University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS TO HOST LSU IN TOP-FIVE MATCHUP
February 08, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2006
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LADY VOLS TO HOST LSU IN TOP-FIVE MATCHUP
THE GAME The #5-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (21-2, 7-1 SEC) meets #3/4-ranked LSU (20-1, 8-0 SEC) in a "Rivalry Week" contest on ESPN2 on "The Summitt" in Thompson-Boling Arena. At stake? The SEC regular season championship. UT has won 64-consecutive SEC games at home -- the last SEC loss in Knoxville was to Georgia on Dec. 8, 1996, 94-93 (OT). The overall Lady Vol home winning streak currently stands at 22-consecutive. LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 32nd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 903-174 overall record...Collected her 900th career coaching win with a 80-68 decision over #19-ranked Vanderbilt on Jan. 19, 2006... She passed Dean Smith (879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ...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 year...UT's team dropped to 10 players when starting sophomore point guard Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood left the squad on Dec. 19, 2005... THE 4-1-1 ON THE LADY TIGERS In their last game, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus combined for 43 points and 21 rebounds as #3/4-ranked LSU (20-1, 8-0 SEC) broke open a tight game with a 30-5 run late in the first half on its way to a 78-63 SEC win over Ole Miss on Feb. 5 at the Maravich Center. The win extended LSU's SEC winning streak to 22 straight. Augustus paced the Lady Tigers with 22 points, her 83rd consecutive game in double-digits, while Fowles added 21 points and game-high 13 rebounds for LSU to record her league-leading 14th double-double. For the game, the Lady Tigers held the league's No. 1 rated rebounding team to just 30 rebounds, 14 below its average. Ole Miss controlled the contest early, building as much as a six-point lead, 16-10, on a three-pointer by Armintie Price at the 13:41 mark in the first half. The Lady Rebels kept the lead for the next three minutes before a jumper by Augustus put LSU up for good, 17-16, with 10:16 remaining in the half. Augustus' jumper was part of a 30-5 Lady Tiger run, a stretch that saw LSU go from six down to taking a 40-21 lead on a layup by Augustus at the 2:43 mark. LSU led 40-25 at halftime. Ole Miss never threatened as LSU extended its lead to 20 points, 55-35, on a three-pointer by Scholanda Hoston at the 13:18 mark. The Lady Tiger lead reached as much as 23 points, 76-53, on a three-pointer by Erica White with 2:56 to go. Joining Fowles and Augustus in double-figures for the Tigers was White, who added 11 points and a team-high five assists. OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK... The SEC routine continues this week with a Thurs., Feb. 9 "Rivalry Week" contest against #3/4 LSU and a Sun., Feb. 12 "February Frenzy" game against #22/20 Vanderbilt. Both games are at home and televised by ESPN2. LADY VOLS ON TV A record 21 Lady Vol regular season regional/national games are slated for television this season. UT is 13-2 on TV so far. SCHEDULE UPDATE The UT-Vandy game in Knoxville on Feb. 12 will be a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on ESPN2. ON THIS DAY Tennessee is 11-2 in their history when playing on Feb. 9. The Lady Vols are 7-0 at home, 4-2 on the road, and 0-0 on neutral courts. Last time out on the 9th, the Lady Vols defeated Florida, 79-40, in at home in 2003. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 18-3 and had just defeated Mississippi, 99-67, in Knoxville on Feb. 6. PIVOTAL WEEK FOR THE LADY VOLS After facing 10 ranked teams to open the first half of the season, the Tennessee Lady Vols have gone two weeks with a four-game hiatus from ranked opponents. The break is over as three key SEC games against ranked opposition looms large for the Lady Vols with #3/4-ranked LSU, #22/20-ranked Vanderbilt and #13-ranked Georgia coming up in the next week. The Lady Vols are still hoping to grab a piece of the SEC regular season crown but must win out. ROSTER BACK TO 10 WITH MOSS ON THE FLOOR - SPENCER OK Freshman guard Lindsey Moss returned to the practice floor on Feb. 6 after successful surgery on Feb. 3 to repair a displaced nasal fracture. UT dropped to nine players when Moss missed the game at Ole Miss and against Arkansas. Against Arkansas, Tennessee finished the game with eight players after junior forward Sidney Spencer hyper-extended her surgically repaired right knee and did not return to action. (As a sophomore, Spencer blew out the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee on Feb. 23, 2005). "Sidville" was back on the practice floor Monday and looked fine. ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM Senior Shanna Zolman earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 4 honors as she was selected to the First Team - Zolman now moves on to the national ballot. Additionally, the Lady Vols had a record three players earn All-District 4 Third Team honors as Nicky Anosike, Tye'sha Fluker and Sidney Spencer also earned academic accolades. STREAKS IN REAL DANGER WITH LSU COMING TO TOWN Three current Lady Vol streaks will be tested when the LSU Lady Tigers roll into Knoxville on Feb. 9, 2006. Streak #1: UT holds a 16-0 advantage over LSU in games played in Knoxville dating back to the first win on Feb. 6, 1978 in Stokely Athletics Center; Streak #2: The Lady Vols are currently riding a 22-game homecourt winning streak dating back Dec. 12, 2004, and Streak #3: Tennessee has won 64-consecutive SEC games at home. Georgia was the last to do it -- happened 3,346 days and 64 games ago. Really! 3,346 days...Almost 10 years. The Tennessee Lady Vols have rattled off 64 consecutive SEC home wins in Thompson-Boling Arena since Dec. 8, 1996, when Georgia was the last team to hang an SEC home loss on the Lady Vols. The Lady Bulldogs prevailed 94-93 in overtime and the 64-game SEC win streak began with a "w" over Kentucky, 84-61, on Jan. 12, 1997, in the very next home conference game. POKEY WAS A "PAIN" AS A PLAYER IN PURPLE IN THE PAST Everyone knows how feisty and intense LSU Coach Pokey Chatman is on the sidelines which begged the question - how did she do as a player against the Lady Vols. Going into her final game against UT as a senior in 1991, then "Dana" Pokey Chatman was 0-4. Chatman exacted her revenge against the Lady Vols pouring in 30 points in the 1991 SEC Championship game as LSU won 80-75. Current Lady Vol assistant coach Nikki Caldwell was a rookie for UT and went 0-6 from behind the arc in 20 minutes of action. TENNESSEE WILL GO OVER 150,000 IN HOME ATTENDANCE A near-capacity crowd is anticipated for the UT-LSU game in Knoxville on Feb. 9 after UT announced that general admission tickets had sold-out on Feb. 7.Some reserved seats remain. The Lady Vols home attendance will eclipse 150K against LSU with a 144,691 having already attended UT's 10 prior home contests. This will mark the Lady Vols' 10th consecutive season going over 150,000 at home. LADY VOLS STILL BELOW 40.0 RPG Currently at 39.0 rebounds per game, this is the worst rebounding team in Lady Vol history inching below the 1977-78 squad who managed just 39.7 rpg in 31 contests. GAME REPORT 24 - LOUISIANA STATE LSU (20-1, 8-0 SEC) enters the contest with Tennessee (21-2, 7-1 SEC) with their eye on a second consecutive SEC crown. Last year, the Lady Tigers dethroned the Lady Vols from their record seven consecutive SEC regular season championship stranglehold that dated back to 1998. LSU also snapped Tennessee's amazing 42-game SEC regular season winning streak which dated back to Feb. 2, 2002. The Lady Vols exacted a little revenge by upsetting #1-ranked LSU for the 2005 SEC Tournament title with a 67-65 victory. ALL-TIME SERIES MEETINGS TENNESSEE leads 33-8
