LSU climbs to No. 1 in women's poll

Pokey Chatman was 9 and playing what she called ``bitty basketball'' the last time LSU was ranked No. 1.

Now, in her first full season as the Lady Tigers' coach, LSU finally made it back to the top.

LSU replaced Tennessee as the No. 1 team in The AP women's basketball poll Monday amid a shake-up triggered by several upsets. Three of last week's top four teams lost; only LSU (7-0) emerged unscathed.

``Wow,'' Chatman said before heading to practice. ``It's obviously a compliment to last year's team and our returning players and the incoming freshman class and the run we've put together.

``But it's so early in the year. You know how coaches are. We don't focus on it a whole lot. It won't change how we prepare for tomorrow's game with North Texas, but it's nice to be recognized.''

LSU, second last week, received 42 of 44 first-place votes from a national media panel to claim its first No. 1 ranking since 1978, when the Lady Tigers spent four weeks atop the poll. That was the only other time they were No. 1.

Tennessee (4-1), No. 1 in the first three polls, dropped to fourth after a 74-59 loss at Texas. North Carolina (5-0) moved up three spots to second, its highest ranking ever, and Notre Dame (6-0) jumped three places to No. 3.

Stanford (5-0) went from No. 7 to No. 5, Georgia (4-1) fell three places to No. 6 after losing to TCU in Hawaii, and Texas (2-2) tumbled three spots to No. 7. After knocking off Tennessee on Thursday, the Longhorns lost at UCLA.

Texas still received one first-place vote, as did North Carolina, whose highest ranking previously was third, in 1994 and 1995.

Chatman filled in for ailing coach Sue Gunter in January and guided LSU to its first Final Four appearance, then became the head coach in April when Gunter retired.

So far it has been exhausting run for Chatman and the Lady Tigers, who played in Texas, Pennsylvania and Colorado during a 13-day span.

``So many positive things are happening, but you don't have time to sit back and exhale,'' Chatman said. ``That kind of mirrors the season. Win, lose, play well, play bad, you just get ready for the next one. Basically, that's what it's been for me since January.''

Connecticut, Baylor and Duke completed the top 10, holding last week's positions.

Ohio State remained 11th, followed by Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, DePaul, Minnesota, Kansas State and Boston College.

Louisiana Tech, Maryland, TCU, Villanova and UCLA held the final five places.

TCU and UCLA moved into the Top 25 for the first time this season. Oklahoma and Arizona dropped out of the poll.

TCU, which was ranked all last season, followed its upset of Georgia with a victory over Michigan State to win the Rainbow Wahine Classic. The Lady Frogs (5-1) also have defeated UCLA.

UCLA (3-1) beat Texas 63-60 on Sunday and made the Top 25 for the first time since the week of Feb. 21, 2000, when the Bruins were 22nd.

Oklahoma, 21st last week, dropped out after losing to Iowa. Arizona, which was 25th, beat BYU in its only game during the week.

After Tuesday night's game with North Texas, LSU doesn't play again until a Dec. 14 visit to No. 18 Minnesota. Chatman, however, doesn't look at those two weeks as a break.

``It's just a different focus,'' she said. ``You don't play as many games, but you hit the recruiting trail and try to piece together time to get the kids all here for practice so it doesn't interfere with finals.

``Basically, we're getting ready to go to Minnesota after tomorrow's game. That is what awaits you.''

AP Top 25

1. LSU (42)

2. North Carolina (1)

3. Notre Dame

4. Tennessee

5. Stanford

6. Georgia

7. Texas (1)

8. Connecticut

9. Baylor

10. Duke

11. Ohio St.

12. Texas Tech

13. Vanderbilt

14. Purdue

15. Michigan St.

16. Rutgers

17. DePaul

18. Minnesota

19. Kansas St.

20. Boston Coll.

21. Louisiana Tech

22. Maryland

23. TCU

24. Villanova

25. UCLA

Next Game for the Lady Vols: Dec 2, 2004 Duke, 7:30 pm

Ely and Moore Nominated for 2004-2005 Bayer Advantage Senior Class Award

The award is presented annually to the nation's senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball

Kansas City, Mo. - The top 30 male and female college basketball players entering their senior season have been nominated for the fourth annual Bayer Advantage® Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball.

The award's organizing committee announced the list of candidates today. From that list, a national media committee will select 10 Finalists for the award next February. When the season reaches the NCAA Tournament in March, nationwide fan balloting will be coupled with results from voting by coaches and media to determine the male and female winner. Legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, who initiated the idea for the award and now serves as Honorary Chairman, announces the winner during the CBS telecast of the NCAA Men's Final Four.

The male candidates include two First-Team All-Americans from last season who returned for their senior year - Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State and Ryan Gomes of Providence. The list has representatives from 13 different conferences, led by the Atlantic Coast Conference with six nominees. Four universities have multiple players on the list. Kansas, the nation's top-ranked preseason team, has three seniors among the 30 candidates. Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Arizona each have two players.

The list of women's candidates includes representatives from 10 conferences. The Big XII Conference leads the way with six, including two players each from Kansas State and Texas. Tennessee and Rutgers also placed two athletes on the list. Last season's women's All-America First and Seconds teams were all seniors, but three Third-Teamers head the 2004-05 nominee list - Shyra Ely of Tennessee, Kendra Wecker of Kansas State and Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers.

The Senior Class Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - was launched in the 2001-02 college basketball season. It is designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elect to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.

"The award is designed to return the prestige and dignity of being a senior college basketball player," Enberg said. "It's not intended to say that leaving early for pro basketball is wrong, rather to celebrate those who do decide to return for a senior season."

The remarkable story of Shane Battier returning to lead Duke to the national championship in 2002 inspired the inception of the award. The inaugural men's award winner was Juan Dixon of Maryland, followed by David West of Xavier in 2003 and Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's in 2004.

A women's award was also established to encourage a continued emphasis on senior leadership. Sue Bird of Connecticut was the first women's winner, followed by LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State and Duke's Alana Beard.

"Bayer is committed to supporting the educational process of our nation's young people," said Jeff Gaidos, Vice President - Marketing, Bayer HealthCare LLC, Animal Health Division. "College basketball provides many life lessons for student athletes. We are thrilled to honor those players who capitalize on the full opportunities available as a collegian."

The Bayer Advantage Senior Class Award winners will receive their awards at the fourth annual Tribute Gala, scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2005 in Kansas City. The event is hosted by the Pride of Kansas City Foundation.

About Bayer Advantage®
Bayer Animal Health is a worldwide leader in improving the health and welfare of animals. The company markets a wide range of animal health products including blockbuster Advantage flea control for dogs and cats and recently introduced K9 Advantix for dogs, which offers triple protection from fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Bayer Animal Health is a division of Bayer HealthCare LLC. Bayer HealthCare, with sales of approximately $10 billion, is one of the world's leading companies in the health care industry.

About The Pride of Kansas City Foundation
The Pride of Kansas City Foundation is a non-profit organization formed with a goal of raising $1 million annually for charity while hosting national-caliber events that bring pride and awareness to Kansas City. Led by a Board of Directors comprised of Kansas City's top business and civic leaders, the Pride organizes an annual PGA Champions Tour event and plans to develop other major events in the coming years.

About Premier Sports Management
Premier Sports Management is a sports marketing and event management company that works with sports organizations and corporate sponsors in the development and execution of sports properties. Over the past decade, Premier has worked with high profile clients such as the NCAA, National Football League, Major League Soccer and numerous associations such as the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Major League Baseball Players Alumni.

Player School
Jacqueline Batteast University of Notre Dame
Nikita Bell University of North Carolina
Steffanie Blackmon Baylor University
Natasha Brackett Auburn University
Ashley Burke Gonzaga University
Jamie Carey University of Texas
Jessalyn Deveny Boston College
Shyra Ely University of Tennessee
Katie Feenstra Liberty University
Kristin Haynie Michigan State University
Sandora Irvin Texas Christian University
Dionnah Jackson University of Oklahoma
Temeka Johnson Louisiana State University
Lauri Koehn Kansas State University
Cathrine Kraayeveld University of Oregon
Sancho Lyttle University of Houston
Kristen Mann California - Santa Barbara
Caity Matter Ohio State University
Janel McCarville University of Minnesota
Jessica Moore University of Connecticut
Loree Moore University of Tennessee
Chelsea Newton Rutgers University
Cappie Pondexter Rutgers University
Heather Schreiber University of Texas
Charlene Smith DePaul University
Kelley Suminski Stanford University
Kendra Wecker Kansas State University
Dee-Dee Wheeler University of Arizona
Tan White Mississippi State University
Tanisha Wright Penn State University

Defense saves Lady Vols from upset

KNOXVILLE — There were missed shots. There was arguing on the floor. There was an unranked team threatening to beat the Lady Vols at home.

Tennessee's offensive ineptitude was saved again by its defensive strength in a 52-48 win over unranked Temple yesterday.

The No. 1 Lady Vols (4-1) shot 32.3 percent from the floor, and they have yet to show any signs of consistency on offense.

''If I had the answer, I would give it to them,'' Coach Pat Summitt said. ''But right now, I don't even have the answer. I don't know.''

When the new polls come out today, the Lady Vols will no longer be No. 1 after a 74-59 loss to Texas on Thursday. But this game alone might have moved Tennessee down in the rankings.

Since the Lady Vols began playing at Thompson-Boling Arena during the 1987-88 season, Tennessee has not lost at home to an unranked opponent.

''Our kids put their hearts on the line,'' said Temple Coach Dawn Staley, also a WNBA All-Star for the Charlotte Sting.

''They almost came up with one of the biggest upsets in women's basketball.''

Trailing 50-48, the Owls (2-2) had two chances to tie the game in the final 15 seconds. Kamesha Hairston missed a jumper, and Ari Moore scrambled to pick up the loose ball on the rebound.

She missed a wide open layup, and Shyra Ely pulled down the rebound for the Lady Vols.

''I dreamed about that shot my whole life, and it didn't happen,'' Moore said.

The Lady Vols appeared to have finally taken control of the game when a 7-0 run gave them a 50-45 lead. Shanna Zolman and Ely forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions during that stretch.

''I felt like I needed to do something,'' said Ely, who was taken out of the starting lineup for this game. ''I wasn't really producing offensively.''

Cynthia Jordan, who led all scorers with 14 points, made a 3-pointer to put the Owls right back in the game, but they couldn't convert on either of their final two possessions. Ely made two free throws after her rebound to seal the win.

Zolman led the Lady Vols with 10 points.

''It's upsetting that we lost, but we'll be back,'' Moore said. ''We're going to get somebody, maybe not tonight, but somebody.''

Tennessee's offensive woes left the Owls with a 9-0 lead early in the game, and there were a few possessions in the first half when UT players were arguing about what they were supposed to be doing.

The Lady Vols started off the game 2-for-17 from the floor, but a 13-2 run at the end of the first half put them up 23-22 at halftime.

Freshman Sybil Dosty scored a pair of inside baskets, and fellow freshman Alexis Hornbuckle slashed through the lane and scored at the buzzer for the halftime lead.

Dosty finished 3-for-3 with six points and three rebounds in nine minutes, but did not play late in the game after starting in the second half.

''I wanted a little more experience,'' Summitt said. ''We're in a game like that, and I felt at that point in time, experience would probably be the best move.''

Tennessee hangs on to topple Temple, 52-48

Maria M. Cornelius - InsideTennessee.com

When the starters for the Lady Vols are introduced, the arena music opens in the country drawl of "Rocky Top" before crawling to an abrupt stop and giving way to jam tunes.

Perhaps the slow start is apropos for Tennessee's basketball team this season. It took until 15:04 of the first half Sunday for the Lady Vols to finally score - a three-point shot by Brittany Jackson, who was making her first start of the season. It's a start that is maddening for its fans and baffling to its coach.

Tennessee , despite shooting only 32 percent, did find a way to win against an inspired Temple team that had a chance to tie the game with under a minute remaining.

