HOOPS CENTRAL: Lady Vols vs. ETSU

November 11, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Gameday Info. Watch Live (SECN+)Listen Live (Lady Vol Network) Live Stats Notes Media Guide Tickets

By: Eric Trainer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 14/18 Tennessee (0-0) opens the regular season at home on Sunday afternoon, as ETSU (1-0) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 2 p.m. matinee.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: ETSU
Date: Sunday, Nov. 12
Tipoff: 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
Watch Online: SEC Network + (WatchESPN)
Radio: Vol Network
Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule 2017-18 Stats Game Notes

ETSU

Roster Schedule 2017-18 Stats Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

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This contest begins the sixth season of the Holly Warlick era and 31st year of action in Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Lady Vols will play their first three contests at home, with James Madison and Wichita State following ETSU to Knoxville on Nov. 15 and Nov. 20, respectively.

TENNESSEE VS. ETSU
• No. 14/18 Tennessee (0-0) opens the regular season at home on Sunday afternoon, as ETSU (1-0) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 2 p.m. matinee.
• This contest begins the sixth season of the Holly Warlick era.
• The Lady Vols will play their first three contests at home, with James Madison and Wichita State following ETSU to Knoxville on Nov. 15 and Nov. 20, respectively.
• Stop by the pre-game Kids' Corner at Gate F. It opens one hour prior to tip-off. Enjoy free face painting, the Big Orange Prize Wheel, visits from Smokey and much more.

BROADCAST INFO.
• Courtney Lyle (PxP), Andraya Carter (Analyst) and Maddy Glab (Reporter) will describe the action for the Tennessee-ETSU online broadcast on SEC Network+ (SECN+) and WatchESPN.
• Mickey Dearstone will handle the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 19th season.

LADY VOLS IN OPENERS
• The Lady Vols are 39-4 in season openers over the past 43 years, including 24-3 at home, 8-0 at neutral sites and 7-1 on the road.
• UT is 4-1 in season openers under Holly Warlick's leadership, including 2-0 at home and 2-1 on the road.
• UT is 40-3 all-time in its first home game of a season, including 5-0 during the Warlick era.
• Tennessee has a 29-1 record at Thompson-Boling Arena in its first home appearance of a season, including 2-0 during the Warlick era.
• UT has won 11 season openers in a row at home, dating back to a 69-64 setback to #6 Louisiana Tech in Knoxville on Nov. 14, 1999.
• UT has won its last four season-openers and 16 of its last 17.
• This marks the third different in-state school that Holly Warlick has chosen to open a season, with Chattanooga (2012-13, L) and MTSU (2013-14, W) being the first two.
• UT is 9-1 all-time vs. in-state foes in season openers.

HOME SWEET HOME
• This is the 31st season that the Tennessee women's and men's basketball teams have called Thompson-Boling Arena home, and the Lady Vols own an incredible 428-35 mark (.924) in the venue.
• The Lady Vols have a 581-59 (.908) home record in contests played at Thompson-Boling Arena, Stokely Athletics Center and Alumni Gym.
• UT finished 13-3 at home in 2016-17.
• Capacity at Thompson-Boling Arena is 21,678.
• UT has led the nation in attendance 19 times in the past 26 years, finishing second the past three years after an 11-season run at No. 1.
• Tennessee ranked second in the nation in home attendance last season with an average of 9,184 through 16 dates.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS
• Tennessee returns two starters (Mercedes Russell, Jaime Nared) and another part-time starter (Meme Jackson) from last year's squad, which wound up 20-12 after falling in the NCAA Second Round. The Big Orange women were 10-6 in league play a year ago and finished fifth in the SEC standings.
• Also back are 6-2 senior forward Kortney Dunbar and 6-3 sophomore center Kamera Harris.
• This year's newcomers include the nation's No. 1 ranked recruiting class as well as a two-time JUCO All-American forward who redshirted last season due to a knee injury.
• UT's consensus No. 1-ranked freshman class includes the No. 2 (6-0 guard Evina Westbrook), No. 7 (5-7 guard Anastasia Hayes), No. 12 (6-2 wing Rennia Davis) and No. 57 (6-4 center Kasiyahna Kushkituah) players in the nation, as ranked in the HoopGurlz espnW 100. All four players were McDonald's All-Americans and are expected to see extensive playing time in their first collegiate season. Davis and Westbrook, as a matter of fact, earned starts in the Carson-Newman exhibition game.
• Redshirt junior Cheridene Green was a two-time All-American at ASA College in Brooklyn, N.Y., averaging 20.5 points and 16.5 rebounds per contest as a sophomore before redshirting at Tennessee last season. The power forward should offer immediate help inside.
• The 2016-17 Lady Vols defeated three of the four teams in last year's NCAA Final Four (Stanford, South Carolina, Mississippi State) and also toppled Elite Eight squad Notre Dame as well.
• The Big Orange women were 10-6 in league play a year ago and finished fifth in the SEC standings.
• UT lost starting guards Jordan Reynolds (WNBA 2nd Round) and Diamond DeShields (signed pro contract in June) as well as reserve forward Schaquilla Nunn (WNBA 3rd Round) to the professional ranks. Guard Alexa Middleton, a part-time starter, and redshirt sophomore guard Te'a Cooper are no longer with the program. Cooper missed all of last season with a knee injury.

