University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS HOST PRINCETON FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
December 20, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2005
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LADY VOLS HOST PRINCETON FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
TONIGHT'S GAME The #1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (9-0) wrap-up the 2005 home portion of their schedule in the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena tonight facing first-time opponent Princeton (6-3) at 7 p.m. LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 32nd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 891-172 overall record...Passed Dean Smith for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ... Summitt Is just nine 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 marks 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 this season...UT lost soph Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood when she left the squad on Dec. 19, 2005... THE 4-1-1 ON THE TIGERS Nineteen second-half turnovers by the Princeton (6-3) nearly gave winless Rider (0-8) an upset victory over the Tigers on Dec. 18 at Rider's Alumni Gym. Fortunately for the Orange and Black, Princeton scored just enough points down the stretch to hold off the Broncs for a 67-63 win. After leading by 21 points (54-33) with just under a dozen minutes to play, things got a little shaky for Princeton. With the Tigers ahead 61-41 and just under seven minutes left, Rider reeled off the next 16 points and a 20-point edge dwindled to four in the space of five minutes. PU's Katy O'Brien connected on a three-pointer to break the scoreless string and gave the Tigers a little breathing room with a seven-point lead and 1:36 to play. O'Brien had 14 points on the night. Princeton was up by five at 65-60 with 17 seconds left when Rider put one last scare into the Tigers as they connected on a three-pointer to cut the lead to two. O'Brien was fouled on the next play and hit one of two, making it a three-point game at 66-63. On the night, PU sophomore Meagan Cowher had 14 points in the opening 20 minutes and finished with 19 as the Tigers shot 54.9 percent to an even 30 percent for the Broncs. The 54.9 percent shooting for the game was Princeton's best since Nov. 27, 2002, when the Tigers shot 55.7 percent against Tennessee-Martin. OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK... We'll be home for Christmas. After tonight's game and a Wednesday morning practice, the Lady Vols will head home for Christmas. The team will return to practice in Knoxville on Dec. 26. LADY VOLS ON TV A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for television this season. Tennessee's game at South Carolina on Jan. 4 will now be televised on CSS. There will be no TV for Old Dominion. ON THIS DAY Tennessee is 7-0 in their history when playing on Dec. 20. The Lady Vols are 4-0 at home, 2-0 on the road, and 1-0 on neutral courts. Last time out on the 20th, the Lady Vols defeated Wisconsin, 87-66 (1997) in Anchorage, Alaska. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 7-2 and had just defeated TCU, 82-55, at home. UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Texas (.549); 40%FG: Chattanooga (.477), LaTech (.466), GWU (.462), Mich. St. (.460), Stetson (.446), Maryland (.415), Stanford (.413), Gonzaga (.406), 30%FG: none, DEEE ----- FENSE In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Stanford (.481), Texas (.448), Maryland (.434), Gonzaga (.426), 30%FG: LaTech (.385), GWU (.348), Mich. St. (.333), Chattanooga (.322), 20%FG: Stetson (.283) 2005-06 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL Wins: +50 (1), +42 (1), +41 (1), +28 (1), +24 (1), +16 (1), +14 (1), +7 (1), +5 (1) PARKER NAMED SEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK FOR THE SECOND TIME Lady Vol redshirt freshman forward Candace Parker was named as the SEC Rookie of the Week for the Week of Dec. 12, the conference office announced on Dec. 19. Parker recorded her ninth consecutive double figure game with 18 points in 18 minutes to help lead Tennessee over Louisiana Tech. Additionally, she grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 3 assists, recorded 3 blocks and claimed four steals in limited minutes. WILEY-GATEWOOD LEAVES TEAM Pat Summitt, head coach of the number one ranked University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team, announced on Mon., Dec. 19, that sophomore Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood had decided to leave the University of Tennessee. "Sa'de didn't feel like she could play her game here," said Summitt. "We hate to see her leave the Lady Vol family, program and University. I hope she can find great success with her basketball career, academics and life." Wiley-Gatewood, a 5-9 point guard from Pomona, Calif., had started eight of nine games this season and was the team's fourth leading scorer. She averaged 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg and 1.4 apg while logging 26.3 minutes per game. "I want to thank everyone at Tennessee - my coaches and teammates, the athletic and academic departments, the fans and the boosters - I really appreciate all of their support. The Lady Vol fans were great to me," said Wiley-Gatewood. "I also want to thank Pat for helping me to improve as a player and to grow as a person. I love my teammates and I appreciate their support while I was going through this," she concluded. As a rookie, she played in just 13 games while battling patella tendonitis the entire season. Wiley-Gatewood had surgery in March 2005. GAME REPORT 10 - PRINCETON UT-PRINCETON First Series Meeting FIRST IVY LEAGUE MEETING, TOO Princeton is poised for its first winning season in seven years as it holds a 6-3 record coming into tonight's action... Senior center Becky Brown leads the Orange and Black's attack, averaging a team-high 13.3 points and 8.6 boards per outing...The Nashville native has already tallied four double-doubles on the year...Brown is joined this year by former Harpeth Hall teammate and current reserve forward Whitney Downs...The Tigers also get quality production from sophomore forward Meagan