University of Tennessee Athletics
TENNESSEE VS. VANDERBILT - GAME PREVIEW
January 24, 2007 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2007
 | Tennessee (17-2, 4-0 SEC) |  |
| Jan. 25, 2007 - Memorial Gymnasium (14,316 ) - 7 p.m. ET - FSN | ||
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TV - FSN - Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli
Radio - Mickey Dearstone
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THE GAME Dubbed "the most challenging week of the season" by UT coach Pat Summitt, the #4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (17-2, 4-0 SEC) will be looking to rebound from their first home loss of the season when they face #15/14-ranked Vanderbilt (17-3, 3-2 SEC) in a contest on FSN South in Memorial Coliseum in Nashville on Jan. 25. On Mon., Jan. 22, top-ranked Duke broke the Lady Vols 11-game winning streak with a 74-70 victory at "The Summitt." LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 930-179 overall record... Is just 70 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 8...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 COMMODORES The #14/11 Vanderbilt Commodores dropped a tough 83-71 decision to the #16-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs in Athens on Jan. 18. Georgia exacted a measure of revenge bouncing back from a 52-41 loss to Tennessee four days earlier. VU, who was forced to fly on game day due to mechanical problems, turned right back around and returned to the Peachtree State on Jan. 21 and defeated Georgia Tech,72-55, at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. -- site of the 2007 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Against Georgia, Christina Wirth led Vanderbilt with 16 points. Merideth Marsh, Caroline Williams and Carla Thomas each added 12 points, but couldn't keep the Commodores from falling to 2-2 against ranked teams. Against Georgia Tech, Caroline Williams scored six points to spark a 26-0 run and recovered from a nine-point deficit midway through the second half to beat the Yellow Jackets. in the Russell Athletic Shootout. Williams scored 21 points, including the first six points of the 26-0 run, to lead Vanderbilt (17-3, 3-2 SEC). OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK This week, the Lady Vols have a split SEC schedule and stepped out of conference play for one last time during the regular season. On Jan. 22, #1-ranked Duke dropped #4 UT, 74-70, in a "Big Monday" meeting on ESPN2. UT hits the road traveling to #14/11 Vanderbilt on Thurs. Jan. 25, and then to Alabama on Sun., Jan. 28. 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 10-2 on TV this season. ON THIS DAY UT is 12-0 in games played on Jan. 25. The Lady Vols are 5-0 at home, 6-0 on the road and 1-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Jan. 25, the Lady Vols registered a 86-54 victory over Vanderbilt in Knoxville in 1998. LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 18-1 and had just lost to #2 Duke, 75-53, in Durham. PLAYING 15 RANKED TEAMS Tennessee will play 15 teams in 17 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 Mississippi 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), Alabama1 (.464), Florida (.442), West Virginia (.431), Texas (.429); 30%FG: Georgia1 (.396), Miss. St. (.395), Notre Dame (.381), UConn (.371), North Carolina (.362), Duke (.361) DEEE ----- FENSE In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Duke (.491), GWU (.472), Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), North Carolina (.444), UConn (.433), Chattanooga (.431), Miss. State (.409), Notre Dame (.407), 30%FG: ODU (.396), West Virginia (.352), Alabama1 (.369), Florida (.345), Georgia1 (.319), Texas (.308); 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295), UT-Martin (.204) 2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL Wins: +56 (1), +36 (1), +30 (1), +29 (1), +24 (2), +23 (2), +22 (1), +21 (2), +17 (1), + 16 (1), +15 (1), +11 (1), +9 (1), +6 (1). Losses: -13 (1), -4 (1) UPCOMING OPPONENT - AT ALABAMA Alabama faces its second-straight ranked team in its next outing when the Tide plays host to #4-ranked Tennessee on Sunday, Jan. 28 in Coleman Coliseum. In their last contest, the Alabama Crimson Tide (10-11, 0-6 SEC) hung tough with #8-ranked LSU for nearly 26 minutes, but the Lady Tigers were too strong down the stretch and eventually overcame Alabama in a 61-54 win in Coleman Coliseum on Jan. 21. The Tide, searching for its first SEC win, came out fighting against the highly-ranked Tigers. Alabama trailed by nine at the half, but pulled within three with just over 14 minutes to play. The Lady Tiger post players were too strong for Alabama on the boards, however, and helped LSU put the game out of reach in the final 12 minutes of the game. LSU pulled down 18 offensive rebounds on the afternoon behind five from Ashley Thomas and four from Fowles and outscored the Tide in the paint, 42-14, to key the victory. Those efforts helped LSU outscore Alabama, 27-14, in the final 14 minutes of the game. Alabama lost its sixth-straight league game despite the offensive efforts of Navonda Moore and Talisha Chandler. Moore poured in a game-high 19 points, 17 of those coming in the second half, and drained three treys. Chandler scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds to go with a pair of assists. Tamara Williams posted seven boards to lead the Tide on the glass. VANDERBILT NOTEBOOK The "No Love Lost" SEC rivalry between Tennessee and Vanderbilt continues tonight for the 54th time with a meeting at Memorial Coliseum on the Vanderbilt campus. This marks the first of two meetings between the schools this season - Vandy travels to Knoxville for the final SEC regular season game of the year - and Senior Day -- on Feb. 25. Under the direction of coach Melanie Balcomb, the Commodores are 17-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC this season.
