University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Face Florida in SEC Quarterfinals
March 06, 2009 | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2009
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| #5 Tennessee vs. #4 Florida March 6, 2009 - 7:30 p.m. ET Alltel Arena (15,936) - North Little Rock, Arkansas | |||
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THE GAME The #19/24-ranked and fifth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vols (21-9, 9-5 SEC) advance in the 2009 SEC Tournament in North Little Rock, Ark., and will take on the fourth-seeded and #21/18-ranked Florida Gators (23-6, 9-5 SEC) on Fri., Mar. 6 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Alltel Arena. The Lady Vols have won 15 consecutive SEC Second Round games dating back to 1994. Tennessee and Florida squared off during the regular season and the Gators came away with a 66-57 victory on Feb. 8 in Gainesville. LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE This is the Lady Vols' 35th season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 1,004-191 overall record... Registered her record-breaking 1,000th win over Georgia, 73-43, on Feb. 3, 2008 in Knoxville... 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 2006-07 and 2007-08 squads were crowned as the NCAA Champions producing the program's seventh and eighth titles...Last season, UT fi nished with a 36-2 overall record and were also the SEC Tournament Champions... This year, UT returned fi ve letterwinners, a redshirt freshman and welcomed a talented six-pack rookie class...The Lady Vols sport the youngest team and starting line-up in Summitt's 35 seasons at the helm...OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK It's time to "Survive and Advance." The Lady Vols hope to enjoy an extended stay in North Little Rock, Ark., at the 2009 SEC Tournament, Mar. 5-9.ON THIS DAY IN LADY VOL BASKETBALL HISTORY UT is 7-4 all-time on Mar. 6, with a 1-0 mark in Knoxville, a 0-0 record on the road and a 6-4 slate on neutral courts. The last time the Lady Vols were in action on Mar. 6, #5-ranked UT upset #1-ranked LSU, 67-65, in the championship game of the 2005 SEC Tournament in Greenville, S.C.LOOKING BACK Last year at this time, the #3/3-ranked Lady Vols were 27-2 (13-1 SEC) on the campaign after defeating #22-ranked Georgia, 72-63, in Athens, Ga., to conclude the regular season.LADY VOLS ON TV Twenty-three Lady Vol games have been televised this season (22 during the regular season) -- with UT managing a 14-9 record. Upcoming TV games include all games in the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Last season, UT had a school record 36 national television appearances.20 WIN SEASONS With a victory over Vanderbilt on Mar. 1, Tennessee reached at least 20 wins in a season under Coach Pat Summitt for the 33rd consecutive time. Despite the 21-9 overall record, this Lady Vol team is still ahead of several other former UT teams who struggled to record 20 wins in a season. The 1984-85 team achieved 20 wins on Mar.3, 1985; the 1980-81 team picked up the 20th win on Mar. 10, 1981; the 1981-82 squad logged its 20th win on Mar. 13, 1982 and the 1983-84 squad picked up win number 20 on Mar. 17, 1984. With the exception of the 1984-85 three ACL injury-plagued team, the other squads advanced to the Final Four.LAST TIME IN LITTLE ROCK The Lady Vols are 6-1 all-time at the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Ark., in three SEC Tournaments. UT went 2-1 in 2003 losing to LSU in the championship game, 78-62. In 2006, Tennessee was 3-0 en route to SEC Tournament Championship number 12. The Lady Vols tallied a 63-62 win over LSU in the fi nals. In 2009, UT is 1-0 in NLR.THE 4-1-1 ON FLORIDA The Gators enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 4 seed, earning a fi rst-round bye for he seventh time in 30-years...The last time the Gators did not have to play on opening day was in 2004 -- UF dropped its quarterfi nal round game... UF has not advanced past the quarterfi nal since 1998... The Gators' 9-5 league record tied with Tennessee for fourth place -- the Gators win over UT during the regular season dropped the Lady Vols to the tourney's fi fth seed... Florida is 15-28 all-time record in the SEC Tournament... Gator Coach Amanda Butler is celebrating her 37th