The Lady Vols prevailed 52-48, but it took some inspired defensive play, specifically from senior Shyra Ely , to seal the outcome. Ely drew a charging call with Tennessee up by three with two minutes to go and then hit two free throws with 11 seconds left.

"Well I felt like I needed to do something, because I wasn't really producing offensively," said Ely, who scored eight points on 3-11 shooting, and added that she didn't want to allow her "offense to dictate my defense." She also had six steals and seven rebounds.

The offensive shortcomings of Tennessee left Summitt with little to say.

"No," said coach Pat Summitt when asked if she'd ever coached a team that had this much trouble scoring.

"I don't think so because we usually score," Ely said when asked the same question.

Temple coach Dawn Staley said the Owls "got some great looks" at the end of the game but either missed the shot or turned over the ball.

Temple forward Ari Moore, who missed a shot that would have tied the game, was visibly upset after the game.

"I was excited; I was nervous," Moore said. "I wanted to do it without charging into Jackson. I saw her right in front of me. I probably should have pump-faked. … I didn't do what I had to do, what I'm used to doing. It's very upsetting. I dreamed about that shot my whole life. There's going to be another shot. There's going to be another game. And I'm going to be OK."

Staley was proud of her team and grateful that Summitt was willing to start a home-and-home series with upstart Temple, which won the Atlantic 10 Conference last year and is favored to do so again.

"It's not often that you can come into a historical place like Knoxville and get a win," Staley said. "But I'm proud of our kids. We had ample opportunities to win the basketball game."

Summitt knows Tennessee, 4-1, escaped with a win against Temple, 2-2.

"I told our basketball team that we found enough defense to help us have a few more possessions," Summitt said. "I thought we started out the game with intensity, but we weren't very productive. I thought we were pushing tempo (but) we were not getting it into any type of organized offense to get the right people the basketball."

Summitt was disappointed in her starters, despite the fact she shook up the lineup by removing Ely and Tye'sha Fluker and replacing them with Brittany Jackson and Nicky Anosike to go along with Loree Moore, Shanna Zolman and Sidney Spencer. Summitt used Ely, Sybil Dosty, Jackson, Zolman and Moore to start the second half.

"We found a way to win, certainly wasn't very pretty," Summitt said. "Looks like we've done that a few times already this year. We have to figure out how we can get some of our key people that are getting a lot of good looks (to) knock down shots. Bottom line, gotta knock down shots."

Ely offered a wry bit of commentary about the offensive woes.

"I think that our shots are pretty much on the right track," she said. "I feel like our misses were good misses, if there's such a thing. It just goes back to getting in the gym and working on those little things so you can hit them in games."

(1) Tennessee 52, Temple 48

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A poor shooting game will likely knock Tennessee out of the No. 1 ranking. A second bad showing almost cost the Lady Vols more.

Shanna Zolman scored five of her 10 points in the final minutes and Shyra Ely made two free throws with 11.9 seconds left, helping Tennessee beat Temple 52-48 Sunday.

The Lady Vols (4-1) lost 74-59 at Texas on Thanksgiving Day after shooting 33 percent from the field.

They shot 32 percent on Sunday and narrowly avoided their first lost to an unranked team in Thompson-Boling Arena since its opening in 1987.

``We find a way to win. It certainly wasn't pretty, but I'll take an ugly win,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. ``It looks like we've done that a few times already this year.''

Tennessee took almost five minutes to score its first points and trailed in the first half until Alexis Hornbuckle scored on a driving layup at the halftime buzzer.

Temple (2-2) held the lead four times in the second half, and took a 45-43 lead with 4:44 left when Ari Moore made two free throws.

Zolman made a 3-pointer to give Tennessee the lead for good, and the Lady Vols hung on.

After Zolman made two free throws, Sidney Spencer scored to give Tennessee a five-point lead.

But Temple closed within two points on a 3-pointer by Cynthia Jordan with 1:56 remaining, but the Owls didn't score the rest of the way.

Temple missed two more shots with less than 30 seconds remaining, and Moore fouled Ely going for a rebound at the end.

``I felt like I needed to do something because I wasn't producing offensively,'' Ely said.

Ely, who finished with eight points, was replaced in the starting lineup by Brittany Jackson after scoring just four points in the loss at Texas.

Sunday's game was another indication Tennessee might not be the best team in the nation. The Lady Vols were outrebounded 42-39.

Their defense finally had an impact in the second half, and Temple was held to 33 percent shooting.

Jordan led Temple with 14 points. Moore scored 13 and Candice Dupree added eight.

The Owls, who are picked to win the Atlantic 10 again this season, were not intimidated in their first game against Tennessee. Coach Dawn Staley, whose Virginia team lost to the Lady Vols in the 1991 national championship game, argued calls, and the players jumped off the bench and yelled every time their teammates made a good play.

``Our kids put their hearts on the line and almost came up with probably one of the biggest upsets in women's basketball at this point,'' Staley said. ``It's not often you can come to a historical place like Knoxville and get a win. I'm proud of our team.''

Tennessee finished a frantic first half with a 13-2 run in the final 3:50 to take its first lead of the game.

The Owls jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led by as many as 10 twice in the first half.

Summitt selects two new starters for Sunday's game

Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt has always advocated writing her starters’ names in pencil, and after four games into the season she has wielded her eraser.

Two Lady Vols will make their first starts of the season Sunday against Temple. One has starter’s experience. The other is just a freshman.

Senior Brittany Jackson will replace senior Shyra Ely on the perimeter, and freshman Nicky Anosike will start at center in place of junior Tye’sha Fluker.

Click here for full story by Maria M. Cornelius.

Temple (2-1) vs. (1) Tennessee (3-1)

Game Info: 3:00 pm EST Sun Nov 28, 2004

Pat Summitt always makes a difficult schedule for Tennessee. Dawn Staley is doing the same at Temple.

Summitt's top-ranked Lady Vols try to rebound from their first loss of the season Sunday when they host Staley's Owls.

Nobody schedules tougher games than Summitt, whose Lady Vols lost to No. 4 Texas 74-59 on Thursday. Tennessee (3-1) still has games remaining against the likes of Duke, Louisiana Tech, Stanford and three-time defending national champion Connecticut, as well as its full slate of games in the always difficult Southeastern Conference.

Added to that schedule this season is Temple (2-1), which has gone to two NCAA tournaments in four years under Staley, the three-time Olympic gold medalist who carried the flag for the United States in the opening ceremony of this year's games in Athens, Greece.

``Dawn Staley has been a great player and has done a great job of building the program there at Temple, so we look forward to the beginning of the series,'' Summitt said.

Temple's schedule isn't as difficult, but the Owls will be tested before they open defense of their Atlantic 10 title. They face consecutive games against ranked Big East teams Rutgers and Villanova next month and have already played second-ranked LSU, losing 65-51 on Tuesday.

``We've won two Atlantic 10 championships because of playing schedules like this,'' Staley said. ``One of these days we're going to beat one of these giants. We're getting close. We can taste it.''

LSU could replace Tennessee atop the rankings next week after the Lady Vols' loss to the Longhorns. Tennessee allowed Texas to shoot 60.4 percent from the field, including 73.1 percent (19-for-26) in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Lady Vols shot only 32.9 percent. Shyra Ely and Shanna Zolman, Tennessee's top two scorers entering the game, combined for just four points, all by Ely. The two players combined to shoot 2-of-15.

``You have to make shots,'' Summitt said. ``That's the bottom line.''

Temple opened a two-game swing through Tennessee with a 64-42 victory over East Tennessee State on Friday. Ari Moore had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Owls, who outrebounded the Buccaneers 52-33 and limited them to 20.3 percent shooting (12-of-59).

Temple has not defeated a ranked opponent since knocking off No. 20 Rutgers in the A-10 semifinals on March 10, 1989.

Streak continues: Longhorns beat Lady Vols

No. 4 Texas 74, No. 1 Tennessee 59

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas owns Tennessee right now.

Tiffany Jackson scored 19 points and had a career-high eight blocks as No. 4 Texas knocked off No. 1 Tennessee 74-59 Thursday night, the Longhorns' fourth straight win over the Lady Vols.

"Too much Texas for Tennessee," said Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, who spent a frustrating night watching her team shoot just 33 percent while allowing Jackson to hit just about anything she wanted on the other end.

"There was way too much Jackson," Summitt said. "She's a great anchor for their program."

The win extended Texas' home winning streak to 38 — the longest in the nation — and ended a seven-game losing skid to top-ranked teams. Texas (2-1) hadn't beaten a No. 1 team since knocking off Tennessee in 1987.

The rivalry pits the winningest coaches in the women's game: Summitt and Texas coach Jody Conradt rank 1-2 in career victories.

"I think it's always fun against Tennessee," Texas guard Jaime Carey said. "I think we've established a nice little rivalry with them."

Conradt had to chuckle at that.

"I don't see too much nice about it during the 40 minutes on the court," she said.

History aside, this game belonged to Jackson, who appears ready to emerge as the dominant force for the Longhorns.

"Whenever you see Tennessee, you want to bring your best game," Jackson said.

Jackson hit consecutive buckets and had three blocks in the first two minutes of the second half. Then she added a short jumper, followed by a midcourt steal and layup, to give Texas a 41-30 lead with about 14 minutes to play.

The Longhorns held a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Tennessee (3-1), which opened the season at No. 1 for the 11th time and the first time since 1998, never got in sync offensively. Shyra Ely, a preseason All-American, scored just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.

The Lady Vols had a whopping 24-9 advantage in offensive rebounds but squandered it with poor shooting and 18 turnovers. Brittany Jackson led Tennessee with 14 points.

"You have to make shots," Summitt said. "That's the bottom line."

Meanwhile, Texas overcame 23 turnovers of its own with 60 percent shooting, including a torrid 73 percent in the second half, even with standout senior forward Heather Schreiber fouling out with 10 points.

Annissa Hastings, a senior who missed all of last season with a torn Achilles' tendon, scored 13 points for Texas on 5-of-6 shooting. Nina Norman added nine points, including a key 3-pointer late that ended a Tennessee rally almost as soon as it started.

The Lady Vols had trimmed a 14-point deficit to 61-52 when Loree Moore hit a 3-pointer and Alexis Hornbuckle converted a steal into a layup with just under five minutes left.

After Texas called timeout, Kala Bowers hit a jumper and Tennessee backed off Norman on the right wing before she swished the 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to 66-53.

"That's not the first time she's hit a shot that was like a dagger," Conradt said.

Norman hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Tennessee in their last meeting in Austin in 2002.

For Texas, the win should help shake off any lingering effects of a 78-64 road loss to No. 3 Georgia in which the Longhorns' veteran lineup squandered a 15-point lead.

"I expected this kind of performance after the Georgia game," Conradt said. "We probably had an inflated perception of ourselves going into Athens."

Summitt knew better than to expect a win in Austin.

"Our team respects Texas. They have beaten us four in a row and beat us by 10 last year in Knoxville," Summitt said. "We were not surprised."

No. 4 Texas Upends No. 1 Tennessee 74-59

AUSTIN, Texas - Tiffany Jackson scored nine of her 19 points early in the second half as No. 4 Texas broke open a close game and went on to a 74-59 win over No. 1 Tennessee on Thursday night.

Jackson hit consecutive buckets and had three blocks in the first two minutes of the second half. Then she added a short jumper, followed by a midcourt steal and layup, to give Texas a 41-30 lead with about 14 minutes to play.

The Longhorns (2-1) held a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Tennessee (3-1), which opened the season at No. 1 for the 11th time and the first time since 1998, never got in sync against the Longhorns, shooting just 33 percent and committing 18 turnovers. Shyra Ely, a preseason All-American, scored just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Brittany Jackson led Tennessee with 14 points.

The Longhorns have won four in a row over the Lady Vols and hold the nation's longest home winning streak at 38.

