Parker, Vols slam Kentucky

Coach Pat Summitt wanted Candace Parker to take it to the hoop. Instead, the All-American went above the rim.

Parker dunked for the seventh time in her career and scored 20 points to help No. 2 Tennessee overcome a sluggish first half in a 79-51 victory over visiting Kentucky on Sunday.

"Coach Summitt told me to go strong to the hoop," said Parker, a product of Naperville Central High School. "She said I needed to go inside the paint and take over and stop taking fadeaways."

With the Lady Vols leading by 18, the 6-foot-4 Parker chased down a loose ball after Chante Bowman lost control of it at midcourt.

After the fastbreak, Parker hesitated at the baseline as if she were going to dunk but stopped to get better control of the ball. Then she turned around and put it in with 8:08 left in the game as the home crowd erupted.

The Lady Vols (20-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) led 32-24 after a slow first half but went on a 15-6 run that ended as Parker drove for a layup with 14:07 left to put Tennessee up 49-31.

Kentucky (11-11, 5-3) never recovered.

Parker had 4 dunks last season, including one against rival Connecticut. She also dunked twice in her freshman season against Army in the NCAA Tournament.

LSU 85, Florida 71: Quianna Chaney scored 19 points, Allison Hightower added 14 off the bench and No. 8 LSU defeated host Florida for its ninth consecutive victory.

Erica White finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for LSU (18-3, 7-0 Southeastern Conference).

Marshae Dotson had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Gators (14-8, 3-4).