VU SERIES TIDBITS Tennessee and Vanderbilt have a storied past. This will mark the 54th meeting between these SEC foes. UT has played Vandy 33 times since 1994. No other team has recorded as many back-to-back games with the Lady Vols in single seasons since UT played Old Dominion home-and-home and in the postseason (practically every year) in the late 1970s and early 80s. Though the Lady Vols possess a dominant 47-6 advantage in the overall series, the last several years have brought a more competitive match-up as UT has edged Vandy 13-2 in the past 15 meetings. Vanderbilt and Tennessee met in the SEC's tournament finals twice with UT winning in 1994 and VU triumphing in 1995. Overall, UT is 7-2 in postseason meetings with Vandy. FIFTY IS NIFTY Vanderbilt became the first opponent to face UT more than 50 times in a series.
OUR LAST MEETING Candace Parker scored 19 points and #5-ranked Tennessee rallied to beat #22-ranked Vanderbilt, 70-67, on Feb. 12, 2006, in Knoxville to avoid losing consecutive home conference games for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Lady Vols (22-3, 8-2 Southeastern Conference) were down 14 in the first half, but pulled within five at the break (36-31). Tennessee used a 14-4 run in the last 5:51 to improve to 20-0 against Vanderbilt in Knoxville. Vanderbilt (17-8, 6-5) led nearly the entire game behind a strong inside game from Liz Sherwood, who had 20 points. Tennessee finally found its defense and offense down the stretch. The Commodores were ahead 63-56 on Carla Thomas' basket with 6:14 remaining. Then Sidney Spencer had a jumper and Shanna Zolman made a pair of free throws to get the Lady Vols going. Nicole Jules scored for Vanderbilt, and Thomas had a basket around five points by Parker. Spencer scored again to tie it at 67 with 2:50 left. Vanderbilt did not score again. Alexis Hornbuckle made two free throws with 2:22 to go for a 69-67 lead, and Tennessee held on. Sherwood was whistled for her fifth foul with 1:51 left, but Parker missed both free throws. Cherish Stringfield missed a 3 for Vanderbilt, which got the ball back with 32 seconds left after Tennessee had a shot clock violation. Spencer made the second of two free throws, and the game ended when Parker caught Caroline Williams' deflected 3-point attempt. Spencer finished with 11 points and Hornbuckle had 10. Jules had 12 points for Vanderbilt while Stringfield had 11 and Thomas 10. The Lady Vols tied it at 43 with 14:54 remaining after a quick 5-0 run, but the Commodores were able to stretch their lead back to seven. They pushed it to as many as nine before Tennessee took over. Pat Summitt earned win No. 900 at Vanderbilt in January, and just like that game, the Commodores were up by as many as 14 in the first half. Jules gave the Commodores a 30-16 lead with 4:59 left. But Hornbuckle got an 11-0 run started with a putback, and the Lady Vols cut it to 30-27 with 1:33 to go. UT-VANDY FACING THE RANKED Tennessee will face their 10th ranked opponent of the 2006-07 season in the game against Vanderbilt. UT is 7-2 in games versus ranked teams out of 19 total contests. Meanwhile Vanderbilt will be taking on their fifth ranked opponent in 21 games when they face #4 Tennessee. Vanderbilt is 2-2 vs. ranked teams having defeated then #16/17 Cal (67-55) and #20/23 Arkansas (98-61) but losing to #4 Duke (69-48) and #16 Georgia (83-71). TOE STUBBERS Last year in Nashville, Vanderbilt drained seven three-pointers in the first half alone. The Commodores finished the game with 10 treys, tying the most by a Lady Vol opponent in the 2005-06 season. UT never led in the opening stanza versus Vanderbilt and had to overcome a 14-point deficit. LAST MEETING IN NASHVILLE Tennessee coach Pat Summitt didn't have to wait long to get her 900th career victory. Shanna Zolman led five Lady Vols in double figures with 16 points, and top-ranked Tennessee rallied from its biggest deficit of the season in beating No. 19 Vanderbilt 80-68 on Jan. 19, 2006. Summitt grabbed her 900th win in her first shot at the milestone. Tennessee (18-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) had never gone through a first half without leading at least once until this game, and the Lady Vols trailed by 14 late in the half. But the crowd of 13,127 with lots of Tennessee orange got to serenade Summitt by chanting "9-0-0" in the final minute as the Lady Vols won for the 10th straight time in the series. Vanderbilt (13-5, 2-2) looked ready to end that skid and get its first victory against the Lady Vols since Feb. 2, 2002. As well as the Commodores shot, they couldn't stop Tennessee from turning their turnovers into 25 points. Alexis