University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS START OFF SEC SCHEDULE WITH ALABAMA
January 02, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2007
 | Tennessee (12-1) |  |
| Jan. 3, 2007 - Thompson-Boling Arena (24,535) - 7 p.m. ET - CSS | ||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Radio - Mickey Dearstone
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GAMENOTES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE GAME The #4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (12-1, 0-0 SEC), riding a six-game winning streak, opens 2007 Southeastern Conference play at home taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide (10-5, 0-0 SEC) in Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. UT is 22-5 all-time in SEC openers . LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 925-178 overall record... Is just 75 wins away from a remarkable 1,000 career victories...Collected her 900th 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 2005-06 squad advanced to the NCAA Elite...Finished with a 31-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions... This season, UT returned six letterwinners, welcomed a senior manager turned player, two junior college transfers and a pair of rookies...The 2006-07 season marks the Lady Vol debut for former senior manager #10 Elizabeth Curry, JC transfers #00 Shannon Bobbitt and #33 Alberta Auguste...True freshman, #2 Cait McMahan, a 5-4 guard from Maryville, Tenn., and #34 Nicci Moats, a 6-2 forward from Daleville, Va., also see their first action in the Orange and White this season. THE 4-1-1 ON THE CRIMSON TIDE In the final tune-up before visiting Knoxville, Alabama senior Navonda Moore became the 21st player in Crimson Tide history to score 1,000 career points as her team took a 78-53 win over North Dakota State in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 30, 2006. Moore, the Tide's leading scorer this season at 14.0 ppg, ended the game with five points, giving her an even 1,000 for her career. She added three steals and a pair of assists to the Tide victory effort. Bama put the game out of reach early, shooting 58.3 percent from the field in the first half while North Dakota State managed 22 points on 25 percent shooting, allowing the Tide to build a double-digit lead within the first five minutes. The Tide led by 30 at the break and by as many as 41 early in the second half. Four Alabama players finished in double figures in scoring, led by senior Kate Mastin, who tallied 16 points. Talisha Chandler added 13 points and nine rebounds, Tamara Williams was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor for 12 points, and Alyson Butler knocked down four treys en route to 12 points. OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK This week, the Lady Vols Jump back into the thick of things opening SEC play against Alabama in Knoxville on Jan. 3 and then hit the road for games at #5 Connecticut (Jan. 6), at Florida (Jan. 11) and at #15 Georgia (Jan. 14). LADY VOLS ON TV A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for national/regional television this season. Five non-televised games will be available as streaming video with voice-over from Mickey Dearstone on utladyvols.com. UT is 7-1 on TV this season. ON THIS DAY UT is 6-1 in games played on Jan. 3. The Lady Vols are 2-1 at home, 3-0 on the road and 1-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Jan. 3, the Lady Vols registered an 88-64 victory at Florida, in 2002. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 13-0 and had just defeated Old Dominion, 83-67, in Knoxville. PLAYING 12 RANKED TEAMS Tennessee will play 13 teams in 15 games and five of the nation's top 10 teams who have been ranked at some point this season in the AP and USA TODAY ESPN polls: North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Arizona St., Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas, UCLA, George Washington, Texas and Middle Tennessee. All have been ranked or are currently ranked. UT'S OFFENSIVE OPPORTUNITIES In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Chattanooga (.579), MTSU (.565), Arizona St. (.548), UCLA (.531), ODU/UT-Martin (.509), Stanford (.500); 40%FG: Louisiana Tech (.483), GWU (.482), West Virginia (.431), Texas (.429); 30%FG: Notre Dame (.381), North Carolina (.362) DEEE ----- FENSE In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: GWU (.472), Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), North Carolina (.444), Chattanooga (.431), Notre Dame (.407), 30%FG: ODU (.396), West Virginia (.352), Texas (.308); 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295), UT-Martin (.204) 2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL Wins: +56 (1), +30 (1), +24 (2), +23 (2), +21 (2), +17 (1), + 16 (1), +15 (1), +9 (1), ALL-TIME OPENING DAY RECORD IN SEC PLAY The Tennessee Lady Vols have produced a 22-5 opening day record in SEC play dating back to the 1979-80 season. UT is 10-2 in home SEC openers and 12-3 on the road. Georgia (1984 and 1996) and Auburn (1988 and 1989) each ambushed the Lady Vols in two SEC opening games, while Vanderbilt turned the trick in 1990. The Lady Vols have not dropped an SEC opener since 1996 when Georgia escaped with a 94-93 overtime victory in Knoxville on Dec. 8, 1996. ALABAMA NOTEBOOK The Crimson Tide brings a 10-5 overall mark into their Southeastern Conference opener. Alabama won its last contest, 78-53, at home over North Dakota State. The Tide has split contests against 2006-07 common opponents between UT and UA, defeating Chattanooga, 68-56, while losing at Louisiana Tech, 57-66.
