University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL BASKETBALL FACES LSU FOR SEC CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 09, 2003 | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2003
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Tennessee (28-3, 14-0) vs. Louisiana State (26-3, 11-3)
RADIO TV RANKINGS THE COACHES: Louisiana State
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PROBABLE UT STARTERS 13- GWEN JACKSON, F, 6-2, Sr., 16.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg UT RESERVES 4- LATOYA DAVIS, F, 6-0, Jr., 2.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg TONIGHT'S GAME The 2003 SEC Champs, #3-ranked and top-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols (28-3, 14-0 SEC) advance to the finals of the 2003 SEC Tournament taking on the #6/5 ranked and #2-seeded LSU Lady Tigers (26-3, 11-3 SEC) at 3:00 p.m. CT on Mar.9 at the Alltel Arena in N. Little Rock, Ark. IN OUR LAST GAME With one second remaining in the SEC Tournament semifinal game on Mar. 8, 2003, at the Alltel Arena in Little Rock, Ark., UT senior Kara Lawson drove the lane and scooped in the game-winning bucket to help the top-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols successfully recover for the second consecutive day from an 11-point deficit to advance to the SEC Championship game against #2-seed LSU with a 76-75 win over #4-seed Mississippi State. The game-winning shot by Lawson marked the third time in her illustrious career that she had been credited with the bucket to beat the MSU. Last season in Starkville, Miss., the 5'8" guard hit a 12-footer at the buzzer to help UT comeback from 14 down to beat MSU 80-78, while on Feb. 17, 2000, she hit a trey with 1.6 ticks left to beat State 79-75. On the night, Lawson totaled a career-high for scoring with 32 points and hit six treys, for the fourth time this season, to once again tie her school record single-game mark for three-pointers made. Shyra Ely posted her fourth double-double of the season and third in the last six games with 12 points and 10 boards. UT shot only 38.8% but controlled the rebounding battle 43-31 and picked up 21 boards on the offensive glass. LaToya Thomas and Tan White opened the game for MSU by going 4-of-4 from the floor to boost the Lady Bulldogs to a quick 9-2 advantage. Ashley Robinson scored UT's first three points, but White hit again for an 11-3 Bulldog lead with 15:30 to play. A Lawson jumper and an Ely putback off a Robinson free throw miss got UT within 14-8. UT continued to creep closer as buckets from Ely and Lawson narrowed the gap to 16-12, but a Thomas-led push boosted MSU back to an eight-point lead. With the score at 22-14, Lawson hit a trey, grabbed a steal and dished to Loree Moore who scored to get within 22-19. Two Gwen Jackson free throws and another Lawson bomb from behind the arc gave UT its first lead of the game at 28-26, but State quickly reclaimed the lead at 33-28. The Lady Vols clawed within four, but five straight MSU points including a half-court 51-foot heave at the buzzer that went in gave State a 42-33 lead into the locker room. Out of the break, Butts and Lawson helped close the deficit to 44-38. MSU extended the lead to eight points once again only to have UT respond with an 8-2 run to tie the count at 46-46. Lawson's sixth trey of the night gave Tennessee a 53-49 lead, but MSU responded to retake the advantage 55-54. There were three lead changes over the next few minutes until a Lawson breakaway lay-up gave UT some breathing room at 68-64. After the Lady Vols took a 72-66 lead, MSU fought back to take a late 75-74 lead setting the stage for Lawson's last-second heroics. Overall there were 11 lead changes and 10 ties in the game. NEXT OPPONENT - NCAA TOURNAMENT The Lady Vols will be awaiting a bid to the NCAA Tournament on March 16 at 5:00 p.m. LADY VOLS ON TV Twenty Lady Vol games have been on television this year with UT sporting a 17-3 record. Upcoming games on TV include the SEC (FOX and ESPN2) and NCAA Tournaments (ESPN and ESPN2). ON THIS DAY Tennessee is 5-1 in their history when playing on March 9. The Lady Vols are 1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road, and 3-1 on neutral courts. Last time out on the 9th, the Lady Vols defeated Georgia, 73-66, at the 1992 SEC Tournament in Albany, Ga. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 25-4, 13-1 SEC and had just lost to LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals, 81-80. 