Duke's First Trip to Knoxville

Tennessee Lady Volunteers vs. Duke Blue Devils
Thompson-Boling Arena
Dec. 2, 2004
Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Television: ESPN2
Thompson Boling Arena (24,535)

RECORDS:

Tennessee 4-1 (0-0 SEC)
Duke, 5-0 (0-0 ACC)

RANKINGS:

Associated Press Poll
UT: 4th / Duke: 10th

ESPN/USA Today-Coaches Poll
UT: 5th / Duke: 9th

THE COACHES:

Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Pat Summitt
Overall Record: 856-168 (31st year)
2004-05 Schedule
2004-05 Statistics

Duke Blue Devils
Gail Goestenkors
Overall Record: 307-89 (13th year)

PROBABLE STARTERS:

TENNESSEE LADY VOLUNTEERS (4-0)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. PPG RPG/APG
1 Sidney Spencer F 6-3 So. 6.8 4.4
43 Brittany Jackson F 6-0 Sr. 9.0 1.8
50 Nicky Anosike C 6-4 Fr. 4.4 5.2
21 Loree Moore G 5-9 Sr. 4.4 5.8
5 Shanna Zolman G 5-10 Jr. 9.6 2.6

DUKE BLUE DEVILS (5-1)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Cl. PPG RPG/APG

25 Monique Currie F 6-0 Jr. 18.5 8.5
1 Mistie Williams F 6-3 Jr. 13.0 8.5
43 Alison Bales C 6-7 So. 9.2 5.5
23 Wanisha Smith G 5-11 Fr. 11.3 3.0
24 Jessica Foley G 6-0 Jr. 8.3 4.5

LADY VOLS HOST DUKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN KNOXVILLE

THE GAME

After a frantic pace to open the season with five games in nine days, the #4/5 Tennessee Lady Vols look forward to welcoming #10/9-ranked Duke to the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time tonight. Tennessee is 241-13 all-time at TBA.

LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE

This is the Lady Vols' 31st season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 856-168 overall record...Needs just 24 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.


BLUE DEVILS AT A GLANCE

Duke returns seven letterwinners and three starters off last year's 30-4 squad ... the Blue Devils have a roster of nine eligible players to start the season as junior Lindsey Harding is suspended indefinitely and Emily Waner is sitting out after transferring from Colorado. Head coach Gail Goestenkors enters her 13th season at Duke, marking the beginning of a new era-- the post - Alana Beard show. After losing one of the best players in women's college hoops history and the most successful senior class in ACC history, Goestenkors will feature a much different roster in 2004-05. The 2004-05 Blue Devil squad will have no shortage of talent led by junior National Player of the Year candidate, Monique Currie. Currie, a 6-0 wing, is considered one of the most athletic and toughest players in the nation. Other returning starters include junior center Mistie (Bass) Williams and suspended junior point guard Harding. Williams, who was married to Kenneth Williams on Aug. 7, 2004, started all 34 contests for the Blue Devils.


THE 4-1-1 ON DUKE

Monique Currie had 25 points and eight rebounds to lead number 10-ranked Duke (5-1) to a 63-51 victory over number 16-ranked Kansas State in the Freeport Division championship game at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. Alison Bales added 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils, which shot 27-for-39 from the free-throw line. Kendra Wecker led Kansas State (3-1) with 15 points. Duke charged to a 12-0 lead, led 28-17 at the break, and scored the first 14 points of the second half. Kansas State closed within eight points in the second half, but was unable to complete the comeback. Currie was named MVP of the tournament, while Wanisha Smith and Bales earned All-Tournament honors from the Blue Devils.


FINALLY. A HOME GAME VS. DUKE

Tonight marks the first-ever meeting with Duke in Knoxville. The first five contests between Tennessee and Duke were all played away from the friendly confines of the Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Thompson-Boling Arena. In the home-and-home agreement, the first oncampus game was played at Duke last year (an advance sell-out). The "N's" in the key represent: N86-Disney Holiday Classic, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.; N25-NCAA East Regional Finals, Greensboro Coliseum N.C; N100- ACC/SEC Shoot -Out, Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.; N104-Jimmy V Classic at RBC Center, Raleigh, N.C., and N108-2003 NCAA Final Four Semifinals, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga.


THE SERIES WITH DUKE

This marks the seventh meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1998-99 season. The two teams alternated wins and losses through the first five games. Tennessee defeated Duke, 74-60, in the 1998 Disney Holiday Classic played in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 8. The Blue Devils exacted their revenge later in the year during the NCAA East Regional Final with a 69-63 victory on Mar. 23, 1999, to advance to their first-ever Final Four. The Duke victory also ended Tennessee's quest for its fourth straight national title and the brilliant careers of Chamique Holdsclaw and Kellie Jolly. UT took a one-game lead in the series with an 89-68 win on Dec. 27, 2001 during the ACC/SEC Shootout in Atlanta, Ga. In 2002, Duke evened the score at the Jimmy V Classic, 76-55, but UT has taken a two-game lead in the series with a 66-56 win in the 2003 NCAA Final Four semi's in Atlanta, Ga., and the upset win at #1 Duke last season, 72-69.


UT-DUKE CONNECTIONS

Tennessee assistant soccer coach Samantha Baggett graduated from Duke in 1998 and was an All-American for the Blue Devils.

