NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt heard plenty
of jeers amid the cheers Tuesday night after Michelle Snow became
only the second woman to dunk twice in a season.
"If it's in the men's game, do I even get asked the question?"
Summitt asked reporters after the No. 3 Volunteers beat Vanderbilt
70-64. "That's expected, right?"
|  | | Tennessee's Michelle Snow gets a dunk, and a technical. |
It's closer to becoming part of the women's game the way Snow is playing.
The 6-foot-5 junior center joined Georgeann Wells of West
Virginia as the only players to dunk twice in the history of
women's college basketball. Wells dunked twice in the 1984-85
season, and Snow, only the third female player to dunk, now has a
second slam to go with her first, which came Nov. 25 in the Maui
Invitational against Illinois.
Snow denied that she was trying to make a statement in a game
where the Volunteers (19-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) trailed by
as many as six points midway through the second half against a team
they now have beaten 13 consecutive times.
Her dunk, off a long pass from Kara Lawson, came with 7.3
seconds left with Tennessee protecting a seven-point lead.
"Between me and God, he knows I did not do that to outclass
them or I would never do anything like that. It definitely had
nothing to do with them," Snow said. "That's a set play we've
been running. We look at the matchup, and we run it. It had not a
thing to do with making a statement."
Summitt said she either has a guard or a post player ready to
catch a pass downcourt. With Snow, it turned into a dunk.
"I've told Michelle if you get a breakaway, you've got the
green light. I usually like her to get it off the defense. This
time I just called it because I thought she'd be wide open,"
Summitt said.
Snow celebrated for a minute with teammates after the dunk, then
officials huddled after watching a replay and called a technical
for hanging on the rim. Summitt said they had to call the foul
after letting it go in Maui.
Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster, who remains winless at home against
Tennessee, had no comment when asked about the dunk. Zuzana
Klimesova, who had a game-high 18 points, said she hadn't had time
to think about the dunk.
Tennessee hasn't lost to Vanderbilt (15-4, 4-2; No. 17 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 Associated Press) since the 1995
Southeastern Conference tournament and not in the Commodores' home gym since the
1990-91 season.
The Vols' dominance appeared to be in jeopardy against the
nation's best-shooting team. Vandy went on a 10-3 run and built a
42-36 lead with 12:30 left as Snow sat with four fouls.
Freshman Ashley Robinson, subbing for Snow, jump-started the
Vols by scoring two of their next four baskets and setting up
another with a steal. Her bucket with 9:27 remaining put Tennessee
ahead to stay 44-42.
Tennessee built its lead to 55-45 on a 3-pointer by Lawson with
5:15 to go.
Semeka Randall scored 16 points, Snow and Gwen Jackson finished
with 12 points, Robinson and Lawson each had 10.
Vanderbilt lost leading scorer Chantelle Anderson with 7:42 left
when she fouled out after scoring just six points. Jillian Danker
had 15, Jenni Benningfield added 12 and Ashley McElhiney 11.
Vandy, which had been shooting 58.2 percent this season, shot
25-for-55 (45 percent). But Foster said his Commodores' biggest
problem came at the free throw line. The SEC's best free throw
shooters hit just 10 of 20, including seven of 15 in the second half.
"If we make foul shots, we win the game," Foster said.
Tennessee routed Kentucky 110-38 in its last game and looked
ready to blow out the Commodores after scoring the first seven
points of the game.
But Vandy rallied by hitting six of its first nine shots and
took its first lead, 17-15, midway through the half on a bucket by
McElhiney.
Then the game bogged down. Vandy hurt itself with turnovers (14 in the first half), and both teams shot poorly. Tennessee went 4½ minutes without a basket late in the first half, but led 25-24 at
halftime.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
Vanderbilt Clubhouse
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