LSU SERIES This marks the 42nd meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1977-78 season with the Lady Vols holding a 33-8 advantage. The two teams began the series at the 1977 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 eight 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 at home 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, Win 6- in 2002, unranked LSU bounces #3 UT out of the SECs, 81-80, win 7-LSU outlasts UT in the 2003 SEC Final, 78-62, and win 8- In 2005, LSU beats UT in Baton Rouge, 68-58, in front of the largest women's crowd ever at the PMAC and wins the SEC regular season title. For quite a few years, Tennessee dominated the LSU Lady Tigers, winning 29 of 34 games between 1977 and 2002. But over the past few seasons, the LSU-Tennessee series has grown into the SEC's most anticipated match-up. The Lady Vols hold a 33-8 record after going 1-1 against LSU in 2004-05. LADY VOLS VS. LADY TIGERS STAT COMPARISON
OUR LAST MEETING VERSUS LSU The Tennessee Lady Vols earned the program's 11th Southeastern Conference Tournament title (a league record) with a 67-65 victory against top-seeded and No. 1-ranked LSU at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, S.C., on March 6, 2005. In addition to claiming the championship, the Big Orange placed three players on the all-tournament team: Shyra Ely, Shanna Zolman and Brittany Jackson. Ely also earned most valuable player honors. With the win, Head Coach Pat Summitt is now just two triumphs shy of becoming the NCAA's all-time winningest coach. Despite struggling from the field early in the contest (4-of-20 shooting to open the game), UT trailed by just two points, 12-10, at the second media timeout. Following the break in action, the Big Orange rattled off five straight points to lead by three, 15-12, following a three-pointer by Jackson. The teams battled back and forth as neither squad was able to pull ahead by more than four points until the closing minutes of the first half. However, LSU closed the opening session with an 8-0 run to take a six-point lead, 37-31, into the locker room. In the tightly contested first half, the score was tied on 12 occasions while the lead changed hands six times. The Lady Vols opened the second stanza by quickly scoring the first four points, forcing the Tigers to use a timeout just 45 seconds into the half. The Orange and White took their first lead of the half at the 15:20 mark after a jumper by Jackson. Shortly thereafter, Tennessee utilized a 7-0 spurt, capped off by an Ely layin, to go ahead by four, 51-47. LSU responded, though, and gradually pulled ahead, maintaining a 65-61 advantage with 1:33 showing. The Lady Vols held the opposition scoreless the rest of the way, however, as Zolman sank a key three-pointer and Ely connected on the go-ahead layup off a Loree Moore assist following a steal by Tye'sha Fluker. UT AND LSU RANKED MEETINGS IN 2005-06 The Lady Vols game against #2 Duke marked Tennessee's 10th game versus a ranked team this season. UT is 9-1 when facing the nation's best teams. Meanwhile LSU will be meeting its ninth ranked opponent in #5/5 Tennessee. UT defeated #9 Michigan State, #10 Maryland, #16/18 Texas, #12/11 Stanford, #22/21 Temple, #12/11 Notre Dame, #7 Connecticut, #13/17 Georgia and #19 Vanderbilt. UT lost to #2 Duke. LSU is 7-1 against ranked teams this season defeating then-#13-ranked Texas Tech, then-#4 Ohio State, #10 Michigan State, #15 Minnesota, #13 Georgia, #22 Vanderbilt and #10 Baylor but lost to #5-ranked Connecticut. LSU SERIES TIDBITS Since 2000, UT has won nine of the last 12 meetings with LSU. Tennessee's three losses during that time? In the 2005 regular season meeting in Baton Rouge, 68-58, and twice in the SEC Tournament - 3-2-02, LSU 81-80 and 3-9-03, LSU 78-62. UT-LSU, CLOSENESS COUNTS Twenty-three of the 41 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. HOW 'BOUT THIS? Going into tonight's game, UT and LSU have met 25 times while both teams are ranked in the AP Top 25 poll. Tennessee has been the higher ranked team 20 times.
