Parker is spark plug for No. 1 Lady Vols

Young fans lined the baseline Wednesday night at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, snapping pictures on their cellphones as two-time All-American Candace Parker of Tennessee traded jump hooks with either hand, dribbled effortlessly between her legs and buried one set shot after another.

And that was just during warmups.

When the game began, Parker continued to flash all the skills that have cemented her as the top name in women’s college basketball and a likely No. 1 overall pick by the Sparks in the next WNBA draft.

She began poking holes in the Bruins’ defense with two assists in the first 40 seconds and didn’t let up, finishing with a team-high 17 points, five rebounds and four assists as the top-ranked and defending national champion Lady Vols pulled away in the second half to win, 82-70, in front of 4,003.

“I was not at my best, but we came out with a win,” said Parker, who came in averaging 22.3 points and 9.2 rebounds. “That was the point of it.”

Members of the Sparks also sought out the best vantage points to view Parker, a 6-foot-4 junior who can play five positions.

Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA most valuable player who didn’t play last season after giving birth to her daughter, Lauren, sat behind the Tennessee bench, gently patting her 6-month-old baby on the back. Coach Michael Cooper watched from mid-court, right beside General Manager Penny Toler.

Parker didn’t disappoint, opening the game with a two-handed touch pass to Nicky Anosike, followed by a fastbreak dish to Angie Bjorklund, giving Tennessee a 4-0 lead.

Parker made her first bucket four minutes into the game on a pull-up jumper that followed a dribble between her legs. That basket gave the Lady Vols (10-0) a seven-point lead, their biggest of the first half. The Bruins closed the gap and led by as many as four with 2 1/2 minutes remaining, but Tennessee ended the opening half on a 5-0 run to take a 32-31 lead.

The Bruins chose to defend Parker with 6-4 senior forward Lindsey Pluimer, who did an admirable job in the first half, holding Parker to four points on two-for-six shooting, one rebound and no trips to the free-throw line.

“In the first half, I got frustrated and settled for outside shots instead of going to the hoop,” Parker said.

Shannon Bobbitt, a 5-2 point guard for the Lady Vols, had the hot hand in the first half, making three of four three-point shots and scoring 13 of her 16 points.

The Bruins (4-6) remained close in the second half until Bjorklund scored eight straight points and Parker followed with a fastbreak layup to give Tennessee a 54-40 lead with 12:50 remaining. Parker went to the line 10 times in the second half, making seven.

“She goes after it and never lets up,” said Pluimer, who finished with a team-high 16 points and four rebounds.

“In the first half, she might not have went off, but in the second half, she kept chipping away.”

UCLA freshman Darxia Morris also played a strong game, scoring eight of her 12 points in the first half and finishing with a team-high four assists and three steals. Moniquee Alexander, a 6-6 sophomore center for the Bruins, scored a career-high 11 points.

“I thought we did a great job,” UCLA Coach Kathy Olivier said, “for about 30 minutes of the game.”

dan.arritt@latimes.com