University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS PLAY IN-STATE RIVAL CHATTANOOGA ON MONDAY
November 20, 2005 | Women's Basketball
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TENNESSEE FACES IN-STATE RIVAL CHATTANOOGA
THE GAME The #2/1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols take on in-state rival Chattanooga Monday in Thompson-Boling Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Lady Vols won their season opener a little more than 24 hours ago defeating Stetson, 83-33. LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 32nd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 883-172 overall record...Passed Dean Smith for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 win over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ... Summitt Is just 17 wins away from collecting 900 career victories...Her 2004-05 squad finished third in the NCAA Final Four Championships with a 30-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions... This season, UT returned eight letterwinners, two redshirt freshmen and welcomed one newcomer ...The 2005-06 season marked the Lady Vol debut for redshirt freshmen Candace Parker and Alex Fuller who sat out last season rehabbing their left knees...True freshman, #21 Lindsey Moss, a 6-0 guard from Alpharetta, Ga., is seeing her first action in the Orange and White this season as well... UPCOMING OPPONENTS Tennessee's opponents in the upcoming Paradise Jam kicked-off the season on Friday, Nov. 18. #10/11-ranked Michigan State defeated UC-Santa Barbara, 86-55, and former Lady Vol Kellie Jolly Harper's Western Carolina Catamounts, 86-61, in East Lansing yesterday. Gonzaga is on the road for most of the next month and opened the season at San Jose State (61-69 loss) and took a 54-51 win over Eastern Washington at home yesterday. Also, #14-ranked Maryland traveled to Siena for its opener (a 107-66 win) and played at home yesterday recording a 93-68 win over Xavier. JUST ANOTHER TYPICAL SCHEDULE - 5 GAMES in 7 DAYS By the time next Saturday, Nov. 26 rolls around, the Tennessee Lady Vols will have completed one-sixth of their season schedule playing five games in seven days. UT plays back-to-back home games to open the season on Nov. 20 (Stetson, an 83-33 win) and Nov. 21 (Chattanooga) before traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam. After traveling all day Tuesday and practicing on Wednesday, the Lady Vols will face #10/11-ranked Michigan State on Thanksgiving night at 8:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports), Gonzaga on Nov. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET and conclude with #14/14-ranked Maryland on Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET. OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK Crazy. UT travels to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam and back-to-back-to-back games versus #10/11-ranked Michigan State, Gonzaga and #14/14-ranked Maryland. The Lady Vols return home on Nov. 28 and face #12 Texas at home on Dec. 1 (ESPN2). LADY VOLS ON TV A record 20 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for television this season. The Tennessee at Georgia game on Feb. 16 will now tip-off at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. ON THIS DAY Tennessee is 6-0 in their history when playing on Nov. 21. The Lady Vols are 3-0 at home, 2-0 on the road, and 1-0 on neutral courts. Last time out on the 21st, the Lady Vols defeated N.C. State, 64-54, at the 2004 Jimmy V Classic. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 2-0 and had just defeated N.C. State, 64-54, on the road. THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt is now just 17 wins away from the incredible uncharted plateau of 900 career victories. Summitt started the season with 882 wins. ELITE COMPANY When Pat Summitt started freshman forward Candace Parker against Stetson on Nov. 20, 2005, it marked only the 10th time in her coaching career that a freshman started her very first game at Tennessee. The list of opening day rookie starters: Shyra Ely 2001, Ashley Robinson 2000, Gwen Jackson 1999, Semeka Randall 1997, Kyra Elzy 1996, Chamique Holdsclaw 1995, Tiffani Johnson 1994, Bridgette Gordon and Sheila Frost 1985. THE NOD Redshirt freshman Candace Parker became the 50th all-time Lady Vol to start during her freshman season. Last year, UT coach Pat Summitt liked what she saw out of the 2004-05 rookie class as two players earned starting nods. Nicky Anosike played in all 35 games with 25 starting assignments and Alexis Hornbuckle played in all 35 games with 21 starts. This duo became the 48th and 49th rookies all-time to earn starting assignments at UT as rookies. The 2001-02 rookie class found three players earn a starting nod as Loree Moore, Shyra Ely and Brittany Jackson all started at some point in their rookie careers. Previously, three rookies in 1997-98: Tamika Catchings, Semeka Randall and Teresa Geter all earned starting nods in the perfect 39-0 season - the last time the Lady Vols brought home an NCAA title. SUMMITT ON TELECONFERENCE NEXT WEDNESDAY Coach Pat Summitt's next regularly scheduled weekly teleconference will be on WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 at 11:00 a.m. Members