Tennessee Beats Connecticut in Front of a Record 24,597

Chamique Holdsclaw scored 25 points, and freshman Semeka Randall added 23 as top-ranked Tennessee beat No. 3 Connecticut, 84-69, Saturday before 24,597 at Knoxville, Tenn.

It was the largest crowd ever to see a women’s college game.

The two-time defending champion Volunteers (15-0) used an aggressive offense and full-court pressure to hand Connecticut (12-1) its first loss of the season.

Tennessee held Connecticut’s top scorer, Nykesha Sales, below her 20-point average. Sales finished with 12 points.

“I challenged Chamique on defense to stop her,” Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt said.

The attendance record surpassed the mark of 24,563 set in 1987, when Tennessee played host to Texas.

ELSEWHERE

No. 8 Washington 73, Washington State 58--Jamie Redd scored 17 points as the Huskies (10-0, 1-0) maintained their perfect record with a victory over the Cougars (6-4, 0-1) in a Pacific 10 Conference opener at Pullman.

The Cougars cut the Huskies’ lead to 40-37 early in the second half, but Washington responded with a 17-4 run to put the game out of reach.

The Huskies are enjoying their best start since 1976-77, when they opened the season with 11 consecutive victories.