1995-96 Tennessee Lady Vols

1995-96 found the Lady Vols returning to the Final Four after a championship game loss to Connecticut the previous season. This time around, the Huskies stood in Tennessee's path once again. It took overtime and one of the classic tournament matches of all time, but the ladies in orange prevailed and then went on to dominate Georgia to bring a fourth National Championship trophy home to Knoxville. The title game was close for about six minutes, but Tennessee steadily moved ahead, leading 42-37 at the half. The Lady Vols jumped on their SEC rival to start the second half, fashioning a 15-4 run and never looking back en route to their 83-65 victory. Senior Latina Davis was a key contributor as she shut down the offensive output of the Lady Bulldogs' national Player of the Year, Saudia Roundtree, holding her to 3-14 shooting and only 8 points. Michelle Marciniak was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while frosh Chamique Holdsclaw and sophomore Tiffani Johnson joined her on the All-Tournament team. For Johnson, the game was a homecoming, being played in her hometown of Charlotte, NC. Johnson scored 16 points; Holdsclaw added another 16 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Juniors Pashen Thompson and Abby Conklin contributed 11 rebounds and 4-5 three-point shooting, respectively. It was truly a team effort.

The season began with the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee was matched up with Virginia, while Louisiana Tech took on defending champion Connecticut. The Techsters took the Huskies into overtime and came away with a victory, and the Lady Vols followed up with a 78-51 womanhandling of the Cavaliers. Marciniak led the way with 16 points and Pashen Thompson had 13 rebounds. The game marked the first appearance for heralded frosh forward Chamique Holdsclaw. Marciniak and Thompson were the stats leaders in three of the next four games, with Abby Conklin stepping forward for 17 points against St. Joseph's and 9 rebounds in the Texas Techcontest. The frosh Holdsclaw had her breakthrough game in the Kona Women's Classic at Kailua-Kona, HI where she scored 27 points and nabbed 11 rebounds in an 81-63 victory over Purdue. The rookie was a frequent leader in both categories for the rest of the season, ending by leading the team in scoring at 16.2 points a game and in rebounding with 9.1 per game. The Ladies rolled off eight straight wins to start the season before flying into Stanford for a mid-December clash. The Cardinal proceeded to dismantle the orange, 90-72, with a total dominance of the UT posts. Thompson later opined that that game, "hurt my heart." Three wins followed, though, with an 87-67 pummelling of Florida in Knoxville on January 2 being the team's 69th consecutive home court success. Nex up for the 11-1 Lady Vols was the 11-2 defending champion Connecticut Huskies.

Jennifer Rizzotti and Kara Wolters were the driving forces for the Huskies. Wolters had 12 points and 10 rebounds, but Rizzotti was the glue that held it all together. She scored 18 points and dished 5 assists, but most importantly, she repeatedly drove the lane to score or get to the foul line. The real dagger, though, was frosh Amy Duran's three-pointer from the left corner with the shot clock running down to cut the UT lead to only one, 51-50, when it looked like UT was ready to take control. It was all UConn from there as UT's offense disappeared to the tune of only 22 points in the whole second half. The result was a 59-53 Connecticut victory and the end of the Tennessee record home court win streak. Marciniak expressed the Ladies feelings of frustration, saying, "I have the same feeling I had when we left the gym last April." It wasn't quite the low point of the season. That would come two days later when the team traveled to Georgia and lost to the Lady Bulldogs 77-71, despite Holdsclaw's 21 points and 19 rebounds.

It was time to regroup and a young Old Dominion team, still a year away from greatness in its own right, came calling and went home 69-47 losers. The squad then beat Kentucky and Arkansas and had a modest 3-game win streak when second-ranked Vanderbilt came to Knoxville. The Commodores exploded and ran out to a 52-41 halftime lead on 63.6% shooting led by Sheri Sam's 20 points. In the locker room, Summitt asked if anyone could stop Sam? According to Latina Davis, "Somebody had to stop her. I told her I could do it." And she did; Sam scored only five more points. Still, even after the Lady Vols fought their way back into the game, it was a see-saw battle the rest of the way until Thompson hit a driving layup with 26 seconds left, and Tennessee walked away with a hard-fought 85-82 victory. Coach Summitt said, "To me, it's the best win we've had all year." No rest for the weary, though. Next up was #1 Louisiana Tech. The Techsters were led by Vickie Johnson (20 pts.), Debra Williams (17), and Raquel Spurlock (17), and the game was well-played and tight throughout. Despite a bad cough and difficulty breathing, the frosh Holdsclaw came up big, scoring 23 on 10-15 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds. Davis and Marciniak threw in 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Conklin added 12--all in the last 10 minutes. The game was tied with 4 minutes left when Marciniak and Conklin put together 6 points and the Ladies finished up with 8 free throw points for a 77-72 win over #1. The rest of the regular season schedule was not without its pitfalls, though. Two games later, UT went to Oxford in an ice storm and got beaten by Mississippi, 78-72. At South Carolina, it took overtime before the LVs prevailed, 79-73, and the next game, at home against Auburn, also was an overtime win, 72-67. Still, they closed out the regular season with six straight wins, including one more against Vandy, and went into the SEC tournament with a 23-4 record. Holdsclaw was the leading scorer in all six wins, netting 19-23 points in each.