19 IN A ROW Since losing to Connecticut on Jan. 4, 2003, the Lady Vols have won 19 consecutive games. 2002-03 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL Wins: +110 (1), +52 (1), +43 (2), +41 (1), +39 (1), +35 (1), +32 (1), + 28 (1), +27 (1), +26 (1), +25 (1), +22 (1), +20 (1), +19 (2), + 16 (1), +15 (3), +14(3), +13 (1), +9 (1), +3 (2), +1 (1) WE THREE Seniors Kara Lawson and Gwen Jackson and sophomore guard Loree Moore have played and started in all 31 games for the Lady Vols this season. OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 60%: Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (.663), 50%FG: Vanderbilt2 (.580), Saint Louis (.569), ODU (.563), Vandy1 (.558), Kentucky (.547), GWU (.542), Georgia (.541), S.Carolina (.531), Arkansas (.526), Florida1 (.521), 40%FG:Army (.493), USC (.484) DePaul (.471), LSU (.467),Oklahoma (.459), Auburn1 (.456), TCU (.452), Alabama (.438), Florida2 (.433), Stanford (.433), Miss. St. (.429), LaTech (.400), 30%FG: Ole Miss (.392), Miss. St.2 (.388), Texas (.357), Auburn3 (.354), Notre Dame and Connecticut (.353), Auburn2 (.352), Duke (.316) DEEE ----- FENSE In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: South Carolina (.545), Vandy1 (.500) 40%FG: Miss. St.2 (.475), Duke (.453), TCU (.444), Vanderbilt2 (.436), Auburn1 (.433), Arkansas (.422), Connecticut (.418), LSU (.415), DePaul (.415), Texas (.403); 30%FG: Miss. St. (.391), Kentucky (.390), GWU (.375), ODU (.373), Stanford (.367), Auburn2 (.339), Auburn3 (.333), Florida1 (.328), Army (.320), Oklahoma (.314), Georgia (.308), Notre Dame (.306), Saint Louis (.302); 20%FG: USC (.286), Alabama (.262), Ole Miss (.259), Florida2 (.213), La Tech (.200), UPRM (.200). 2003 SEC HONORS Tennessee seniors Gwen Jackson and Kara Lawson were named to the five-player All-SEC First Team on Mar. 5, 2003. It marks the fourth consecutive year that Lawson was named to the first team. Lawson was also a member of the 2000 All-Freshman team as well. Jackson earns the honor for the second time. She was All-Rookie with Lawson in 2000 and was selected to the first team in 2001 as well as this season. First Team All-SEC Z'S A MEMBER OF THE ALL-ROOKIE SEC TEAM Lady Vol rookie Shanna Zolman was a unanimous selection of the 2003 SEC All-Freshman team. Zolman is just the 18th Tennessee rookie since the inception of the team in 1987 to earn the first year honor. All-Freshman Team PAT PICKED FOR JUST FIFTH TIME Tennessee Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt was selected by her peers for 2003 SEC Coach of the Year honors. It marks just the fifth time since the inception of the award in 1984 that Summitt has won. Summitt was also named SEC Coach of the Year in 1993, 1995, 1998 and 2001. Coach of the Year OTHER 2003 SEC HONORS Player of the Year 2003 SEC TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK 2003 SEC TOURNAMENT MEETINGS AND RESULTS
DOUBLED OUR PLEASURE Since the SEC began crowning regular season champions and tournament champions back in 1980, the Tennessee Lady Vols have hit the double-dip of winning the regular season and the tournament on six occasions - 1980, 1985, 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2000. ALL-TIME SEC FINALS UT is 10-4 all-time in SEC title games. UT's last title win was a 70-67 decision over Mississippi State in the 2000 SEC Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn. The last two years, UT fell to LSU, 81-80, in Nashville 2002 and in Memphis in 2001, Vanderbilt dealt UT a 77-74 SEC semifinal loss. HEART ATTACK KIDS After never trailing in the first half of 15 games this season and leading at the half of 22 contests, Tennessee has found itself behind by the largest halftime margin of the year -- nine points -- in consecutive 2003 SEC Tournament games against Auburn and Mississippi State. Prior to the tournament, Tennessee's largest halftime deficit was five points against Duke and five points n the first meeting with Auburn in Knoxville. "HUMP GAME" Seniors Kara Lawson and Gwen Jackson have been referring to the SEC semifinal game as the "Hump Game" for the past three seasons. After winning the 2000 title game in Chattanooga as rookies, Lawson and Jackson has lost out in the SEC semis the last two seasons. THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT The Lady Vols have struggled from the field in the 2003 SEC Tourney hitting just 37% of its field goal tries. The trey has been the bail-out shot as Tennessee is connecting on 42% from behind the arc. LAWSON NEEDS A LITTLE