ALABAMA SERIES This marks the 40th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1976-77 season with Tennessee holding a 37-2 advantage. KEY TIDBIT IN THE SERIES Tennessee has won 30 consecutive games against Bama. The last Alabama victory was in 1984 at the SEC Tournament in Athens, Georgia, with the Tide taking an 85-66 opening round win over UT before the Lady Vols had even checked into the Athens Holiday Inn. Tennessee's 30-game winning streak over the Tide started two games later with UT knocking the Crimson Tide out of the 1984 NCAA Mideast Regional semis, 65-58. NARY A WIN IN KNOXVILLE The closest Alabama has come to claiming a win in Knoxville was a pair of seven-point losses in 1998 and 1984. HAILING FROM ALABAMA Senior forward Sidney Spencer (Hoover, Ala.) is the Lady Vols' third-ever player from the state of Alabama. Gwen Jackson (1999-03) was the first Lady Vol from the state of Alabama to become a starter. Tasheika Morris of Huntsville spent the 1999-2000 season at UT before transferring to Florida State.
OUR LAST MEETING Shanna Zolman equaled her career-high with 28 points and made seven three-pointers to lift #5-ranked Tennessee (24-3, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) to an 82-65 victory at Alabama on Feb. 19, 2006. Zolman's seven treys were a career single-game high and a Lady Vol record. Tennessee continues to enjoy playing the Crimson Tide (9-16, 3-9), winning the past 30 meetings and leading by as many as 22 in the second half of this one. Zolman had four 3s after the half and finished 7-of-12 from behind the arc, while her teammates made only two in eight attempts. All five starters scored in double figures for the Lady Vols -- Nicky Anosike added 14 points, while rookie Candace Parker and senior Tye'sha Fuller had 12 points apiece and Alabama-native Sidney Spencer had 11. Parker made only 3-of-11 shots but she, Anosike and Fluker each had eight rebounds. Navonda Moore had a big game against the Lady Vols with a career-high 31 points, five more than her previous best, set in the first meeting at Tennessee in January 2006. Dee Merriweather added 15 points and nine rebounds and Kate Mastin scored 13 for the Tide. Alabama twice cut its deficit to 12 points on Moore 3-pointers in the second half, but couldn't get any closer. The Lady Vols made 17-of-30 shots in the second half and utilized a stingy defense to overcome 36 percent shooting in the first half. When Parker drove past Chanel Johnson for a basket and foul with 11 seconds left and hit the free throw for a 37-28 lead, it matched Tennessee's biggest lead of the half. The Lady Vols forced 14 turnovers before halftime and closed the half on a 9-2 run, holding Alabama to only one field goal in the final four minutes to lead 37-28 after 20 minutes of action. FACING THE RANKED Tennessee faced their sixth ranked opponent in the game at #23/24-ranked Texas. Meanwhile Alabama will be taking on their first ranked opponent in 16 games when they face #4 Tennessee. FACING THE UNRANKED When taking on an unranked opponent such as Alabama, the odds have typically tipped in Tennessee's favor. In her 33 years at the helm of the Lady Vols, UT head coach Pat Summitt has fashioned a 551-32 (. 947) record when going up against unranked teams. The victory over Old Dominion was Summitt's 550th over an unranked foe. SEC TWOSIES The SEC plays a 14-game regular season schedule with each team playing everyone in the league once, a natural rival twice and designated rotating teams from the SEC East and West once extra time. The Lady Vols face Vanderbilt twice each season as its natural rival and this year will once again face Georgia and Alabama twice. Last season, Tennessee went 6-0 in these games during the regular season. UT WINNING STREAKS VS. SEC TEAMS Alabama, 30 in a row, since 3-23-1984 THE SEC REGULAR SEASON STORY UT's last SEC win at home: Auburn, 81-56, 2-23-06 AGAINST THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE Tennessee owns a 365-57 record all-time record vs. 12 teams from the Southeastern