ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – Pat Summitt and her Lady Vols didn’t seem bothered by the four power outages in their easy victory over Georgia Tech.
Glory Johnson had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to lead No. 4 Tennessee to a 66-42 victory over Georgia Tech on Friday night in a women’s basketball game that was delayed four times because of power failures.
The power problems at the University of Virgin Islands delayed the game about 44 minutes total. The entire island of St. Thomas experienced blackouts.
The first power outage came just before the first half. The other three came midway through the second half with Tennessee up big.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” said Summitt, whose team opened a 46-17 halftime lead and then cruised. “I just told the girls to sit down and rest. I think it actually benefited a few of our players.”
Power outages may be a common thing in the Caribbean, but it was a first for the annual tournament.
“The backup generator for the building kicked on after the first outage as the power all over St. Thomas rotated in and out,” said Craig Jonas, the COO of Basketball Travelers Inc., the company that runs the Paradise Jam. “I guess they just started to run into each other.”
Meighan Simmons added 14 points for the Lady Vols (6-0), who will face No. 12 Georgetown tonight.
Tennessee went on scoring runs of 12-0 and 15-0 in the first half to open their 29-point halftime lead. Just before the intermission, Johnson was substituted and the Lady Vols fans in attendance gave her a standing ovation.
“I thought I was done right there, but they made a run and I came back in the game,” Johnson said. “We knew we had to go out there and show them what we’re made of. We had to finish strong, just like how we started.”
Alex Montgomery tallied nine points and six rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets (3-4), who converted just one field goal during the final 8:23 of the first half.
It was the first time since 2007 an opposing player did not reach double-digit scoring against the Lady Vols.