University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL HOOPS CENTRAL: PENN ST.
November 18, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2016
WATCH LIVE (BIG TEN NETWORK)
LISTEN LIVE (LADY VOL NETWORK)
LIVE STATS
LIVE BLOG
GAME NOTES
MEDIA GUIDE
ONLINE SHOP
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 13 Tennessee (3-0) will continue its season-opening stretch of four road games in the first five, as it heads to Penn State (2-1) for a matchup with the Lady Lions on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.
MORE INFO
Gameday Time & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: Penn State
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 20
- Tipoff: 5 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bryce Jordan Center
- Watch Online: Big Ten Network
- Radio: Lady Vol Network
- Online: Live Audio, Live Stats
Related Links
Follow @LadyVol_Hoops SEC Clubhouse 2016-17 Women's Basketball Media Guide
Tennessee
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
Penn State
Roster Schedule Stats Game Notes
The Latest From The Lady Vols
Live Blog: #13 @LadyVol_Hoops at Penn State Lady Vol Hoops Report (11/17/16) Lady Vols Down ETSU on the Road, 83-58 Middleton Scores Career High in 85-55 Win Over Navy EXPOSURE: Lady Vols Road Trip Lady Vols Visit Children's Hospital
The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, but fans can also catch the action online through through BTN2Go. Visit btn2go.com to view the game on a computer or mobile device. Lisa Byington (PxP) and Christy Winters Scott (Analyst) will call the action.
Fans can also tune into their local Lady Vol Network station to catch Mickey Dearstone describing the action as Tennessee takes on Penn State.
TENNESSEE vs. PENN STATE
- A three-game road spree continues for No. 13/13 Tennessee (3-0), as the Lady Vols travel to University Park, Pa., to take on Penn State (2-1) on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.
- After playing at ETSU in Johnson City, Tenn., on Tuesday night, UT visits PSU on Sunday and travels to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech next Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
- The Lady Vols will be paying their first visit to the Bryce Jordan Center.
- After opening the season with three games in five days, the Lady Vols have had four games between the ETSU contest and this one, including a much-needed day off on Wednesday.
- The Lady Vols will try to open a campaign 4-0 for the fourth straight season under Holly Warlick.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Lisa Byington (PxP) and Christy Winters Scott (Analyst) will describe the action for the Tennessee-Penn State game on the Big Ten Network.
- The game also will be available online via BTN2Go. For more information, go to http://www.btn2go.com/game/tennessee-at-penn-st-on-11202016.
- Mickey Dearstone will handle the call for the IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcast. Airtime is 30 minutes prior to tip-off on network stations.
LADY VOL QUICK NOTES
- Tennessee has opened the season 3-0 for the fourth straight season under head coach Holly Warlick.
- UT's strong start comes on the heels of an 8-2 finish to the 2015-16 campaign, when the Big Orange women advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
- The Lady Vols tipped off the season with three games in a five-day span, capturing an 81-69 road victory at perennial NCAA Tournament team James Madison, beating Navy at home, 85-55, and taking down in-state foe East Tennessee State, 83-58, at Johnson City in front of a Bucs-record crowd of 6,072 in the ETSU/MHSA Athletic Center.
- Tennessee will face Power Five schools Penn State, Virginia Tech, #2/4 Baylor, #8/10 Texas and #11/7 Stanford in five of their next seven games.
- Preseason All-SEC First Team selection Diamond DeShields leads the UT attack. The do-it-all 6-1 guard is averaging 17.3 points per game. She also paces the team in assists (4.3) and blocks (1.3), is second in rebounding (6.7) and third in steals (1.3). She is shooting 56% from the field, 55% on threes and 75% from the charity stripe.
- Preseason All-SEC Second Team pick Mercedes Russell also is off to a terrific start, averaging 16.7 ppg. and 8.0 rpg. while hitting 20 of 29 charity tosses in the first three games.
- Russell, a 6-6 redshirt junior center, has notched double-doubles in two of her first three games this season to give her 13 for her career.
- Junior guard Alexa Middleton's hard work in the offseason also has been revealed, as she has connected on 79% of her three-point attempts (11-of-14) and is hitting 61% overall from the field.
- Middleton hit 21 threes her first two years combined (12/9) and already has 11 this season.
- Jordan Reynolds has been very consistent at the point, with 12 assists vs. 6 turnovers and averages of 9.0 ppg., 6.7 rpg. and 3.5 spg. She is shooting 60 percent from the field as well.
UT SEEKS OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY, CONSISTENCY
- Tennessee is averaging 83.0 points per game in its first three contests, scoring 81, 85 and 83, while shooting .497 from the field and .500 from the three-point line.
- Head coach Holly Warlick attributes that to the players taking better shots, more movement within the offense and the players getting in the gym to put in extra work on their shooting.
- The Lady Vols have scored 80+ points in three-consecutive games for the first time since doing so the first four contests of the 2014-15 campaign.
- UT averaged 77.6 (buoyed by a 102-point outburst vs. Central Arkansas) in its first three games a year ago en route to a program low 65.6 scoring average on the season.
