NEW ORLEANS – Just one more chance.
For the three Lady Vols in this year’s senior class, that’s been the prevailing theme throughout the season. Tasha Butts, LaToya Davis and Ashley Robinson have been intent on etching their names firmly in the record books before they leave UT – and for good reason.
Shadowing the season where Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson powered the team to the national championship game, this year’s Lady Vol team was expected by many to do little more than bide time until next year’s blockbuster class of recruits headed to Knoxville.
But Robinson and her classmates aren’t content with the success they’d had so far.
“Ashley (Robinson) said earlier in this season that if they (as seniors) didn’t do something to set themselves in history, people would forget all about them when the freshmen come in next year,” UT coach Pat Summitt said. “They are determined to make a place for themselves.”
Summitt, who picked up her 84th victory in NCAA tournament play with Tuesday’s win over Stanford, sees urgency in the eyes of her seniors.
“I think sometimes that the light comes on and they realize that this is their last shot,” Summitt said.
That light has been especially evident of late, as all three seniors have stepped into their roles as leaders. No transition was more evident than that of Davis, who spent her first three and a half seasons as a seldom-used reserve.
With the team struggling in the games immediately following the season-ending injury to junior point guard Loree Moore, Davis was given three games as a starter to earn herself the permanent starting role.
Her impact was immediate. Davis earned the starting position at the small forward spot and has yet to relinquish it.
“This is something that I’ve always wanted to be,” Davis said following a 10-point, six-assist, three-steal effort against Stanford in the Midwest Region Final. “This is my opportunity to do so. So why not take advantage of it?”
Butts, already established as a starter, has transformed into a leader. It was her last second free throws against Baylor and layup against Stanford that got the Lady Vols into the Final Four.
“I’ve always had the scoring mentality,” Butts said. “But I sat back and watched Kara (Lawson) lead us for three years.
“As a senior, you lead or you don’t move on.”
For Robinson, this season has been about reestablishing herself as the player she was her freshman year – the player before the ACL tear that hampered her sophomore and junior seasons.
The opponent facing Tennessee in Sunday’s national semifinal matchup is a familiar one for the Lady Vols. West Regional winner LSU, in the program’s first trip to the Final Four, will take on Tennessee at 7 p.m. in a repeat of last month’s home-season finale.
In that game Tennessee took out the Lady Tigers 85-62.
The winner between UT and LSU will face the winner of the Connecticut-Minnesota semifinal in Tuesday’s championship game.
“I’m excited for these seniors,” Summitt said. “More than almost any other team I’ve had, they deserved to play for a championship. We’ve made it to the Final Four.
“But we aren’t content to just be there. We want to win a title.”