ASSISTANCE UT senior Kara Lawson is leading the Lady Vols with 24.5 ppg in the 2003 SEC Tournament. Also scoring in double-figures are Tasha Butts and Gwen Jackson with 12.0 ppg each. Super sub Shyra Ely is best on the boards with 8.5 rpg in the tourney. Wake-up calls have been issued to six UT players who are averaging less than 2.5 points per game. IT DOESN'T GET MUCH CLOSER THAN 1.4 Tennessee and LSU have met in the SEC Tournament six times with the Lady Vols sporting a 4-2 record. The average victory margin for UT is a scant 1.4 points with the Lady Vols averaging 79.0 ppg in SEC Tourney meetings while LSU is tallying 77.6 points per contest. Three of the games have been decided by one-point: 2002 semis, LSU 81, UT 80; 1997 second round, UT 100, LSU 99 (OT) and 1987 second round, UT 64, LSU 63. THE BANK IS NOT OPEN ON SUNDAY A lot of loooooong three-point prayers have been answered by several UT opponents this season. The 51-foot heave by MSU's Doceide Warren at the halftime buzzer is the most recent. The Lady Vols dodged a bullet when Auburn's halftime shot was ruled after the buzzer in the previous SEC game. UConn's Diana Taurasi chunked in a halftime 60-footer on Jan. 4, Nina Norman from Texas tossed up a game winning trey with a second remaining on Dec. 20, 2002. OUR ONLY SEC OT In 24 years and 60 games in the SEC Tournament, the Tennessee Lady Vols have only been involved in one overtime contest. In 1997, Tennessee snuck by LSU with a narrow 100-99 victory in overtime in second round play. In the next game, a weary UT squad lost a heartbreaker to Auburn, 61-59, in semifinal action. The loss to Auburn was UT's 10th on the season. It would be the last loss for the 1996-97 "Cinderella Season" team as they ran the table in the NCAA Tournament to claim NCAA title number five.
WHAT A GREAT STAT From 1980-1997, the Lady Vols claimed a total of six SEC regular season titles in 17 years. Since 1998, Tennessee has captured the last six consecutive SEC regular season crowns producing an amazing 81-3 record (includes 2002-03 final record of 14-0). UT's only league losses have been to Vandy, Georgia and LSU during this stretch. STREAKING INTO THE ROCK The Lady Vols continue their 19-game winning streak into the Alltel Arena this weekend. The victory string ties for the seventh longest in school history and matches the 2001 skein. Playing a schedule packed with ranked teams, the Big Orange has managed to keep the Ws coming since dropping an 63-62 overtime decision to UConn back on Jan. 4, 2003 in Hartford, Conn.
BOWING OUT EARLY There have been four trips to the SEC Tournament since 1980 when the Lady Vols didn't even get to unpack their bags, losing in second round action after receiving a bye. In 1981, Alabama sent UT packing after a 77-71 loss; in 1984, Alabama again provided the honors with a 85-66 win; in 1986, Ole Miss dealt UT a 83-78 loss, and in 1993, Georgia provided UT with an early exit from Chattanooga, 73-72. 15 SEC TITLE GAMES The win over Miss. State on Mar. 8, 2003 placed UT in its 15th SEC title game. The 2000 SEC title game against #17/19 Miss. State marked Tennessee's 14th appearance in an SEC Championship. UT has won 10 SEC Tournament titles with half occurring in the 1990s (1999, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992). The Lady Vols amassed a 16-3 record in SEC games played in Chattanooga and brought home four titles from that venue (1994, 1996, 1999 and 2000). 24 TOTAL APPEARANCES The Lady Vols' 2003 appearance in the SEC Tournament is the school's 24th time to the mini-Final Four. This season marks the 23rd time with a first round bye. The only year that UT had to play on opening day was in 1997 when the Lady Vols suffered through a rare 10-loss season. UT took its final defeat of the year at the Round House in Chattanooga (a 61-59 loss to Auburn) and then ran the table in the NCAA's to finish the year 29-10 and 1997 NCAA Champs. THE CENTURY MARK The Lady Vols have reached the century scoring mark four times in the SEC Tournament. In 1998, the Lady Vols derailed Vandy, 106-45. In the previous year, the Lady Vols scored 100 on LSU in overtime. Nine years earlier, in 1988, Tennessee nailed Kentucky for 100 points. And in the very first SEC Tournament game in 1980, Tennessee crushed Florida, 118-44. REMEMBER THE SEC MEDIA DAY PREDICTION? The Tennessee Lady Vols were predicted to repeat as SEC Basketball Champions, according to a preseason vote of media attending the Tipoff 2003, the SEC Media Day on Oct. 30, 2002.
