Lady Vols start slow, win big over Oral Roberts

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The task of slaying mighty Tennessee, players for 16th-seeded Oral Roberts said earlier in the weekend, was analogous to the Biblical story of David and Goliath.

The Golden Eagles didn’t realize that Goliath’s cheerleaders were part of the battle. Oral Roberts lost second-leading scorer Mariana Camargo just five seconds into the game when she slipped on a UT cheerleader’s placard while chasing the opening tip. Coach Jerry Finkbeiner said the initial diagnosis was a torn ACL in Camargo’s left knee.

But Oral Roberts still kept the game close for a half before losing 94-55 Sunday at Mackey Arena. And Tennessee coach Pat Summitt used words like “embarrassing” in front of ESPN cameras in the locker room to describe the first-half play of her team.

“I thought in the first half we played like we had a two-week break,” Summitt said after the game. “We obviously had a very difficult time just getting our defensive intensity where it needed to be. I’m very disappointed in how we played in the first half defensively.”

For the second straight year, the Lady Vols (31-2) will play a second-round game on their opponent’s home floor when they meet ninth-seeded Purdue on Tuesday at 7. Purdue beat Utah 66-59 earlier in the evening.

But the Lady Vols didn’t advance with their usual quick work of a first-round opponent on the 10-year anniversary of 16th-seeded Harvard shocking Stanford.

Despite losing Camargo, whose right foot slipped on an orange card under the basket, Oral Roberts (19-14) shot 56.5 percent in the first half and trailed by just 14 at halftime. The Golden Eagles trailed 57-43 with 14:01 remaining when Tennessee star Candace Parker picked up her fourth foul on a charge and headed to the bench.

But that’s when the Lady Vols finally put the Summit League champion away. Alexis Hornbuckle, who scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers, delivered a nifty behind-the-back pass to Angie Bjorklund for a layup to give Tennessee a 16-point lead.

Bjorklund, who finished with 16 points in her first NCAA tournament game, drilled a 3-pointer on Tennessee’s next possession and extended the lead to 62-43.

“I’m proud of our girls because we really had to wing it after losing the one kid at her position that could make a difference,” said Finkbeiner, referring to Camargo. “Losing Mariana is like Tennessee losing Candace on a different level and a different planet and a different league. But Mariana is the heart and soul of our team.”

Parker scored 14 points against Oral Roberts’ zone defense on 6-of-9 shooting in 18 minutes of play. She didn’t return in the first half after picking up her second foul with 8:18 remaining and sat out the reminder of the game following her fourth foul.

“I didn’t play 18 minutes by design,” Parker said with a smile.

The Golden Eagles, led by Jenny Hardin’s 16 points off the bench, couldn’t keep the game closer in the first half because of turnovers. But the Lady Vols also struggled with the ball, turning the ball over 19 times.

“I told Shannon Bobbitt that she better come to this gym as one of the best point guards in the country when we face Purdue because she wasn’t on top of her game,” Summitt said.

But the story of the first half was the injury to Camargo, who was replaced by freshman Leanne Robison. Camargo, in tears, returned to the floor on crutches and wearing a brace around her leg after the second media timeout.

“It bothered us,” Summitt said.

Tennessee’s cheerleaders, meanwhile, put the cards behind them and moved farther away from the baseline. All of the Lady Vols approached Camargo after the game and Summitt spent several moments with the injured guard.

“It was an accident,” Finkbeiner said. “I appreciate what Coach Summitt said to me after the game. She knew Mariana was important to our program, and she was so sorry.”