Conference. The Lady Vols maintain a winning record against every team in the SEC. UT IS AMAZING AT HOME VERSUS THE SEC Since Tennessee began contesting games with Southeastern Conference opponents, the Lady Vols have produced a 150-11 record in all games played at home. Only six SEC teams have ever managed a victory over the Lady Vols in Knoxville - Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss. Georgia has won three games on UT's turf while Auburn, Kentucky and Ole Miss have registered two wins each and LSU and Florida one win. Georgia was the only team to defeat UT at home in the 1990s - the Lady Bulldogs turned the trick in 1991 and 1996. LSU and Florida are the only SEC teams to defeat UT at home in the 21st century. WOW--13 SEASONS OF AT LEAST 10 SEC VICTORIES In the win over Alabama on Feb. 19, 2006, Tennessee claimed its 10th SEC victory of the year. The Lady Vols have now registered double-digit victories in conference play an incredible 13 times. Since the 1991-92 season when SEC play expanded, the Lady Vols have won at least 10 games in the following years: 1992-10 wins, 1993-11 wins, 1994-11 wins, 1995-11 wins, 1998-14 wins, 1999-13 wins, 2000-13 wins, 2001- 14 wins, 2002- 13 wins, 2003- 14 wins, 2004-14 wins, 2005- 13 wins and 2006-11 wins. SPOILED, I TELL YOU Prior to last season, It had been nine years since the Lady Vols dropped three SEC league games during a season. In the 1996-97 HBO documentary campaign of "The Cinderella Season: The Lady Vols Fight Back," Tennessee went 8-4 in the SEC. All-time in 25 years of league play, Tennessee has lost two or more SEC games just seven times. Conversely, the Lady Vols have tallied seven perfect league campaigns in SEC play. SEC LEAGUE PLAY UT owns a league best record of 239-33 against all SEC teams dating back to 1983. THIS IS AMAZING From 1980-1997, the Lady Vols claimed a total of six SEC regular season titles in 17 years. From 1998-2004, Tennessee captured seven consecutive SEC regular season crowns producing an amazing 109-4 record. UT's only league losses were to Vandy, Georgia and LSU (twice) during this stretch. AP POLL NOTES This is the 31st year of the Associated Press women's basketball rankings. The first Associated Press poll released of the 2005-06 season marked the 500th all-time poll. Since the poll was started in 1976, UT has failed to appear in just 14 of the total of 526 polls through the years. Currently, UT has been ranked in 384 consecutive polls. Since the 1986-87 season, the Lady Vols have been in the top 10 for all but one poll. UT is the only team to have been ranked every year for the last 31 years of the poll. UT has appeared at least once per season over the poll's history. LAST MEETING IN KNOXVILLE WITH ALABAMA Tennessee snapped its first losing streak since the 1996-97 season with an 89-54 win over Alabama on Jan. 29, 2006 that was victory No. 901 for coach Pat Summitt. The Lady Vols (19-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) were coming off consecutive road losses at No. 2 Duke and Kentucky. Tennessee had not lost three in a row in 20 years and kept the streak intact with the win over the Tide. The victory was the 63rd consecutive in Thompson- Boling Arena over SEC opponents. Tennessee was ahead 8-0 after the Crimson Tide had turnovers on each of the first four possessions. Alabama got two early baskets from Harriet Barnes and Navonda Moore, and the Lady Vols then held the Tide without a field goal for 15 minutes. Tennessee led 33-7 with 5:33 to go in the first half after Sidney Spencer's jumper. Shanna Zolman scored to push the lead to 30 with 14 minutes left in the second half. Tennessee was averaging 39 rebounds per game coming in, the worst in Lady Vols history and barely held the rebounding edge against the Tide, 34-29. Alabama improved its offense in the second half when Tennessee got sloppy. "Obviously it's always good to get a win," Summitt said. "We have to get better. You don't fix it in one game." Candace Parker scored 15 points and Alexis Hornbuckle