Huge games by Anosike, Parker pace Tennessee

Posted January 10, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt told the Lady Vols she wanted them to play more aggressively. Nicky Anosike was listening.

Anosike scored a career-high 20 points and second-ranked Tennessee physically dominated No. 22 Auburn in an 85-52 win Thursday night in Nashville, Tenn.

"I thought she just set the tone really at both ends of the floor," Summitt said. "It was really good to see her be much more aggressive offensively without any hesitation."

Anosike and Candace Parker dominated the paint and the boards, both achieving double-doubles as Parker scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Anosike pulled in 12 for the Lady Vols (13-1).

The Southeastern Conference's second-leading scorer, DeWanna Bonner, finished with 19 points for Auburn (12-4), but even the 6-foot-4 forward was no match for the Lady Vols' size in the SEC opener for both teams.

The Lady Vols finished with 34 points in the paint, 33 points off turnovers and 22 second-chance points. They also came away with 12 blocks and 15 steals -- 5 from Anosike.

N. Carolina 79, Virginia Tech 59: Erlana Larkins scored 22 points and Rashanda McCants had 20 to help No. 3 North Carolina (15-1, 2-0 ACC) defeat Virginia Tech (12-5, 0-3).

Maryland 88, Bos. College 61: Crystal Langhorne had 18 points and 18 rebounds to break Len Elmore's school rebounding record, and No. 4 Maryland (19-1, 3-0 ACC) cruised to its ninth consecutive victory by beating host Boston College (13-4, 2-1).

Georgia 75, Mississippi 62: Megan Darrah led five Georgia players in double figures with 19 points and the No. 10 Lady Bulldogs (14-1) defeated visiting Mississippi (6-8) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. A 15-2 run by Georgia turned a close game (40-36) into a blowout.

Ohio St. 71, Indiana 59: Jantel Lavender scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead No. 19 Ohio State (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to a win over visiting Indiana (9-7, 2-2).

Purdue 56, Michigan 51: Lakisha Freeman had 14 points, and visiting Purdue (7-8, 3-1 Big Ten) held on to beat visiting Michigan (9-5, 2-2).