of the media will be notified of the dial-in number. MOSS MAKES THE MOST AND FIRST ACTION FOR SYBIL Rookie Lindsey Moss played 11 minutes in her Lady Vol debut and canned a trey, dished two assists and registered two blocks in back-to-back trips up the floor against Chattanooga. Sophomore post Sybil Dosty saw her first action of the season against Stetson and grabbed three rebounds, and had a block and a steal in 14 minutes. The 6-3 Dosty missed the first two exhibition games of the season due to violation of team rules - she missed class. THE SERIES This marks the 26th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1924 season. The Lady Vols dominated the series in the 1920s rolling up a 4-0 record. Chattanooga enjoyed its six-win success over UT in the early 1970 pre-Pat Head (Summitt) Era. Summitt's Lady Vols have won the last 12 consecutive games over the Lady Mocs. AVERAGE SCORE The average score of a UT-UTC game during the Summitt Era is 83.5 for UT and 62.0 for UTC. VERSUS THE SoCon Tennessee has fashioned a 53-22 record all-time against seven schools in the Southern Conference. UT is 3-5 vs. Appalachian St., 1-0 vs. the College of Charleston, 17-2 vs. ETSU, 4-0 vs. Furman, 0-2 vs. UNC Greensboro, 19-6 vs. Chattanooga and 9-7 vs. Western Carolina. FROM THE VOLUNTEER STATE The Tennessee Lady Vols feature one player on the roster from the Volunteer State - redshirt freshman Alex Fuller (Shelbyville). UTC has seven players from the state of Tennessee: Ashley Huff (Dandridge), Nancy Moore (Columbia), Katasha Brown (Tazewell), Laura Hall (Oliver Springs), Kristen Spann (Lawrenceburg), Tiffani Roberson (Memphis) and Erin Ogan (Knoxville). CHATTANOOGA NOTEBOOK Senior Tiffani Roberson netted her sixth career double-double to lead the Chattanooga to a 76-66 win over Middle Tennessee on Fri., Nov. 18 at the McKenzie Arena. The win evened the Lady Mocs record to 1-1 on the season. Chattanooga opened the season playing in the WNIT and lost in opening round action at Indiana State, 74-53, on Nov. 11. Against MTSU, in Coach Rick Insell's college debut, Roberson pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds and scored 21 points (10-of-13) and was one of four Lady Mocs in double-digits. Senior Nicole Mattison scored 16 points while fellow senior Katasha Brown went 3-for-6 from the 3-point line to score 15. Sophomore Alex Anderson tipped in 13 points. Keep an eye on Roberson tonight, the 6-0 senior from Memphis (White Station), needs just 13 points to reach 1,000 career point plateau. LADY VOLS VS. LADY MOCS STAT COMPARISON
OUR LAST MEETING Playing before the largest crowd in the history of Chattanooga women's hoops(10,051), top-ranked Tennessee opened the 2004-05 season with a 68-34 win over the Lady Mocs on Nov. 19, 2004, at The McKenzie Arena. It was all Big Orange early, as UT quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead following a layup by Shyra Ely off a no-look pass from Shanna Zolman. The Lady Vols' swarming defense continued to keep UTC off-balanced, forcing the opposition into 1-of-9 shooting to open the game. While the Lady Mocs managed to keep the score close early, Pat Summitt's squad erupted on a 14-4 run to close the half - capped off by a Zolman 3-pointer at the buzzer - and led 35-15 at the break. UT's dominance at the defensive end of the floor was apparent on the halftime stat sheet, as UTC shot just 9.1 percent (2-22) in the opening frame. Following intermission, UT extended the margin to 23 points, 39-16, after a Tye'sha Fluker jumper, but UTC responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit. UT answered, though, and closed the game on an 18-3 run to seal the lopsided victory. Tennessee was led by Ely, who posted a double-double with a 17-point, 10-rebound performance. Zolman also scored in double digits with 14 points. Senior Loree Moore came up big defensively, swiping a career-high eight steals, while freshman Alexis Hornbuckle had a solid all-around debut, totaling five points, four rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. As a team, Tennessee held UTC to just seven field goals on 13.5 percent shooting (7-52) and controlled the boards, 51-34. LAST MEETING BETWEEN UT AND UTC IN KNOXVILLE The #3-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols defeated Chattanooga, 83-52, in its season-opener on Nov. 23, 2003, at Thompson-Boling Arena. Junior Shyra Ely led all scorers with 20 points. Also posting double-digit point totals were sophomore Shanna Zolman and junior Loree Moore, who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. UT used strong shooting and solid defense to jump out to an early 22-point lead, 28-6, following a pair of free throws by Ely. The Lady Mocs cut the UT's lead to 16 points but a UT 8-2 run saw a 42-20 advantage at the intermission. The Lady Vols showed no signs of a letdown in the second half, as they used a 7-0 run to extend the margin to 30 points, 57-27. On the afternoon, UT shot 48% from the field and held UTC to just 29 percent. UT also dominated the boards, 47-32, snaring 15 more caroms than the Lady Mocs. On the defensive end, Tennessee forced 26 turnovers and collected 11 steals. LADY VOLS & DUNKING HISTORY JUST IN CASE IT HAPPENS Lady Vol redshirt freshman Candace Parker