birthday today...OUR LAST SEC MEETING WITH FLORIDA Candace Parker scored 26 points, and #3-ranked Tennessee beat Florida, 92-61, on Mar. 7, 2008, in the second round of the SEC Tournament. Shannon Bobbitt scored 22 points for the Lady Vols and Alexis Hornbuckle added 16. A majority of the SEC tournament session-record 9,938 fans donned Tennessee orange. Florida kept it close early, even grabbing a one-point lead on a layup by Sha Brooks fi ve minutes into the game. Brooks, who made a career- high seven three-pointers in the Gators' regular season loss at UT, hit three on six attempts. She fi nished with 20 points, and Depree Bowden added 15. The Lady Vols broke away with a 12-1 run, and free throws by Bobbitt put Tennessee up 44-27 with 3:37 left before halftime. Parker already had 20 points by the break, with Tennessee up 48-33. The Lady Vols shot 54.8 from the fi eld in the fi rst half and went 13-for-15 from the free throw line. Tennessee built its lead after halftime on the play of the Lady Vols bench. UT scored easily in transition with 24 points off turnovers and 30 fast-break points. Tennessee shot 55.4 percent from the fi eld for the game, its best shooting percentage against an SEC opponent. The Lady Vols also forced 17 turnovers, blocked 11 shots and stole the ball 12 times in one of their most complete games of the season. Parker's 26 points moved her past Kara Lawson and into fourth place on the UT career scoring list (1,956). The win improved the Lady Vols to 56-16 in SEC Tournament games.OUR 2009 REGULAR SEASON MEETING VS. UF The Tennessee Lady Vols were back on the road for a contest with the No. 11/13-ranked Florida on Feb. 8, 2009. UT dropped only its third game ever to the Gators, 66-57, and only the second time this season that Tennessee has lost when it led at the half. The game was a battle from start to fi nish, with six ties and seven lead changes in the fi rst 20 minutes and eight ties and 12 lead changes for the game. Tennessee held the Gators without a fi eld goal for four minutes, 29 seconds midway through the fi rst half to build a 21-15 lead. However, UF responded with six straight points to force tie number three of the fi rst half at 21-all. The two sides would go back-and-forth the rest of the half before freshman Kelley Cain got a tip-in right before the halftime buzzer to give the Lady Vols a two-point advantage. UT and UF maintained striking distance through most of the second half, with neither side holding a lead larger than three for nearly the fi rst eight minutes. Down the stretch, the veteran Florida defense stepped up its game and held the Tennessee offense without a fi eld goal from the 6:31 mark of the second half until just 2:08 remaining in the game. Unfortunately for the Lady Vols, the Gator faithful showed up in droves to the tune of 8,060 fans -- the second largest crowd at a women's game in the O'Connell Center -- and energized the Florida squad in the fi nal minutes for a nine-point victory. Sophomore Angie Bjorklund led the Lady Vol offense with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Her third trey of the game gave her 104 for her career, moving her past Tasha Butts and Jody Adams for 10th place all-time on the UT three-pointers made list. Cain would fi nish with her fi rst career double-double as she tallied 12 points and 10 boards.UT-FLORIDA FACING THE RANKED Tennessee faced their 10th ranked opponent of the 2008-09 season in the win over #18/21-ranked Vanderbilt on Mar. 1. UT is 3-7 in games versus ranked teams out of 30 total contests. Meanwhile Florida will be taking on their seventh ranked opponent in 30 games when they face #19/24 Tennessee. Florida is 4-2 vs. ranked teams.FACING FLORIDA IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT The Lady Vols have faced the Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament on six occasions. UT sports a 6-0 record all-time in SEC Tourney play versus UF. 2-8-80, #5 UT 118, Florida 44, Knoxville 3-3-90, #3 UT 81, Florida 56, Albany, Ga. 3-3-96, #5 UT 74, #18 Florida 63, Chattanooga 2-26-99, #2 UT 92, Florida 80, Chattanooga 3-3-00, #2 UT 91, Florida 79, Chattanooga 3-7-08 #3 UT 92, Florida 61, NashvilleFLIP FLOP Last season, the Lady Vols were seeded #2 in the SEC and faced #7-seeded Florida in second round action. The Lady Vols took a 92-61 win.THE UT-FLORIDA SERIES Tennessee leads 37-3