- Evidence of better offensive efficiency can be found in the fact UT is averaging only 57 shots per game through the first three games this season, while the Lady Vols fired up an average of 66 shots in their first three games of 2015-16 and yet averaged fewer points (77.6).
- Tennessee's 81 points vs. JMU in the opener were the most scored by a Lady Vol team in the first road game of a season since 2007 (82-70 vs. UCLA on Dec. 19).
A DEEPER LOOK AT TENNESSEE
- Tennessee has been to the NCAA Elite Eight in three of Holly Warlick's first four seasons as a head coach. It's something only one other women's coach (Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech) has done during a career's first four years.
- UT has won three SEC titles during the past four years, including two regular season titles (2013, 2015) and a tourney title (2014).
- The Lady Vols return eight players from last season's NCAA Elite Eight squad and have three newcomers for a roster of 11. Nine of those players will see action this season, while two (Te'a Cooper and Cheridene Green) redshirt due to injury.
- Last year's unit finished 22-14 overall and 8-8 in SEC play (t7th) but rallied to earn the program's 28th overall NCAA Elite Eight berth.
- Tennessee has been picked to finish third in the SEC by both the media and the league's coaches, following defending champ South Carolina and 2015-16 runner-up Mississippi State.
- Diamond DeShields (first team) and Mercedes Russell (second team) were named to the 2016-17 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Team.
- DeShields also made the five-player Media Preseason All-SEC Team.
- After ending last season unranked in the AP Poll and 19th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Lady Vols opened ranked 13th and 14th, respectively.
- In other polls, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association had UT 12th; AP, Sporting News and Athlon Sports had UT ranked 13th; the Lady Vols were 14th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the espnW Poll (t14); and Lindy's had the Lady Vols at No. 16.
A GLANCE AT THE LADY LIONS
- After dropping the opener at Drexel in Philadelphia, 83-60, Penn State has bounced back with a pair of home wins.
- The Lady Lions rolled past St. Peter's on Nov. 13, 106-50, and took care of Akron on Wednesday night, 84-71.
- PSU is led by a pair of guards in 5-7 sophomore Teniya Page (19.0 ppg.) and 5-6 senior Lindsey Spann (18.7 ppg.). Page was a second-team All-Big Ten pick a year ago, while Spann was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
- The duo has combined to knock down 16 of 35 three-point field goal attempts for 46% accuracy. The team is 22-of-57 (.492) as a whole.
- Page leads the way with 9-of-17 (.529) marksmanship.
- Kaliyah Mitchell, a 6-2 senior forward, averages 12.3 ppg. and 8.0 rpg., shooting .579 from the field (11-of-19) and .813 from the charity stripe (13-of-16).
- Penn State is coached by Coquese Washington (162-125 in her 10th season), who played her college ball at Notre Dame.
- The Lady Lions welcome back 10 letterwinners, including four starters from a squad that finished 12-19 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten for a 11th-place finish.
- Senior Peyton Whitted is the daughter of former UT men's hoops standout Kevin Whitted (1993-95).
UT-PSU SERIES NOTES
- Tennessee is 9-1 all-time vs. Penn State, including 1-1 in University Park.
- The Lady Vols have won five straight in the series, taking a 74-66 victory in Knoxville last season.
- UT is making its first trip to PSU since Jan. 27, 1985, when the #12/10 Lady Lions defended their home court with a 79-74 triumph over the #nr/18 Lady Vols.
- PSU is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and Tennessee has 79-13 all-time record vs. that league.
- UT was 2-0 vs. Big Ten schools a year ago, recording the win over Penn State and defeating #9/9 Ohio State in the NCAA Sweet 16, 78-62.
- Holly Warlick had 4 pts., 7 rebs., 4 assts. and 2 steals in the 12/30/78 UT-PSU match-up.
- UT assistant coach Jolette Law starred at Big Ten school Iowa (1987-90) before playing professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters (1991-94) and serving on C. Vivian Stringer's staff at Rutgers (1996-2007).
AN #LVFL AT PENN STATE
- Debbie Hawhee, a native of Greeneville, Tenn., who played for UT from 1988-92, made the trip with the Lady Lions back to her alma mater a year ago. Now, she'll be hosting, as the Lady Vols return the favor with a game at the Bryce Jordan Center.
- An employee at PSU since 2009, Hawhee has been a faculty partner with the Penn State women's hoops team since 2013 and is a professor in the Department of English with a courtesy appointment in Communication Arts and Sciences.
- Hawhee played on Tennessee's 1989 and 1991 NCAA Championship teams, earning her B.A. (1991) and M.A. (1994) degrees in English from UT and her M.A. (2000) in English from Penn State.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballWBB | Kaniya Boyd, Kim Caldwell, & Mia Pauldo Postgame vs. Belmont (11.13.25)
Thursday, November 13
WBB | Highlights: Lady Vols 68, Belmont 58 (11.13.25)
Thursday, November 13
WBB | Kim Caldwell & Nya Robertson Postgame at UT Martin (11.9.25)
Sunday, November 09
WBB | Highlights: Lady Vols 72, UT Martin 61 (11.9.25)
Sunday, November 09