Hornbuckle had 15 points for Tennessee with Candace Parker adding 14. Sidney Spencer and Nicky Anosike each had 10. The Lady Vols outshot Vandy 54 percent (31-of-56) to 46 percent (27-of-58). The Lady Vols, who trailed 33-19 in the first half, didn't take their first lead until 45-44 with 14:53 left on a pair of fast-break lay-ups by Hornbuckle coming off a Parker block, then a Zolman steal. Vanderbilt last led 50-49 on a 3-pointer by Cherish Stringfield. Then Tennessee scored 19 of the next 21 points in taking its biggest lead at 68-52 with 5:47 to go on a pair of Anosike free throws. The Commodores came into the game as the nation's fourth-best shooting team, and they shot 54 percent in the first half. They finished 10-of-22 from 3-point range en route to a 33-19 lead over the Lady Vols, the biggest Tennessee deficit of the season. Tennessee struggled with Zolman missing her first five shots, and Hornbuckle played only seven minutes after picking up her third foul in the first half. But they finished the half with a 13-2 spurt that included a steal and a layup by Parker and capped by Zolman's first bucket, a 3-pointer, with 26.1 seconds left. Still, they trailed 37-32 at halftime. Vanderbilt tried to muster some mojo before tipoff by showing highlights from the football team's 28-24 victory in November 2005 over Tennessee -- the school's first in the rivalry since 1982. It didn't help, and Summitt got to walk off the court with a wave and a thumb's up to the fans gathered behind her bench. UT-VANDY SERIES RANKINGS Typically, going into the Tennessee versus Vanderbilt match-up, the Lady Vols have entered the contest as the higher ranked team. In fact, in the last 34 meetings dating back to Jan.30, 1993, the Commodores have been ranked higher just six times. Going into that memorable oversold game on the Nashville campus in 1993, Vanderbilt was ranked number one while the Lady Vols were a step behind at #2. TURNSTILE HEAVEN Tennessee and Vanderbilt love to attract the crowds on their campuses when the two teams meet. Here are all of the attendance averages dating back to 1986-87 season. KNOXVILLE TOTAL (AVG.) --16 games - 242,214 (15,139); NASHVILLE TOTAL (AVG)--18 games - 206,624 (11,479); NEUTRAL TOTAL (AVG)--8 games- 60,168 ( 7,521). Largest gatherings: 21,968 in Knoxville 2/22/01, 15,317 in Nashville 1/30/93 and 11,182 in Memphis 3/3/01. ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES . . . UT and Vandy have met three times in a season on eight different occasions. VANDY HAS NEVER WON IN K-TOWN Four of Vandy's wins in the series have come at Memorial Gymnasium on the Nashville campus, while two of the Commodores six victories over UT have come on neutral courts in the SEC Tourney. The closest Vanderbilt has come to claiming a win in Knoxville in 20 meetings was a two-point loss on Feb. 26, 1984, 74-72, in Stokely Athletics Center on the UT campus. Other near misses include a three-point loss in 1996 and a four-pointer on 2-22-01. HOW MANY GAMES? There will be some discrepancy in the game notes as to the records for UT and Vandy in the all-time series. The Lady Vols records show that the first game between the two teams was played on Jan. 18, 1976 in Nashville. Tennessee won the contest, 96-27. Counting that game, UT has a 47-6 lead over the Commodores in the all-time series CAREER STATS VS. VANDERBILT Returning Lady Vol career statistics versus Vanderbilt can be found on p. 66 in the 2006-07 Tennessee media guide. Sophomore Candace Parker owns an 16.5 points per game career average versus the Commodores and hits on 62% of her field goal attempts against the SEC rival. Junior Alexis Hornbuckle is the second-leading scorer (10.2 ppg) and has connected at a .579 clip against the instate rivals. Parker (5.5 rpg), Nicky Anosike (5.4 rpg) and Hornbuckle (4.4 rpg) are top UT rebounders rpg against the Black & Gold. LADY VOLS HAVE A LITTLE DUNKING HISTORY IN NASHVILLE It's hard to tell when Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker will dunk again. Her last dunk was three weeks ago in a win over Connecticut on Jan. 6, 2007 at the Hartford Civic Center. The throw-down on the Huskies was Parker's fourth of the season and the sixth of her career. If she gets an opportunity to dunk in Nashville, the Naperville, Ill. native won't be the first Lady Vol to accomplish the feat. 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. In the 2000-01 season, Snow took her game to the next level with her first dunk. 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. Later, Snow 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." 