added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Tennessee. Zolman, who failed to score at Duke, finished with 11 points. Tennessee freshman Lindsey Moss was 3-for-3 from long range before she was hit in the nose and had to be helped off the court. She was diagnosed with a displaced nasal fracture. HOPE TO DO BETTER IN THE SEC SLATE THIS SEASON The Tennessee Lady Vols hope to turn in a better showing in the Southeastern Conference regular season slate in 2006-07. Last season, UT lost an uncharacteristic three games in the SEC - at Kentucky (66-63), at home to LSU (72-69) and Florida (95-93 OT). Eight points separated UT from a perfect 14-0 mark to a nine-season low 11-3 SEC record. In fact, from the 1997-98 season until the 2004-05 campaign, Tennessee lost a total of four SEC games in the regular season. UPCOMING OPPONENT - CONNECTICUT In the final contest before facing #4-ranked Tennessee in Hartford on Jan. 6, the #5-ranked Connecticut Huskies (12-0, 2-0 BIG EAST) took a 63-44 conference win on the road at West Virginia on Jan. 2. One game earlier, an 82-40 win over Sacred Heart on Dec. 31, UConn coach Geno Auriemma celebrated his 600th coaching victory. He reached 600 career wins in 716 games. ALREADY BYPASSED 100,000 IN HOME ATTENDANCE The Tennessee Lady Vols have eclipsed 100,000 in home attendance for the 13th consecutive season and the earliest in program history. Through eight home games, UT has recorded a total attendance of 105,372 for a nation-leading average of 13,172. TRAILED AT HOME FOR JUST SEVEN MINUTES During the Lady Vols eight home contests, they have trailed their opponent on the scoreboard just seven times for a total of 7:02. Tennessee has been tied or ahead 97.8% of the time (3:12:58 of 320 minutes), including every second of play in the second half of each game. The largest deficit for UT was six points (13-7) against Middle Tennessee State on Nov. 26. Tennessee fell behind against UCLA (:10), Stanford (2:10), MTSU (4:18) and West Virginia (:24), but never trailed against Chattanooga, UT-Martin, George Washington or Notre Dame. SUMMITT GETS 925TH WIN While Texas Tech's Bobby Knight finally reached 880 wins on the men's side, Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt recorded her 925th victory with a 78-54 win over Notre Dame on Dec. 30, 2006. Summitt recorded her 880th win, passing North Carolina's Dean Smith on Mar. 22, 2005 with a 75-54 victory over Purdue in the NCAA Tournament. Summitt has registered 45 wins since then. Summitt is a season and a half of wins ahead of Coach Knight. SURPRISE! UT IS #1 IN SOS/RPI I know it is a huge surprise but the Tennessee Lady Vols hold a large percentile advantage in both the Ratings Percentage Index and the Strength of Schedule through the first 13 games of the season. Also listed are UT's opponents this season.
LADY VOLS: THE BEST AND THE WORST OF 2006-07 MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME:102 points ....vs. Chattanooga (11/12) LADY VOLS IN NCAA STATS Tennessee appears in a number of categories in the latest NCAA stats (thru 12/31/06). Amazingly, UT ranks second in the nation in three-point field goal accuracy, eighth in the nation in field goal accuracy, eighth in blocked shots with 6.3 bpg, eighth in steals with 13.6, 14th in scoring margin at +20.5 ppg, 17th in scoring with 78.2 ppg, and 23rd in assists with 17.2 per game. Individually, Sidney Spencer leads the nation in three-point field goal accuracy with an incredible 55.8 percent, Alexis Hornbuckle is 11th in steals with 3.5 thefts and Candace Parker is 16th nationally with 20.1 ppg and 20th in 2.5 blocks per game. UT LEADS IN HOME ATTENDANCE Tennessee, once again, leads the NCAA women's basketball attendance race. UT easily passed the 100,000 mark in home attendance before the new year with 19,092 at the last home game versus Notre Dame. The current attendance standings: 1.Tennessee 13,171 (105,372/8), 2.Texas Tech 10,630 (63,781/6), 3. Connecticut 10,526 (63,155/6), 4.Oklahoma 9,632 (41,361/4) and 5. Iowa State 9,202 (46,012/5).