OUR LAST TIME IN THE SEC TITLE GAME The #2/3 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols claimed their 10th SEC Tournament Championship with a 70-67 victory over the #17/19 ranked Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the finals of the 2000 SEC Tournament on Mar. 5, 2000, in Chattanooga, Tenn. After UT "robbed" State of what seemed to be a sure MSU win in Starkville just a few weeks earlier, this title contest was eyeball-to-eyeball. UT and MSU traded baskets in the early going until the Lady Vols jumped ahead by nine points, 27-18, with 5:51 left in the first half. SEC Rookie of the Year and tournament MVP LaToya Thomas kept the Lady Bulldogs close at the break shaving the Lady Vols' lead to just 33-30 at halftime. UT came out sloppy to start the second half as MSU jumped ahead, 36-35, with just four minutes gone in the final 20 minutes. By the time the orange-clad crowd of 10,687 could react, Mississippi State had outscored UT 13-3 and led 43-36 with 14 minutes to go. A UT time out at the 8:01 mark found the scoreboard displaying: UT 44, MSU 56. Now down by a dozen, UT Coach Pat Summitt slammed her clipboard down to put the exclamation point on the Lady Vols growing frustration. Her team got the message and slowly dismantled State's lead in the final eight minutes. UT's All-Tournament tandem of Tamika Catchings and Michelle Snow hit some key buckets... rookie Gwen Jackson came up with an inbounds steal with 3:25 left and hit the lay up tying the score at 60-all and fouling out State's Thomas in the process... Key free throws by reserve Kyra Elzy at :55.2 gave UT the lead for good at 66-64... and All-American Semeka Randall iced the win hitting all four charity tosses down the stretch en route to the title win. On the evening, three UT players reached double-figures led by Catchings' 25 points and 10 rebounds. Randall added 17 while Snow chipped in 15 points. UT shot just 42% for the game and hit 69% of its charity tosses. The Lady Vols outrebounded State, 36-32. UT committed just nine turnovers and registered seven steals. IN THE SEC FINALS Before today's game, UT has appeared in the SEC Championship game 14 times. In the 1990s alone, the Lady Vols were in the title game eight times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999) against five different SEC teams. In the last decade, UT won titles in five of the years - 1999 vs. Georgia, 85-69, 1998 vs. Alabama, 67-63, 1996 vs. Alabama, 64-60 (without Chamique Holdsclaw due to a knee injury suffered in the opening minutes of play), 1994 vs. Vanderbilt, 82-57 and 1992 vs. Georgia, 73-66. Tennessee is 10-4 all-time in the SEC tournament finals. The Lady Vols won titles in 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1985, and 1980. UT's WON-LOST RECORD IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT Since the tourney began in 1980, the Lady Vols sport the best overall record in the conference tournament. UT has produced a 47-13 (.776) record which breaks down this way: Alabama (8-2), Auburn (7-3), Florida (5-0), Georgia (7-2), Kentucky (3-1), LSU (4-2), Ole Miss (4-1), Miss St. (3-0), USC (1-0), and Vanderbilt (5-2). The Lady Vols have never faced Arkansas in the conference tourney. (The SEC record indicates that UT is 46-13 in SEC play. However, in the old tournament format, there was a consolation game. In 1983, Tennessee defeated Auburn, 83-75, in the consolation finals. The Lady Vols recognize their SEC Tournament record at 47-13). SEC TITLES AND NATIONAL FINISHES The Lady Vols have won 12 SEC titles and 10 SEC Tournament titles since 1980. This is how UT fared in the NCAA Tournament after winning the SEC Tournament: 2000-Beat Mississippi State for the SEC title; lost to Connecticut for the NCAA title THE BOOK ON LOUISIANA STATE LSU HEAD COACH RECORD: Sue Gunter is 677-299 (39 yrs) LAST MEETING: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
GAME REPORT 32 - LOUISIANA STATE Tennessee has faced off against Louisiana State six times (actually one-sixth of the total 36 meetings) in the Southeastern Conference tournament with a 4-2 record in those games. The last meeting was in the 2002 SEC Tournament semifinals in Nashville when unranked LSU upset the Lady Vols 81-80. UT and LSU meet today for the 37th time in the series. LSU is led by rookie sensation Seimone Augustus with 15.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg and senior Aiysha Smith with 12.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg. LSU had won 17 consecutive home games in the PMAC until the Lady Vols hung a 68-65 loss on the Lady Tigers on Feb. 23, 2003. LSU'S PROBABLE STARTERS 1-Ke-Ke Tardy, P, 6-1, Sr., 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg LADY VOLS VS. LADY TIGERS STAT COMPARISON