FIRST HOME GAME WITH 10,000 IN THE STANDS WAS VS. LSU On a bitter cold night on Feb. 6, 1978, 10,000 fans braved the frigid weather to heat-up Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville, Tenn., 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 that 10,000 fans had ever attended a Lady Vol game. STUFF THE RIVALRY IS MADE OF... On Jan. 29, 1979, the Tennessee Vols and the Lady Vols were in Baton Rouge at the PMAC, for a double-header with LSU. The women played first and the game ended in a 74-74 tie. Then-LSU men's coach Dale Brown suggested that the women's teams finish their overtime in the auxiliary gym so the men could get their game started on time. After much bantering back and forth with then-LSU BenGals skipper Jinks Coleman and UT's Pat Head, Brown allowed the women's teams to finish the overtime with a shortened running clock. The Lady Vols managed just six points in the three-minute overtime while LSU scored 11 to win, 85-80. Five days later in Stokely Athletics Center in Knoxville, on Jan. 29, #7 UT thumped #17 LSU, 92-48. Current Lady Vol Assistant Coach Holly Warlick was UT's junior point guard that night in Baton Rouge - Warlick tallied seven points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished four assists and had nine steals. I'M AN LSU GRAD BUT MY PAYCHECK HAS ORANGE INK UT Women's Athletics Director Joan Cowart Cronan was a 1966 graduate of Louisiana State University and a native of Opelousas, La. Cronan has been onboard as the Women's Athletics Director at the University of Tennessee since 1983 and was a 1995 inductee into the LSU's Alumni Hall of Distinction. Cronan is married to Tom Cronan, also an LSU grad. 12 MEETINGS WITH LSU SINCE 2000 Since 2000, Tennessee and LSU have met 12 times with the Lady Vols holding an 9-3 record. UT is 4-0 in Knoxville where they have outscored the Lady Tigers an average of 83.2 to 61.8 - a +21.4 winning margin. In Baton Rouge, Tennessee is 3-1 and has out-distanced LSU, 71.7 to 64.0 or a +7.7 winning margin. That figure is skewed by an 86-50, Tennessee victory at the PMAC on Jan. 6, 2000. Two of the games in Baton Rouge have been close affairs with the Lady Vols winning, 75-73 and 68-65. Neutral court meetings are a draw with at 2-2. The Lady Tigers spoiled the Lady Vols SEC Tournament Championship hopes in 2002 (81-80) and a butt-kicking in 2003 (78-62). UT's wins on a neutral court against LSU in the last 12 meetings came at the 2005 SEC Tournament Championships with a 67-65 Tennessee win and at the 2004 NCAA Final Four in New Orleans with a nail-biter 52-50 win capped by a last second UT bucket. LSU leads 68.5 to 65.2 in neutral court games -- +3.3 scoring advantage. In all 12 games since 2000, Tennessee defeats LSU by an average of +8.6 ppg, 73.3 to 64.7. 2005 UT-LSU REGULAR SEASON Playing before the largest crowd ever to witness a women's college basketball game at the Maravich Center (15,233), the fifth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols fell to the top-ranked LSU Lady Tigers, 68-58, on Feb. 10, 2005. The loss snapped UT's 42-game regular season conference winning streak. It also marked the Lady Vols' first loss in more than a month. It was LSU that jumped out to the early lead, 7-0, as the Lady Tigers connected on their first three attempts from the field. The Orange and White narrowed the gap to just two points moments later following a layin by Loree Moore, but LSU responded with an 8-0 run to push the margin to 10 points, 15-5, forcing UT to take its first timeout at the 11:51 mark. Despite hitting just two of its first 16 shots, Tennessee finally found its offensive rhythm following the break in play and rattled off a 9-1 run, capped by a Moore jumper, to once again cut the lead to two. The Lady Vols would continue to trail until the final moments of the half when Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood sank a long three-pointer as buzzer sounded to give the Big Orange its first lead of the game, 28-27. In the opening stanza, UT was out-shot 30.6 percent to 45.8 percent but held a 23-10 advantage on the boards. Following the intermission, neither team was able to pull away as the squads traded the lead on several occasions early in the second frame. While the Lady Vols would go ahead by four points, 38-34, after a three-pointer by Shanna Zolman with 15:13 to play, LSU responded with a 10-1 spurt. Shortly thereafter, the Lady Tigers went on a pivotal 10-0 run to push the margin to 13 points, 56-43. UT would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way as LSU sealed the 10-point victory. Individually, the Lady Vols were led by Shanna Zolman, who scored 21 points, marking the third straight game the junior topped the 20-point mark. LAST TIME IN KNOXVILLE Playing before a crowd of 20,090 fans on Senior Day at Thompson-Boling Arena, the