University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL BASKETBALL HOSTS FLORIDA THURSDAY NIGHT
February 18, 2004 | Women's Basketball
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Feb. 18, 2004
Coach Summitt talks with Bob Kesling about Florida
THE GAME
The #3/3-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (21-2, 10-0 SEC) look to extend their 30-game SEC regular-season win streak in a tilt against Florida (16-7, 6-4 SEC) on Thursday, Feb. 19. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Lady Vols head into this evening's contest coming off a hard-fought 94-88 conquest of the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville on Sunday, Feb. 15., while the Gators are coming off a disappointing 91-72 loss against #16-ranked LSU.
In their contest, the Gators could not overcome a hot-shooting Tiger offense, which connected at a .613 clip.
Tennessee holds a 32-1 edge in the all-time series against Florida and is riding a 10-game winning streak in the series that began on Jan. 10, 1998, with a 99-60 victory in Knoxville.
PROBABLE STARTERS
TENNESSEE LADY VOLS (21-2, 10-0 SEC)
4 LaToya Davis, F, 6-0, Sr., 3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg
43 Shyra Ely, F, 6-2, Jr., 14.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg
33 Ashley Robinson, C, 6-5, Sr., 8.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg
5 Shanna Zolman, G, 5-10, So., 11.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
3 Tasha Butts, G, 5-11, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg
FLORIDA GATORS (16-7, 6-4 SEC)
32 Brittany Davis, F, 6-2, So., 3.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg
45 Tashia Morehead, F, 5-11, Jr., 12.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg
55 Vanessa Hayden, C, 6-4, Sr., 19.0 ppg, 11.3 rpg
3 Tishona Gregory, G, 5-5, Jr., 5.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
21 Danielle Santos, G, 5-10, So., 8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg
TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEERS - LAST TIME OUT
Led by senior guard Tasha Butts' career-high 37 points, the #3/3-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (21-2, 10-0 SEC) outlasted the Vanderbilt Commodores (16-7, 4-6 SEC), 94-88, in front of 10,561 fans in Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 15.
During the contest, Tennessee trailed by as many as 11 points, which is the most it has fallen behind an SEC opponent this season. The Lady Vols also had to overcome a 42-36 first-frame deficit after giving up 20 points off of turnovers in the initial stanza. Tennessee, however, responded in the second half by shooting .741 percent from the field to overtake Vandy.
Butts' outburst paced all scorers as well as a quartet of Lady Vol double-digit performers. The Milledgeville, Ga., product also nailed all six of her three-point shots while pulling down nine rebounds and dishing seven assists. Junior forward Shyra Ely ended up with 16 points, four rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Brittany Jackson drained four long-range bombs, most of which came from well beyond the arc, to amass 14 points to go with her four assists, two boards, two steals and one blocked shot. Senior forward LaToya Davis added 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals to the UT effort.
Overall, Tennessee out-rebounded Vanderbilt, 34-29, and out-shot the Commodores, .576 to .483.
LADY VOL COACHING STAFF
Pat Summitt is in her 30th year as head coach of the Lady Vols. Her overall career record stands at 842 wins and 165 losses, and she has led UT to six national championships. Summitt is assisted by Holly Warlick, Nikki Caldwell and Greg Brown.
TENNESSEE LADY VOL TIDBITS
The Lady Vols have outscored the Gators, 85.1 to 64.1, in their 33-game series...Tennessee boasts a 7-2 record on this date in the program's history...Additionally, the Lady Vols are an unblemished 3-0 at home in Feb. 19 match-ups...Tennessee maintains a 30-game regular-season SEC win streak, which began against Arkansas on Feb. 7, 2002, when UT topped the Lady Razorbacks, 93-65, in Knoxville...Tennessee is riding a 52-game win skein in SEC contests at home, dating back to December 1996...The fans at Thompson-Boling Arena continue to rock the house with an average of 14,065 spectators per home contest...Overall, Tennessee has out-scored its opponents by an average of 12.9 points a game this season...Junior Shyra Ely leads the Lady Vols in both points (14.0) and rebounds per game (8.1)...Tennessee continues to be a force in the paint with 4.4 blocks per contest...Sophomore Shanna Zolman leads the nation at the charity stripe with a .935 free-throw percentage...Florida has been involved in three of Tennessee's 67 all-time 100-point games.
FLORIDA GATORS - LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Gators (16-7, 6-4 SEC) suffered a disappointing 91-72 loss to the #16/16-ranked LSU Tigers (20-4, 8-2 SEC) in the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla., on Feb. 15. Florida fell behind the Tigers, 42-33, after the first frame of play. In the initial stanza, UF was out-shot, .607 to .364, by Louisiana State.
Florida sophomore Bernice Mosby paced a trio of double-digit performers for the Gators, as she posted 19 points, six rebounds and two steals in a reserve capacity. Senior Vanessa Hayden notched 17 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, an assist and a steal, while sophomore Danielle Santos pitched in 11 points, two boards, two assists, a block and a steal to the UF effort. Santos also proved her marksmanship with a .500 field-goal percentage as well as hitting the lone trey she fired.
The Gators, however, could not overcome a lights-out offensive clinic demonstrated by LSU, as the sophomore Seimone Augustus went off for 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Four other Tigers recorded double-digit efforts, as senior Temeka Johnson scored 17 points, senior Doneeka Hodges and sophomore Wendlyn Jones turned in 15 points apiece and sophomore Scholonda Hoston accounted for 11 points. Overall, LSU out-shot Florida, .613 to .352.
FLORIDA COACHING STAFF
The Gators are coached by Carolyn Peck. She is assisted by Kerry Cremeans, Michael Peck and Charlene Thomas-Swinson. Peck holds an 82-37 career record in four years as a head coach and is 25-26 in two seasons at the helm of Florida.
FLORIDA GATOR TIDBITS
Head Coach Carolyn Peck should be familiar with Thompson-Boling Arena and the Knoxville area, as she was an assistant coach under Pat Summitt from 1993-1995...Peck also boasts professional experience after coaching for the Orlando Miracle of the WNBA...Florida has seen an amazing turnaround with a 16-7 mark this season after charting a 9-19 record last year...The Gators are currently in the midst of their only losing streak of the season with two losses in a row...Senior Vanessa Hayden has proven to be a dominant leader for Florida by averaging a double-double with 19.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest...The Orlando, Fla., product has also connected on an impressive .507 percent from the field and is blocking 3.5 shots per game...UF extends its opponent's defense with a solid three-point attack, as three Gators own percentages over .400 from beyond the arc...Sophomore Bernice Mosby leads the way with a .438 three-point percentage, while junior Tashia Morehead has knocked down a team-high 28 treys.
