Lady Vols To Face IU, OU In Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off

July 11, 2023 | Women's Basketball

Tourney Website Travel Packages About The Teams

By: Eric Trainer

The Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off has announced matchups for its 2023 tournament, and Tennessee Women's Basketball will be spending its Thanksgiving on the Gulf Coast in Southwest Florida.

The Lady Vols, ranked No. 12 in ESPN's May 2 edition of the Way-Too-Early Top 25, will face off against a pair of teams that won their conferences and finished the year ranked No. 2 and No. 16, respectively, in the AP Poll.

On Nov. 23, UT will meet Indiana, rated No. 7 in the ESPN preseason poll, in a nationally televised contest on FOX at 6 p.m. ET inside the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers. The Big Orange will return to the venue on Nov. 25 to take on Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m. ET. Broadcast info. for that match-up will be released later.

Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma and Princeton make up the Island Division, with pre-determined matchups. Shell Division teams include Arkansas, Boston College, Marquette and Wisconsin. They are set to play on Nov. 24 and 25 and will follow a traditional bracket format.

The Hoosiers are coming off a historic season that saw them win the Big Ten Championship, a school-record 28 games and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Indiana, coached by Teri Moren, will welcome back first-team All-Big Ten and Conference Defensive Player of the Year Mackenzie Holmes along with three other starters.

UT and IU will meet for the fourth time overall but the third occasion in the past four seasons. The Lady Vols, who lead the series 2-1, secured a 66-58 victory in Bloomington on Dec. 17, 2020, and fell to the Hoosiers in Knoxville last Nov. 14 by a 79-67 count in two previous match-ups occurring during the Kellie Harper era.

Co-champions of the Big 12 a year ago, Oklahoma is entering the third season under head coach Jennie Baranczyk having won 25 and 26 games, respectively, in her first two years on the sidelines in Norman. Last season's 26 wins were the most in a year by OU since winning 27 in 2009-10. The Sooners are set to return a pair of starters from last year's squad – Liz Scott and Nevaeh Tot – along with third-leading scorer Skylar Vann, a two-time winner of the Big 12's Sixth Player of the Year award.

Tennessee is 5-1 all-time vs. Oklahoma, but the teams haven't met since the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16 in Oklahoma City. Harper and OU's Baranczyk are no strangers, though, as their teams at Missouri State and Drake met one another in Missouri Valley Conference play at their previous coaching stops. Harper's MSU squad got the upper hand on March 17, 2019, winning the MVC tourney crown en route to an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance that ultimately led to her hiring at her alma mater.

UT returns nine players, including six who started games a year ago. Six-foot-two, fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson, who earned All-America honorable mention, first-team All-SEC and Cheryl Miller Award top-five finalist accolades a year ago after averaging 19.2 ppg. and 6.1 rpg., is back to set the tone for the Big Orange.

Tamari Key, a 6-6 interior force on both ends of the floor, returns to action after last season ended in her ninth game due to medical reasons. She is a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team member, a 2022 Lisa Leslie Award finalist and 2022 All-SEC honoree.

UT also welcomes back its fourth- and fifth-leading scorers in 6-1 senior wing Tess Darby (7.4 ppg., 70 3FGs) and 6-5 junior forward Jillian Hollingshead (6.2 ppg., 4.4 rpg.), as well as the experienced quartet of 5-6 fifth-year guard Jasmine Powell (4.7 ppg., 3.1 apg., 2.6 rpg.), 6-2 junior forward Sara Puckett (4.7 ppg., 2.6 rpg.), 6-3 junior forward Karoline Striplin (4.7 ppg., 3.0 rpg.) and 6-0 junior guard Kaiya Wynn (1.5 ppg., 1.0 rpg.).

Newcomers include senior guards Jewel Spear (Wake Forest) and Destinee Wells (Belmont), and sophomore guard/forward Avery Strickland (Pitt). Spear and Wells were ranked No. 7 and No. 19 by 247Sports among top transfers and along with Strickland helped Tennessee card the No. 6-ranked transfer class nationally, according to 247Sports analyst Brandon Clay.

Travel packages for the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.womensfortmyerstipoff.com/travel. The Westin Cape Coral and Marina Village (Shell Division) and the Marriott Sanibel Harbor (Island Division) are the event's host hotels and fans will have the opportunity to stay where the teams stay and experience resort life to the fullest.

Additionally, the Luminary Hotel & Co., a boutique hotel that opened in September 2020, is the premium destination to enjoy the many attractions of historic and lively downtown Fort Myers. Ticket-only packages will become available in September.

"We're excited to build on the momentum of a very successful inaugural year of the Elevance Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off by doubling the number of participating teams and adding a network television broadcast for what should be one of the top college basketball games of the young 2023-24 season," said Mark Starsiak, vice president of basketball at Intersport and the Tip-Off event director. "The collection of programs set to participate in this year's event will make the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off one of the top early-season showcases in the sport."

Distribution plans for remaining Island and Shell Division contests will be announced at a later date.

To receive the latest email alerts regarding tournament news, ticket information and more, visit the tourney website at www.womensfortmyerstipoff.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram (@FtMyersTipoff).