then-#2-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols claimed their 34th-consecutive regular season conference game with an 85-62 victory over then- #15/17 LSU on Feb. 28, 2004. With the win, UT's senior class amassed an incredible 55-1 record against SEC foes during regular season play. Additionally, Pat Summitt's club extended its SEC home-court winning streak to 54 games. With the support of the Big Orange faithful, the Lady Vols tallied the contest's first seven points and jumped out to a 10-2 advantage at the first media timeout. While the Lady Tigers connected on just one of their first nine attempts from the floor, they played steady defense and trailed by only four, 10-6, with 13:30 remaining in the half. However, UT responded with a 13-4 run over the next five minutes to take a 23-10 lead. LSU hung tough, though, and trailed by only eight points, 35-27, at the break. In the opening frame, the Orange and White shot 48 percent, while the Louisiana State registered a 31 percent mark. The Lady Vols also controlled the glass, 23-17. Following the intermission, UT extended its lead into double figures following a pair of back-to-back lay-ups by junior Shyra Ely. Unable to break open the contest, Tennessee maintained a 10-point lead with 10:18 left before scoring seven unanswered points to go ahead by 17. LSU countered with two straight 3-pointers but the Lady Vols responded to the challenge with a 9-1 run, pushing the lead to 75-55 and never looked back. LSU got no closer than 17 points the rest of the way, as UT earned its seventh-straight win. Leading the way for the Orange was Ely, who tallied a season-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds. Senior LaToya Davis also recorded a season high with 13 points, while sophomore Shanna Zolman chipped in 12 points. Senior Ashley Robinson just missed out on a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Tasha Butts totaled eight points, nine rebounds and five assists. On the afternoon, the Lady Vols shot 56 percent (32-57) from the field and held LSU to a 36 percent clip (24-66). Tennessee also dominated the boards, 44-28. TOP-FIVE MEETINGS IN KNOXVILLE
GETTING BACK THE "MO-JO" Tennessee's outstanding showing against Arkansas on Feb. 5 finally looked more like the Lady Vols prior to the loss against Duke. UT rolled up 77 points and held UA to just 37 points. Over the final 11:12 of the game, UT went on a 31-3 run and held Arkansas without a field goal over the final 8:35 pf the game. The Lady Vols were rebounding and running. A week earlier, Coach Pat Summitt and her staff came away from the 89-54 win over Alabama on Jan. 29 feeling a little bit better about the play of the fifth-ranked Lady Vols. However, the following game at Ole Miss on Feb. 2 produced a first half which was 360 degrees in the opposite direction. The Lady Vols trailed the Lady Rebels, 28-26, shot only 34% FG and was getting beat on the boards, 21-16, in some very lackadaisical play. After a stern halftime message, UT came out firing and hunkered down on "D", shot 61.5% (16-26), nailed 50% from the arc (4-8), connected on 80% FT (16-20) and outrebounded Ole Miss 22-14. Summitt had praise for the leadership of seniors Shanna Zolman and Tye Fluker in the second half turnaround. Ever since then-top-ranked UT came away from the thrashing at Duke (Jan. 23) and the upset loss at Kentucky (Jan. 26), the team has been playing like it lost its "Mo-Jo." Uninspired and soft defense along with shoddy board play and a lack of leadership has haunted this team and staff. Summitt had been concerned since the UConn and Georgia games that her team had been "living on the edge defensively." Against Vandy, UT was down by 14 points in the first half due to not defending the 3-ball and a lack of rebounding effort. The Lady Vols still managed to win those key games (often in spite of themselves) but were "exposed" against Duke and ran into a buzz-saw at Kentucky. It comes as no surprise that defense and rebounding, Summitt staples for 32 years, will continue to be points of emphasis for the 2005-06 team. In fact at the Jan. 27 practice (following the loss at Kentucky), former Lady Vols Shelley Sexton Collier and Melissa McCray Dukes talked to the squad about the pride it takes to play Lady Vols defense and how a lack of effort in rebounding is not acceptable. ON UT's RADAR SCREEN - VANDERBILT - AGAIN Vanderbilt plays four of its final five regular season games at home, starting on Thurs., Feb. 9, when Arkansas visits Memorial Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. CT tip. The Lady Razorbacks opened VU's 2006 league schedule by handing the Dores a 52-51 overtime loss in Fayetteville. In their last outing, Vanderbilt came from behind to win its third straight SEC contest, 57-53, at Auburn's Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Feb. 