Annissa Hastings, a senior who missed all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon, scored 13 points for Texas on 5-of-6 shooting. Tiffany Jackson, who went 8-for-10 from the field, added a game-high nine rebounds.

It was Texas' first win over a No. 1 team since 1987, snapping a streak of seven straight losses against top-ranked opponents.

With 24 turnovers in the first half, both teams looked jittery in the nationally televised early-season matchup against an opponent they could meet again in the NCAA tournament.

Tennessee went just 8-of-26 from the floor as the Longhorns built a 29-18 lead late in the first half. But the Longhorns committed 10 turnovers during the last 8 minutes of the half. The Lady Vols cut the deficit to 29-23 on Sydney Spencer's layup just before the half.

Tennessee cut the lead under 10 only once in the second half before Kala Bowers hit a baseline jumper and Nina Norman hit a 3-pointer to boost the Texas lead back to 13.

The Longhorns' ability to maintain a comfortable lead against Tennessee was in sharp contrast to their 78-64 loss to No. 3 Georgia a few days earlier, when they gave up a 15-point lead in the first half.

(1) Tennessee (3-0) vs. (4) Texas (1-1)

Game Info: 8:00 pm EST Thu Nov 25, 2004

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- When Tennessee and Texas agreed to move their game from mid-December to Thanksgiving night, coaches Pat Summitt and Jody Conradt took a deep breath. Both knew this showdown would be a big early test.
Yet the No. 1 Lady Vols and No. 4 Longhorns both saw a chance to put two of the best women's programs in the holiday spotlight of national TV. The game will be broadcast by ESPN2 on a night when few other games are competing for viewers.

``That was the whole point,'' Conradt said. ``It made our schedule tough ... but I think both of us are committed to showcasing not only our teams but our sport.''

For Summitt's Lady Vols, it will be the third of four games in a week but an opportunity she couldn't pass up. After Texas, the Lady Vols meet Temple with a Dec. 2 date with No. 10 Duke looming.

``I said there was no way we needed to do it because we would need rest and preparation time, but at the same time I thought what a great window of opportunity for this game and for these two programs,'' Summitt said. ``We obviously have had a great rivalry that has extended over the years and been one of the best in the women's game. ''

Summitt and Conradt rank 1-2 as the winningest coaches in women's college basketball, although both play down their numbers rivalry. Summitt has lost the last three matchups with Conradt.

``It's not about the number of wins,'' said Summitt, who stands at 854 career victories and counting, five ahead of Conradt. ``For me, it's just about the team I'm coaching right now.''

Her team is loaded with a mix of veterans sprinkled with freshman talent from the nation's top recruiting class. The Lady Vols (3-0) are the queens of the Southeastern Conference trifecta that tops this week's national rankings, just ahead of No. 2 LSU and No 3 Georgia.

Senior Shyra Ely is a preseason All-American who led the Lady Vols to last season's NCAA national title game, where they lost to Connecticut. The highlight of the freshman class so far as been the play of guard Alexis Hornbuckle, who averages nine points coming off the bench in the first three games.

Texas (1-1) returned four starters from last year's team that spent two weeks at No. 1 and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament before losing to LSU.

Seniors Heather Schreiber and Jaime Carey and sophomore Tiffany Jackson all are candidates for national player of the year honors.

That kind of talent made it surprising that Texas would blow a 15-point lead on the road in a 78-64 loss Sunday at Georgia. Jackson scored 27 and Schreiber 22 but the Longhorns did little else right.

``We had All-American performances from Tiffany and Heather and not much balance on either end of the floor,'' Conradt said. ``It was a surprise.''

Texas is still trying to adjust to a new motion offense after four years of its inside-out approach with Stacy Stephens at center. Stephens graduated and Conradt is trying to make better use of Jackson and Schreiber.

Summitt expects a fast-paced game. The Longhorns' ability to produce points in transition was a key to beating the Lady Vols the last three years, Summitt said.

``We're going to need our legs,'' Summitt said. ``Against Texas, we're going to have to go up and down.''

TENNESSEE TAKES ON TEXAS ON THANKSGIVING

QUICK FACTS

Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Texas Longhorns
Erwin Center
Nov. 25, 2004
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. (CST)
Television: espn2
Erwin Center 16,755

2004-05 Records
Tennessee: 3-0
Texas: 1-1

The Series
Overall: Tennessee leads 15-10
at Knoxville: UT 6-5
at Texas: UT 7-4
at Neutral Sites: UT 2-1

Next Up
Nov. 28
vs Temple
3 p.m. EST

RANKINGS

Associated Press Poll
Tenn: 1st / Texas: 4th
ESPN/USA Today-Coaches Poll
Tenn: 1st / Texas: 4th

THE COACHES

Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Pat Summitt
Overall Record: 855-167 (31st year)
2004-05 Schedule
2004-05 Statistics

Texas Longhorns
Jody Conradt
Overall Record: 848-270 (36th year)
2004-05 Schedule
2004-05 Statistics

Probable Starters

TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEERS (4-0)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
1 Sidney Spencer F 6-3 So. 6.7 4.7
43 Shyra Ely F 6-2 Sr. 13.0 5.7
50 Tye'sha Fluker C 6-5 Jr. 4.7 7.0
21 Loree Moore G 5-9 Sr. 4.3 6.3
5 Shanna Zolman G 5-10 Jr. 12.7 3.0

Texas Longhorns (1-1)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
33 Tiffany Jackson F 6-3 So. 21.0 5.0
21 Heather Schreiber F 6-2 Sr. 16.5 5.0
43 Annissa Hastings C 6-2 Sr. 5.0 3.0
11 Jamie Carey G 5-6 Sr. 8.0 2.0
4 Kala Bowers G 6-2 Sr. 4.0 5.0

Tennessee Faces Experienced Texas Team

THE GAME

The winningest coaches in women's collegiate basketball square-off on Thanksgiving night as Pat Summitt takes her #1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (3-0) into battle against longstanding rival #4-ranked Texas (1-1) and fellow 800-win coach Jody Conradt. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE

This is the Lady Vols' 31st season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 855-167 overall record...Needs just 25 wins to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history...Her 2003-04 squad finished as the NCAA runner-up with a 31-4 record...UT also is the seven-consecutive-time defending SEC regular season champion, and has been picked by both the media and the coaches to finish first in this year's SEC race as well.

The Lady Vols are led by National Player of the Year candidates, seniors Loree Moore and Shyra Ely and junior Shanna Zolman. Each has appeared on one or more pre-season watch lists or ballots for the Naismith Player of the Year, Wooden Award, etc. Tennessee returns seven letterwinners and welcomes eight newcomers to the lineup...Rookie Alex Fuller (Shelbyville, Tenn.) will redshirt this season after undergoing surgery in October...Fellow rookies Candace Parker (Naperville, Ill.) and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood are also currently sidelined with injuries.

LONGHORNS AT A GLANCE

Texas went 30-5 last year and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP Poll and No. 10 in the final USA Today/ESPN Poll (post-NCAAs)...The Burnt Orange is picked to finish first in this year's Big 12 race as well, voted the favorite to repeat in preseason voting conducted by both Big 12 coaches and the media...The Longhorns return 11 letterwinners and welcomes three newcomers...Texas lost just one player from a year ago - All-America four-year starter and 6-1 post Stacy Stephens...UT is the only school in the nation to have three preseason candidates up for the State Farm Wade Trophy and Wooden Award as National Player of the Year (seniors Jamie Carey and Heather Schreiber, sophomore Tiffany Jackson), and one of only two schools (along with UConn) to have three players as Naismith Player of the Year candidates.

UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER

In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 60%: none 50%FG: none 40%FG: .481 (UTC), .468 (GWU) 30%FG: .373 (N.C. State)

DEEE ----- FENSE

In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none 40%FG: none 30%FG: .321 (GWU), .373 (N.C. State) 20%FG: none 10%: .135 (UTC)

JUMP SHOTS

The Southeastern Conference holds the top three spots in this week's AP poll - The Lady Vols are #1 followed by LSU and Georgia...Tennessee's first three games of the season found junior Tye'sha Fluker and sophomore Sidney Spencer making their first career starts...Lady Vol walk-ons Abby Canon and Aubrey Guastalli saw action for the first time in Tennessee uni's picking up some minutes against George Washington...There are no names on the back of the uniforms this season because Coach Pat Summitt and her squad felt like taking a different approach to the season...It marks the first time - ever -- that there are no names on the jerseys...Senior point guard Loree Moore is back in her familiar spot at point guard after missing the final 17 games of last season due to a torn ACL in her left knee...The Tennessee-UTC game attracted the largest crowd in Lady Moc basketball history, 10,051 spectators...

THE 4-1-1 ON TEXAS

After opening the season with a convincing 84-69 victory over #21 Penn State, the Texas Longhorns (1-1) traveled into dangerous SEC territory and took on a hard-charging and youthful Georgia Lady Bulldog squad on Nov. 21. Rookie phenom Tasha Humphrey scored all but three of her 27 points during the second half, and fifth-ranked Georgia rallied from a 15-point deficit to stun second-ranked Texas 78-64. UT sophomore forward Tiffany Jackson scored a career-high 27 points for the Longhorns, while senior forward Heather Schreiber had 22. Texas put together a 15-0 run in the first half for a 28-13 lead. Schreiber accounted for eight of the points, including a couple of three-pointers, and Texas kept UGA off the scoreboard for more than seven minutes. On the verge of getting blown out, Georgia rallied behind sophomore Cori Chambers. She broke the scoreless drought with a jumper, followed with a three-pointer and closed the first half with another trey. Humphrey also connected from outside the arc, helping Georgia close the half with a 14-4 run and trailed 32-27 at the half. In the second stanza, a six-point spurt over 38 seconds by Humphrey gave the Lady Bulldogs the lead for good with 16:22 to play and the Longhorns saw taillights the rest of the way. For her outstanding play, the Georgia rookie was named SEC Player of the Week.

THE SERIES WITH TEXAS

This marks the 26th meeting between the two schools (Tennessee leads 15-10) dating back to the 1978-79 season. Since 1986-87, Tennessee has held a 14-6 advantage in the series and has won 13 of the last 16 meetings. In both the 1997-98 meeting and the 1993-94 meeting with Texas, UT produced the biggest victory margin ever in the series, 34 points. Still, Texas has dealt the Lady Vols three of the worst defeats in school history. On Dec. 11, 1984, Texas won by 31 points (91-60 in Austin), on Dec. 1, 1985, Texas won by 22 points (74-52 in Knoxville), and on Dec. 9, 1987 by 19 points (97-78 in Knoxville).

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

With all of the national prominence generated by Tennessee and Texas throughout the years, it is ironic that the two teams have never met in an AIAW or NCAA title, or even a playoff game. In 2003, it looked as if the two traditional powerhouses would meet in the NCAA title game. However, UConn slipped past Texas and met the Lady Vols in the title game, instead. Typically, the games have either been blowouts or close affairs (under six points). The only overtime game in the series was the 1996 meeting in Austin, when the Lady Vols won by a 68-65 margin.

AVERAGE SCORE

The average score of a UT-Texas game is 74.5 to 69.2 in favor of Tennessee. In the last

UT AVERAGES VS. TEXAS

Only one Lady Vol holds a double-digit career scoring average against Texas -- Shyra Ely, with 10.0 ppg. Loree Moore leads in rebounds vs. the Longhorns with 5.0 rpg, in assists with 4.3 apg and in steals, 5.0 spg.

GAME REPORT 4 - TEXAS

Texas returns home with a 1-1 record after an upset loss to Georgia on Sunday, 78-64. The Longhorns opened the season on their homecourt with a solid 84-69 victory over Penn State.