ONE LOSS CAMPAIGNS -- HEADING INTO JANUARY Traditionally, Tennessee teams take most of its losses in the month of December when Coach Pat Summitt loads up on some tough non-conference opposition to prepare the team for the rigors of the postseason. Last year, the Lady Vols carried an undefeated record into January marking the sixth time the Lady Vols went undefeated in the months of November and December. This year, the team carries one loss into the month of January. Previously, nine other Lady Vol teams have carried one loss all-time into the month of January. STILL PERFECT VS. NOTRE DAME With the victory over the Irish, the Lady Vols are perfect all-time against Notre Dame with an 18-0 record. The win was UT head coach Pat Summitt's 925th all-time. Game wrap-up notes -- UT shot 34.5% in the first half, its lowest field goal percentage since 31.5% in the opening period at Texas. Tennessee's .381 shooting percentage for the game was the second lowest for the season. The Lady Vols shot a dismal .362 from the field in the loss to North Carolina - the worst shooting mark on the season. Lady Vols 12 blocked shots against ND tied the second most by a UT team in a single game in program history. UT had 12 turnovers in the first half and a season low three miscues in the second stanza. The Big Orange outscored Notre Dame 49-27 in the second half - the most points scored in the second half by the Lady Vols this season. Individually, Sidney Spencer...Made her first three-pointer since the Texas game on her first shot of the day and moved past Kellie Jolly into 11th place in the UT record books for career three-pointers (100); Candace Parker... Moved past Chamique Holdsclaw into sixth place in the UT record books for career blocks (118)...Scored in double figures for the 46th time of her career and the 27th time in a row...Earned her seventh double-double of the season, her fourth in a row...Drew 10 fouls against the Irish, the most drawn by a UT player this season...Recorded a season-high four assists; Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of consecutive games with a steal to 49. She has now grabbed a steal in 70 of 77 career games...With four steals against ND, she moved into 16th place in the Lady Vol record books (200)...Reached the 400 career rebound mark...Tied a career high in blocks with three in the game, moving her into 21st place for career stuffs (42); Shannon Bobbitt...Made both foul shots on an intentional foul to move past her previous career high in points (13). Finished with 17 points on a career-best five three-pointers and Nicky Anosike... Reached the 100 career block plateau with one stuff vs. Notre Dame. CONFERENCE CALL In addition to the 14-game Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will take on teams from 10 other conferences this season. The Lady Vols will be doing their best impression as members of the Pac-10 and the BIG EAST facing three opponents from each of those conferences. UT will play two foes from the ACC and one each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Colonial, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and WAC. STEALS, STEALS EVERYWHERE The Pat Summitt mantra of "let your defense start your offense" hasn't fallen on deaf ears with the Lady Vols so far this season. Tennessee already has 176 thefts on the year against quality opposition for an average of 13.5 spg. Alexis Hornbuckle is leading the team individually with just under four steals per game. MAKING THE GRADE The Fall semester concluded at Tennessee on Dec. 14 and three Lady Vol basketball players managed perfect 4.0 GPAs for the grading period. Seniors Sidney Spencer and Elizabeth Curry (both sport management majors) and junior Nicky Anosike (majoring in sociology/criminal justice and additional majors in political science and legal studies) all pulled A's in their classes for the perfect mark. PARKER'S A FOUL MAGNET Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker has been a foul magnet in 2006-07. With all of the double and triple-teaming she has seen this season, 25 percent of the opponent's 258 total fouls have been inflicted on her. In 13 games this season, Parker has drawn 76 fouls. In the game against Notre Dame, she was fouled 10 times by the Irish, eclipsing nine fouls whistled against players from Arizona State, Stanford and North Carolina. To date, Parker has visited the charity strip 84 times this season -over six times a game. VERSUS THE RANKED In #23/24-ranked Texas, the Lady Vols faced their sixth ranked opponent. UT recorded wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60), at #11 Arizona State (83-74), against #11 Stanford (77-60) and #21/19 George Washington (85-62) and #23/24 Texas (67-46) but