March 23, 2004

(1) Tennessee 79, (9) DePaul 59

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Tennessee cruised into the NCAA's round of 16 for the 23rd straight year with a 79-59 victory over DePaul on Monday night in the Midwest Regional.

Shanna Zolman scored 18 points in the first half for the top-seeded Lady Vols, who were up by as many as 27 before halftime.

Tennessee next plays Baylor in Norman, Okla., on Sunday.

The Lady Vols (28-3) took command with a 10-3 start and DePaul was shackled further by scoring leader Khara Smith's early foul trouble.

Smith, who scored 23 points in an overtime loss to Tennessee three months ago, played just over six minutes in the first half and was scoreless.

Zolman started 7-for-10, including 4-of-5 from 3-point distance, while her taller teammates controlled the boards by nearly a 3-to-1 margin in the first half.

Zolman didn't score in the second half, but it hardly mattered. Five other Lady Vols scored in double figures.

LaToya Davis and Shyra Ely each had 12, reserve Brittany Jackson scored 11, and Tasha Butts and Sidney Spencer had 10 apiece.

Ashley Robinson's season-high 12 rebounds in the first half matched DePaul's team total. She finished with a career-high 14 rebounds.

The ninth-seeded Blue Demons (23-7) had just three players score in the first half. Ashley Luke led with 13 points.

Khara Smith scored 13 in the second half, despite drawing her fourth foul with 14 minutes left. Charlene Smith also finished with 13 points for DePaul.

Tennessee shot 52.5 percent during its dominating first half, while limiting DePaul to 25 percent.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt now has 82 NCAA tournament wins among her 849 career victories, second only to Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp among college basketball coaches.

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