has Orange Nation holding its collective breath in anticipation of her first dunk. Even though she tempted the rim during the opening game versus Stetson at Thompson-Boling Arena, the closest Parker came to a dunk was a sweet finger roll. This is a chronology of Tennessee's and collegiate women's basketball dunking history. Former University of Tennessee basketball center, 6'5" Michelle Snow from Pensacola, Fla., became the first player in a storied Lady Vol history to dunk in a game. Now with the WNBA Houston Comets, it's just a matter of time before Snow dunks as a professional and joins Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks in the dunking circles. At Tennessee, Snow established school records for most dunks in a game (1), a season (2) and a career (3). Snow's rise to the forefront of women's collegiate basketball in winter of 2000 was not in the original forecast for the Lady Vols. A solid contributor and a starting post player for UT, she was not having a particularly stellar game against Illinois on Nov. 25, 2000, in the title tilt of the Maui Women's Invitational. Then came what was simply known henceforth as "The Dunk." Snow's two-handed slamming, hanging on the right side of the rim jam, occurred with 10 seconds left before halftime, when she stepped up to steal the ball at the high post and sailed all the way to the bucket. In flight, she jammed the ball through the hoop with both hands and then hung on the rim to put an exclamation point on the slam. Oxygen Sports Network, producing its first sporting event, was on hand televising the game, and play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins made the call. Maui News photographer Matthew Thayer was the only one to capture the photo. Snow's dunk was replayed on ESPN's SportsCenter within 12 minutes of the play. It was labeled the "Play of the Day" by just about every network, sports program, etc. The excitement of Snow's dunk gave the Lady Vols momentum going into the half that eventually sprung them to a 111-62 victory over 21st-ranked Illinois. But the story from Maui was not an impressive win by one of the top teams in the country; it was a spectacular play by the new face of women's basketball. Snow became only the third woman in NCAA history to dunk in a game, the first to do it two-handed and the first to do it in televised game. The dunk put a crowning touch on the 61-point first half by the Lady Vols. The team went into the locker room soon after the dunk and sat waiting for coach Pat Summitt's reaction. LADY VOLS & DUNKING HISTORY Summitt walked in, turned to Snow and merely said, "Nice high-post steal there, Snow." Laughter broke out in the locker room as Summitt high-fived Snow in approval. Snow may be the most recent female athlete to dunk in a collegiate game, but she certainly was not the first. The first recorded dunk in women's college basketball was by 6'7" Georgeann Wells of the West Virginia University (Northland H.S./Columbus, Ohio). Wells tossed in a one-handed dunk against Charleston (W.Va.) in the Mountaineer Christmas Classic on Dec. 21, 1984. With 11:58 remaining in the game, Wells took a full-court pass from teammate Lisa Ribble and soared to the basket for the one-handed dunk at Elkins' Randolph County Armory. The crowd of 750 erupted. Her teammates drew a technical foul for running onto the court to congratulate Wells on her accomplishment. The Lady Mountaineers went on to defeat Charleston that night, 110-82, but the true history lies in only two of those 110 points. Over the days and weeks that followed, media from all over the country clawed for a piece of Wells' time. Her next dunk came a few weeks later against Xavier, setting off another media frenzy. Everywhere the team went for the rest of the season, Wells' celebrity followed. Summing up her dunk and the frenzy it caused, Wells commented, "I wish other girls would start slamming, so people would see it's not impossible." Wells went on to play professionally in Europe and Asia. The collegiate basketball world would have to wait another decade before the next dunk in a women's game. North Carolina's Charlotte Smith became the next women's basketball player to dunk in a sanctioned game when she accomplished her one-handed stuff out of a secondary break against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 4, 1994, in Chapel Hill, as the Tar Heels won 113-58. The dunk would not be the most famous shot Smith would take in her career, however. In fact, it was not even the biggest shot of her season. Smith hit a jump shot in the closing seconds of the 1995 NCAA Championship game to win the contest and the first NCAA title for the Tar Heel women. In the 2000-01 season, Michelle Snow took her game to the next level with her first dunk, and then solidified her position in history when she dunked again to seal a 70-64 victory against in-state SEC rival Vanderbilt on Jan. 23, 2001. The second dunk was slightly more controversial than the first. Snow's second jam came with seven seconds remaining in a game that the Lady Vols led, 68-61, prior to the slam. In a designed play to either a post or a guard, UT point guard Kara Lawson took the ball out on Vandy's baseline and rifled a 60-foot Peyton Manning-type pass