Crowned heads

CLEVELAND -- The compelling story of the Rutgers women's basketball team, a story that began with four defeats in six games and the loss of locker room privileges but grew to include knockout wins over Duke and Louisiana State en route to the title game, ended last night amid a sea of orange at Quicken Loans Arena.

To be blunt, the Scarlet Knights were just plain overmatched.

Let the celebrations begin on Rocky Top. There was no mistaking the better, deeper, stronger, and more focused unit last night. It was Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Volunteers, who smoked Rutgers, 59-46, to take the NCAA crown, the seventh of Summitt's illustrious career, but her first since 1998.

The loss ended Rutgers's magical run, a run the Scarlet Knights felt was destined to bring home the championship trophy. In the end, they simply were not up to the task, scoring 1 fewer point than Sheryl Swoopes had all by herself in 1993 and getting bludgeoned on the glass.

"We looked like we were a deer stuck in the headlights out there," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said of her overachieving gang. "It hurts. It hurts a lot. I told them, 'You don't often get to this point in life, and I'm a living testament to that.' And I wish that we had seized the moment because that's what defined us."

It was Tennessee that seized just about everything. The Lady Vols got the almost customary tour de force from MVP Candace Parker (17 points, 7 rebounds), but it was their rebounding and defense that did in the Scarlet Knights, whose 46 points were the second-fewest scored in a championship game.

The final rebounding numbers were 42-34, but they don't begin to tell the story. Tennessee had a 22-10 lead in second-chance points -- it was 13-2 in the first half -- and that was the story of the game.

"Coach Summitt told us before the game that offense sells tickets, defense wins games, and rebounding wins championships," said center Nicky Anosike, who was a monster on the boards with 16 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive glass.

The very first possession of the game ignited two story lines -- the rebounding and the outside shooting of Shannon Bobbitt, the diminutive Tennessee point guard who knocked down four from international waters. Anosike missed a short jumper, but she was there to get the rebound. Bobbitt then found some space and drained a three.

"We did a horrible job on the boards," said Rutgers guard Essence Carson. "By the time we tried to do something about it, it was too late. I think rebounding did us in."

Parker didn't have one of those "oh my God!" games, but she was relentless and efficient, even as she missed 10 of the 15 shots she took. She demanded double- and triple-teams, which helped her collect three of Tennessee's nine assists. She also buried 7 of 10 free throws, including all six down the stretch when Rutgers was fouling.

Stringer called Parker "the best player in the world, there's no one that comes close to her," and Summitt added the following: "Having a player like Candace Parker gives you a chance to win a national championship because she makes everyone else around her better."

There were two Tennessee spurts that decided this one. The first was a 10-2 run in the first half that snapped a 12-12 tie. That helped Tennessee to a 29-18 lead at the half.

Stringer had plenty of topics for a halftime chat. She wondered why her team was playing so passive, so afraid, so unStringerlike. She's still wondering.

"Maybe we read the headlines. Maybe we realized it was a national championship game," she said. "We needed to come out a little more aggressive and it might have made a difference."

Instead, her main scorers, Matee Ajavon and Carson, each had 8 points. Freshman spark Epiphanny Prince had 2 points and 4 turnovers. Only Kia Vaughn (20 points, 10 rebounds) seemed to respond to the task at hand.

In the second half, Vaughn brought Rutgers within 35-28 with 13:31 remaining. But on Tennessee's next possession, Bobbitt sprung loose for a third-chance 3-pointer, then knocked down another on the next possession. Alexis Hornbuckle added a hoop off a Rutgers turnover, and after two Vaughn free throws, Bobbitt drained another trey.

"The person that broke our back was Bobbitt," said Stringer. "That girl has 4-point range. When I get visions of this game, I see Shannon Bobbitt knocking down those threes and us really not coming out and playing her."

Or, she'll see visions of Anosike crashing the glass or Parker doing a little bit of everything.