April 9, 2008 - Injured or not, a bum left shoulder wasn’t enough to stop Candace Parker from hoisting that championship trophy one last time.
Parker scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Tennessee capture its eighth championship with a 64-48 victory over Stanford on Tuesday night. The Lady Vols also became the first repeat champs since Connecticut won three straight from 2002-04.
The AP player of the year will leave the Lady Vols (36-2) with a year of eligibility remaining, but has accomplished one of her goals by winning multiple national titles.
Parker also became the fourth player to win back-to-back Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four honors. She joined Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi (2003-04), Tennessee’s Chamique Holdsclaw (1997-98), and Southern Cal’s Cheryl Miller (1983-84).
Stanford’s loss ended Candice Wiggins’ remarkable run through the NCAA tournament. She scored 14 points and finished with 151 over the six games _ the fourth-best total in tournament history. Sheryl Swoopes holds the record with 177 points, when she led Texas Tech to the championship in 1993. Wiggins is the first player to have two 40-point games in the tournament.
Wiggins took the Cardinal (35-4) further than they’d been since 1992, when the program won it all. Stanford hadn’t reached the Final Four since 1997 or advanced to the championship game since the ‘92 team.
The Ace vs. Ice battle may be over on a collegiate level, but we’re bound to see both of these Pretty Tough players again and again.
Loading ...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.