The SEC tournament requires three wins in three days for a top seed to win the automatic bid to the big dance. Tennessee started off with a blowout of Mississippi, 73-51, that, to a degree, made up for their earlier loss to the Lady Rebels. Next came an improved Florida squad, but they fell too, 74-63. Last up was Alabama, featuring Shalonda Enis and frosh sensation Dominique Canty. UT built an early 18-6 lead, but then disaster struck. Holdsclaw collided with someone in the scrum after a free throw and went down with a knee injury, never to return. there were thirty minutes left in the game. The Lady Vols played the rest of the half in a state of seeming shock. They managed to maintain a 28-26 lead going into the locker room. Summitt's halftime speech was, "Chamique wants to win an SEC championship. . . she's done an awful lot for you. Let's do this for her." Alabama employed a zone in the second half, so UT tried firing over it. This often led to putbacks by Thompson and Johnson. Marciniak hit a few, Davis skied over everyone for some key rebounds, and Conklin contributed a crucial three. When all was said and done, Tennessee had a 64-60 victory and the SEC Championship. It was time to head for the big dance, but what of Holdsclaw?

An eleven day layoff before the NCAA tourney began was just what the doctor ordered, and an opening game in Knoxville against little Radford didn't hurt. Holdsclaw recovered sufficiently from her medial collateral strain to be cleared to play, and the LVS won that first outing, 97-56, then set their caps for Ohio State and Katie Smith. Latina Davis picked this night to have a career game, hitting 9-10 in the first half and finishing with a career-high 25 points. All the Ladies were hot, though, as they shot 66.7% in the first half, 58.8% for the game. Holdsclaw threw down 20 points herself on 8-11 shooting. Even the bench got into it with Kellie Jolly hitting 4-4 and Pashen Thompson 4-5. Lost in the glow of a 97-65 Lady Vol victory was an impressive 29-point performance by Katie Smith, for it was Davis and the LVs going to Charlottesville, Virginia for the East Regionals. Next up was Kansas. For the third straight game, Tennessee hit the ninety point mark, handling the Jayhawks, 92-71. Hot shooting was again the keynote, 64.5% in the first half and 53% for the game. Once more, Davis led with 18 points, followed by Holdsclaw's 16, and 12 each from Conklin, Marciniak, and Johnson. Onward to the Regional final--one Tennessee fans will long remember. Of the game, UVA coach Debbie Ryan was to say, "It hurts; it hurts a great deal." UT scored the game's first bucket and never led again until less than two and a half minutes remained in the game. Their hot shooting of the previous two games was gone. Instead, they shot 18.8% for the first half and scored a mere 14 points. As they went to the locker room, they trailed 27-14. Things did not look good. DeMya Walker had shut down Holdsclaw and Jenny Boucek had hounded Davis into 0-6 shooting. The Ladies came out in the second half and picked up where they left off, falling behind 31-14 before their rally began with a nine point run to make it 31-23. It was slow going, but when Boucek went out with four fouls and then point guard Tora Suber suffered a knee injury, Tennessee capitalized on three goals by Davis and closed the gap. Finally a Holdsclaw hook gave UT the lead and they never relinquished it, closing out with free throws for a 52-46 win. Tennessee ended up shooting but 35% for the game, but still, this was better than the Cavs 29.4%. On to the Final Four!

