Anosike, Bobbitt carry Tennessee early, help Vols win another women's national championship

4/8/2008 11:28 PM

By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Nicky Anosike was certain Tennessee was going to win another national title. But just in case, the senior center had a contingency plan.

``My mind-set going into the game was I wasn't going home without a championship,'' Anosike said. ``If we lost, I was going to live here because I wasn't going back home. No one was going to deny me a national championship, and I did whatever I needed to do to make sure we won.''

Anosike did just about everything to help the Lady Vols win a second consecutive national title.

She had 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals in Tennessee's 64-48 victory Tuesday night. Anosike and fellow senior Shannon Bobbitt set the tone early - on offense and defense - then watched All-American Candace Parker take over late.

Bobbitt burned Stanford with three 3-pointers and 13 points in the first half. The 5-foot-2 point guard was even better on the defensive end, scurrying all over the court at the forefront of Tennessee's daunting press that forced many of Stanford's 25 turnovers.

Anosike added to the chaos, her long arms and 6-foot-4 frame wreaking havoc on Stanford's guards.

``A lot of people underestimate our defense,'' Parker said. ``And when you get on the court with us, it's a little bit different than what you see on TV or anything like that.''

Stanford knows that now.

The Cardinal also found out it couldn't leave Anosike and Bobbitt open on the offensive end.

Anosike hit an open jumper shortly after the opening tip and then scored in a variety of ways around the basket. She had putbacks, layups and free throws. She even drove the baseline and hit a nifty reverse layup in the first half that helped Tennessee regain a double-digit lead.

``Nicky's a capable scorer,'' Parker said. ``She's capable of scoring all the time, from the high post, the block. She came out ready to play. She's the reason we won the national championship. We looked in her eyes and knew we weren't going to lose after that.''

Bobbitt did her damage from much farther away.

She hit consecutive 3-pointers - from the same spot no less - in the opening minutes that gave Tennessee all the cushion it needed to end Stanford's 23-game winning streak and give coach Pat Summitt her eighth national title. Bobbitt drained another 3 late in the first half and was instrumental in running Tennessee's sets all night.

``Shannon did a great job of stretching the defense early and looking for her shot,'' Parker said.

Parker took over in the second half, quite possibly because Stanford stopped paying her so much attention. The Cardinal double- and triple-teamed the AP Player of the Year all night.

The move backfired early, mostly because of Anosike and Bobbitt. Both of them were named to the All-Tournament team.

Maybe Stanford should have looked at last year's national title game. Anosike had four points and 16 rebounds - including 10 offensive boards that gave the Vols so many extra shots - in a victory against Rutgers in last April's title game. Bobbitt had 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from behind the arc.

They gave a repeat performance against Stanford - and gave Tennessee a much more enjoyable repeat.

``We just really made too many mistakes to give ourselves a chance,'' Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.