University of Tennessee Athletics
Old School Message For Lady Vols
March 16, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
-- A postseason theme has quite possibly never been more appropriate for a bracket's unveiling for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.The team entered the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio for Monday night's NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show clad in shirts that read simply "Back to Old School" on the front with a Lady Volunteer logo underneath. On the back was a longtime Pat Summitt mantra: "Offense sells tickets, defense wins games, rebounding wins championships."
The team left the studio a couple of hours later with the bracket in hand, one that will not only test that mantra, but will require they follow it as they run a gamut of potential grudge matches on the road to Tampa.
"We've had success with it all the time and we've talked about how defense and rebounding wins games," head coach Holly Warlick said. "We wanted to stand by that motto because that's what we preach, and that's how you get to championships."
Tennessee opens the NCAA Tournament at home on Saturday afternoon as the No. 2 seed in the Spokane region against 15th-seeded Boise State. Win that game, and Monday's second round will either start a run of potential revenge games against Chattanooga or will provide a flashback to a previous NCAA run versus Pittsburgh.
The Lady Volunteers defeated the Panthers in the 2007 second round in Pittsburgh en route to the program's seventh national championship. The Mocs provided an early bump in Tennessee's road with a 67-63 win over UT in Chattanooga in November.
"They made our preseason a little rough," senior Cierra Burdick said of Chattanooga. "I'm looking forward to having a rematch with them. They're a good basketball team that was ranked in the top 25 most of the season."
Move on from the first weekend and more familiar foes lurk, including No. 3 seed Oregon State, who Tennessee defeated, 74-63, in Knoxville and top-seeded Maryland, the team that ended the Lady Vols' run in last season's tournament.
Though she emphasized that the most important game was the one that stood directly in front of them, guard Ariel Massengale said the teams unveiled in Tennessee's bracket made it a little bit easier to get the sharpened focus needed for this time of year.
"Maryland got us last year, but they're a different team this year and we're a different team this year," Massengale said. "Chattanooga got us early in the year at their place, now it's time for them to come to Knoxville and our home court."
For the motivation to take care of the business ahead, the Lady Vols need only to look at each other and the messages on the shirts that they will wear throughout the postseason.
The mantra has always been a staple of Tennessee teams, but there is an extra emphasis on it this year. Tennessee is 23-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent. The only loss? Chattanooga.
"That's something that Coach Summitt instilled in us from day one," said Massengale, who, along with Burdick and the injured Isabelle Harrison, are the only remaining active players to suit up under Summitt. "We're trying to get back to that and understanding that is what it takes to win and that's what we have to do to hang another banner in our arena."
The postseason also leaves the seniors one last chance to leave an impression on the minds of Tennessee fans and to add to their legacy.
"People remember your senior year and how you leave your mark," Burdick said. "Our goal is to get to Tampa. We win four games and we're there. So these are going to be the toughest four games we've ever played, but they're going to be the most fun. It's a great opportunity.
"We owe it to Pat, she gave us the opportunity to put on the Lady Vol uniform and she trusted us to get the job done."
It is a job that starts against Boise State Saturday afternoon.
"You have to win to play again," Massengale said. "We have to take care of business."