The 1996 Final Four was held in Charlotte, NC. It matched Stanford (29-2) against Georgia (27-4) and Tennessee (30-4) against the defending champs, Connecticut (34-3). Tennessee had played all the other participants during the regular season--and lost to all three. Before the tournament, Holdsclaw was named as the only frosh on the Kodak All-American team. She was joined there by three other finalists: Jennifer Rizzotti of Connecticut, Saudia Roundtree of Georgia, and Kate Starbird of Stanford. The first game was the UConn vs. Tennessee contest, which has come to be regarded as one of the best games of all time. Tennessee got it going early and pushed their lead out to 28-17 with 5 minutes left in the first half. By that point, Kara Wolters was on the bench with her third foul. The Huskies came roaring back, though, behind Nykesha Sales, and only trailed 34-30 at halftime. In the second frame, UConn fought back to a 47-47 tie, but then after several ties and lead changes, UT pulled out to another ten point lead. Connecticut came back again, and when Marciniak hit two free throws with 12 seconds left, it was UT up 75-72. The Huskies brought the ball down and Marciniak gambled, lunging for a steal. She missed. This left Sales wide open at the top of the key with the ball, and she promptly nailed the three to tie the game--overtime. Wolters had fouled out with a little over a minute left, but Pat Summitt was concerned, nonetheless. She told the team in the huddle, "The mentally tough team wins in the next five minutes. I don't like the looks on your faces." This got the Lady Vols' attention. They came out behind a determined Marciniak and put the finishing touches on an 88-83 victory. Marciniak had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. Davis kicked in 15 points, and Holdsclaw and Johnson each added 13. Sales had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals for the Huskies. It was a very gratifying win after three straight losses to the Huskies, and the Lady Vols celebrated as if they'd won the championship. Yet, there was one game to go. In the second game, Georgia, behind Saudia Roundtree's 26 points and 7 assists, handled Stanford, 86-76, to make it an all-SEC final. Georgia coach Andy Landers came into the game with 499 career victories but would have to wait until next year for number 500. Saudia Roundtree went on television and guaranteed a Georgia victory. UT seniors Marciniak and Davis saw that and didn't take kindly to it. Before the game, Smokey literally beat the stuffing out of a stuffed Bulldog, littering the floor just prior to tip-off, delaying the start of the game, and earning himself banishment from the arena floor. It was an omen of things to come. After the victory, Marciniak said, "Ever since I was a little girl, I had that dream of cutting down the nets and being out on the floor with a national championship team. When I decided to transfer, it was because I wanted to play for one of the best coaches in the country. . . . I'd like to thank Pat for sticking with me." And thousands of Lady Vol fans thank Michelle and her fellow senior Latina Davis for being the forces behind championship number four.

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1995-96 ROSTER

NO. NAME                POS.  HT.   YR.  HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL)
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 3  Michelle Marciniak   G    5-9   Sr   Macungie, PA (Allentown Catholic)
 4  Tiffani Johnson      C    6-4   So   Charlotte, NC (Garinger)
 5  Latina Davis         G    5-6   Sr   Winchester, TN (Franklin Co.)
10  Kim Smallwood        F    5-10  Fr   Richmond, TX (Lamar Consolidated)
11  Laurie Milligan      G    5-8   So   Tigard, OR (Tigard)
13  Misty Greene        G/F   5-9   Fr   Decatur, TN (Meigs Co.)
14  Kellie Jolly         G    5-10  Fr   Sparta, TN (White Co.)
23  Chamique Holdsclaw  F/C   6-2   Fr   Astoria, NY (Christ The King)
31  Brynae Laxton        F    6-0   Fr   Oneida, TN (Oneida)
44  Pashen Thompson      C    6-1   Jr   Philadelphia, MS (Philadelphia)
52  Abby Conklin        F/C   6-3   Jr   Charlestown, IN (Charlestown)

Assistant Coaches: Mickie DeMoss
                   Holly Warlick
                   Al Brown

THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

Sub-Regional:  defeated Radford, 97-56
               defeated Ohio State, 97-65
East Regional: defeated Kansas, 92-71
               defeated Virginia, 52-46
Semifinals: Georgia 86, Stanford 76
            Tennessee 88, Connecticut 83 (OT)
_____________________________________________

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS

GEORGIA	       FG-FGA   FT-FTA  REB   PF  PTS
---------------------------------------------
Frett	       10-18     4-4     16    1   25
Irwin	        1-3      0-0      2    0    3
Roundtree	3-14     1-2      5    1    8
Powell	        0-1      0-0      0    1    0
Antorskov	0-0      0-0      0    2    0
Thompson	0-0      0-0      1    0    0
Taylor		0-1      0-0      1    0    0
Holland  	4-12     1-1      1    4   11
Bush	        1-4      0-0      2    4    2
Henderson 	8-15     0-1      7    4   16
Walker		0-1      0-0      2    0    0
Decker	        0-2      0-0      2    4    0
Walls	        0-0      0-0      0    1    0
Team                              0
---------------------------------------------
Totals	       27-71     6-8     39    22  65
=============================================

TENNESSEE      FG-FGA  FT-FTA   REB    PF PTS
----------------------------------------------
Marciniak	5-13    0-1       4	1  10
Johnson	        7-10    2-2       5     2  16
Davis	        2-10    4-8       7     2   8
Smallwood	0-0     1-2       1     0   1
Milligan	0-1     0-0       0     0   0
Greene	        0-1     0-0       0     0   0
Jolly	        1-1     0-1       0     2   2
Holdsclaw	6-16    4-5      14     0  16
Laxton	        2-7     0-0       3     1   4
Thompson	4-6     4-6      11     3  12
Conklin	        5-8     0-0       4     2  14
Team			          5
---------------------------------------------
Totals	       32-73   15-25     54    13  83
_____________________________________________