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, 31 in a row, since 3-23-1984 THE SEC REGULAR SEASON STORY UT's last SEC win at home: Miss. State, 73-44, 1-18-07 AGAINST THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE Tennessee owns a 369-57 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 152-11 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 2005-06 season. 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 243-33 against all SEC teams dating back to the 1982-83 season. 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 529 polls through the years. Currently, UT has been ranked in 387 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. AVOIDING THE DUKE SWOON Following the 75-53 loss at #2-ranked Duke last season, the Tennessee Lady Vols went into a tailspin in their next game and lost at Kentucky, 66-63, three days later. It marked the first back-to-back defeats for the Lady Vols in nine years when the Lady Kats recorded the win in Rupp Arena. Against UK, Candace Parker was UT's only double-digit scorer tallying 25 points. Fellow starters Nicky Anosike and Sidney Spencer chipped in nine points each, while Tye Fluker added seven points and Alexis Hornbuckle just a single digit in the loss. Shanna Zolman, who came in off the bench, tallied nine points. This season, UT heads to face a tough #15/14-ranked Vanderbilt squad following the loss three days earlier to top-ranked Duke, 74-70. JUST TOO MUCH DOOOK Duke etched their name in the Lady Vol record books holding Tennessee without a bucket for the first 5:58 to start the game. An 11-0 run out against Tennessee is recalled as the best opponent start, however, Duke's 19-0 beginning is now the best ever versus the Lady Vols. Tennessee fell into a 21-point hole (28-7 at 9:23 in the first half) before rallying to narrow the halftime deficit to 11 points (38-27). The 21-point deficit in the first half was the largest of the season for UT...The Duke game marked the first time UT hadn't led in a game this season. Duke's Abby Waner made six three-pointers, tying for the fifth most by an opposing player in Lady Vol history. Duke recorded the highest field goal percentage of any team against the Lady Vols in the 2006-07 season, .491. Conversely, UT dipped to a season low .361 from the field. Free throw defense stymied Tennessee as the Lady Vols connected for just 8-17 (.471) and All-American Candace Parker was affected the most going just 1-7 from the charity stripe. In a positive vein, UT tied a season-high with 10 three-pointers. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle ... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 55. She now has at least one steal in 76 of 83 career games. She moved past Dena Head and into a tie with Sheila Frost for 12th place in the UT record books for career steals (219). She reached double figures for the ninth time this season and the 41st time in her career while scoring a career-high-tying 19 points; Candace Parker...Reached double figures for the 18th time this season, the 32nd time in a row, and the 51st time of her career. With 22 points in the game, she scored 20+ points for the eighth time of the season and the 19th time of her career. With 10 rebounds, she earned her ninth double-double of the season and the 19th of her career. Parker's six blocks moved into a tie for fifth place with Teresa Geter in the UT record books for career blocks (138); Sidney Spencer...Moved into fourth place in the UT record books for career free throw percentage (.829). Additionally, she scored in double figures for the 14th time this season, the 41st time in her career and Nicky Anosike... With 10 rebounds, she grabbed double-digit rebounds for the second straight game, the third time of the season and the 12th time of her career. FACING NUMBER ONE Tennessee has faced the nation's top-ranked team 42 times in games dating back to the 1976-77 season. The Lady Vols have notched 14 upset victories over the #1-ranked team and fallen in defeat 28 times. LADY VOLS EXTEND STREAK TO 26 The victory over Mississippi State on Jan. 18th was the Lady Vols 26th consecutive over the Lady Bulldogs. UT produced the win without the services of sophomore All-American Candace Parker who was battling a respiratory illness and was pulled from the line-up prior to tip-off. It marked the first time in Parker's Lady Vol career that she didn't start or play in a game following her redshirt rookie year. In her absence, four UT players registered double digit scoring and Nicky Anosike chipped in with a double-digit rebounding night to lead UT to the win. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle...-extended her streak of games with a steal to 54. She now has at least one steal in 75 of 82 career games. Scored in double figures for the third straight game, the eighth time this season and the 40th time of her career. She moved past Debbie Groover (295) and Bridgette Gordon (296) and into 18th place in the UT record books for career assists (297); Alex Fuller...Got her first career star and reached double figures for the fourth time this season... her 12 points marked a career-high in SEC contests. Additionally, her three steals and 36 minutes of playing time were both personal bests; Shannon Bobbitt...Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season... her 13 points were a career high for SEC contests. She also grabbed a personal best in rebounds (4); Sidney Spencer...Scored in double figures for the 13th time this season, the 40th time of her career and matched a season high in assists (3); Cait McMahan...Continued her physical play this season, drawing two charges in the first half alone; Alberta Auguste...Tied a personal best with six rebounds; Dominique Redding... Grabbed a season-high four rebounds and Nicky Anosike...Grabbed 10 rebounds for the 11th double-digit boards total of her career. 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, one-third of the opponent's 348 total fouls have been inflicted on her. In 18 games this season, Parker has drawn 100 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 stripe 108 times this season - about six times a game. Against UConn, seven of the Huskies total of 13 fouls came while trying to stop Parker. LADY VOLS: THE BEST AND THE WORST OF 2006-07 MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME:1 02 points ....vs. Chattanooga (11/12) LADY VOLS BY DOUBLE DIGITS
19-GAME ANALYSIS For all of its offensive potential, the Lady Vols currently have just three players averaging double-figure scoring, Candace Parker (19.8 ppg), Sidney Spencer (12.5 ppg) and now Alexis Hornbuckle (10.2 ppg)... Hornbuckle averaged over 10.0 ppg in the first six games of the season and in six of the last nine contests... Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt has been on the warpath regarding the team's rebounding... The Lady Vols lost the game but won the war of the boards against top-ranked Duke pulling down 46-35 boards - a +11 differential against the Blue Devils... UT has been out rebounded in 9 games this season. Georgia out rebounded UT, 36-33, after Tennessee out-boarded Florida, 46-42, to break a streak of being outrebounded in five consecutive contests ...Tennessee holds an slim 4.5 rebounding advantage over the its foes...Year-in and year-out, UT teams are usually noted for pounding the ball in the paint for the majority of its points...Times, they are a'changing ... This season, one-fourth of Tennessee's makes and attempts have come from three-point range (121-300 treys and 531-1162 for all shots)...Senior Sidney Spencer has led the nation for a majority of the season with a gaudy shooting percentage between 50% and 65% from three-point land...The 6'3" senior forward is a tough match-up and has found ways to get herself open for good looks at the trey - Spencer is a nation-leading .500 this week from three-point land. FACING THE UNRANKED When taking on an unranked opponent such as Mississippi State, 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 554-32 (.947) record when going up against unranked teams. The victory over Old Dominion was Summitt's 550th over an unranked foe. UT IS 'DUNK U' Tennessee Lady Vol sophomore Candace Parker leads a group of five women who have dunked in a collegiate women's basketball game. Parker, with six career dunks, ranks ahead of former Lady Vol Michelle Snow (1998-2002) who recorded three dunks during her career at Tennessee. Candace Parker, Tennessee (6) NO MUSICAL CHAIRS THIS SEASON Tennessee Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt has utilized just three line-ups this season. She probably would have stayed with just one line-up ( Candace Parker, Sidney Spencer, Nicky Anosike, Alexis Hornbuckle and Shannon Bobbitt) if junior college transfer Bobbitt hadn't missed the game at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 28 to take a test and Parker hadn't fallen ill prior to the Mississippi State game on Jan. 18. Rookie Cait McMahan started in place of Bobbitt for the La Tech game while Parker was replaced by Alex Fuller for the Miss. State contest. Using essentially one line-up is a far cry from previous seasons. Last year, Summitt employed seven different combinations with Candace Parker as the only common denominator in 36 games. In 2004-05, Summitt utilized 10 different looks with no player