FLORIDA SERIES Tennessee leads the series with Florida, 37- 3. UT has gone to overtime with the Gators in two of the last six meetings. In 2006, Florida became the fi rst unranked team to deal the Lady Vols a loss in Thompson-Boling Arena and the second home loss ever delivered by an unranked team. The second Gator victory came in the 1997 meeting in Gainesville where Florida upended the eventual 1997 NCAA Champs, 71-62. The Gators win in 2006 broke a 12-game winning run by the Lady Vols and spoiled "Senior Night" for Shanna Zolman and Tye'sha Fluker. UF struck for a third all-time win over UT with a 66-57 win on Feb. 8, 2009 in Gainesville.AVERAGE SCORE The average score in the four most recent UT-Florida games is 88.0 (UT) and 68.7 (UF).SUNSHINE GIRLS Former Lady Vols from Florida includes Dominique Redding from Clearwater. slam-dunk queen Michelle Snow (Pensacola), Lady Vol Hall of Famer Bridgette Gordon (DeLand) and Hollywood producer Pam Marr (Winter Park).SEC MEDIA DAY PREDICTION The Tennessee Lady Vols were predicted to fi nish second Southeastern Conference Basketball Regular Season Championship, according to a preseason vote of the coaches and media attending the Tip-off 2009. The prognosticators missed on every fi nish except for Ole Miss at #10 and Alabama at #12.SEC ANNOUNCES 2009 HONORS The Southeastern Conference announced its 2009 women's basketball postseason awards on Mar. 3. Lady Vols Angie Bjorklund (Spokane Valley, Wash.) and Shekinna Stricklen (Morrilton, Ark.) were selected to the Second Team All-SEC as selected by the league coaches. Stricklen also was a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team, while rookie forward Glory Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.) was also selected to the All-Freshman Team. Bjorklund, a sophomore guard and the 2008 SEC Freshman of the Year, is Tennessee's second leading scorer this season with 12.0 ppg in all games and 11.4 in conference outings. She converted 41.1 (30-of-73) percent of her three-point fi eld goals, good for second in the conference. Stricklen, who started all 14 SEC games, was only one of three unanimous selections to the eight person All-Freshman Team after leading the Lady Vols with 13.1 ppg in all games and 12.6 ppg in SEC contests. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice. Johnson, who started 12 of the 14 conference games, averaged 8.9 ppg and 6.9 rpg in SEC outings. Her 6.9 boards per game tied the freshman forward for ninth in the conference, and the best average by a freshman. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice and posted fi ve double-doubles. Johnson became only the second Lady Vol rookie to score in double fi gures in her fi rst 10 games of the season.First Team All-SEC *Unanimous Selection LADY VOL SUCCESS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT IN OUR HALF OF THE 2009 SEC BRACKET In Tennessee's half of the 2009 SEC Tournament bracket are #1 seed Auburn, #4 seed Florida, #8 seed Arkansas, #9 seed Ole Miss and #12 seed Alabama. This season, the Lady Vols turned in an 3-2 record versus these teams. Tennessee was 6-3 versus the other half of the bracket. vs. #1-seed Auburn 30 SEC APPEARANCES The Tennessee Lady Vols' 2009 appearance in the SEC Tournament is the school's 30th time to the mini-Final Four. This season marks just the second time without a fi rst round bye. Previously, the only year that Tennessee had to play on opening day was in 1997 when the Lady Vols were suffering through a rare 10-loss season. UT took its fi nal defeat of the year at the Round House in Chattanooga (a 61-59 loss to Auburn) and then ran the table in the NCAA's to fi nish the year 29-10 and the improbable 1997 NCAA Champions.UT's SEC TOURNAMENT W-L Since the tourney began in 1980, the Lady Vols sport the best overall record in the conference tournament. UT has produced a 59-16 (.784) record which breaks down this way: Alabama (9-2), Auburn (9-3), Florida (6-0), Georgia (8-3), Kentucky (3-1), LSU (7-4), Ole Miss (4-1), Miss St. (4-0), South Carolina (2-0), and Vanderbilt (7-2). The Lady Vols have never faced Arkansas. (The SEC Offi ce record indicates that UT is 57-16 in SEC play. However, in the old format, there was a consolation game. In 1983, UT defeated Auburn, 83-75, in the consolation fi