OUR LAST MEETING

Having faced six nationally-ranked teams in its first eight games, the #2-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols came up on the losing end for the first time in the 2003-04 season with a 70-60 defeat to fifth-ranked Texas before a crowd of 15,396 at Thompson-Boling Arena on, Dec. 28, 2003. The loss snapped a 24-game home-court winning streak that began after a 69-66 loss to the Longhorns on Feb. 12, 2002. Tennessee (7-1) was paced by senior Ashley Robinson, who nearly recorded a double-double with a 15-point, nine-rebound effort. Senior Tasha Butts and junior Shyra Ely also tallied double-figure scoring totals with 11 and 10 points, respectively. On the defensive end, junior Loree Moore equaled a career high with seven steals. With a raucous crowd on hand, the Lady Vols fed off the fans' energy early and jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead following a Moore steal and layup. After extending the margin to six, 18-12, with 11:18 remaining in the first half, Texas clawed back to take a 32-30 halftime advantage. The Longhorns shot 48 percent 15-31) in the opening frame compared to Tennessee's 43 percent (13-30). The visiting team also controlled the boards, out-rebounding Pat Summitt's club, 21-14. UT came out cold in the second half, scoring just four points in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of play. Texas capitalized and pushed the margin to eight following a lay-up by Coco Reed at the 11:23 mark. Tennessee would not go away quietly, however, as it chipped away and cut the lead to one after Ely connected on a seven-foot jumper with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. Following a 30-second timeout by Texas, the Longhorns neutralized the game's momentum and gradually pulled away at the end with perfect free-throw shooting (10-10 to close out the game). On the afternoon, Texas shot 52 percent (27-52) from the field, marking the first time this season a UT opponent has hit on more than half of its shots, while the Lady Vols managed to connect on just 39 percent of their attempts. From the free throw line, UT shot just 56 percent (5-9) compared to Texas' 93 percent (13-14). The Longhorns also held a large advantage on the boards, snaring 15 more rebounds that the Lady Vols (42-27).

BIG XII CONFERENCE

Tennessee has taken on 11 teams from the Big XII Conference all-time and sports a 37-11 record. Only two teams have claimed victories over UT - Texas (10 times) and Colorado (once). The Lady Vols were honorary members of the Big XII last season taking on Oklahoma (a 71-55 win), Texas, a 70-60 loss and an NCAA Sweet 16 win over Baylor, 71-69. After losing 13 straight to the Lady Vols in the 1990s, the Longhorns have won the last three.

OUR LAST MEETING IN AUSTIN

The #4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (8-2) suffered its second loss of the season, falling 63-62 to the #22/21-ranked Texas Longhorns in front of 9,057 fans at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas on Dec. 21, 2002. The defeat marked the second straight for the Lady Vols in the series with Texas, dating back to the Feb. 12, 2002, 69-66 upset at the hands of the Longhorns in Knoxville. On the afternoon, Tennessee managed only 35.7% shooting on 20-of-56 from the floor, while Texas hit at a 40.3% clip. The Longhorns also won the rebounding war, albeit by a minor 41-40 margin. Kara Lawson led all scorers with 24 points, and managed to tie the all-time single game three-point record with six treys out of nine attempts. Tasha Butts posted the first double-double of her career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The game looked like it might be a blowout early on as seven straight points helped UT to a quick 7-0 advantage. Texas was ready for a 15-round fight, as a three-pointer from Heather Schreiber, who posted 18 points on the evening, drew Texas within 11-7 with 14:05 to play. The Lady Vols managed a six-point lead at 19-13 with 10:20 left after a Lawson trey, but the Longhorns fought right back to take their first lead at 23-22 with 5:58 remaining. Texas eventually grabbed a five-point advantage at 32-27 before Tennessee closed the gap to 35-33 heading to the locker room. The second half was tight as the teams traded the lead eight times and were tied on six occasions. The Lady Vols led by as many as five at 48-43 with 10:34 to play before Texas rallied back to take a 57-55 advantage with 3:39 left. Tied at 57-all, Lawson made a huge three-pointer to give UT a three-point lead at the 1:29 mark, but Schreiber answered immediately with a trey of her own to knot the tally at 60-60. With one second remaining, Texas' Nina Norman bombed in a "prayer" trey to give the burnt orange a three-point lead, 63-60. The Texas bench spilled on the floor with 1.0 remaining and was assessed a technical. Lawson made both tosses to pull within a point, 63-62. A Tennessee final desperation shot with one tick left was not to be, as a full court pass from Lawson to the UT basket was on the money but slipped through guard Loree Moore's fingers as time expired.

THWARTED LAST YEAR

In last season's contest against Texas, the Lady Vols were looking to extend their home court winning streak to 25 games which would have tied for the fifth longest in Tennessee history. Twenty-five wins would have also moved UT into a then-tie with Texas for third-place in the NCAA Division I home court winning streak standings. However, the Longhorns won their third consecutive game over the Lady Vols thus ending the streak. Ironically, that Tennessee win streak began after Texas defeated the Lady Vols 69-66 on Feb. 12, 2002.

RETURN THE FAVOR?

With its 1-0 mark at home to start the season, Texas currently has nation's longest current homecourt win streak - at 37 games...This 37-game home-court win streak ties the second-longest homecourt UT streak ever; Texas also won 37 straight home games from 1977-81...

"T" IS FOR TENNESSEE, TEXAS , TURKEY AND TIGHT

Tight? Exactly. As in tight defense. Over the last four meetings, Tennessee has produced a 1-3 record against the Longhorns including two rare losses in Knoxville. The two UT's are generally considered to be offensive juggernauts but in the last four games the two teams have reached 70 points just one time. In these most recent meetings, Texas has outscored Tennessee 261 (65.2 ppg) to 255 (63.7 ppg).

"T" IS ALSO FOR TRYPTOPHAN

A pre-game meal of turkey loaded with tryptophan is not on the Lady Vols Thanksgiving agenda. Instead, the Tennessee team and staff will celebrate Thanksgiving Dinner in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday night. Turkey has the reputation for containing the highest parts-per-million of the chemical tryptophan. That's the stuff that makes you sleepy, especially when you combine it with vast quantities of mashed potatoes and images of football being played on television. This year, those overdosing on turkey can watch Tennessee and Texas square-off on ESPN2.

SAW YA AT THE BIG DANCE

At the 2003 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Ga., Tennessee was joined at the Final Four by Connecticut, Duke and Texas. The Lady Vols dispatched Duke in one semifinal, 66-56, while Connecticut hung-on to beat the Longhorns narrowly, 73-64, in the other semifinal. Fans at the Georgia Dome were clearly disappointed that an all-orange final with Tennessee and Texas and the two winningest coaches in women's basketball did not materialize for the title game.

IT WAS 13 IN A ROW OVER TEXAS

Until Texas broke the streak on Feb. 12, 2002, in Knoxville, the Tennessee Lady Vols had registered 13 wins in a row over the Longhorns and dominated the 1990s with a 12-0 slate. It was a far cry from the late 1970s and 1980s when Texas fashioned a 7-2 record over Tennessee. Texas has reversed the trend and now won three straight over the Lady Vols in the 21st century.

LOTS O' WINS

Seems like winning is all Pat Summitt of Tennessee and Jody Conradt of Texas know how to do as women's collegiate hoops coaches. Going into today's game, the two Hall of Famers (Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame) have combined for 1,703 victories against just 437 losses in a total of 67 seasons. Additionally, both coaches have won NCAA titles with undefeated teams.

ATTRACTING A CROWD

Of the Lady Vols' top 100 all-time attended games, nine contests against Texas have made the list. The largest crowd ever to see Tennessee and Texas play was in Knoxville, Tenn., on Dec. 9, 1987, when a then-world record crowd of 24,563 packed Thompson-Boling Arena. The Longhorns spoiled the Lady Vols party tagging a 97-78 defeat on the home standing team. The biggest crowd to show up in Austin was 10,858 on Dec.22, 2000, to see Tennessee knock off the Longhorns, 67-59.

HIGH PROFILE GAMES - EARLY

The Lady Vols will be thrown into some high profile games early again this campaign. After defeating an always dangerous UT-Chattanooga, 68-34, (ranked #29) to open the season, the Lady Vols turned around two days later and defeated N.C. State, 64-54 in the Jimmy V Classic on ESPN2. Now, two days after that was the home opener versus always tough George Washington which produced a 71-41 win. You guessed it, two days later, UT travels to #4 Texas for a Thanksgiving night clash on ESPN2. A whole three days later, UT faces Temple at home.

Weekly Teleconference

COACH SUMMITT ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM THE MEDIA IN WEEKLY TELECONFERENCE

Coach Summitt addresses upcoming games against Texas and Temple.

Nov. 24, 2004

Lady Vol Head Coach Pat Summitt

Recapping the opening three games, including last night's win over George Washington as well as upcoming contests against Texas, Temple and Duke

"I think our opening game at Chattanooga was a good one in terms of the intensity that we brought, particularly on the defensive end. I thought our defense and our board play stood out above the rest of our game. Offensively, we capitalized on turnovers and rebounding to get our transition game going. I thought we were stagnant against the zone early, but picked up our pace, but all-in-all we did some good things.

"Against N.C. State, I didn't think we brought the intensity, which greatly affected our tempo in transition and forced us to generate our offense in the half court game, particularly in the first half. We found a way to win against a team I think might surprise a lot of people due to their inside game as well as their speed and their quickness, which was obviously stronger than that of Chattanooga.

"Last night against George Washington I thought we did a lot of good things. I felt we handled the change of defenses they presented us, and I felt that offensively we got into a much better rhythm. We got to sub and take a look at our young post people. As we head to Texas, I felt that would be very important.

"After looking at their Georgia tape, as you talk transition offense, Texas is one of the best with transition in the country, and I think they rely heavily on their defense and board play to create easy opportunities in transition. I know from our last three outings with them that's where I felt they had the advantage was from baseline-to-baseline and just getting up and down the floor and getting quick looks. But in the half court game with the play of Tiffany Jackson, they certainly have an anchor inside, because she has established herself as a great go-to player. Heather Schreiber and Jackson are a tough twosome to defend on the front line, so it's definitely going to be a real challenge for our team. We have to understand that we have to take care of the basketball and have to be able to play 94 feet. I can envision a track meet against Texas.

"Temple...I'm obviously excited to start this series, but I haven't had a chance to look ahead to them and don't intend to. Dawn Staley has been a great player and has done a great job of building the program there at Temple, so we look forward to the beginning of the series. And of course we have an opportunity early on to play against a team of the talent and experience of Duke. So obviously we have a lot to prepare for, but we need to keep our focus on just one game at a time."

On the development of freshman Alexis Hornbuckle:

"You have to speak to Alexis' size at the guard spot and her skill in being a very confident handler of the ball. She has a great change of speed and has both a lot of savvy and a great change-up that allows her to be a tough player to defend in transition. She gets her head up and sees people, and she has an ability to break down the defense both in the full and half court game. Alexis has been a joy to coach because she works really hard every day. She sees the game very well, and as a big guard she can get to the glass to score or rebound. She has a terrific nose for the ball. I'm excited for what she's already brought to the court for us, but her future and upside are just tremendous."

"I really think Alexis is a player that has played a lot against the guys. She's been in the gym playing against those guys and has had to learn how to be successful against bigger players and those who can match or more than match her athleticism. That's why I think she does have a lot of savvy to her game because she's had to figure out in her mind how to be successful with her game in that situation."

Commenting on a different offensive philosophy at Texas this season:

"Obviously Texas spreads you out. They have the look of a four-out, one-in. The question is, `can you guard Tiffany Jackson one-on-one or even Heather Schreiber one-on-one?' and it's going to take a player and a half. Their spacing allows them to get a lot of good looks inside. They are a team that's always been very committed in playing off the dribble. Certainly, the spacing allows them to put the ball on the floor and create more opportunities for themselves. They make their teammates better off penetration. I think our biggest challenge will be the tempo. Tye Fluker is in a starting role and is going to have to get up and down the floor. That to me will be one of our biggest concerns going into this game...our transition defense."