to Snow, who broke to the basket from halfcourt. She deposited the two-handed slam, sent the crowd into a frenzied state and then was whistled for a technical foul for lingering on the rim too long. Ironically, Summitt found herself being asked to defend her play call in the final seconds of the game by the media after the contest. Summitt responded, "We ran a full-court play to a 6'5" post player who happens to be able to dunk the ball. If it's in the men's game, I'm not even asked this question. It's (the dunk is) expected." Snow's final collegiate dunk also occurred on the road during her senior season on Jan. 17, 2002 at South Carolina. In front of a school record crowd of 12,168 in the Carolina Coliseum, Snow performed her first one-handed jam with 1:49 left in the game in the 80-61 victory over eighth-ranked South Carolina. Sadly for the Tennessee fans, Snow never dunked in a game at the Thompson-Boling Arena. In her final home showing, a NCAA Tournament contest versus Notre Dame on St. Patrick's Day 2002, Snow attempted to dunk with 1:59 left in the contest but was fouled hard on the shot and the dunk did not go down. Nevertheless, Snow graduated from Tennessee holding the Lady Vol basketball records for most dunks in a game (1), a season (2) and a career (3). LOOKING AHEAD TO THE PARADISE JAM - The U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam offers women's college basketball teams a chance for excellent early season competition in an exotic island setting. Since the tournament's inception in 2000, many of the nation's finest women's teams have converged on St. Thomas to test their skills and enjoy some fun in the sun. Since 2001, the tournament has been played at the 4,000-seat UVI Sports and Fitness Center. The tournament also strives to educate and impress the incoming tournament participants with the matchless beauty and attributes of the island's nature and culture. Functions such as the Welcome Reception with mocko jumbies dancing to the steel pan band and the catamaran snorkel tour show off the unique features of island life in St. Thomas. There are two women's divisions at The Paradise Jam - St. John and St. Thomas. The #2/1 Tennessee Lady Vols will be playing in the round-robin St. John Division squaring-off against #10/11 Michigan State on Nov. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports), Gonzaga on Nov. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET (Live video streaming on collegesportsdirect.com) and #14/14 Maryland on Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET (Live video streaming on collegesportsdirect.com). The St. Thomas Division is set-up like a regular tournament with Alabama taking on Virginia and #16/17 Minnesota facing Nevada on Nov. 25 with winners and losers playing on Nov. 26. Tennessee fans will be able to purchase a subscription to watch live video streaming of the tournament via collegesportsdirect.com. For only $9.95 fans can see four games in the St. John division. For only $16.95, fans can get all those games plus 4 games in the women's St. Thomas Division, as well. WELCOME TO OUR NEW FLOOR - "THE SUMMITT" The playing court in the Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus has a new look for the 2005-06 season. After Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt passed Dean Smith for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 win over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005, UT named the TBA court, "The Summitt." The floor had a complete overhaul this past summer. Permanent logos of both the Lady Vols and Vols were painted directly in front of the scorer's table; the free throw lanes were painted orange with "SEC" reversed out; the giant jump circle/mid-court TENNESSEE was given a new brighter color scheme, and "The Summitt," Coach Summitt's actual signature adorns the sidelines opposite the team benches. OPENING DAY RECORD Over the last 32 years on opening day, the Lady Vols have won 29 times and only lost just three contests. Coach Pat Summitt lost her very first game as a college head coach -- a heartbreaking one-point decision at home to Mercer, 84-83, on Dec. 7, 1974. The next time UT lost an opening game was in Knoxville on Nov. 21, 1981, to Stephen F. Austin, 80-74. Most recently, UT fell in their first contest of the 1999-2000 campaign dropping a 69-64 decision to Louisiana Tech in Thompson-Boling Arena on Nov. 14, 1999. Until the loss to the Lady Techsters, the Lady Vols had won 18 consecutive season openers. SOME SERIOUS EXHIBITION NUMBERS In two exhibition games, the Lady Vols put up some serious numbers. The team shot a mind-boggling .647 from the field (88-136), .452 three-pointers (14-31), .792 on charity tosses (42-53), outrebounded its opponents 43.5-26.0, committed an average of 16.0 miscues while forcing 31 per game, grabbed 21.5 steals per contest while giving up 8.5 thefts. The 2005-06 squad racked up 116 ppg while limiting the opponents to just 47.5 ppg. UT also dished out 24.5 assists and blocked 7.0 shots per game. Get this - all 10 dressed players in the exhibitions averaged over 5.5 ppg or more...every player got into the rebounding, assists and steals column of the box score.
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