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.