AVERAGE SCORE

The average score of a Tennessee vs. Duke game is UT 69.8 and DU 66.3. Not much breathing room with a plus-3.5 differential.

TOP UT PLAYERS VS. DUKE

There are no current Lady Vols averaging double-figures versus Duke in either points or rebounds. Best for UT in points and rebounds versus the Blue Devils is Shyra Ely averaging 8.5 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Fellow senior Loree Moore is next best averaging 7.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg.


GAME REPORT

They'll be no #1 vs. #2 for Duke and Tennessee this time as both squads have already suffered early season losses and currently are ranked 10/9 and 4/5, respectively. Duke dropped a 76-55 shocker at #11 Notre Dame, while Tennessee lost a 74-59 decision to #4 Texas. In two of the last three meetings between the Blue Devils and the Lady Vols, Duke was ranked #1 and Tennessee was #2. Last year, #2 UT upset #1 Duke, 72-69, in Durham. In the 2002-03 season, Duke (#1) and Tennessee (#2) met in a similar topranking match-up in the Jimmy V Classic with Duke winning by 21 points. Last season's game marked the 38th all-time meeting of number one versus number two and UT's 21st appearance in the showcase game.


OUR LAST MEETING WITH DUKE

In the 38th meeting between the Associated Press' number one and number two teams, the #2 Tennessee Lady Vols came away victorious with a 72-69 triumph over topranked Duke before a raucous sell-out crowd of 9,314 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 24, 2004. Early in the contest, both teams battled hard as Duke edged out to a slight lead, 13-8, at the second media timeout. Down by only five, the Big Orange battled back and evened the score at 16 following a Shyra Ely layup with 6:02 remaining in the first half. With the game knotted at 22 apiece and just a little more than two minutes left in the opening stanza, the Blue Devils closed with a 4-0 run to take a 26-22 lead at the break. In the first half, the Lady Vols shot just 26 percent (10-38) from the field, failed to attempt a free throw and were out-rebounded, 26-22. Additionally, no player in orange had more than four points. Despite the poor first half stats, Pat Summitt's squad came out of the locker room refocused and took its first lead of the game, 31-30, following a pair of free throws from Ely at the 16:11 mark. UT would go up by as many as five before Duke rallied to retake the lead, 45-44, with 9:19 left in regulation. Moments later, junior Loree Moore swiped her second steal of the game and raced towards the basket for a layup, but was fouled by Duke All-American Alana Beard. Moore was unable to take the free throws and was forced to the bench. It was later learned that the starting point guard suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee and missed the remainder of the season. Unaware of the extent of the injury and able to get up and down the floor reasonably well, Moore returned to the game and hit a decisive 3-pointer to put the Lady Vols up by nine, 60-51, with less than four minutes remaining. The Blue Devils managed to cut the margin to just two with 24 seconds left, but UT connected on its last seven free throws to hold on for the threepoint victory. Tennessee was led by Ely and sophomore Shanna Zolman, who each scored 15 points. Moore also posted a double-digit total with 11 points. Junior Brittany Jackson just missed double figures with nine points and snared a career-high seven rebounds. On the night, the Lady Vols shot 38.7 percent (24-62) from the floor (58.3 percent in the second half) and held Duke to just 35.8 percent (24-67) shooting. The battle of the boards was even, with both team claiming 43 rebounds.


VERSUS THE ACC

Tennessee is 66-11 (.857) all-time versus nine teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. UT's last match-up with an ACC team came on Nov. 21, 2004, with a 64- 54 victory over N.C. State in the Jimmy V Classic. The only squads to accumulate three wins against UT are Maryland (UT leads, 9-3) and North Carolina State (UT leads, 12- 3). Tennessee is undefeated against Florida State (2-0), Georgia Tech (3-0) and Wake Forest (2-0).

LOOKING AHEAD TO DePAUL

The #17/16 DePaul women's basketball team continues their season-opening six game homestand with a Dec. 6 match-up with Loyola-Chicago. DePaul enters the game at 5-0 after recording a 97-54 win over Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 30. The trio of Caprice, Charlene and Khara Smith each scored in double-figures as DePaul topped UIC -- the three Smith's combined for 48 points as DePaul won for the 30th consecutive time over the Flames. DePaul is averaging 100.5 points per game... their lowest scoring game was 89 points against UW-Milwaukee... Khara Smith has nearly posted a triple-double in three games this season...Dating back to last season (34 games), the Blue Demons have scored at least 90 points in 15 games... DePaul has scored at least 50 points in a half six times this season...

A WILD DECEMBER COMING UP

All ranked, all month. The Tennessee Lady Vols will find themselves playing in six consecutive games versus ranked opponents in the month of December. At home: #10/9 Duke, #17/16 DePaul, #23/22 TCU and #5/2 Stanford. On the road: #21/20 Louisiana Tech and #16/19 Rutgers.

DECEMBER: ALWAYS A GRUELING STRETCH

Traditionally, Tennessee teams take most of its losses in the month of December when Coach Pat Summitt loads up on some tough non-conference opposition to prepare the team for the rigors of the postseason. Last year, the Lady Vol team carried one loss into January following its early season defeat to Texas.