On the ability of Hornbuckle to expose a weakness in Texas' defense:

"Based on the game against Texas last year, it was obvious that they broke our perimeter defense down time and time again. Their dribble penetration really took us out of the game, because we didn't do a very good job against that. I think we have to be a team that can contain the dribble and a team that knows, if we break down, we have to have early help. Nina Norman had her way with us, and Jamie Carey was outstanding. We didn't have an answer for them, or at least we didn't provide an answer throughout the game."

On moving the Texas game from mid-December to Thanksgiving night:

"When I looked at moving the game, I said there was no way we needed to do it because we would need rest and preparation time, but at the same time I thought, what a great window of opportunity for this game and for these two programs. We obviously have had a great rivalry that has extended over the years and been one of the best in the women's game. We are all clearly excited about playing them."

On playing four games in seven days and what the team's plans are for Thanksgiving:

"We are just traveling today, and we are not doing anything related to basketball. Tonight, we'll have Thanksgiving dinner as a team and as a staff. It's not ideal, and I'd love to have been able to have a practice, but I just felt like we're going to need our legs. Obviously, when we play Texas we understand we have to get up and down (the floor), and we'll just go through an hour of preparation and scouting tomorrow. I told them I don't want them watching any tapes today, and I want it to be a day off."

On the rivalry between Texas and Tennessee:

"Texas is certainly a program that has withstood the test of time. Jody (Conradt) has been the one constant in the program, and when we started playing against Texas we had a lot of catching up to do. We learned a lot of lessons early on going up against their defensive pressure. They've always been known as an aggressive, passionate defensive team and a team that generates a lot of opportunities from their defense. We were on the receiving end of the pressure and had some ugly games when we started playing them. They taught us some lessons on how you play this game. We've had a lot of great games, and they've had the upper hand on us in the last three games, so clearly the respect for Texas is there. As a coach, I admire the consistency Jody has been able to maintain."

On a possible rivalry between herself and Coach Conradt:

"I don't think it's about coaches and the number of wins. For me, it's about the team I'm coaching now and trying to help them as they go through the season and getting them ready for an opponent like Texas."

On Shanna Zolman's play this season:

"Shanna is a more confident player and is much better without the basketball. Her play without the ball sets her up to catch and shoot a little quicker. She's reading defenses better without the ball. Secondly, she's more aggressive putting the ball on the floor. Last year, she wasn't as creative off the dribble. She's done a great job in transition not settling for a pull-up, but creating and getting to the basket and getting the ball to her teammates. Defensively, I'm really pleased with her one-on-one defense. Obviously, she's not the quickest player on the team, but her commitment to play good position has allowed her to be very effective."

On the play of Nicky Anosike:

"She just outworks people. She's outworked a lot of her teammates already as a freshman. Every day she just comes in and brings intensity - she's passionate about the game. I like the fact that she is aggressive, because I think she generates a lot of intensity and emotional play and makes everyone else's intensity better. She loves to play on the defensive end."

On the freshmen pushing the veterans:

"You can look at it either way. Tye'sha Fluker is probably running a little faster since Anosike got on campus. I think that's good to have players from within your own team to motivate other players. You hope you don't need that, but it certainly hasn't hurt us. I think our chemistry has been good and they (the players) appreciate the fact that we have more depth at every position."

On the playing rotation versus George Washington:

"I wanted to get Sybil Dosty in the game. Of course, she's been out of practices and I didn't play her against N.C. State because of the time and situation we were in, and I thought Anosike was playing very well for us. I also felt that I wanted to divide the minutes and give the starters a little less playing time, and when Fluker got into foul trouble that took care of the inside game. I really feel that this team can go nine deep - 10 deep if we rotate three post people, which I'll probably do a little more as we move forward and as we determine what Dosty is going to bring as opposed to Anosike. I think there are going to be times when we'll need that type of rotation, and Texas may be one of them just depending on the tempo of the game."

UT cuts down George Washington

KNOXVILLE -- No. 1 Tennessee finally got around to its home opener on Tuesday night, following two straight road wins within a three-day span.

The Lady Vols (3-0) were in their comfort zone at last and played like it, showing better chemistry offensively on the way to overwhelming visiting George Washington University, 71-41, at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee got a more aggressive effort from starting center Tye'sha Fluker, who scored three of the first seven baskets in a 15-2 run, and then went to veteran shooting guard Shanna Zolman for fire power from the perimeter, taking complete control as the contest began.

Zolman led all scoring in the game with 14 points, including 6 of 12 shooting from the field, and freshman guard Alexis Hornbuckle came off the bench for 11 points as UT's 10-player rotation was once again too much for an opponent to handle.

``I thought our offense was better (than against N.C. State on Sunday),'' coach Pat Summitt said. ``Rather than be confused with (the Colonials') switching defenses, we just called one offense and said let's attack no matter what we're in.

``Shanna has expanded her offensive game this season and is much better off the dribble, and I thought Nicky Anosike defended well, as did Hornbuckle. Those two freshmen have brought a lot of energy off the bench and give us a big lift.''

Anosike, a freshman post player, had eight boards and three blocks in the game, while Fluker, who put in extra practice time with assistant coach Dean Lockwood after a poor shooting performance on the road, was 4 of 7 from the field with eight points, six rebounds and three steals.

``Tye knows she needs to step up for us and be a scorer in the paint,'' Summitt said. ``Tonight she got great position. That'll make us a much better basketball team with an anchor inside.''

The Lady Vols outrebounded the Colonials, 44-30, in the game and forced 22 turnovers, holding George Washington (2-1) to only 32 percent shooting from the field.

``Most of our wounds were self-inflicted,'' Colonials coach Joe McKeown said. ``But this kind of environment forces you to play out of your comfort zone.

``We're a young team and today we started two freshman guards. We're still getting used to playing with one another. It was a tough environment to put our freshmen into. They (the Lady Vols) come at you in waves.''

Veteran forward Anna Mantanana scored 12 points for the Colonials, and transfer Jessica Simmonds, who sat out last season under NCAA rules, equaled her with 12.

But George Washington was only 6 of 23 from the field in the first half, and Tennessee took full advantage.

``We got our feet back under us at one point where we cut it to 17-9,'' McKeown said. ``But then we got confused a little, and I knew we'd get behind so far that we couldn't catch up. Everybody thinks you've got to defend them (Lady Vols) to beat them. That's crap. You've got to score.''

When George Washington cut Tennessee's early lead down to six points, 15-9, in the first half, the Lady Vols responded with more defensive pressure and a round of substitution that kept the offense moving. Hornbuckle, Dominique Redding and Anosike came off the bench and combined with Sidney Spencer and Zolman to give Tennessee a 28-11 lead with 3:54 to play, increasing it to 38-16 at the half.

In the second period, the Lady Vols looked for Zolman and senior Shyra Ely to get things going again, and the game was all but over when UT took a 45-22 advantage with 16:28 still to play.

``We executed a lot better tonight,'' Zolman said. ``There were still times when we stood (on offense), but we were concentrating more on communicating and that helped.''

The Lady Vols next travel to face Texas in the Big XII/SEC Challenge on Thursday night in Austin. It will be Tennessee's fourth game in less than a week since opening at UT Chattanooga last Friday.

No. 1 Tennessee 71, George Washington 41

Pat Summitt GW 11-23-2004, originally uploaded by Mrs_Skeffington.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Veterans and talented freshmen are proving to be a good mix for top-ranked Tennessee.

Junior Shanna Zolman scored 14 points and reserve freshman Alexis Hornbuckle added 11 to help the Lady Vols beat George Washington 71-41 Tuesday night in their home opener.

Tennessee jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and George Washington didn't score until 12:19 left in the first half. The Colonials struggled with 22 turnovers that led to easy Lady Vols' baskets.

Tennessee's leading scorer, Shyra Ely, was held to 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting. But the Lady Vols (3-0) made do without her usual 16 points. Tennessee led by 22 points at halftime, and Zolman started the second half with two jumpers to keep the Lady Vols rolling.

``I think Shanna is one of our most improved players,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. ``She's definitely expanded her offensive game aside from being just a catch-and-shoot player. She can be much more creative offensively. Obviously that's good for us.''

Tennessee looked more comfortable on its home court after opening the season with two road games.

Hornbuckle, a member of Tennessee's heralded freshman class, made her debut with some nifty moves.

``When she comes in, she generates a lot of action. Defensively, she's around the ball,'' Summitt said. ``A lot of good things happen when she's on the floor.''

Ely got a steal and fed a breaking Hornbuckle, who scored an easy layup for a 47-22 lead with 14:21 left.

Hornbuckle added a 3-pointer and two free throws during a 9-0 run that ended any thoughts of a rally by the Colonials (2-1), who shot 32 percent.

Anna Montanana and Jessica Simmonds led George Washington with 12 points apiece.

``Everyone thinks you have to defend them. That's crap. You have to be able to score,'' George Washington coach Joe McKeown said. ``That was our biggest concern coming in. I knew we couldn't get behind them.''

Zolman also had six assists and three steals, and Hornbuckle had six rebounds.

``Even though I didn't start it was still great -- the atmosphere and the fans going crazy,'' she said. ``I was so excited. I was ready to run up and down the court.''

The Lady Vols finish a season-opening stretch of four games in seven days with a visit to No. 4 Texas on Thanksgiving.

Summitt's advice timely for Peterson

LAHAINA, Hawaii - Pat Summitt wanted to see Buzz Peterson's day planner.

Not study game tape with him. Not talk strategy or recruiting.

She wanted to see how his life worked, hour by hour.

So Peterson, entering his fourth year as Tennessee's men's basketball coach, handed it over to the woman who has coached the Lady Vols to six national hoops titles and is to her sport what Dean Smith has been to his.

"She's been at this for 31 years and she's won all these national championships and she's a mother and a wife and coach. It's neat to see how she does it all," said Peterson, whose Volunteers met his alma mater, North Carolina, Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.

Time, Summitt told Peterson, is precious. Approach your job like you're running a small company. Use your time properly and it can make you more successful.

Summitt had Peterson consolidate some things, eliminate others and carve out time to be with his wife and three children, all with the intention of helping Peterson be better at his job.

There is a feeling this could be Peterson's breakthrough season in Knoxville, where the Volunteers haven't reached the NCAA tournament since he arrived. Peterson's teams have been solid, spectacular at times, but disrupted by a seemingly constant churn of players in and out of the program.

This team, built around perimeter players C.J. Watson and Scooter McFadgon, has the potential to be among the best in the SEC. Stanford coach Trent Johnson likened them "to what Georgia Tech was last year."

Now 41, Peterson remains as unpretentious as ever. He's still Buzz, a perfect name for someone blessed with his natural charm. He can smile about wearing an orange aloha shirt in Maui and jokes about getting old when he mentions a knee problem that causes a slight limp.

Summitt's advice has helped Peterson already. He has made time in Maui for his family between games and practices. His wife, Jan, broke her toe the day before leaving for Hawaii as she hustled around the house putting up holiday decorations, so he has worked to make her comfortable.

With his team, Peterson is looking for leadership, even as he's learning on the run.

"I remember when I was at Appalachian State, Jerry Moore (the football coach) told me how when he was head coach at Texas Tech he wished he could do it over again because he was too young for the job at the time," Peterson said.

He understands.

Peterson ordered books on leadership for his players, and they go over them chapter by chapter. It's been helpful, Peterson said, though he's still looking for a take-charge guy who can turn potential into production.

"It's fun," Peterson said, standing near a pool where flamingos are wading.

"I love it so much. It's not like a job."

Summitt unhappy with Lady Vols’ play

KNOXVILLE — Pat Summitt stopped the tape and looked at her team.

The Lady Vols were watching the film from their 64-54 win over NC State on Sunday, and the Tennessee coach had the volume loud.

She wanted her players to hear when ESPN2 announcers Pam Ward and Ann Meyers commented on the ''inefficiency'' of Tennessee's halfcourt offense over the past two years.