nals.)BOWING OUT EARLY There have been four trips to the SEC Tournament since 1980 when the Lady Vols didn't even get to unpack their bags, losing in second round action after receiving a bye. In 1981, Alabama sent UT packing after a 77-71 loss; in 1984, Alabama again provided the honors with a 85-66 drubbing; in 1986, Ole Miss dealt UT a 83-78 loss, and in 1993, Georgia provided UT with an early exit from Chattanooga, 73-72.UT AND AUBURN FIND A WAY TO MEET In UT's 75 all-time SEC Tournament games, Tennessee and Auburn have battled in almost one-sixth of the contests or 12 games. The Lady Vols sport an 9-3 record in SEC Tournament action against the team from The Plains. Tennessee would need to win two games in the 2009 tournament to possibly face Auburn in the semifi nals.TWO SEC TOURNAMENT MEETINGS WITH USC Whereas the Lady Vols have played Auburn more times than any other SEC school in the Tournament, Tennessee has faced South Carolina the least number of times (two games, 2-0) outside of never having faced Arkansas at all. Ironically, the fi rst meeting with South Carolina was (previously) the ONLY time UT had to play on the Tournament's fi rst day - in 1997. That year, UT defeated USC, 75-48, beat LSU in overtime, 100-99, and lost to Auburn in the semifi nals. The Lady Vols would not lose again that season winning the 1997 NCAA title with a 29-10 overall record.OUR SEC OVERTIME GAMES In 30 years and 75 games in the SEC Tournament, the Tennessee Lady Vols have been involved in just two overtime contests. In 2004 in Nashville, Tennessee and Georgia met in the semifi nals on Mar.6. #20/16-ranked Georgia forced the overtime with the score knotted at 57-all. #1-ranked UT took a quick four-point lead but Georgia responded with a 7-0 run to take the 68-66 win and earned a trip to the title game. In Tennessee's only other SEC overtime, in 1997, Tennessee snuck by LSU with a narrow 100-99 victory in overtime in second round play. In the next game, a weary UT squad lost a heartbreaker to Auburn, 61-59, in semifi nal action. The loss to Auburn was UT's 10th on the season. It would be the last loss for the 1996-97 "Cinderella Season" team as they ran the table in the NCAA Tournament to claim NCAA title number fi ve.FIFTY IS NIFTY The Tennessee Lady Vols recorded their 50th win all-time in the SEC Tournament with the victory over #18/17 Vanderbilt, 76-73, on Mar. 5, 2005. Georgia is a distant second in all-time SEC Tournament wins with 39 Vandy stands third with 37 wins all-time. UT now has 59 all-time wins.17 TIMES IN THE FINALS The Championship game against LSU in the 2008 SEC Tournament marked the Lady Vols 18th incredible trip to the fi nal round of the nation's toughest conference tournament. UT is 13-5 in all-time SEC Championship game meetings. In the 1990s alone, the Lady Vols were in the title game eight times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999) against fi ve different SEC teams. In that decade, UT won titles in fi ve of the years - 1999 vs. Georgia, 85-69, 1998 vs. Alabama, 67-63, 1996 vs. Alabama, 64-60 (without Chamique Holdsclaw due to a knee injury suffered in the opening minutes of play), 1994 vs. Vanderbilt, 82-57 and 1992 vs. Georgia, 73-66. The Lady Vols have won titles in 2008, 2006, 2005, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1985, and 1980. The Lady Vols amassed a 16-3 record in SEC games played in Chattanooga and brought home four titles from that venue (1994, 1996, 1999 and 2000).THE CENTURY MARK The Lady Vols have reached the century scoring mark four times in the SEC Tournament. In 1998, the Lady Vols derailed Vandy, 106-45. In the previous year, the Lady Vols scored 100 on LSU in overtime. Nine years earlier, in 1988, Tennessee nailed Kentucky for 100 points. And in the very fi rst SEC Tournament game in 1980, Tennessee crushed Florida, 118-44. That Florida team was then coached by former Kentucky head coach and UT associate head coach Mickie DeMoss.2009 LADY VOL SENIOR The Tennessee Lady Vol Basketball Senior Class of 2009 -- Alex Fuller -- has accumulated an overall record of 121 wins and just 19 losses. This senior has played in the NCAA Final Four twice ... winning the 2007 and 2008 NCAA Championships! She has also helped to capture an SEC regular season crown (2007) and three SEC Tournament Titles (2005, 2006, 2008). |
