Tennessee women’s basketball. It’s a phrase that evokes reactions from the LSU Lady Tigers such as: “Dominance… dynasty… tradition… lots of orange.” The No. 7 Lady Tigers (20-3, 9-0) look to extend an 11-game winning streak when they face No. 1 Tennessee (22-1, 8-0) on the road tonight at 5:30. The top-two Southeastern Conference titans will duel for more than bragging rights. The winner takes first place in the league and a considerable momentum surge heading into the final weeks of regular season. LSU coach Van Chancellor knows the game’s importance. In case he forgot, a neighborhood construction worker recently reminded him. “I’ve been riding by there everyday, and no one has ever spoken to me,” Chancellor said. “But [Monday] somebody hollered out, ‘Van Chancellor – you gonna beat Tennessee?’ That’s a true story.” Chancellor is no stranger to Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Both are Naismith Hall of Fame coaches. Chancellor has known Summitt for more than 30 years and watched her win seven NCAA National Championships and 14 SEC Championships. While Ole Miss’ coach, Chancellor defeated Summitt’s Lady Vols seven out of 14 times. Since then, he has interviewed her numerous times during his broadcasting career. “I have a great respect for her,” he said. “This is why I came back into coaching. I came back into the SEC to coach the best … to coach against the cream of the crop in front of a heck of a crowd.” Tennessee delivered “a heck of a crowd” Monday when nearly 18,000 showed up for a controversial 59-58 win against Rutgers. With the Lady Vols trailing by one, referees called a foul with 0.2 seconds remaining to send Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike to the foul line. Replays showed the clock appeared to freeze for more than a second. LSU players and coaches declined to comment extensively on the controversy, instead focusing attention on game preparation. The odds are not in LSU’s favor. Tennessee leads the series 16-1 when playing in Knoxville. But LSU won the most recent game in Knoxville when the Lady Tigers defeated Tennessee, 72-69, on Feb. 9, 2006. “You have to go up against everything … the fans, the orange, the noise, the rowdiness,” said senior center Sylvia Fowles. “It’s the toughest place I’ve played before.” Fowles has consistently downplayed comparisons to junior All-American rival Candace Parker. But Chancellor has already labeled the two players as the nation’s best, without question. Fowles averages 17 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Parker averages slightly better with 20 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. “That’s a big match-up problem. We may have to zone because of that,” Chancellor said of Parker. “She’s just so strong. She plays inside, she plays outside. You can’t hardly put Sylvia on her because she takes her outside.” Summitt expressed similar challenges when mapping her game plan to contain Fowles. “Fowles is a great offensive player, but she may even be more of a force on the defensive end,” Summitt said during Wednesday’s teleconference. “Look at her presence and the ability to block shots. She’s an intimidator for most players that go in against her, and she plays really hard with a passion.” Senior guard Erica White said Chancellor has tried to downplay much of the hype surrounding Thursday’s game. “Coach Van is a very humble guy,” White said. “We’re going into this game with two Hall of Fame coaches on the sidelines and two potential No. 1 WNBA picks with Candace and Sylvia. But at the end of the day, Coach has told us that it’s just Tennessee and LSU meeting to play some basketball. But I’m sure he’s driven, and he wants to win.” Chancellor said LSU needs big game performances from Fowles’ supporting cast: White, senior guard Quianna Chaney, senior guard RaShonta LeBlanc and senior forward Ashley Thomas. Chaney averages 14.8 points per game and is the only LSU player other than Fowles to average double figures. “When I inherited this job, I thought if we didn’t move some other players up, we would never reach the next level because everybody would take away Sylvia’s game as much as they can,” he said. “I can tell you two keys at the end of this game: how many fast break points did they get and how many second chance points did they get?” Fowles said she respects both coaches’ impressive resumes and appreciates the credentials they bring to women’s basketball. “I think both of them are out-of-this-world coaches,” Fowles said. “I think it’s going to come down to the players and who wants it more.”
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