''It's almost like a slap in the face to us that are trying to lead this team,'' junior guard Shanna Zolman said. The halfcourt offense has been less than impressive in the Lady Vols' first two games of the season, and No. 1 Tennessee (2-0) gets a brand new challenge tonight at 6 p.m. from a George Washington team that likes to provide different looks on defense.

The Colonials (2-0) allowed just 34 points and forced 32 turnovers in their win over East Carolina Sunday.

The Lady Vols, meanwhile, are averaging 66 points a game in their first two outings, and they have already committed a combined 36 turnovers. That doesn't count the times they had to force shots as the shot clock wound down because of a lack of movement on offense.

''If there was a standing award, it belonged to Tennessee,'' Summitt said. ''It's kind of your worst nightmare. You get there and you don't have great leadership, and people start standing.''

So yesterday at practice, Summitt cut the offense down by about 50 percent and begged for her guards to take ownership of the offense. Senior point guard Loree Moore said part of the problem against N.C. State was a lack of communication.

''[N.C. State was] getting after it, but they weren't doing that much to cause us to have that much confusion on the court,'' Moore said.

The Lady Vols play on ESPN2 again Thanksgiving night at No. 4 Texas. They're hoping there won't be any need for announcers to take jabs at their offense.

''It hurt, because we know from an outsider's point of view, people think that,'' Zolman said. ''They don't see us do it in practice, but that's not where it counts. You have to do it in the game.''

Easy as 1, 2, 3: The SEC took all of the top three spots in the latest edition of the AP poll. Tennessee remained at No. 1. LSU moved to No. 2, and Georgia jumped up to No. 3 after upsetting then second-ranked Texas Sunday. It's only the second time that one conference has held that distinction. The SEC also did it in 1989.

Top-ranked Tennessee meets George Washington in home opener

After a successful two-game road trip to start the season, top-ranked Tennessee opens its home schedule Tuesday against George Washington.

Tennessee (2-0) opened its season in the Jimmy V Classic with a 68-34 rout of Chattanooga Friday and a 64-54 victory at North Carolina State on Sunday. Shyra Ely scored 15 points and Brittany Jackson made four foul shots down the stretch as the Lady Vols stifled the Wolfpack down the stretch.

``That's the one thing in the last week she's done in practice, and she can be very effective,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. ``She likes to spot up for the 3, and she can do that, too.''

Ely has led Tennessee in scoring in each of the first two games and has made 14-of-21 shots this season. Ely led the Lady Vols in scoring 15 times last season.

Summitt has also been pleased with the play of freshmen Alexis Hornbuckle and Nicky Anosike. Hornbuckle scored 11 points in 22 minutes and Anosike added six in Sunday's win.

``Our two freshmen off the bench brought a great deal of intensity,'' Summitt said. ``We got some looks inside, but sometimes we just couldn't finish.''

The Lady Vols are 27-3 in home openers under Summitt and have won four straight. Tennessee's last loss to open at Thompson-Boling Arena was a 69-64 defeat to Louisiana Tech on November 14, 1999.

After this matchup, Tennessee faces a pair of major tests in two of its next three games with a trip to No. 2 Texas on Thursday and a visit by sixth-ranked Duke the following week.

George Washington (2-0) has opened its season with wins over Georgetown and East Carolina. Anna Montanana, a first team preseason All-Atlantic 10 Conference selection, has averaged 11.5 points to lead the Colonials.

Last season, Tennessee posted a 65-51 victory at George Washington to improve to 4-0 in the series. Jackson scored 16 points to lead the Lady Vols while Montanana was limited to 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting for the Colonials.

``It's been a great series. It'd be even better if we could beat them,'' George Washington coach Joe McKeown said. ``I thought we had a good chance last year. We just couldn't get it done in the last few minutes. I think our kids will be excited, and the good thing is that we've played them before.''

NO. 1 TENNESSEE TO HOST GEORGE WASHINGTON TUESDAY

Tennessee is 4-0 lifetime against the Colonials

After starting the season with a 2-0 roadtrip through Chattanooga (W, 68-34), and the Jimmy V Classic over N.C.State (W, 64-54), the Lady Vols return to Knoxville for the 2004-05 home-opener vs. George Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Thompson-Boling Arena. George Washington has also started the season with a 2-0 record, outscoring the competition, 134-96.

Tennessee and the Colonials hooked up in the Lady Vols' ninth game of the 2003-04 season, with the Big Orange prevailing, 65-51, at Washington, D.C. This time around, the Colonials will travel to Rocky Top, where the Lady Vols are 27- 3 in home-openers during the Summitt era. The last loss for Tennessee in a lid-lifter, was Nov. 14, 1999, 69-64 to Louisiana Tech.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

TENNESSEE
1 - Sidney Spencer, F, 6-3, So., 7.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg
43 - Shyra Ely, F, 6-2, Sr., 12.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg
50 - Tye'sha Fluker, C, 6-5, Jr., 3.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg
5 - Shanna Zolman, G, 5-10, Jr., 12.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
21 - Loree Moore, G, 5-9, Sr., 4.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg

GEORGE WASHINGTON
3 - Whitney Allen, F, 5-11, So., 2.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
21 - Anna Montanana, F, 6-1, Sr., 11.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg
5 - Kimberly Beck, G, 5-8, Fr., 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
32 - Sarah-Jo Lawrence, G, 5-11, Fr., 8.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg
41 - Jessica Simmonds, F, 6-2. Sr., 8.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg

LADY VOL COACHING STAFF

Pat Summitt is in her 31st year as head coach of the Lady Vols. Her overall career record stands at 854 wins and 167 losses, and she has led UT to six national championships. Summitt is assisted by Holly Warlick, Nikki Caldwell and Dean Lockwood.

TENNESSEE LADY VOL TIDBITS

The Lady Vols' stingy defense held Chattanooga, ranked 29th in the nation, to just 34 points, limiting the Lady Mocs to seven field goals on the evening...In the first half versus Chattanooga, the Lady Vol defense held the Lady Mocs to 9.1 percent shooting (2-of-22), the lowest mark ever for a UT opponent...Senior Shyra Ely has been fantastic, leading Tennessee in scoring in both games...Last season, Ely led the team in scoring 15 times...Ely is hitting at a 71 percent clip, connecting on 14-21 shots on the year...Freshman Alexis Hornbuckle made her first collegiate start on Sunday, scoring 11 points, with three rebounds and an assist...Hornbuckle also leads the team with four blocks on the year...Tennessee has blocked eight shots in 2004-05...Tennessee has won 189 of their last 199 games at TBA...The Lady Vols have the best home record in the nation in a single arena, winning at a 94.8 percent clip, 239-13...Tennessee has not lost to an unranked opponent since Mar. 2, 2002, to LSU. Tennessee returns home to the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena, having completed a perfect 2-0 road trip through Chattanooga, and the Jimmy V Classic against N.C. State.

The Lady Vols doubled up the Lady Mocs on Friday, Nov. 19, winning by a comfortable 68-34 margin. Senior forward Shyra Ely had the hot hand, connecting on 8-of-11 field goals for a game-high 17 points, while grabbing 10 boards. Junior guard Shanna Zolman added 14 points, while nine of the ten players on Pat Summitt's roster saw double-digit minutes in the blowout.

With no rest for the weary, the Lady Vols traveled to Raleigh, N.C., for a match-up with North Carolina State in the Jimmy V. Classic on Sunday. The quick turnaround was not a factor as the Lady Vols came back from a three-point halftime deficit to post a 10-point victory, 64-54. Ely again paced the Orange and White attack with 15 points, as three Lady Vols reached doubledigit point totals.

Offensive output aside, the Lady Vols have been winning games with their defense, holding opponents to just 25 percent (26-103) from the field, while forcing 40 turnovers on the season. Senior guard Loree Moore has led the stingy defense with nine steals, including eight against Chattanooga.

GEORGE WASHINGTON COACHING STAFF

George Washingon is coached by Joe McKeown, sporting a 344-125 record in 16th season at the helm of the Colonials. McKeown is assited by Lisa Cermingnano, Tajama Ngongba and Jacob Solomon.

GEORGE WASHINGTON COLONIALS TIDBITS

Tennessee is 4-0 all-time versus George Washington, having outscored the Colonials, 309-222...The two combatants last met on Dec. 30, 2003, with the Lady Vols taking a convincing 65-51 victory on the road at Washington, D.C...Last season, the Colonials were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, being bounced by DePaul, 83-46...GW finished the 2003- 04 season with a 22-8 record...Senior forward Anna Montañana was selected to the Atlantic-10 Preseason All-Conference First Team, while guard Lisa Steele was named to the all-rookie team...Montañana averaged 12.0 points per game while collecting a team-high 7.6 rpg...This season, Montañana leads the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg, while senior forward Jessica Simmonds is second, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per contest...The Colonials were selected to finish second in the conference, behind Richmond, in a preseason poll of Atlantic-10 coaches.

George Washington (2-0) opened the 2004-05 campaign on the road at Georgetown, posting a 67-62 win over the Hoyas, before heading home to Washington D.C., to play host to East Carolina, routing the Pirates, 67-34, on Sunday.

Seniors Anna Montañana and Jessica Simmonds have paced the Colonials' offensive attack, tallying 55 of the 134 points GW has scored on the young season. The squad has totaled a consistant 67 points per contest after reaching that mark in both games. George Washington has converted 46 percent of their shot attempts (44-96), posting remarkably consistant numbers in each half, 44 percent in the first, and 48 in the second.

On the defensive end of the floor, the Colonials have excelled, holding their opponents to only 28 percent shooting, connecting on just 34-of-123 shots this season. GW's defense was on display Sunday, holding the Pirates to 34 points. The total was the fewest surrendered by George Washington in 12 years, since allowing 32 points to Howard, on Dec. 30, 1992. The Colonials also forced 32 turnovers while holding East Carolina to just eight field goals on the evening.

SEC ranks 1-2-3 in women's poll

One league, three teams, all at the very top. A banner day for the SEC in The Associated Press women's basketball poll -- and a 10-year low for Connecticut.

Southeastern Conference rivals Tennessee, LSU and Georgia stood 1-2-3 in the poll on Monday, just the second time a league filled the leading three spots.

Auburn, Tennessee and Mississippi of the SEC held the top three places the week of Jan. 9, 1989. The AP poll started in 1976.

``It says what my body tells me after 26 years -- it's a tough grind in our league,'' said Georgia coach Andy Landers, whose team moved up two spots after beating then-No. 2 Texas.

``Our conference has always been very competitive,'' he said. ``Certainly this is a year that's somewhat exceptional, at least at this point in the season.''

While the SEC soared, Connecticut dropped from fourth to eighth after a 71-65 loss to North Carolina, the earliest the Huskies have lost since they were beaten by Louisiana Tech in their 1995-96 season opener.

UConn, winner of the last three national championships, hasn't been this low in the rankings since it was ninth the week of Feb. 1, 1994. That was the season before the Huskies won the first of their five NCAA titles.

North Carolina (ninth to fifth) and Notre Dame (11th to sixth) both made major jumps, while Penn State dropped out from No. 23 after losing all three of its games. The shuffling came about after ranked teams played each other seven times during the past week.

Tennessee remained a solid No. 1 after opening the season with road victories over Chattanooga and North Carolina State. The Lady Vols received 32 of 45 first-place votes from a national media panel and had 1,111 points.

LSU (4-0) climbed one spot with 13 first-place votes and 1,088 points. Georgia (2-0), which came from 15 points down to beat Texas 78-64 Sunday night, had 1,007 points.

Texas coach Jody Conradt thought Georgia should be even higher.

``I would give them my No. 1 vote right now,'' Conradt said.

Texas dropped to fourth, followed by UNC and Notre Dame, which won the preseason WNIT by beating ranked teams Duke and Ohio State in the final two rounds.

Stanford held at No. 7, and was followed by UConn, Baylor and Duke, which dropped four places.