LAST TIME OUT (UT 121, C-N 76)
• The nation's No. 1 recruiting class combined for 76 points to lead No. 14/18 Tennessee past Carson-Newman, 121-76, in a season-opening exhibition game Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Featuring a foursome of McDonald's All-Americans, the young Lady Vols did not take long to make an impact in their opening performance. Rennia Davis led the way for Tennessee, recording a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds, as each of the freshmen finished in double figures.
• The energy and pace brought by the newcomers was complemented by veteran experience, as seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell played extensive minutes in the first half. Nared finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Russell added 14 points and four boards. Freshman guard Anastasia Hayes came off the bench to finish as UT's third leading scorer with 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
• Also making her debut was Sports Illustrated Preseason National Freshman of the year, Evina Westbrook. The guard from Salem, Ore., netted seven first-half points and recorded three assists, with her first basket in the orange and white coming via a free throw nine seconds into the game. Westbrook finished with 17 points and six assists.
• Tennessee broke the game open in the third quarter, going on a 22-5 run to increase the lead to 33. Freshman forward Kasiyahna Kushkituah scored nine of her 13 points in the second half, and was 6-for-8 shooting for the game in the low post. She also added 10 rebounds for UT's second double-double of the night by a rookie.
• Tennessee's 121 points on Tuesday night were the most it has scored versus Carson-Newman since Nov. 5, 2009, when it defeated the Lady Eagles 124-34.

A LOOK AT THE BUCS
• East Tennessee State University opened its season Friday night in Johnson City with an 87-77 victory over Cincinnati.
• The Bucs put five players in double figures, led by 19 from 6-foot-1 junior forward Raven Dean. Senior point guard Tianna Tarter posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.
• ETSU forced 25 Bearcat turnovers and hit 11-of-31 threes and 22-of-31 free throws in the contest.
• Graduate transfer Shy Copney, who played three seasons at UT Martin, hails from Johnson City and returned home to play for the Bucs this season. Her father is former UT player Damon Johnson, who played at Tennessee from 1994-96), an assistant coach with the ETSU women's basketball program.
• Copney came off the bench vs. Cincy to scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-11 beind the three-point arc.
• ETSU returns four starters and seven letterwinners from a squad that went 16-14 overall and 8-6 in the Southern Conference for a third-place finish.
• Senior point guard Tianna Tarter returns as the team's leading scorer, firing in 19.8 ppg. a year ago.
• Tarter was named to the Preseason Nancy Lieberman Watch List and was a preseason pick for the All-SoCon Team after earning first-team honors after the 2016-17 season.
• ETSU is led by fifth-year head coach Brittney Ezell, a 1999 graduate of Alabama.
• Ezell is 63-61 in her fifth season and stands 183-174 in her 12th year as a head coach.
• The athletics director at ETSU is Scott Carter, a former employee at UT who spent 10 years working administratively with the Tennessee Fund.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN UT AND ETSU
• Redshirt junior Diamond DeShields dropped 28 points in No. 13/14 Tennessee's 83-58 win on the road against ETSU at the ETSU/MHSA Athletic Center.
• Playing in front of the most fans to ever watch a ETSU women's basketball game at home (6,072), the Lady Vols' offensive prowess was on display, as UT scored 80-plus points for the third-consecutive game.
• Led by DeShields' 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Tennessee (3-0) extended its winning-streak over the Buccaneers (1-1) to 18 games.
• Senior Jordan Reynolds put together an all-around performance, totaling 10 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists on the night.
• Tennessee's presence was felt down low in the paint, where the team scored 50 points. Redshirt junior Mercedes Russell finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and three rebounds.
• Micah Norris and Tianna Tarter led the Bucs. Norris finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Tarter accounted for 12 points, six assists and four rebounds.

