Tennessee's Hornbuckle doesn't shy away from taking big shots

4/7/2008 4:43 PM

By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Tennessee's hopes for another national title seemed to be slipping away and Alexis Hornbuckle was blaming herself.

The senior guard best known for being one of the top defensive players in the country also takes pride in being able to carry her share of the load offensively, so she frets when her shot is not falling.

Especially when it looks like her struggles might cost the Lady Vols a victory.

Take Sunday night, for example, when she missed her first seven shots before making a putback with less than a second remaining to beat LSU 47-46 and send Tennessee into Tuesday night's NCAA championship game.

``The main thought that kept running through my mind was I didn't want to be the reason that we would go home early,'' Hornbuckle said Monday. ``At the end of the game it's not about me, it's about Tennessee. I can't let my team down.''

It was the second straight game Hornbuckle, one of just two players in Southeastern Conference history to amass 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 400 assists, 300 steals and 50 blocks during a career, made a huge basket to help the Lady Vols advance toward a shot at their eighth national championship.

Tennessee won No. 7 a year ago with Hornbuckle scoring four points on 2-for-8 shooting in the title game against Rutgers, and coach Pat Summitt told her afterward the Lady Vols would be unable to successfully defend the crown if she didn't play better.

Those words reverberated in the back of her mind when she fouled Erica White and the LSU guard sank a pair of free throws to give the Lady Tigers a 46-45 lead with 7.1 seconds remaining.

``I didn't feel like the game was over but I felt like I let my team down,'' Hornbuckle said. ``I can promise them that it won't happen again. At the same time, I made the only basket that mattered. For myself, going 1-for-8 and hitting that one shot at the right time meant a lot more than missing the seven prior to that.''

Hornbuckle hit a long 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring to help ice Tennessee's victory over Texas A&M in the Oklahoma City Regional final. She was in the right spot at the right time to score off Nicky Anosike's miss to keep the Lady Vols alive Sunday night.

She laughed Monday when she recalled growing up in West Virginia, learning to dribble as a 2-year-old but not really developing an offensive game until high school.

Her first love was soccer, but her dad was a former basketball player and an older brother with a terrific jumper helped her develop a shooter's mentality.

``I couldn't make a layup. My jump shot was terrible,'' Hornbuckle said.

Nevertheless, the brother convinced her confidence was the only thing she lacked.

Now, even when she's struggling, she wants the ball in critical situations. More often than not, she delivers.

``I'm the type of person, I don't like letting people down. You can ask my family, my friends. If I tell you I'm going to do something, I expect that I'm going to do it,'' she said, adding that her poor shooting in the semifinals won't affect her against Stanford in Tuesday night's title game.

``I can't worry. That game is over. We were blessed to get out of it and be able to play (again), so I'm focused on (Tuesday night).''

Of more immediate concern is Hornbuckle's defensive assignment, guarding Stanford star Candice Wiggins, who's averaging 27.4 points per game during the tournament and is the biggest reason the Cardinal are playing for the championship for the first time since 1992.

Wiggins called Hornbuckle, who last summer played together for the U.S. national team, ``one of the best defensive guards I've played against, period.''

``She has great basketball instincts, better than anyone I've played against,'' the Pac-10's career scoring leader added. ``She's tenacious.''

There's mutual respect on Hornbuckle's side. She expects to have her hands full Tuesday night.

``She's a ball of energy. She never stops and they do a great job of getting her open,'' Hornbuckle said. ``I can never rest. I can never take a possession off.''

At either end of the court.