Monday, March 31, 1997
W. HOOPS:
Old Dominion falters, commits errors in face of Lady Vols
defenseBy Chuck Schoffner
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI — Tennessee won yet another national championship,
and this one might have been the toughest  and most bruising
 of all.
Shackling Old Dominion with aggressive, physical defense,
Tennessee weathered a second-half comeback and beat the Lady
Monarchs 68-59 Sunday night to win its second straight national
championship in women’s basketball, its fifth overall.
Chamique Holdsclaw led the Lady Vols (29-10) with 24 points and
made the key plays down the stretch after Tennessee temporarily
lost the lead. In the final 6:48, she scored 10 points, assisted on
two baskets and blocked a shot.
With 9.3 seconds left and the title secure, Holdsclaw slapped
hands and bumped bodies with jubilant teammates. Indicative of the
way the game went, Old Dominion All-American guard Ticha Penicheiro
threw the ball away on the Lady Monarchs’ last possession, then
went to the bench in tears. It was her 11th turnover and Old
Dominion’s 26th.
Just as important as Holdsclaw’s play was the Tennessee defense,
which was allowed to bump and knock people around without fouls
being called while the Lady Vols were building a 16-point lead in
the first half.
The result was two and three bodies sprawled on the floor at
times and a lot of frustration for Old Dominion players.
Old Dominion managed to overcome that frustration, though, and
took the lead on three occasions in the second half, the last time
at 49-47 on reserve Amber Eller’s 3-pointer from the left corner
with 7:05 left.