5. Junior Caroline Williams led the Commodores with 19 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three point range while fellow junior Carla Thomas was also in double-figures for Vanderbilt, scoring 16 points. VU's first lead came at the four-minute mark of the second half. Junior Dee Davis dished out her 10th assist of the game to Williams, whose triple gave the Commodores a 52-51 advantage. Auburn reclaimed the lead when Marita Payne hit a jumper from the baseline. On Vanderbilt's next possession, Thomas was sent to the line for one-and-one. An 84 percent free throw shooter on the season, Thomas nailed both charity tosses to regain the edge, 54-53. Another free throw by Davis gave the Commodores a 55-53 advantage with 14 seconds remaining in regulation. On Auburn's next possession, the Tigers' Nitasha Brown missed a three point attempt and Thomas came down with a key VU rebound. She iced the game by hitting both of her free throws and giving VU a four-point lead with only seven seconds left. The Commodores trailed by as much as 13 in the first half, but closed the period on a 12-2 run while not allowing an Auburn field goal in the final seven minutes of the period. Williams scored 11 of her team-high 19 in the first half. PARKER NAMED TO WOODEN WATCH MIDSEASON LIST Lady Vol rookie Candace Parker has been named to the 2006 Midseason All-American Team for the Women's Wooden Award. With the women's college basketball season currently immersed in conference play, the committee released the list of the top 20 players who are expected to contend for this year's Player of the Year Award. The midseason list is based on individual player performance and team records through the first half of the season. Parker leads the Lady Vols in scoring (15.1 ppg), rebounding (7.7 rpg) and blocks (2.1 bpg). She ranks second in the SEC in blocks, sixth in rebounding, sixth in scoring and ninth in field goal percentage (.561). Her performance from the field places her fourth in the all-time Lady Vol record books for career field goal percentage. In 22 games this season, Parker has scored in double figures 19 times and grabbed at least 10 rebounds in seven contests. She has been named the Philips Player of the Game on six occasions, and claimed SEC Freshman of the Week honors four times and the conference's Player of the Week on Jan. 16. Parker has or will face nine of the players on the list during the regular season. ANOTHER 20 WIN SEASON The Tennessee Lady Vols have claimed yet another 20-win season. With its victory over Ole Miss, it marked the 30th consecutive time (and the fourth fastest) that a Lady Vol team reached at least 20 wins in a season under Coach Pat Summitt. The perfect 39-0, 1997-98 Lady Vol squad reached 20-wins the earliest - Jan. 20. While the 1984 NCAA runner-up Tennessee team reached 20 wins the latest by any Lady Vol team ever - March 17. Summitt has only had two teams ever fail to reach 20-win seasons during her 32-year tenure...In her first and second seasons (1974-75 and 1975-76) at UT, the Lady Vols were 16-8 and 16-11, respectively. THE NCAA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM HAS A ORANGE GLOW The NCAA named five players and one coach to the NCAA Women's Basketball 25th Anniversary Team on Feb. 1. The University of Tennessee ran away with top honors as Bridgette Gordon (1985-89) and Chamique Holdsclaw (1995-99) were named to the five-player team and Pat Summitt earned the nod as the best coach over the last 25 years. The 25th Anniversary Team consists of Cheryl Miller (Southern Cal), Holdsclaw, who led the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers to championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998; Diana Taurasi, the University of Connecticut guard who led the Huskies to three consecutive championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004; Gordon, who helped lead Tennessee to championships in 1987 and 1989; and Sheryl Swoopes, who led Texas Tech University to the national title in 1993. Selected as the coach of the team is the legendary Summitt, who has led Tennessee to six national championship titles and 16 Women's Final Four appearances during her illustrious career. Summitt, who just recently topped 900-career wins, is the all-time leader in every NCAA tournament coaching record including titles, appearances, games, wins and winning percentage. She has led Tennessee to 24 consecutive tournament appearances. An expert panel consisting of administrators, former coaches, representatives from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and members of the media used historical data and results from the online public voting to make its decision based on each individual's achievements during NCAA championship competition. RECENT QUICK HITTERS
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