Ohio State fell one spot to 11th and Texas Tech was 12th. Then it was Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Kansas State, followed by Rutgers, Minnesota, DePaul and Boston College.

The final five were Oklahoma, Maryland, Louisiana Tech, Villanova and Arizona.

Villanova was the lone newcomer, getting in after beating visiting Penn State 73-65. Penn State is 0-3 for the first time in coach Rene Portland's 25 seasons; the Lady Lions also lost on the road to Texas and Duke.

Georgia got 27 points from freshman Tasha Humphrey against Texas, a victory Landers is trying to take in stride.

``I think people around here are more excited about it than I am,'' he said. ``The bottom line is Georgia has to get better and Texas is going to get better.

``It was a good measure for us. It exposed things in ways both positive and negative. But I don't look at the 'W' as being as significant as it would be in late January or February.''

By then, Georgia will be in the thick of the SEC race.

``I'm just dying for that,'' Landers said with a laugh. ``I told our kids before practice, 'I rather suspect the SEC will be 1-2-3 in the poll. So good luck. Let's get started.'''

No. 1 Tennessee 64, N.C. State 54

Pat Summitt Jimmy V 11-21-2004, originally uploaded by Mrs_Skeffington.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Shyra Ely and her Tennessee teammates watched Connecticut lose in the opener of the Jimmy V Women's Classic. That gave them all the motivation they needed against North Carolina State.

``It was an ugly win, but I'm just glad we were able to pull through,'' she said.

Brittany Jackson drew fouls twice in the final minutes with the shot clock winding down and made four free throws, helping No. 1 Tennessee hold off the Wolfpack 64-54 Sunday in the Jimmy V Women's Classic.

Ely scored 15 points and Alexis Hornbuckle added 11 for the Lady Vols, and Jackson finished with nine. Tiffany Stansbury led the Wolfpack with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

``We certainly give credit to N.C. State,'' Ely said. ``But we have to play our basketball, and we did a great job of stepping up.''

No. 9 North Carolina beat the three-time defending national champ Huskies 71-65 earlier, handing fourth-ranked UConn its earliest loss since 1995.

Tennessee (2-0) trailed by three at the half in the matchup of Hall of Fame coaches -- Tennessee's Pat Summitt and the Wolfpack's Kay Yow. It was tied at 34 before Sidney Spencer started a 9-2 run for the Vols, and they made it 49-41 on a 3-pointer by Hornbuckle.

``We struggled to get the ball inside early, and when you do that, obviously, you're going to struggle,'' Summitt said.

N.C. State (1-1) got back within four on a jumper by Monica Pope with about five minutes left, then didn't score again until the final minute.

``We did a couple of things well,'' Yow said. ``We played really hard, and we played together. We're not as smart as we'd like to be yet.''

Meanwhile, senior reserve Jackson used her experience to increase Tennessee's lead. On two occasions, she was fouled on drives to the basket just before the shot clock expired.

She made all four free throws and the Volunteers cruised from there.

``Brittany is not necessarily someone to do that with some consistency,'' Summitt said. ``That's the one thing in the last week she's done in practice, and she can be very effective. She likes to spot up for the 3, and she can do that, too.''

Tennessee hasn't lost to an unranked team since a loss to LSU on March 2, 2002, in the Southeastern Conference tournament.

The Lady Vols started the season ranked No. 1 for the first time 1998. With talented veterans such as Jackson, Ely, Shanna Zolman and Loree Moore back, the they are a contender for Summitt's seventh national title at the school.

Summitt also signed the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, including the No. 1 prospect, Candace Parker. But Parker and two other freshmen, Alex Fuller and Sade Wiley-Gatewood, are injured, and Fuller is out for the season.

Yow, in her 30th season with the Wolfpack, remained three victories short of 600, and she fell to 0-3 in the Jimmy V Women's Classic. N.C. State hasn't beaten Tennessee 1990.

``We have to have a little time to get some games under our belt and feel each other out,'' Yow said. ``We're working on the right things. If we could get our shots to fall, we would really be in business.''

Top-ranked Lady Vols go for 22nd straight road win against Wolfpack in Jimmy V Classic

(1) Tennessee (1-0) vs. N.C. State (1-0)
Game Info: 5:00 pm EST Sun Nov 21, 2004

Team Stat Leaders

Points PPG
Shyra Ely, Tenn 17.0
Billie McDowell, NCSU 21.0

Assists APG
Alexis Hornbuckle, Tenn 4.0
Marquetta Dickens, NCSU 5.0

Rebounds RPG
Shyra Ely, Tenn 10.0
Tiffany Stansbury, NCSU 16.0

This is the game that should test top-ranked Tennessee's mettle.

Two days after a 68-34 victory over Chattanooga in their season opener, the Lady Vols travel to Raleigh, N.C. to face North Carolina State in the third annual Jimmy V Classic at the RBC Arena on Sunday.

``It is quick turnaround playing N.C. State two days after Chattanooga, again playing a tough opponent, and, obviously, we will be in their environment,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summit said. ``I think we will find out a lot about the leadership of this team in how our team responds.''

Against Chattanooga, Shyra Ely had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Shanna Zolman added 14 points for the Lady Vols, who held the Lady Mocs to 13 percent shooting while outrebounding them 51-34.

``I think from the get-go our defense was crucial,'' said Zolman, who has made 36 straight free throws dating to last season. ``Offensively we had good spurts and bad spurts. For our first road game, I think we played well.''

The Lady Vols have won 21 regular season road games in a row dating to a 63-62 loss at Connecticut on Jan. 4, 2003.

Sunday's matchup features two Hall of Fame coaches in Summitt and Kay Yow, who is in her 30th season at N.C. State. Summitt, in her 31st season at Tennessee, has 853 victories and needs 27 more to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history.

Yow is three wins shy of 600, which would put her in a class with Summitt, Texas' Jody Conradt and retired Peter Granelli of St. Peter's College.

Yow was an assistant under Summitt when she coached the 1984 USA Olympic basketball team to its first-ever gold medal.

``Having worked together with the '84 Olympic Team and really experiencing a wonderful gold medal run, we became friends,'' Summitt said. ``But at the same time, as we compete, we're both very competitive and want our team to compete to the best of their abilities and leave whatever happens on the floor.''

The Wolfpack opened its season with a 67-49 home win over UNC-Wilmington on Friday.

Junior guard Billie McDowell scored 21 points, while junior center Tiffany Stansbury added 12 points and 16 rebounds for N.C. State.

``We are really trying to find ourselves right now and I think that we did a great job,'' Yow said.

The Wolfpack, the underdog in the tournament for the third straight year, lost 78-50 to then-No. 6 UConn last season after dropping a 69-56 decision to then-No. 2 Texas the year before.

The Lady Vols won the last meeting 93-56 in the Honda Elite Classic in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 2, 2001, and lead the all-time series 11-3.

The Wolfpack won the last home matchup, 90-77 on Dec. 1, 1990.

Washington Speakers Bureau: Pat Summitt

Pat Summitt
Women's Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee Lady Vols

Speech Topic

The Definite Dozen – A System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do
Legendary Tennessee Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt – the winningest collegiate women’s basketball coach – brings you “The Definite Dozen”: the strategies that brought her unparalleled success as a basketball coach and can help make you and your organization successful as well. Providing audiences with her dozen precepts -- complete with examples -- in a focused and anecdotal presentation, Summitt shows you how to bounce back from adversity and loss to succeed against the obstacles -- and win.

About Pat Head Summitt

The nation’s winningest collegiate women’s basketball coach, Pat Summitt is only a handful of victories away from being the winningest basketball coach ever – male or female.

A Winner, Pure and Simple: With over 850 career victories, 6 NCAA titles, 23 Southeastern Conference tournament and regular season championships, 12 Olympians and 18 Kodak All-Americans, Pat Summitt is by far the most successful women’s college basketball coach – and one of the best coaches ever. Now she shares her undeniably successful strategies for motivation and success with audiences everywhere.

Start As Believers, End As Achievers: A member of both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Summitt instills a relentless sense of commitment in her players, helping them come together as a team and achieve things they’d never dared dream of. Summitt is the consummate motivator – and the perfect motivational speaker for any event, guaranteed to have your people ready – and wanting – to achieve more.

Unquestioned Credentials: The author of a best-selling book, Reach for the Summit, Summitt became the first female coach to ever grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. She needs only a few more collegiate victories to surpass legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith as the NCAA coach with the most wins. Summitt trails only UCLA's legendary coach John Wooden for the most NCAA titles.

LADY VOLS TAKE ON NC STATE IN JIMMY V CLASSIC

Nov. 21, 2004
Tipoff: 5:00 p.m. (EST)
Television: ESPN2

Probable Starters

TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEERS (1-0)
Sidney Spencer
Shyra Ely
Tye'sha Fluker
Loree Moore
Shanna Zolman

NC STATE WOLFPACK (1-0)
Marquetta Dickens
Ashley Key
Tiffany Stansbury
Billie McDowell
Kendra Bell

LADY VOLS TAKE ON NC STATE IN JIMMY V CLASSIC

TODAY'S GAME
The #1-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols travel to Raleigh, N.C., to take on N.C. State in the Third Annual Jimmy V Classic. While Tennessee opened its season on Nov. 19 with a 68-34 win at UT-Chattanooga, N.C. State entertained UNC-Wilmington at home where they recorded a 67-49 win.

LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE
This is the Lady Vols' 31st season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 853-167 overall record...Needs just 27 wins to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history...Her 2003-04 squad finished as the NCAA runner-up with a 31-4 record...UT also is the seven-consecutive-time defending SEC regular season champion, and has been picked by both the media and the coaches to finish first in this year's SEC race as well.

The Lady Vols are led by National Player of the Year candidates, seniors Loree Moore and Shyra Ely and junior Shanna Zolman. Each appeared on pre-season watch lists or ballots for the Naismith Player of the Year and the Wooden Award. Tennessee returns seven letterwinners and welcomes eight newcomers to the lineup...Rookie Alex Fuller (Shelbyville, Tenn.) will redshirt this season after undergoing surgery in October...Fellow rookies Candace Parker (Naperville, Ill.) and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood are also currently sidelined with injuries.

PUT THE GLOVE ON UTC
Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt told her players before the season began that they had better pack their defense and rebounding when they hit the road. Seems like they packed a double-dose in the season opener against UTC. The Lady Mocs were limited to just 2-22 field goals in the first half for 9.1 percent shooting. A mark never reached by a UT opponent. The Mocs improved in the second half and finished shooting 13.5 percent (7-52) for the game. UT outrebounded UTC, 51-34.

OUR SECOND TRIP TO THE JIMMY V CLASSIC
The third annual Jimmy V Women's Basketball Classic, staged and televised by ESPN in conjunction with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, will feature four outstanding teams. In the first game, three-time defending NCAA champion Connecticut will face North Carolina at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, while at 5 p.m. on ESPN2, the top-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols will face host N.C. State Notes: This year marks the first time 1994 NCAA Champion North Carolina is in the field; UConn, which has won the past three NCAA Championships, has played in two of the three Classics; Tennessee, 2004 NCAA runner-up and six-time NCAA Champion, returns to the Jimmy V Classic after a one-year absence, and host N.C. State, led by 2002 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and V Foundation board member Kay Yow, has participated in all three Classics.

CHARTING THE N.C. STATE WOLFPACK
The N.C. State women's basketball team opened its season with a 67-49 victory over visiting UNC Wilmington. The Wolfpack was led by junior Billie McDowell's 21 points, while junior Tiffany Stansbury recorded her first double-double with 16 rebounds and 12 points. State led for the majority of the first half and held UNC Wilmington to just two points in the first five minutes. The Seahawks eventually took the lead at 26-25 with just under two minutes to go before the break. The Wolfpack rallied to a 31-26 lead in part to two buckets from McDowell. She tallied 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. In the second half NCSU turned up its defensive effort and grabbed 13 steals. Sophomore Marquetta Dickens tallied 13 second-half points and collected a career high five steals. State never lost its momentum and coasted to a 67-49 win. The Pack forced 32 UNCW turnovers and outrebounded the Seahawks, 42-36. The game-breaker was in the steal column and in the second chance points as NCSU's 25 offensive rebounds resulted in 14 second chance points, while UNCW had just eight offensive boards and four second chance points.