Cowher, who ranks second on the squad in scoring (13.0) and rebounding (4.6)... Cowher, the daughter of Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher, was named Ivy League Player of the Week after scoring 19 points against Rider...Two starting guards for Princeton also have a scoring average in double figures...Freshman point guard Jessica Berry tallies 10.4 ppg while handing out 5.2 apg...Senior Katy O'Brien contributes 10.1 ppg while adding 3.7 apg...Princeton averages 10.3 steals per contest....While never facing the Lady Vols, Princeton has squared off against other SEC schools...Success has not come, though, with PU going 0-5. ON UT'S RADAR SCREEN - TEMPLE The #25/23 Temple Owls (7-2 overall) rebounded from back-to-back losses to Florida (58-55) and at Stony Brook (58-56) to upend the #15/17-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs in overtime, 69-66, on Dec. 19 at home. Temple meets Villanova in Philadelphia on Dec. 22 in their final showdown before Tennessee visits the Liacouras Center on Dec. 28. Against Georgia, Owl senior Jen Owens' trifecta with 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime sealed Temple's dramatic victory over Georgia. The Owls placed four scorers in double figures while Lady Bulldog sophomore Tasha Humphrey poured in 28 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in the losing effort. While maintaining an advantage for nearly 19 minutes of the first half, the Owls, at one point, pushed their lead to eight by way of a balanced scoring attack. All-American candidate Candice Dupree spearheaded the Temple scoring efforts throughout the first stanza posting eight points on four-of-eight shooting while grabbing three caroms. Fixtures on just about every preseason national award lists, both Humphrey and Dupree maintained their paint presence throughout the second half. Knotted at 58-all going into the extra stanza, Owens opened the addendum with two triples putting the Owls ahead 64-62. Shenita Landry's block and rebound with 17 ticks left gave the hosts the ball and a chance to win. Hairston's dribble-drive spotted Owens sitting on a three that she converted on a foul with less than two ticks remaining. Humphrey's desperation heave was wide right handing Temple the crucial win. Dupree finished her night with 17 points and nine rebounds while Lady Comfort tallied 13 points and four rebounds for Temple. The Princeton Tigers come to Thompson-Boling Arena with a 6-3 record thus far in 2005-06. The Tigers return nine of their top 10 scorers and all five starters from a squad that finished 13-14 and tied for third in the Ivy League last year. This is PU's second game against a ranked team this season. The Tigers narrowly lost to Rutgers, 65-56, on Dec. 11. LADY VOLS VS. TIGERS STAT COMPARISON
TENNESSEE HOMECOMING FOR PRINCETON COACH Richard Barron is in his fifth year as the head coach at Princeton. He has tallied a 46-72 record for the Tigers. Barron is no stranger to the state of Tennessee, as the Knoxville native led the University of the South program to a 77-48 record and a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in his five years in Sewanee. UT LEADS IN NCAA ATTENDANCE Once again, the Tennessee Lady Vols top the nation's attendance leaders:
Top Single Game Attendances (Over 8,000)
THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt is now just nine wins away from the incredible uncharted plateau of 900 career victories. Summitt started the season with 882 wins and now has 891. Tennessee's next nine opponents includes: Princeton, at Temple, at Notre Dame, Old Dominion, at South Carolina, Connecticut, Georgia, at Mississippi State and at Vanderbilt. BEST STARTS TO A SEASON Currently at 9-0 to start the 2005-06 campaign, this currently marks the 7th best run to open the season.
LADY VOL STREAKS The last time the Lady Vols lost at home was against Duke, 59-57 on Dec. 2, 2004 -- since then, UT has won 16 home games. The last time UT lost on the road was on Feb. 10, 2005 at #1 LSU, since then, UT has won four road games. The last time the Lady Vols lost on a neutral court was against Michigan State, 64-68, in the NCAA semifinal game on April 3, 2005 Since then, UT has won three games on a neutral court. LAST LOSS TO AN UNRANKED TEAM? When is the last time Tennessee lost to an unranked team? That would have been to LSU on Mar. 2, 2002 at the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. LSU had been in and out of the Top 25 polls in late January and February. Prior to that, UT's last loss to an unranked team was five years previous (to the day) losing to Auburn on Mar. 2, 1997 at the SEC Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn. 491 GAMES VERSUS RANKED TEAMS Tennessee's game versus #12/11 Stanford on Dec. 4, 2005 was the Lady Vols' 491st all-time versus a ranked team since the inception of the polls in 1976. UT is an amazing 349-142 (.703) versus ranked teams. This year, Tennessee is 4-0 versus ranked teams. In 2004-05, the Lady Vols were 10-5 vs. ranked teams. 100 POINT GAMES Since 1974, the Lady Vols have gone over the century mark 70 times. Noteworthy: Tennessee went over 100 points in an NCAA playoff game for the first time ever in 1993-94 with the win over North Carolina A&T, 111-37. The 1987-88 team hit triple digits in seven games leading the NCAA. IN OVERTIME The Lady Vols are 24-12 all-time in overtime games. The most OT games in a year was tied in 2003-04 with four as the Lady Vols went 3-1 in overtime losing to Georgia, 68-66, and defeating Auburn, 68-61, DePaul, 96-89, and Stanford, 70-66. It tied the mark set in 1996-97, when the Lady Vols were 3-1 in overtime contests losing to Georgia, 94-93, and defeating Texas, 68-65, Vanderbilt, 92-79 and LSU, 100-99. UT's 22 points in the OT against Florida (2-3-05), was the most ever scored by the Lady Vols in a single overtime. AN OT STORY Before the Lady Vols piled up four overtime games in the 2003-04 season, OT contests were few and far-in-between. The Jan. 4, 2003, overtime contest with Connecticut, was the first time Tennessee was involved in an extra stanza game since the 1996-97 season when the Lady Vols played a then-record four overtime affairs.
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