NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Tennessee Shows It’s No.1 for Cause

In the first season of a 64-team NCAA women’s tournament, Tennessee showed the difference between Nos. 1 and 64 in the Mideast Regional on Wednesday at Knoxville.

The Lady Vols beat North Carolina A&T;, 111-37, the 74-point differential being the largest in tournament history, two points greater than that of Cheney State’s victory over Monmouth in 1983.

It could have been worse. Tennessee (30-1) led, 59-18, at halftime.

Tennessee’ 111 points are the sixth most in tournament history; A&T;’s total is the second-lowest.

The Lady Aggies (19-11) turned the ball over 30 times, were outrebounded, 51-22, and hit only 16 of 49 shots, or 33%.

Dana Johnson led Tennessee with 24 points.

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In other Mideast games, Clara Jackson scored 28 points for No. 23 Mississippi (25-8) in an 83-61 victory over Indiana (19-10) at Oxford, Miss. . . . No. 10 Virginia (26-4) won, 72-47, over Loyola of Maryland (18-11) at Charlottesville, Va. . . . Melody Howard scored 23 points as Southwest Missouri (24-5) was a 75-56 winner over Northern Illinois (24-6) at Springfield, Mo. . . . No. 6 Louisiana Tech (27-3) won, 96-62, over Southern Methodist (18-9) at Ruston, La. . . . Clemson (20-9) was a 65-64 upset winner over No. 19 Florida International (25-4) at Miami. . . . Martha Williams’ three-point play snapped a 52-52 tie and George Washington (23-7) was a 74-66 winner over Alabama Birmingham (23-6) at Washington to earn the right to play USC in the second round.

EAST

Jennifer Rizzotti scored 14 points for No. 3 Connecticut (28-2) in a 79-60 victory over Brown (18-10) at Storrs, Conn. . . . Minnesota (18-10) was an 81-76 winner over Notre Dame (22-7) at South Bend, Ind. . . . Shonda Deberry’s layup with four seconds to play lifted Old Dominion (25-5) to a 56-55 victory over St. Joseph’s (19-9) at Norfolk, Va. . . . No. 22 Southern Mississippi (25-4) was a 54-41 winner over Tennessee State (20-9) at Hattiesburg, Miss. . . . North Carolina (28-2) rolled to a 101-53 victory over Georgia Southern (21-9) at Chapel Hill, N.C. . . . Auburn (20-9) was a 60-51 winner over Virginia Tech (24-6) at Blacksburg, Va. . . . Western Kentucky (24-9) was an 84-73 upset winner over Rutgers (22-8) at Piscataway, N.J. . . . No. 12 Vanderbilt (24-7) won, 95-85, over Grambling State (23-7) at Nashville, Tenn.

MIDWEST

Michi Atkins scored 25 points to lead defending national champion Texas Tech (27-4) to a 75-61 victory over Missouri (12-18) at Lubbock, Tex. . . . No. 13 Iowa (21-6) coasted to a 70-47 victory over Mount St. Mary’s (25-4) at Iowa City. . . . Creighton (24-6) was an 84-73 winner over Bowling Green (26-4) at Bowling Green, Ohio. . . . Alabama (23-6) was a 96-86 winner over Oregon State (17-11) at Tuscaloosa, Ala. . . . Seton Hall (26-4) triumphed, 70-60, over Vermont (19-11) at South Orange, N.J. . . . No. 15 Kansas (22-5) was a 72-63 winner over Stephen F. Austin (23-7) at Nacogdoches, Tex. . . . Second-ranked Penn State (26-2) coasted, 94-41, over Fordham (21-9) at State College, Pa. . . . No. 25 Texas (22-8) was a 75-67 winner over Oklahoma State (20-9) at Austin.

WEST

No. 17 Montana (25-4) was a 77-67 winner over Nevada Las Vegas (23-7) at Missoula, Mont. . . . Oregon (20-8) won, 74-59, over Santa Clara (21-7) at Eugene, Ore. . . . Texas A&M; (22-7) won, 78-76, over No. 20 Florida (22-7) at College Station, Tex. . . . Purdue (26-4) was a 103-56 winner over No. 16 Radford (18-12) at West Lafayette, Ind. . . . No. 5 Colorado (26-4) was a 77-74 winner over Marquette (22-7) at Boulder, Colo. . . . San Diego State (26-4) triumphed, 81-75, over Hawaii (25-5) at San Diego. . . . No. 18 Washington (21-7) won, 89-61, over No. 21 Boise State (23-6) at Seattle. . . . Christy Hedgpeth scored 27 points to lead Stanford (23-5) to an 81-56 victory over Wisconsin Green Bay (18-11).