THE SERIES
This marks the 15th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1975-76 season. From 1978 until 1986, the two teams played each other every season alternating between State's Reynolds Coliseum and UT's Stokely Athletics Center. State's three wins in the series have all come in the state of North Carolina - two at home in Raleigh and one at Western Carolina on a neutral court.

SUMMITT HIT 100 WINS
Coach Pat Summitt collected the first of her many coaching milestone wins when she recorded her 100th career coaching victory on Jan. 13, 1979. Her Lady Vols defeated the N.C. State Wolfpack, 79-66, at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.

AVERAGE SCORE
The average score of a UT-NCSU game is 78.7 (UT) and 62.9 (NCSU).

VERSUS THE ACC
Tennessee is 65-11 (.857) all-time versus nine teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. UT's last match-up with an ACC team came in the 2004 #1 vs. #2 contest at top-ranked Duke, which UT won, 72-69. The only squads to accumulate three wins against UT are Maryland (UT leads, 9-3) and North Carolina State (UT leads, 11-3). Tennessee is undefeated against Florida State (2-0), Georgia Tech (3-0) and Wake Forest (2-0).

OLD FRIENDS
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and N.C. State coach Kay Yow go way back in the coaching circles. When Summitt was named the 1984 USA Olympic Coach for the Los Angeles Games, she named Yow as her assistant. Together, they coached the red, white and blue to its first-ever gold medal in women's Olympic basketball competition. Four years later, Yow was selected as the USA Olympic coach for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Yow brought home the gold medal with a little help from Lady Vol All-American Bridgette Gordon who was a standout forward on the team.

GAME REPORT 2 - N.C. STATE
The University of Tennessee Lady Vols and the N.C. State Wolfpack meet this afternoon in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic. N.C. State has played in and hosted the event for the past three seasons.

OUR LAST MEETING
Second-ranked Tennessee traveled to Orlando, Fla. and Disney World, for the Honda Elite Classic and came away with an impressive, 93-56 win over #8/9 N.C. State on Dec. 2, 2001. State started fast and controlled the first 12 minutes of the game taking a couple of five point leads over the Lady Vols (last five point lead, 15-10 at 13:15). UT finally pulled even after a trey by Kara Lawson made it 19-19 with 8:09 to play in the first half. Over the next 7:32, the Lady Vols held NCSU scoreless while building a 31-19 lead behind Lawson's treys, Gwen Jackson's prowling around the hoop and a scoring flurry from UT reserve Courtney McDaniel. By the time State scored with 58 seconds to go before the half, UT led by a dozen. Lawson pushed UT's halftime margin to 15 points, 36-21, after a trey with three seconds to go before the break. At the half, Lawson led UT with 13 points while Jackson, who left the game after hitting her head on the floor, tallied a dozen points and nine boards in 17 minutes. In the second half, State mounted a rally and drew to within 11 points, 44-33 with 15:39 to go, but seven unanswered points by the Lady Vols over a 30-second span extended UT's lead to 18 points with 14:13 left in the game. A McDaniel lay-up with 3:44 to go gave UT its largest lead of the game at 38 points, 87-49. On the afternoon, four Lady Vols were in double-figures led by Lawson's game high 20 points. Joining her in double-digits were Jackson with 14 points, Michelle Snow with a dozen and McDaniel with a career high 11 points. Jackson led all rebounders with 12 boards. Rookie Loree Moore was credited with five steals while handing out six assists. The Lady Vols connected on 49% of their field goals and 41% of three-pointers. UT outrebounded State, 45-36.

OUR LAST MEETING IN RALEIGH
The third-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols traveled to Raleigh, N.C. on Dec. 1, 1990, and found themselves on the losing end of a 90-77 decision to #7 N.C. State. The only time the Lady Vols led in the contest came in the opening seconds of play as Daedra Charles scored off the tip. After that, it was all downhill for UT. State quickly grabbed an eight point lead (16-8) at the 13:20 mark as the Lady Vols committed almost as many fouls (six) as they had points (eight). At the break, NCSU led 43-31, as UT shot 41% FG while NCSU connected on 57% of its shots. Free throw defense stalled UT's efforts in the opening stanza as the Lady Vols managed just 36% (4-11). In the second half, State grabbed its largest lead of the game (26 points) when a technical foul was whistled on UT coach Pat Summitt at the 13:13 mark for protesting the fourth foul called on All-American Daedra Charles. The Packs' free throws gave the home team a 67-41 lead. Rookie post Peggy Evans took over for UT down the stretch and helped to cut the Lady Vols' loss to just 13 points. On the afternoon, Tennessee placed four players in double-figures led by Dena Head's 17 points, Evans with 16 points and a career high 10 rebounds while Lisa Harrison and Jody Adams tossed in 11 each. Charles was held to a season low four points and fouled out. State outrebounded UT, 43-35.

HIGH PROFILE GAMES - EARLY
The Lady Vols will be thrown into some high profile games early again this campaign. After traveling to a dangerous UT-Chattanooga (ranked #29) to open the season, the Lady Vols turn around two days later to take on N.C. State in the Jimmy V Classic on ESPN2. Two days after that is the home opener versus always tough George Washington. You guessed it, two days later, UT travels to #3 Texas for a Thanksgiving night clash on ESPN2.

DODGING NO BULLETS
Every Lady Vol 2004-05 non-conference opponent (13 teams) played in the NCAA Tournament last year.

GOT GAME
Senior All-America forward Shyra Ely played and started all 35 games last season and logged 1,055 minutes of playing time (30.1 mpg). Junior guard Shanna Zolman played in every game last season and started 30 of 35 contests but matched Ely in playing time with 1,055 minutes as well.

Z-TIME AT THE CHARITY STRIPE
Shanna Zolman entered the season with a streak of having connected on 34-consecutive free throws and has now extended it to 36 thru the UTC game. The Syracuse, Ind., native has not missed a free throw since the second half of the game at Kentucky on Jan. 29, 2004. Last season, she led the nation in free throw accuracy connecting at a 95 percent clip. Zolman missed just four last season (5-7 at #5 Stanford, 1-2 vs. Vandy in Knoxville and 7-8 at Kentucky). She finished with 88-92 (.957). Zolman had connected on 22 consecutive charity tosses before missing against Vanderbilt on Jan. 22, 2004. Tennessee's all-time leader in consecutive free throws was Tiffany Woosley who hit 45 consecutive 12-21-92 thru 2-6-93.

BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE
The Lady Vols added a new section of seats this season after taking away the old courtside press row. Ante up $40,000 for a pair, and you too, can have a courtside seat opposite the benches and scorer's table. To date, 48 of the 64 new floor seats have been sold for Lady Vol hoops, raising a total of $800,000. A little over $1,000,000 will be raised once all of the seats are sold.

THAT APOSTROPHE THING
In all of Pat Summitt's years of coaching at Tennessee, she had only one player on the roster with an apostrophe in her name (that was Kathy O'Neil - way back in 1976-80) and never one with a hyphen. When Tye'sha Fluker came along in 2002, she was the first to have an apostrophe in her first name. This season, a new member joined the apostrophe club, Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood. Sa'de also became the inaugural member of the hyphen club as well.

SID THANKS THE JIMMY V FOUNDATION
As the Tennessee Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations and a cancer survivor, I'd like to say a special thanks to the V Foundation and ESPN. Through their joint efforts, millions of dollars have poured into cancer research and Coach Jim Valvano's dream of bringing cancer research "out on the table" has been realized. I was diagnosed with stage 1-B/2-A cervical cancer on Feb. 14, 2001, and had to endure both chemotherapy and radiation. Over three years later, I'm cancer free. I'll never forget the inaugural ESPYs when Coach V proclaimed, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." When you are battling cancer, they are the words you live by every day. Debby Jennings

MORE ON THE PACK
The Wolfpack enters its 31st season as a program and the 30th under the direction of Head Coach and Hall of Famer Kay Yow. Yow's 14-member squad kicked-off the regular season on Nov. 19, defeating UNC Wilmington, 67-49. Co-captains, senior Kendra Bell and junior Rachel Stockdale look to lead the Wolfpack to its 27th winning season as a program and 26th under Yow. The two are the Pack's only returning starters after N.C. State graduated three last season, including WNBA draftee, Kaayla Chones and ACC all-defensive team member, Nanna Rivers. Bell started 29 of her 30 appearances and averaged 7.2 ppg and 2.8 apg as a junior and led the team in minutes per game with 26.6. Stockdale was the team's top three-point shooter as she hit 40.3 percent last year. Joining them is sophomore Marquetta Dickens, who returns as the Pack's leading scorer with 8.3 ppg and 9.3 ppg in conference play. State finished the 2003-04 season with a 17-15 record and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 17th time in its history.

LOOKING AHEAD TO GEORGE WASHINGTON - Nov. 23
George Washington University (1-0) rebounded from an eight-point halftime deficit to outscore Georgetown University (0-1) by 13 points in the second half and defeated the Hoyas, 67-62, on Nov.19. With foul trouble holding her to just one field goal attempt and two points in the first half, GW senior Jessica Simmonds erupted for 15 second-half points and carried the Colonials down the stretch to victory. Simmonds, playing in her first-ever regular season game as a Colonial, led all scores with 17 points. Trailing 51-41 with 10:09 remaining in regulation, Simmonds scored seven unanswered points to bring GW to within three, 51-48. Almost three minutes later the Colonials took their first lead of the game 54-53, only to have Georgetown snatch it right back. But junior Anna Montañana connected on four straight free throws and the Colonials pulled ahead again and never looked back. Montañana also got off to a slow start in the game, shooting 2-for-6 for four points in the first half. But she came alive in the second half to score 11 points, including shooting six for seven from the free throw line, to end up as the game's second highest scorer with 15. She also notched five assists in the contest. The Colonials host East Carolina University in GW's home opener today.

George Washington enters the 2004-05 campaign after a highly successful 22-8 season last year that saw the Colonials win an Atlantic 10 regular-season title, post at least 20 victories and earn its 11th bid to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Joe McKeown, now in his 16th year at GW, returns eight letterwinners from a 2003-04 squad that ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (68.4 ppg) and owned the stingiest defense in the league, holding opponents to a .383 shooting percentage. However, the Colonials must replace three of their five starters from last season, including the reigning Atlantic 10 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Cathy Joens and Ugo Oha. The pair combined to score more than 48 percent of all GW's points last season.

SUMMITT ON WEEKLY TELECONFERENCE ON WEDNESDAY
Coach Pat Summitt's regularly scheduled weekly Wednesday teleconference will be on Nov. 24 at 11:00 a.m. Members of the media will be notified of the dial-in number on Monday.

#14 HAS WEST VIRGINIA KARMA
Rookie Alexis Hornbuckle, from Charleston, W.Va., wears uniform #14 for the Lady Vols. Two decades ago, another West Virginia superstar donned #14 for the Lady Vols - Mary Ostrowski, a 6'2" forward from Parkersburg. Ostrowski earned Kodak All-America status during her tenure with UT while becoming the first Lady Vol to register over 1,000 career points (1,729) and 1,000 career rebounds (1,001).

LADY VOL STREAKS
The last time the Lady Vols lost at home was against UConn, 67-81, on Feb. 5 2004 -- since then, UT has won three games played at home. The last time UT lost on the road was on Jan. 4, 2003, at UConn, 62-63, since then the team has won 21 road games. The last time the Lady Vols lost on a neutral court was against UConn, 61-70, in the NCAA title game on April 6, 2004. Since then, UT has not played on a neutral court.