starting all 35 games. UT's line-up saw four different looks in 2003-04 with Shyra Ely and Ashley Robinson starting 35 games. In 2002-03, three starting line-ups were used as Gwen Jackson, Kara Lawson and Loree Moore were constants in the 38 game schedule. LUCY, YOU GOT SOME X-PLAIN' TO DO UT Coach Pat Summitt's teams have always been noted for tough defense and board play. Kudos to the 2006-07 team for tough defensive play thus far - holding the opposition to just 56.2 ppg. However, the current squad needs to hang their collective heads in shame for being the worst rebounding team in Lady Vol history. Currently at 38.1 rebounds per game, this team has dipped below the 2005-06 squad who earned the "worst" moniker last season managing just 39.4 rpg in 36 games - breaking a 28-year old record (1977-78 squad who managed just 39.7 rpg in 31 contests). PARKER RACING THROUGH THE RECORD BOOKS Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker is rapidly racing through the Tennessee record books. Through 54 career games, the Naperville, Ill., native has recorded the following totals: 979 points, 456 rebounds and 138 blocks, ranking sixth all-time in the latter category. When she reaches the 1,000-point plateau, she will become just the 29th Lady Vol ever to do so. If she does it before her 57th career game, she will be the fastest Pat Summitt-coached player to amass 1,000 tallies. Chamique Holdsclaw did so in 57 games and Tamika Catchings in 58. Parker's upcoming games: #55 at Vanderbilt and #56 at Alabama. BEFORE DUKE DEBACLE, UT TRAILED AT HOME FOR JUST SEVEN MINUTES Before trailing 39 minutes and 49 seconds versus Duke (UT was tied with the Blue Devils for 11 seconds), the Lady Vols had been tough at home. During the Lady Vols previous 10 home contests, they trailed their opponent on the scoreboard just seven times for a total of 7:02. Before Duke, Tennessee has been tied or ahead 97.8% of the time (3:12:58 of 400 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, Notre Dame, Alabama or Mississippi State. LADY VOL STREAKS The last time the Lady Vols lost at home was against Duke, 74-70, on Jan. 22, 2007, -- since then, UT has not played at home. The last time UT lost on the road was on Dec. 3, 2006 at UNC, since then, UT is 5-0 on the road. The last time the Lady Vols lost on a neutral court was against North Carolina, 75-63, in the NCAA Elite 8 game on Mar. 28, 2006. Since that time, UT has not played on a neutral court. OVER 500 GAMES VS. RANKED Tennessee's game versus #13 Georgia on Feb. 16, 2006 was the Lady Vols' 500th all-time versus a ranked team since the inception of the polls in 1976. UT is an amazing 376-147 (.700) versus ranked teams. This season, UT is 7-2 in ranked meetings. Last year, Tennessee was 13-3 versus ranked teams. 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. 375TH WIN OVER A RANKED TEAM IN GAME VS. UCONN Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt collected her 375th all-time win over a ranked team when #4-ranked Tennessee defeated #5-ranked Connecticut on Jan. 6. Summitt has a ridiculous 72 percent winning percentage in ranked games (376-147). LADY VOLS IN NCAA STATS Tennessee appears in a number of categories in the latest NCAA stats (thru 1/21/07). UT ranks sixth in the nation in three-point field goal accuracy, 14th in the nation in field goal accuracy, sixth in blocked shots, sixth in steals, eighth in scoring margin, 19th in scoring, and 25th in assists. Individually, Sidney Spencer ranks first the nation in three-point field goal accuracy with 51.9 percent, Alexis Hornbuckle is 10th in steals with 3.4 thefts and Candace Parker is 18th nationally in scoring with 19.7 ppg and 16th in 2.7 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 versus Notre Dame. The current attendance standings: 1.Tennessee 13,940 (153,337/11), 2. Connecticut 11,526 (126,790/11), 3. Texas Tech 10,823 (86,583/8), 4.Oklahoma 9,994 (49,969/5) and 5. New Mexico 9,118 (82,066/9). 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 636 points, 522 rebounds, 106 blocked shots, 141 assists, and 123 steals in 90 career 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 11 home games, UT has recorded a total attendance of 153,337 for a nation-leading average of 13,940. SUMMITT GETS 930TH WIN While Texas Tech's Bobby Knight finally reached 880 wins on the men's side, Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt recorded her 930th victory with a 73-44 win over Miss. State on Jan. 18, 2007. 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 50 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 19 games. Also listed are UT's opponents this season.
