?

First, everyone must deal with Tennessee.

On the national scene, it was clear last season there were new sheriffs in town.

First, in its second game last year, Tennessee went to Purdue and lost its 46-game winning streak, 78-68.

Next, in its last Southeastern Conference game, Tennessee was knocked off by Louisiana State, 72-69.

Then, in the biggest shocker of all, Pat Summitt’s team was upended by Duke in the NCAA’s East regional final, 69-63.

And it was no solace to Tennessee that two of its conquerors, Purdue and Duke, wound up playing for the national championship.

Reviewing her team’s dip last season, Summitt--who had gone 39-0 the year before and won her third consecutive NCAA championship--talked about a missing focus.

“We had a lot of dynamics going on last season that had us going in different directions at times,” she said.

“It was Chamique Holdsclaw’s senior year, she headed for the WNBA, and Kellie Jolly [senior point guard] was getting married right after the season . . . there was just a lot going on.

“The effort was there, it just wasn’t channeled like in the past.”

So we’ll soon find out if a re-tooled and re-focused Tennessee is back on track. So far the results are mixed. In an exhibition game, the Lady Vols stunned the U.S. national team, but in their season opener Sunday, they lost, 69-64, to preseason No. 7 Louisiana Tech, ending their 41-game home winning streak. The road doesn’t get any easier. In seven days beginning Nov. 26, Tennessee plays at Stanford and UCLA, then hosts Purdue.

The Lady Vols do have the benefit of a recruiting class, ranked the best in the country by at least one publication. Of the top-10 high school seniors last season, it’s said that Tennessee got the second- (Tasheika Morris), third- (Kara Lawson) and ninth-ranked (Gwen Jackson) prospects.

This, for a team that already had veterans such as Tamika Catchings (6-1), Semeka Randall (5-10), Ace Clement (5-11), Michelle Snow (6-5), Niya Butts (6-0) and Kyra Elzy (6-1) returning. Catchings averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, three assists and a team-high 88 assists last season.

Tennessee had a five-game summer tour of France, Belgium and Switzerland, and went 5-0.

“Our team defense in Europe was better than it was at any time last season.”

At some point this season, perhaps both UCLA and USC will have to deal with Big West power UC Santa Barbara, where Coach Mark French has built a national power.

The Gauchos have all five starters returning from last season’s 26-4 team, led by 6-3 All-American candidate Erin Buescher. The Gauchos, who’ve now beaten USC two years in a row and will try for three consecutive Dec. 21 at Santa Barbara, have been ranked as high as 10th nationally.

Best of the rest:

GEORGIA--Andy Landers’ team (27-7) reached the Final Four last season and has the junior Miller twins (Kelly and Coco) back. They averaged a combined 36 points and nine assists. A major recruiting class is led by 6-4 Shala Crawford, considered the best junior college prospect in the nation a year ago. Also signed was the Georgia prep player of the year, 6-0 Mary Beth Lycett.

UCLA--The Bruins are ranked in the top five in most polls, and if everything breaks right injury-wise for Kathy Olivier, this could be the Final Four year they’ve pined for. Seniors Maylana Martin (6-3) and Erica Gomez (5-9) will be slow starters owing to Martin’s May disk surgery and Gomez’ August shoulder surgery. If they’re at full speed by January, the Bruins (26-8) would rate as big favorites to win the Pacific 10 title.

RUTGERS--Best defensive team in the nation? It could be Rutgers (29-6). The Scarlet Knights lost only one starter from a 29-6 team that made the Elite Eight, after the emergence of 5-6 junior point guard Tasha Pointer. And 6-4 center Tammy Sutton-Brown, another junior, was at times a dominating low post player last season. Coach Vivian Stringer also gained the top-ranked high school senior of last season, 5-11 Kourtney Walton of Chicago.

LOUISIANA TECH--The Lady Techsters lost starters Amanda Wilson and Monica Maxwell from last season’s Final Four team. Seniors Tamicha Jackson, Betty Lennox and Christie Sides are all back, along with center Shaka Massey. The freshmen are 5-7 Ashley Antony, 5-1 Beverly Moore and 6-1 Catrina Frierson, a group ranked as high as fourth among recruiting classes.

CONNECTICUT--The Huskies are loaded. Geno Auriemma, in his 15th season at the school, has eight veterans who started eight or more games in last season’s 29-5 campaign, which ended in a regional semifinal loss to Iowa State. In addition to Abrosimova, a consensus All-American, and Ralph, Auriemma has three centers 6-5 and taller. Paige Sauer and Kelly Schumacher will compete for playing time, as will 6-6 newcomer Christine Rigby, a transfer from Santa Clara. UConn’s “Fab Five” 1998 recruiting class of Sue Bird (5-9), Swin Cash (6-2), 5-8 Keirsten Walters, 6-2 Tamika Williams and 6-2 Asjha Jones are all back. Bird went out with a knee injury early last season.

PURDUE--The two stars of last season’s NCAA title winners, Ukari Figgs and Stephanie McCarty, are gone, as is coach-of-the-year Carolyn Peck. But all is not lost for new Coach Kristy Curry. Back are 6-1 junior wing Katie Douglas and 6-4 junior post Camille Cooper. Figgs and McCarty accounted for 48% of the points and 55% of Purdue assists last season. Yet sophomore Kelly Komara, a Figgs understudy, showed she’s capable of sufficient production--at both ends of the floor. Purdue is still dealing with the loss of guard Tiffany Young, killed in an auto accident last summer.