Monday's game against Georgia will be televised nationally on ESPN2
THE GAME
Since 1990, Tennessee (10) or Georgia (4) have won all but one regular-season Southeastern Conference Championship (Ole Miss in 1992), even finishing as co-champions in 2000. In that time frame, the Lady Vols have won four national championships, while the Lady Bulldogs have advanced to three Final Fours.
In addition, UT has defeated Georgia six consecutive times. This has been a strange season for women's basketball, as Georgia hosted then-No. 2/3 Texas on Nov. 21 and hung a 78- 64 loss on the Longhorns, but lost to TCU, 64-63, and fell at Kentucky, 73-61. Meanwhile, Tennessee was defeated by Texas, 74-59, but easily defeated both TCU, 82-55, and Kentucky, 67-49. So what's in store tonight as these two powerhouses square off at 7 p.m?
Five games into Southeastern Conference play, Tennessee has climbed to No. 5 in the AP poll, and having enjoyed a perfect SEC slate thus far, the Lady Vols have seen statistical increases across the board.
Whereas in the overall statistics, Tennessee boasts but one player (Shrya Ely) averaging double figures in scoring, league play has been a different story. Ely is joined by Shanna Zolman, Brittany Jackson and Tye'sha Fluker, who are all scoring at least 11.0 ppg.
Fluker has really stepped up her game, averaging 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in five conference games, up from her 6.0 and 5.5 non-conference averages. Her shooting touch has been right on against league foes, hitting 65 percent (30-46) from the field. The Big Orange had a bit of a scare on Thursday, as South Carolina's Stacy Booker hit a three-pointer to put the Gamecocks ahead 37-36 with 13:54 remaining, but Ely fueled a 16-2 run to end the upset bid. Fluker scored 15 and added 10 rebounds, while Jackson hit 5-of-9 three-pointers in the 68-53 win. The school record for three-pointers made in a game is six, set seven times by three players, the most recent of which was Tasha Butts, who hit six three-pointers against Vanderbilt on Feb. 14, 2004. UT has not lost to South Carolina since Jan. 23, 1980, and has won 39-consecutive SEC games going into today's contest.
Georgia began the season as a consensus preseason top-five pick, but after dropping three of five games between Nov. 27-Dec. 7, the team has plummeted in the rankings to 19th. Since that losing skid, however, the Lady Bulldogs have won 11 of their last 13 games to post a 16-5 record overall, including 5-2 in the SEC.
Georgia is led by freshman forward Tasha Humphrey, who tops the team at 18.7 ppg. Humphrey has paced the squad in scoring in all but four games and has posted 10 double-doubles on the season to average a team-high 8.8 rpg.
Two other Lady Bulldogs have averaged double-figure point totals, as junior Sherill Baker and sophomore Cori Chambers are contributing 11.1 and 13.5 points, respectively. Offensively, the team has shot quite well from the field, hitting at a 44 percent clip, paced by Humphrey, who has connected on 57 percent (149-259) of her shots.
On the defensive end, Georgia has held its opponents to just 59.3 ppg and is shooting 38 percent (466-1240) from the field. The Lady Bulldogs have also forced 375 turnovers, led by Baker with a team-high 50 steals.
It has been quite a different story offensively for Georgia in SEC play, however, as the squad has connected on just 40 percent from the field while allowing opponents to shoot 38 percent.
COACHING STAFFS
Pat Summitt is in her 31st year as head coach of the Lady Vols. Her overall career record stands at 867 wins and 170 losses, and she has led UT to six national championships. Summitt is assisted by Holly Warlick, Nikki Caldwell and Dean Lockwood.
Georgia is coached by Andy Landers, who is in his 26th season at the helm of the Lady Bulldog program. Landers has compiled a 626-194 record and is assisted by Michael Shafer, Brenda Hill and Katie Gilbert.
TIDBITS
Shanna Zolman has stepped up her game for conference foes, connecting on 51 percent of her SEC field goal attempts, up from 37 percent on the season...The Lady Vols have seen their free throw shooting increase as well, connecting on 69 percent on the season, while converting 77 percent from the charity stripe during SEC matchups...Brittany Jackson has hit 50 percent (16-32) of her three-pointers in SEC play...Pat Summitt needs just 13 wins to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history...The Lady Vols hold a commanding +15.0 rpg average (42.3 to 28.3) in conference play, opposed to just +6.0 (42.7 to 36.7) overall...10 players are averaging double-digit minutes...With 16,471 in attendance at the game vs. Kentucky on Jan. 23, the Lady Vols passed the 100,000 fan mark this season, marking the 11th consecutive season that has occurred...To date, 102,355 fans have attended Big Orange games this season...Tennessee owns a 341-53 record all-time vs. the SEC, posting a 141-9 record all-time at home vs. league foes...Since 1998, UT is 100-3 against the SEC, with losses to Vanderbilt, LSU and Georgia.
Georgia is just 1-2 on the road in SEC play, losing to then-No. 1 LSU, 76-52, and providing former UT assistant coach Mickie DeMoss with her first win over a ranked opponent, as her Wildcats upended the Lady Bulldogs, 73-61...Georgia has posted an all-time record of 14-32 against Tennessee, having dropped six straight...Georgia has been fantastic at the free throw line, hitting 77 percent (263-341), which is sixth best in the nation...Junior guard Alexis Kendrick leads the team with 74 assists on the year...Senior guard Tina Taylor, who is believed to be the first sixth-year women's hoops player in SEC history, had her comeback effort end in October. She suffered a career-ending injury, requiring the fifth knee surgery of her collegiate tenure...Georgia is 357-5 when scoring 80 or more points under head coach Andy Landers, including 6-0 this season...Landers is second to only Pat Summitt among Division I coaches with at least 20 seasons on the job, averaging 24.4 wins per campaign.
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