By Chris O’Grady
Everything about the first regular season game at the KFC Yum! Center screamed new – even the talent on the floor, as the University of Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt beat the U of L women 63-50 in front of 22, 124, a U of L and Big East record crowd for a women’s basketball game.
It provided a rather contrasting image between a beautiful state-of-the-art arena and two coaches at the top of their profession and a game with 51 turnovers where game play looked more like a stop on the And1 Streetball tour.
“Yeah there was probably a little bit of nerves, I mean we’ve never played in front of a crowd that big,” said junior forward Monique Reid, who scored a team high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds. “But they were crazy good; I mean their point guard was 6-foot-three. But it was encouraging to know we could play within a point of the No. 4 team in the nation.”
The tipping point of the game came with 7:57 left in the second half. Junior guard Becky Burke hit a three-pointer after a Tennessee timeout to get the Cards as close as they would get, pulling to 45-44. But the Lady Vols responded with back to back threes from freshmen wonder-girl Meighan Simmons, who erupted for 22 points and eight rebounds.
“That was pretty surreal doing that in an away game in front of 22,000 people,” said Simmons. “I had butterflies all day, I couldn’t even take a nap.”
Reid, said the Cards put a lot of focus on stopping the Vols’ Angie Bjorklund and Glory Johnson, who had led Tennessee in the past, and were a little surprised by Simmons.
“She wasn’t really in the scouting report, but she’s a baller,” said Reid. “But I guess we know everybody on Tennessee is going to be a baller, but she played great. Big ups to her.”
Tennessee junior guard Shekinna Stricklen said the game definitely was won by Simmons’ efforts.
“We love her, she really stepped up today,” said Stricklen, who scored 14 points. “She pulled this game out for us in a tough environment.”
Contrastingly, U of L’s star freshmen class made its debut with glimpses of promise, but full of inconsistency. Sheronne Vails, Antonita Slaughter, Charmaine Tay, and Shoni Schimmel made their college debuts on Friday night to what should be mixed reviews. Vails, Slaughter, and Tay played well but combined for six turnovers and only eight points. Schimmel showed some nerves in the first half, throwing the ball all around the gym without scoring. She had seven turnovers in the first half alone, but came back to score nine points in the second half on 3 for 11 shooting.
“She’ll be fine,” said head coach Jeff Walz. “It was her first game her and you could tell she was over-excited. The first half she tried to push the ball up the floor too much when no one was guarding her. That led to a lot of her turnovers.”
But in its infancy the new arena atmosphere received rave reviews. The sellout crowd was enough to draw a thank you on the PA microphone from coach Walz.
“I just wanted to thank everybody that came out tonight and to let them know how much it meant to me and to our players,” said Walz. “I think it shows a lot about our city, because it wasn’t like there were a couple thousand in orange. We had Louisville fans in here and this place got loud. I hope they come back.”
Coach Summitt, perhaps the greatest coach in women’s basketball history, was duly impressed with both the arena and the state of the U of L program under Walz.
“Obviously this was a great experience for us that is a well-coached, tough minded team,” said Summitt. “There is no doubt about this U of L team, we had our hands full all night. The environment was awesome, this is a beautiful facility and a great place for college basketball. I love games like this.”
Reid said the Cards were honored by a crowd that even stayed to applaud at the game’s end, even though U of L fell short.
“The crowd was behind us 100 percent,” said Reid. “It’s not often you get a round of applause after a loss.”
The Cards shot just 30.5 percent in the opener, and were out-rebounded by the Vols 53-29 for the game, adding to a loss that Walz said will sting what was a “fantastic” night.
“I mean I can’t say I’m happy because I hate losing, but it was a wonderful thing to be a part of,” said Walz. “A lot of great things went on tonight.”