lost to UNC 70-57. ODU WAS A SLOPPY WIN The Tennessee Lady Vols rolled to its 11th win on the season with a ugly 75-59 win over Old Dominion on Dec. 22. Some of UT's players played as if they were already on Christmas break as the team's intensity was not up to the normal Lady Vol standards. Against ODU, it marked the fifth time this season that UT was out-rebounded by its opponent (34-30)...The attendance was 7,108, the third largest attendance at the Ted Constant Convocation Center for an ODU women's basketball and the largest since the Lady Vols were in town on Jan. 7, 2003 (7,758). Individually, Shannon Bobbitt... Tossed in a career high 3, three-pointers and scored a career high 13 points; Candace Parker...-Reached double figures for the 26th consecutive time...Earned her fourth double-double in five games, her third in a row...Surpassed the 850-point plateau for her career...-Scored a season-high 32 points; Alexis Hornbuckle... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 48....Reached double figures for the fifth time this season, the 37th time of her career...and surpassed the 700-point plateau for her career; Nicky Anosike...Moved past Daedra Charles (97) and Vonda Ward (98) into ninth place for career blocks (99); Sidney Spencer... Surpassed the 800-point plateau for her career and uncharacteristically, failed to make a three-pointer for the second game in a row and Dominique Redding... Moved into a tie for 17th place in the UT record books for career three-pointers (45) UT & WVU LINKED BY DUNKS Tennessee's Candace Parker might be the latest woman in collegiate basketball to dunk but West Virginia's Georgeann Wells (1983-86) became the first women's college basketball player to dunk in a collegiate game when she threw one down against Charleston, almost 22 years ago to the day (Dec. 21, 1984). Fittingly, Parker celebrated Wells' dunking anniversary with one of her own against West Virginia on Dec. 20, 2006, in Knoxville. Parker, the All-American sophomore took off after a steal and jammed a one-handed dunk with 12:54 to go in the first half. Parker now has five dunks in her career and three this season - her first dunk was in the season-opener at home versus Chattanooga on Nov. 12, 2006. She followed that with a dunk against #11 Stanford on Nov. 24, 2006. TENNESSEE TOPS AP ALL-TIME The Tennessee Lady Vols are the top-ranked team in the history of the Top 25 rankings in the Associated Press poll. The poll, now in its 31st season, has found Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Vols ranked in 512 of a possible 526 polls. Through the poll released on Dec. 18, the top five team poll rankings are:
ELITE COMPANY FOR BIG NICK Junior post Nicky Anosike has moved into an elite Lady Vol club. "Big Nick" has joined Tennessee greats Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings as the only Lady Vols all-time to accumulate at least 500+ points, 400+ rebounds, 80+ blocked shots, 100+ assists and 100+ steals. The mobile 6-4 Anosike has generated 595 points, 481 rebounds, 100 blocked shots, 136 assists, and 117 steals in 84 career games. UT NOT SHARP IN WIN VS. WVU After a dismal shooting display against Texas in the previous game, Tennessee came out against West Virginia hitting on all cylinders. By the time UT's Candace Parker dunked at the 12:54 mark in the first half, the Lady Vols had jumped out to a 20-4 lead and were shooting the lights out at 70% clip from the field. Parker was whistled for a technical foul (popping her jersey) following the dunk and the crowd responded with minutes of "boos." After that, the Lady Vols weren't the same stumbling to 37% field goal accuracy in the opening stanza and taking a meager 32-23 lead at the half. Individually, Candace Parker...Reached double figures for the 11th game this season, the 25th time in a row; earned her second consecutive double-double, the fifth of the season and dunked for the third time this season, the fifth time of her career. Alexis Hornbuckle... Scored a career-high four three-pointers and extended her streak of games with a steal to 47. She has grabbed a steal in 68 of 75 career games. Sidney Spencer... Failed to make a three-pointer for the first time this season. MAKES YOU GO, HMMMM Through the first five games of the season, UT was shooting 54.5% from the field, 48.6% three-pointers and 75.3% from the line. UT averaged 86.6 ppg while giving up 66.0 - logged 19.2 assists per game and snagged 14.2 steals. In the last seven games, it has been a different story. UT managed shooting 44.9% from the field, 40.0% three-pointers and 67.4% from the line. UT has averaged just 71.8 ppg while giving up 51.3 - logged 16.2 assists per game and snagged just 12.7 steals per game. |