THE SERIES VS. ETSU
• Tennessee leads the all-time series, 20-2-1.
• UT's records include games played in 1924 (ETSU, 22-16 in Knoxville), 1925 (25-all in Johnson City) and 1926 (UT, 50-16 in Knoxville), when the orange-clad players were called Volettes.
• After losing 62-56 in Johnson City on Feb. 12, 1971, the Lady Vols have won 18 in a row.
• Tennessee holds a 14-1 home record vs. ETSU, with the lone Buc victory coming in the first meeting at Knoxville in 1924.
• The Lady Vols have a 6-1-1 record when playing at ETSU, winning their past six games there.
• These teams last met on Nov. 15, 2016, with #13/13 UT taking an 83-58 victory in Knoxville
• The Lady Vols have reached the 100-point plateau three times vs. ETSU, doing so in 2010 (102) and twice in 1977 (100, 102) with Holly Warlick playing in those later two games.
• The Lady Vols are 61-20-1 all-time vs. schools from the Southern Conference.
• The UT women are 239-60-1 all-time vs. four-year college teams from the Volunteer State.

UT FOLLOWS 2017 NO. 1 CLASS WITH 2018 NO. 3 CLASS
• After landing the nation's number one class in 2017, Tennessee followed that up with a class ranked as high as No. 3 by recruiting experts.
• These are the best back-to-back signing classes for UT since a No. 5-rated unit in Pat Summitt's final season (2012 signing class) and a No. 3 collection in Warlick's first year as head coach (2013 signing class/Mercedes Russell was the No. 1-ranked player).
• Zarielle "Zay" Green, a 6-0 guard from Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville H.S.); Jazmine Massengill, a 6-0 point guard from Chattanooga (Hamilton Heights Christian Academy); and Amira "Mimi" Collins, a 6-3 forward from Waldorf, Md. (Paul VI Catholic H.S. [Fairfax, Va.]) signed Nov. 8. Rae Burrell, a 6-1 wing from Henderson, Nev. (Liberty H.S.) made it official on Nov. 10.
• Green is the highest ranked player, standing 9th by Blue Star, No. 13 by espnW HoopGurlz and No. 23 by ProspectsNation.com. She committed on Oct. 23 of this year after making Knoxville her final visit.
• Massengill is next, coming in 11th by ProspectsNation.com, No. 22 by Blue Star and No. 26 by espnW HoopGurlz. She made her intention to attend UT known on Jan. 15, 2017.
• Collins, UT's first commitment of the group back on Dec. 7, 2016, is ranked No. 9 by ProspectsNation.com, while Blue Star and espnW HoopGurlz have her slotted at No. 50 and No. 69, respectively.
• Burrell closed out UT's four-player class, committing on Monday following a visit to campus Nov. 3-5. A player whose stock is on the rise after an impressive summer tournament showing, she is rated No. 44 by espnW HoopGurlz and No. 119 by ProspectsNation.com.

UT IN TOP FIVE IN BOTH SEC POLLS
• Members of the media picked Tennessee to finish fourth in the SEC this season, ranking behind South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri.
• The coaches, meanwhile, have UT slotted at fifth, falling in line behind South Carolina, Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas A&M.

BACK IN THE RANKINGS
• Tennessee begins the season at No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Coaches Poll after finishing the 2016-17 campaign receiving votes in both.
• The Lady Vols opened last year ranked No. 13 and 14, respectively.
• The Lady Vols have been ranked in every AP preseason poll since 1977-78, when they started out No. 1 and finished No. 1 in the poll.
• UT was unranked in the very first AP preseason poll in 1976-77, but debuted at No. 17 in the second poll and went on to finish fifth.
• In other polls, UT is rated No. 12 by College Sports Madness and No. 13 by espnW.