KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Shyra Ely had 17 points and nine rebounds and Gwen Jackson added 13 points as Tennessee advanced to its 22nd straight round of 16 with an 81-51 win over Virginia in the Mideast Regional on Monday night.
The top-seeded Lady Vols (30-4), the only team to appear in every regional semifinal since the NCAA women’s tournament began in 1982, led from the tipoff and were hardly challenged in improving their NCAA home record to 42-0.
Tennessee, also hosting the regional, will play the winner of Tuesday night’s game between South Carolina and Penn State on Saturday.
The No. 8 seed Cavaliers (17-14) struggled the entire game to contain Tennessee’s offense.
The Lady Vols led 33-24 at halftime and increased it to 17 before Virginia pulled within 12 with 10:45 remaining. Tennessee, having no desire to make the game close, went on an 18-4 run to increase its lead to 26.
Brittany Jackson and Shanna Zolman each hit 3s to start the spurt as the partisan crowd roared. Zolman hit another 3-pointer as the Lady Vols led 68-42 with 6:15 to go, quelling any chance of a late Virginia rally.
Loree Moore finished with 13 points, Kara Lawson had 11 and Zolman 10.
Cherrise Graham scored 14 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 27 percent (17-of-61) from the floor.
Virginia has been Tennessee’s most frequent opponent in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols are 8-1 against the Cavaliers, with the lone loss coming in 1990 when Virginia won the regional final in Norfolk, Va., and prevented Tennessee from playing in the Final Four it was hosting.
The Lady Vols have won six in a row since then, including the 1991 national championship over Virginia.
The Cavaliers lost in the second round for only the second time in 14 games.
Tennessee extended its halftime lead to 16 with a 7-0 run in the first 1:20 of the second half. Lawson hit a 3 off an inbounds pass, Gwen Jackson scored inside and Ely made a layup after Virginia turned the ball over at the other end.
The Cavaliers wouldn’t go away, trimming the lead to 11 a minute later after LaTonya Blue made a 3.
Scoring in transition after another Virginia turnover and then a Tennessee steal, the Lady Vols went up by 15.
Virginia cut it to 12 after a 3-pointer by Liz Sahin, and Tennessee missed three shots.
Coach Pat Summitt, wanting to see the half-court offense work, yelled “45” from the sideline. Ely passed under the basket to Gwen Jackson, who scored the easy layup and gave Tennessee a 50-36 lead with 10:55 remaining.
Ely scored 11 of her points in the first eight minutes of the game as Tennessee went ahead 14-3.
AP-ES-03-24-03 2331EST
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