SITE: Charlotte, NC
ATTENDANCE: 23,921
HALFTIME: Tennessee 42, Georgia 37
THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Georgia 5-24 (Frett 1-1, Irwin 1-3,
Roundtree 1-7, Powell 0-1, Taylor 0-1, Holland 2-8, Bush 0-2,
Decker 0-1); Tennessee 4-9 (Marciniak 0-2, Johnson 0-1,
Davis 0-1, Conklin 4-5)
OFFICIALS: Sally Bell, Dee Kantner, Violet Palmer

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1995-96 STATISTICS

RECORD: Overall (32-4); SEC (9-2)

PLAYER     GP-GS  FGM   FGA  PCT  3FGM 3FGA  PCT  FTM  FTA  PCT   TP  AVE
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Holdsclaw  36-36  237   507  .468   7   30  .233  102  143  .713  583 16.2
Davis      35-35  172   345  .499   4   12  .333   90  127  .709  438 12.5
Conklin    35-30  160   353  .453  38   90  .422   47   66  .712  405 11.6
Marciniak  36-36  151   344  .439  13   64  .203  101  127  .795  416 11.6
Thompson   35-23  106   201  .527   0    0  .000  106  149  .711  318  9.1
Johnson    35-18  110   226  .487   1    5  .200   42   68  .618  263  7.5
Jolly      36-0    53   123  .431  11   45  .244   34   49  .694  151  4.2
Laxton     36-0    38   106  .359   0    2  .000   38   54  .704  114  3.2
Smallwood  31-0    16    37  .432   0    0  .000   11   20  .550   43  2.1
Milligan   34-1    21    56  .375   1    6  .167   16   25  .640   59  1.7
Greene     15-0     5    26  .192   3   18  .167    0    0  .000   13  0.9
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TENNESSEE  36    1069  2324  .460  78  272  .287  587  828  .709 2803 77.9
OPPONENTS  36     866  2116  .409 160  518  .309  430  653  .659 2322 64.5


PLAYER      REB-AVG   PF-DQ   AST   TO   BK   ST   MIN
------------------------------------------------------
Holdsclaw   326-9.1    92-3    75   95   21   34  1057
Davis       171-4.9    95-3    92   68    6   50  1025
Conklin     191-5.5    79-0    41   44   32   30   951
Marciniak   109-3.0    70-2   156  101   11  107  1122
Thompson    253-7.2    94-1    26   57   11   30   911
Johnson     219-6.3    77-1    25   50   25   19   865
Jolly        44-1.2    32-0    67   52    3   26   494
Laxton       69-2.6    33-0    15   28    2   18   350
Smallwood    30-1.4    17-0     0    9    0    2   106
Milligan     24-0.7    38-0    44   44    1   21   344
Greene        7-0.5     4-0     1    4    0    2    50
------------------------------------------------------
TENNESSEE  1575-43.8  631-10  542  552  112  339   ---
OPPONENTS  1187-33.0  688-24  436  634   88  255   ---

PER-GAME AVERAGES

                                                         A/TO
PLAYER      MIN  FG    FGA  3P   3PA  FT   FTA  AST  TO  RATIO  BK   ST
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holdsclaw  29.4  6.6  14.1  0.2  0.8  2.8  4.0  2.1  2.6  0.8   0.6  0.9
Davis      29.3  4.9   9.9  0.1  0.3  2.6  3.6  2.6  1.9  1.4   0.2  1.4
Conklin    27.2  4.6  10.1  1.1  2.6  1.3  1.9  1.2  1.3  0.9   0.9  0.9
Marciniak  31.2  4.2   9.6  0.4  1.8  2.8  3.5  4.3  2.8  1.5   0.3  3.0
Thompson   26.0  3.0   5.7    0    0  3.0  4.3  0.7  1.6  0.5   0.3  0.9
Johnson    24.7  3.1   6.5  0.0  0.1  1.2  1.9  0.7  1.4  0.5   0.7  0.5
Jolly      13.7  1.5   3.4  0.3  1.3  0.9  1.4  1.9  1.4  1.3   0.1  0.7
Laxton      9.7  1.1   2.9  0.0  0.1  1.1  1.5  0.4  0.8  0.5   0.1  0.5
Smallwood   3.4  0.5   1.2    0    0  0.4  0.6    0  0.3  0.0     0  0.1
Milligan   10.1  0.6   1.6  0.0  0.2  0.5  0.7  1.3  1.3  1.0   0.0  0.6
Greene      3.3  0.3   1.7  0.2  1.2    0    0  0.1  0.3  0.3     0  0.1
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TENNESSEE  ---- 29.7  64.6  2.2  7.6 16.3 23.0 15.1 15.3  0.98  3.1  9.4
OPPONENTS  ---- 24.1  58.8  4.4 14.4 11.9 18.1 12.1 17.6  0.69  2.4  7.1