OUR LAST MEETING WITH LOUISIANA STATE The #3-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols clinched at least a share of its sixth consecutive SEC regular-season title with a 68-65 comeback victory over #4 LSU on Feb. 23, 2003, in front of the largest crowd in Lady Tiger women's basketball history (15,317), at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. Tennessee moved its record to 24-3 on the season and a perfect 12-0 in the SEC. Four Lady Vols totaled double-figures on the night, with Gwen Jackson, Kara Lawson and Shyra Ely all tying for high-scorer honors for UT with 12 points each, while freshman Shanna Zolman chipped in 10 tallies. The Orange and White dominated the boards 42-29 while shooting 46.7% for the game (55.6% in the second half) as the Lady Vols rallied from as much as an eight-point second stanza deficit. The key to the game lay in the depth of UT's bench as the Lady Vol reserves outscored their counterparts, 35-6 margin. The contest was everything the game was hyped to be as both teams came ready. UT roared to a quick 10-4 advantage behind senior Gwen Jackson, who had six quick tallies, before the Lady Tigers clawed their way back to a 13-11 lead with 11:57 remaining. Two consecutive Ely buckets boosted UT's lead to 17-13, and then a Tye'sha Fluker lay-in gave the orange its largest first half advantage of five points (22-17) with 5:57 left. LSU struck back behind the efforts of rookie superstar Seimone Augustus to grab a short-lived lead, before jumpers from Ely and Brittany Jackson pushed UT back in front 28-25. The teams traded the lead again before an LSU trey with five seconds remaining sent UT to the locker room behind, 32-30. To open the second half a quick spurt boosted LSU to its largest advantage of eight points, as the voice of the hostile crowd was at full volume. Then UT began chipping away at the deficit behind key buckets from Zolman and Courtney McDaniel. The reserves helped the Lady Vols cut the gap to 49-46, before an Ely lay-up drew the Orange & White as close as one point with 10:29 remaining. The LSU lead bounced between two and four points as the teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, until a Lawson jumper gave UT its first lead since the first half at 59-58 with 4:03 to play. Aiysha Smith answered for LSU before Lawson hit perhaps the biggest bucket and UT's only three of the night as UT grabbed a 62-60 lead. Temeka Johnson gave the Lady Tigers their last advantage at 63-62 before a Lawson jumper and two clutch free throws by both Lawson and Zolman sealed the comeback win and a tie for UT's 12th conference regular-season championship. In all, the lead changed hands 14 times before the outcome was decided. OUR LAST MEETING IN THE SEC TOURNEY FINALS VS. LSU Tennessee last met LSU in the SEC Championship game in 1991 where the Lady Tigers prevailed 80-75 in Albany, Ga. The LSU trio of Dana Chatman, Annette Jackson-Lowery and Sheila Johnson-led squad bested UT led by All-American Daedra Charles. It marked LSUs only SEC title and was the last lost for Tennessee on the season. A few weeks later, the Lady Vols ran the table in the NCAA Tournament for Tennessee's third NCAA title.
LSU SERIES This marks the 37th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1977-78 season with the Lady Vols holding a 30-6 advantage. The two teams began the series at the Miss. Univ. for Women Xmas Tournament and have played every year since that time. None of LSU's victories have ever come in Knoxville. The six LSU wins have occurred in the following fashion: Win 1- in 1978, the Lady Tigers took a 72-62 win in Baton Rouge; Win 2-in 1979, LSU claimed an 85-80 OT win in the Bayou in a shortened, Dale Brown-inspired running clock overtime; Win 3-in 1991, LSU won the SEC Tourney with an 80-75 win over UT; Win 4-in the final 1997 regular season game in Baton Rouge, Sue Gunter grabbed her second win (ever) over UT with an 83-78 victory; Win 5-in 1999, the Lady Tigers upset #1 UT 72-69 in the final game of the regular season and Win 6- in 2002, unranked LSU bounces #3 UT out of the SEC Tournament, 81-80. AVERAGE SCORE The average score of all UT-LSU games is 82.2 (UT) and 69.6 (LSU). Margin +12.6.