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 515 of a possible 529 polls. Through the poll released on Jan. 22, the top five team poll rankings are:
THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA WELCOME TO "THE SUMMITT" The playing court in the Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus donned 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 with permanent logos of both the Lady Vols and Vols 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. ON OUR WAY TO 300 WINS Tennessee recorded its 200th win in Thompson-Boling Arena when the Lady Vols defeated the University of Southern California on Nov. 18, 2001, 106-66. UT has now amassed a 275-17 (.943) record since the Orange and White moved into the Thompson-Boling Arena to start the 1987-88 season 19-years ago. Along the way, the Lady Vols have produced nine flawless home records in 1988-89 (15-0), 1991-92 (14-0), 1992-93 (13-0), 1993-94 (15-0), 1994-95 (15-0), 1997-98 (16-0), 1998-99 (14-0), 2000-01 (15-0) and 2002-03 (16-0). UT also registered an NCAA record 69-game home court-winning streak from Feb. 1, 1991 thru Jan. 2, 1996. JUST 17 LOSSES The Tennessee Lady Vols rarely lose at home. In fact, since moving to the Thompson-Boling Arena for the 1987-88 campaign, UT has lost two games in one season just six times. UT lost two games in TBA during the inaugural 1987-88 campaign, 1996-97, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04 and the 2005-06 seasons. The 17 all-time losses at Thompson-Boling Arena have come at the hands of just nine teams: Florida (2006), LSU (2006), Duke (2004 and 2007), Connecticut (2004, 2002, 2000, 1996), Louisiana Tech (1999, 1989), Georgia (1996, 1991), Texas (2003, 2002, 1987), Stanford (1996) and Auburn (1988). HOME SWEET HOME -- 400th HOME WIN The victory over Georgia on Jan. 31, 2005, was the Lady Vols 400th home win since Pat Summitt took over as head coach in 1974. Summitt has won 91.4 percent of all home games in 33 years producing a 427-41 overall record. Home losses (in the Summitt era) include: six in Alumni Gym from 1974-76; 18 in Stokely Athletics Center from 1976-87; and 17 in Thompson-Boling Arena since 1987. 226 OF 240 AT HOME UT has won 226 of their last 240 games in Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to 2-1-91. UT's 14 losses during this time have been to Florida, LSU, Duke (twice), Louisiana Tech, UConn (four times), Stanford, Texas (three times) and Georgia (OT). LAST LOSS TO AN UNRANKED TEAM? Florida became the second unranked team in the 2005-06 season to knock off the Lady Vols, when they won 95-93 OT on Feb. 26, 2006. Exactly one month earlier, unranked Kentucky turned the trick with a 66-63 win over #1/3-ranked Tennessee on Jan. 26, 2006 at Rupp Arena. Previously, it had been four years since an unranked team upset the Lady Vols. So before Florida and Kentucky had their way with UT, when was 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. 100 POINT GAMES Since 1974, the Lady Vols have gone over the century mark 72 times. Last season, UT eclipsed 100 points in two games - Princeton, 107 and #16/18 Texas, 102. The 1987-88 team hit triple digits in seven games to lead the NCAA. IN OVERTIME The Lady Vols are 24-13 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. UT's most recent OT affair was a 95-93 loss to Florida on 2-26-06. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
