Parker proves too much for Rutgers to stop.
Rutgers tried everything to slow down Candace Parker, but nothing seemed to work. The Scarlet Knights played the All-American forward man-to-man for the most part, rotating Kia Vaughn, Rashidat Junaid and even Myia McCurdy on the 6-4 all-everything star, but she still dominated the rematch of last season's national championship game. Parker scored 17 first-half points -- which equaled her output from the national title game -- and finished with 27. Parker struggled for much of the second half -- midway the Lady Vols suffered through a 1-of-15 shooting slump -- before coming alive with three critical baskets down the stretch. "I just tried to tell them, 'Get the ball inside to Candace,'" Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "When the game gets tight like that, we've got to find Candace in the paint -- not on the perimeter." The Scarlet Knights held the Lady Vols to 29.6 percent shooting. "I'm not sure how we managed to win," Summitt said. Rutgers athletic director Bob Mulcahy, who was in attendance, attempted to reach Barb Jacobs, an assistant commissioner and director of officials of the Big East, after the officiating crew did not address the clock controversy at the end of the game. According to Tennessee spokeswoman Debby Jennings, the officials control the game clock with power packs strapped to their sides.
Women's hoops, and nothin' but the hoops.