COMMON OPPONENTS Outside of SEC play, UT and LSU share only Texas as a common opponent this season. LSU defeated Texas 76-58 on December 28 in Baton Rouge, while Tennessee dropped a 63-62 decision to the Longhorns on December 21. CAREER STATS VS. LSU Two Lady Volunteers have double-digit career scoring averages against LSU. Kara Lawson leads the way with a 14.8 ppg average over her seven career appearances. Next on the list is Shyra Ely with 10.2 ppg. Ely is also the leading rebounder averaging 6.8 rpg. Complete Lady Vol career statistics versus LSU can be found on page 76 of the 2002-03 Lady Volunteers Media Guide. INCREDIBLE COACHES UT coach Pat Summitt and LSU's Sue Gunter are two of the legacies of women's college basketball. The have combined for an amazing 1,485 wins and just 458 losses in a combined total of 68 years of coaching. They are each Hall of Famers, former Olympic coaches and friends for almost three decades. Gunter has collected a total of six wins over Summitt, four gathered at LSU and two collected during her stint at Stephen F. Austin. Conversely, Summitt has a 26-6 overall record against Gunter, 25-4 while at LSU and 1-2 from the SFA days. HOW 'BOUT THIS? Going into today's game, UT and LSU have met 20 times while both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. Tennessee has been the higher ranked team 17 times.
UT-LSU, CLOSENESS COUNTS Twenty of the 36 all-time meetings between the two schools have been decided by 10 or less points. There is no other team to record that stat against the Lady Vols in as many meetings. UT-LSU SEC 2002 TIDBITS Junior Gwen Jackson was back in the Lady Vol starting line-up in the 2002 SEC Tournament contests versus Georgia and LSU... Going into the Tournament, Jackson's SEC career tournament high was just eight points - she tied it in the first half against LSU... The Lady Tigers had one sub who chipped in eight big points while UT's reserves (six players) added 24 points including a dozen from rookie Shyra Ely...After scoring just two points in the first half versus Georgia, Kara Lawson ripped off a bunch of second half points against LSU for an SEC Tournament career high. Against LSU, Lawson tallied just six first half points and exploded for 21 points in the second stanza to establish a new (then) SEC Tournament career high of 27 points. FIRST HOME GAME WITH 10,000 IN THE STANDS WAS AGAINST LSU On a bitter cold night on Feb. 6, 1978, 10,000 fans braved the frigid weather to heat-up Stokely Athletics Center when #1 LSU and #3 Tennessee faced off in an SEC women's basketball game. The Lady Vols prevailed 86-68 as the throng of 10,000 chanted "We're Number One." It marked the first time (of many more to come) that 10,000 fans had attended a Lady Vol game. OUR LAST MEETING IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT The #3-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers bowed out of the 2002 SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., on Mar. 2 after a disappointing 81-80 loss to unranked LSU. It marked UT's first loss to an unranked team since Auburn defeated the Lady Vols on Mar. 2, 1997 in the SEC Tournament. LSU, with just seven players available for action, had hung around and stayed in the regular season game with UT in Knoxville finally losing 79-67 in the final four minutes of play. The Lady Tigers would not be denied this time. UT grabbed the early lead in this game taking a 2-4 point advantage. LSU went ahead in the first half of the contest grabbing a 16-14 advantage with 13:03 to play in the first half. LSU held the lead for four minutes before Shyra Ely and Michelle Munoz went to work and regained the lead for UT. An April McDivitt trey gave UT a five-point bulge, 27-22 with 6:30 showing. Just as quickly, LSU roared back to tie the score for the fifth time at 31-all. A Michelle Snow lay-up with seven seconds before halftime sent UT into the locker room with a 35-34 lead as Snow tallied 10 first half points. In the second stanza, UT led by four (43-39) with 14:58 to play. LSU didn't care and kept hanging around. Six minutes later, LSU lead 59-55. UT was down by seven points, 76-69 with 2:10 to play before Kara Lawson turned into a one-woman wrecking crew. In a little over a minute, she scored 11 points and tied the game at 80-80. A costly UT turnover gave LSU the ball but Lawson still managed to launch a shot at the buzzer , which could have won it. On the evening, UT was led in scoring by Lawson's 27 points. Also in extra digits was Snow with 17 points and Ely with a dozen points. Ely and Snow claimed top rebounding honors with nine each. UT connected on 41% of its field goals, 25% three-pointers and 94% from the charity stripe. UT outrebounded LSU, 42-29. The Lady Vols committed just 14 turnovers and forced 15 miscues off of 8 steals.
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