Lady Vols rip Florida

NASHVILLE — On her left shoe is the date her grandmother, Lucille, died last December in West Virginia. The black-marker words on her right shoe read, “Give me strength.”

Alexis Hornbuckle likes to look at her right shoe during times of frustration. Even in her final moments, Lucille kept a positive demeanor on the bed where she took her final breaths. Hornbuckle often looks down, thinks of her grandmother and smiles during those difficult times.

After Tennessee’s quarterfinal game Friday in the SEC women’s basketball tournament, Lucille had to be smiling right back.

Hornbuckle broke out of a mini shooting slump by sinking seven of 10 shots and scoring 16 points as Tennessee easily dispatched Florida, 92-61, in front of 9,938 at the Sommet Center. Following her second made 3-pointer, Hornbuckle posed at her spot on the floor with a wide grin.

“I was saying, ‘Thank you,’” she said. “Let’s hope that continues.”

The Lady Vols (28-2), attempting to avoid being shut out of both the regular-season and tournament SEC titles for the first time since 1997, will face the winner of Friday night’s late game between Vanderbilt and Auburn.

But before they took the court against Florida (18-13), Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike gathered her teammates together for a little history lesson.

“We didn’t start off the tournament last year well at all,” she said, referring to a lackluster win over South Carolina, “and that set the tone for our loss to LSU in the semifinals.”

The tone was set very early Friday afternoon as the Lady Vols scored the first seven points: They were going to play fast, play in transition and pressure the ball.

“We wanted to come and let people know we’re here, and we’re for real,” Hornbuckle said.

Even coach Pat Summitt, who dislocated her right shoulder chasing away a raccoon Wednesday, was pleased with the effort. The Lady Vols shot 55.4 percent from the floor, recorded 21 assists and scored 30 fastbreak points.

Candace Parker had 20 points just more than 15 minutes into the game and finished with 26 in 26 minutes.

“I think we decided to play with a lot of energy, and we played a 40-minute game,” said Parker, who looked at Summitt and smiled. “Didn’t we?”

Summitt chuckled as Parker waited anxiously for a response.

“We did,” Summitt said. “I’m glad to say that. It makes me happy.”

Responded Hornbuckle: “It’s on the record. Write that down, please.”

But Hornbuckle did not want reporters to use the comparison of Parker to Randy Moss and Jerry Rice, as one writer suggested. Parker caught several long passes from point guard Shannon Bobbitt, who was determined to spread the offense and force a frenetic pace. Bobbitt scored 22 points and dished out six assists.

“Jerry Rice and Randy Moss are great receivers,” Hornbuckle said. “Candace’s head is going to get too big.”

The Lady Vols deserve a little bit of an ego following Friday’s performance, according to Florida coach Amanda Butler. Her team couldn’t maintain Tennessee’s offensive pace and got blown out for the second time in just more than a week.

“They’re a momentum team,” she said. “They generate their momentum. They’ve got such great fans, and you get all that orange in the stands yelling and chanting, it really creates a snowball effect. We missed assignments and I didn’t feel like our communication and our defensive transition was what it should have been. But again, they’re fantastic players.”

And one of them is playing for an extra person this postseason.

“My grandmother was an inspiration in my life,” Hornbuckle said. “Even when she was on her death bed, she was always smiling, always had words of encouragement. She was the type of woman that was so strong and she could instill that in you by smiling at you.”