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College basketball
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 15, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Pat Summitt became the first female coach to win 800 career games when No. 5 Tennessee beat No. 25 DePaul 76-57 Tuesday night.
Summitt is just the fourth men's or women's coach in Division I with 800 victories behind North Carolina's Dean Smith, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and Jim Phelan at Mount Saint Mary's.
Summitt's record stands at 800-161 in 29 seasons with six national championships, second only to John Wooden's 10 titles at UCLA.
"I think the thing that really stuck out to me was when I saw Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp at the top of the list," Summitt said. "I admired what both accomplished. But I didn't score a point, we've had great players."
Tennessee (12-3) didn't allow for much suspense in whether Summitt would have to wait for the next game to reach the milestone.
After the Blue Demons (12-4) tied it at 2 in the opening minute, it was all Tennessee. The Vols slowly built a lead and then went on an 18-0 run in the first half.
Ashley Robinson led Tennessee with 12 points and Shyra Ely had 11. The Blue Demons were led by Khara Smith's 18.
As the last seconds ticked away, the fans rose to their feet and chanted, "800, 800, 800!" as orange and white confetti rained on the court.
"I have no intention of getting out soon," Summitt, 50, told the fans in Thompson-Boling Arena during a postgame celebration.
Summitt was hired as a graduate teaching assistant and women's coach at Tennessee in 1974 at age 22. She earned her first career victory in her second game in January 1975.
NO. 21 ND 71, ST. JOHN'S 42: Jacqueline Batteast had 24 points and the visiting Irish improved their all-time record against the Red Storm to 12-0.
ARKANSAS: Post player Kiesha Beard was dismissed because of repeated suspensions and discipline problems.
PITT 80, W. VA. 61: Donatas Zavackas scored 16 and the Panthers, who won their 10th consecutive Big East game, are off to their best start in 73 years.
Pittsburgh (14-1) came off a tough 70-63 victory at Rutgers on Sunday and took control late in the first half to knock off one of its biggest rivals for the third time in a row.
West Virginia (9-5) lost for the first time at home this season and was held to its third-worst point total of the season.
NO. 6 UCONN 83, VA. TECH 65: Emeka Okafor came alive in the second half for the host Huskies in a Big East contest. Okafor had 12 of his 19 points in the second half, including eight in a 24-4 run that catapulted the Huskies (11-1). Ben Gordon led the Huskies with 24 points.
The Hokies (6-8) used an early 11-0 burst to take a 20-10 lead. Connecticut rallied with 12 consecutive points, but Virginia Tech didn't fade and held a 43-39 lead at halftime.
NO. 10 ND 68, RUTGERS 57: Matt Carroll scored 25, Chris Thomas had 19 and the host Irish made all but one of their 23 free throws. Rutgers (8-6) took only nine free throws, making five. Jordan Cornette had eight blocks for the Irish (14-2), including six in the second half.
The Irish, who had struggled in the second half of their past three games, trailed 36-35 at halftime.
They started the second half with a 10-2 run to move ahead 45-38 when Carroll hit a 3-pointer. But the Scarlet Knights answered with a 9-0 run. But Carroll hit a 3-pointer with 9:36 left to give the Irish the lead for good.
NO. 16 KENTUCKY 74, VANDY 52: Gerald Fitch had 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the visiting Wildcats rallied from a 14-point for their sixth straight victory.
Vanderbilt, fresh off upsetting then-No. 4 Alabama, went 7-of-9 from 3-point range in the first half. The Wildcats (12-3) trailed 36-28 at halftime, but they turned up the defensive pressure and got 12 of their 15 steals in the second half.
They limited Vandy to just one 3-pointer and four field goals in the second half, outscoring the Commodores 28-7 over the first 12 minutes of the stanza.
NO. 21 MARQUETTE 85, TULANE 73: Dwyane Wade scored 35 on an unstoppable array of inside and outside shots to lead the visiting Golden Eagles.
Wade converted alley-oop dunks, 3-pointers, fastbreak layups and even finessed outside shots off the glass in an offensive display that seemed to demoralize Tulane (7-8) every time the Green Wave made a run to get close.
Travis Diener hit two 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 16 points for Marquette (11-3), which has won three straight.
UNC 68, CLEMSON 66 Rashad McCants had eight of his 20 points over the final 3:34 for the Tar Heels, running the Tigers' all-time record to 0-49 at Chapel Hill. Raymond Felton, battling an upset stomach most of the game, sank two free throws with 21.9 seconds left to seal it for North Carolina.
DePAUL 71, TCU 65: Sam Hoskin scored 20, 17 in the second half, and Andre Brown added 14 with nine rebounds for the host Blue Demons. DePaul (9-4) opened with an 18-8 lead. LeVar Seals made his first start of the season and scored 10 during the span, hitting two 3-pointers. He finished with 13 points.
CHARLOTTE 78, UAB 58: Demon Brown hit a school-record nine 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 to lead the 49ers (7-7), who had been 0-4 on the road this season and had lost six road games in a row dating to last season.
FIU: Forwards Taurance Johnson and Al Harris were dismissed from the team for the season. Johnson needs to focus on academics, but no reason was given for Harris. In its game, the host Panthers lost 74-52 to New Mexico State as Jason Fontenet scored 14 for the Aggies.
COLORADO: Guard James "Mookie" Wright, facing trial on charges of indecent exposure and burglary, may remain a student but must get counseling, read an ethics book and write an essay, the school said.
LA SALLE: Forward Lewis Fadipe should miss the season after elbow surgery.
SO. CAL: Backup point guard Brandon Brooks, a sophomore, dislocated his left ankle in practice and probably will miss the season.
UCLA: Steve Lavin said he never considered resigning as coach, though the Bruins (4-7) are off to their worst start in 15 years.
"That was inaccurate," Lavin said. "I never was going to do it in the first place."
Lavin, 38, who has a 139-67 record in his seventh season, debunked a story in Monday's editions of the Los Angeles Times that said he had talked to confidantes about resigning before the Bruins play Arizona State on Thursday.