ESPN Women's Basketball Blog

Posted by Mechelle Voepel

Auburn's DeWanna Bonner never had a day quite like this one. And for Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, it was like the "old" days.

AP Photo/Todd J. Van Emst

DeWanna Bonner's career-high 35 points in front of more than 12,000 fans helped Auburn beat Tennessee for the first time since 1997.

In the search for the "real" second-best team behind Connecticut, both the Tigers and Sooners made good cases Sunday with victories over Tennessee and Texas, respectively. Duke put on a show, too, as it pounded Georgia Tech. And on Saturday, Baylor won its 11th game in a row.

Meanwhile, the team that until Monday night was firmly in place at No. 2, North Carolina, will take a plunge in the rankings this week after losing its third game in a row Sunday. The Tar Heels fell at No. 13 Maryland, 77-71.

(Brief rant: Sometimes, the Tar Heels make you wonder what on earth they're thinking. Among other dingbat moves Sunday by UNC: In the closing seconds with the game wrapped up, the Terps tried to dribble out the clock rather than add more meaningless points. It's a common courtesy in hoops … but one the Tar Heels ignored as they "stole" the ball and scored again. It's understandable that UNC is frustrated with the past week, but come on.)

Auburn stayed undefeated on an exhilarating "War Eagle!" afternoon at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, with the largest crowd -- 12,067 -- the Tigers have ever had for a women's game.

The 82-68 win over No. 12 Tennessee -- the Tigers' first victory in the series since 1997 -- was another showcase game for Bonner. She had a career-high 35 points, plus added nine rebounds and six steals.

Give credit to Auburn for responding well on a day when the Tigers could have been overwhelmed by the atmosphere, which they are not used to. And give Tennessee credit for being such a huge part of creating that atmosphere, which the Orange Crush have brought to so many arenas.

The enormous success of Tennessee's program conveys such a sense of importance to games that even fans who rarely watch women's basketball are totally tuned into it.

Surely, there were people who came out to see Auburn on Sunday who never had come to one of the program's games before. But even so, they knew how huge beating Tennessee was.

Sure, we all know that this is not the juggernaut at its best -- not by a long shot. Still, it's Tennessee, and the Tigers really had to win this game to truly legitimize themselves in the eyes of outsiders. Now, though, they have to be wary of any letdown in upcoming trips to Georgia and LSU.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt stayed on 998 victories, and that's a disappointment for her players and all the folks who were hoping she'd be going for 1,000 in Knoxville on Thursday. As it is, the earliest the milestone can be reached would be Feb. 2 against Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

Which brings us to the Sooners, who completely controlled their game against Texas, winning 86-66 in front of 9,582 in Norman. Oklahoma jumped to the No. 2 spot in the coaches' poll after the Tar Heels' loss Monday. We'll have to see which team the media tabs for that spot, as we vote on Sundays.

Paris had 23 points and 21 rebounds -- double-double No. 110 -- and just as important, she appeared pretty fired up doing it. This season, there have been times when Paris seemed downcast, even when the Sooners won. You got the sense that the gravity of the impending end of her college career was weighing on her, the way it often does for seniors.

Sunday, though, she looked more like the joyfully dominant CP3 we saw in years past. It was neat to watch. She was 11-of-13 from the field and also had three blocked shots.

The Sooners' victory sets up the biggest game so far this season in the Big 12, which is Wednesday's matchup at Baylor. Both teams are 5-0 in the league, and there will be some very loud green-and-gold people filling up the Ferrell Center for that one.