KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Pat Summitt had a good explanation for why Sidney Spencer's teammates kept getting her the ball.
"I guess they wanted an assist," Summitt said.
Spencer scored 21 points, including two 3-pointers during a key second-half run, to help the No. 6 Lady Vols beat No. 21 George Washington 85-62 on Thursday night.
The Colonials (7-2) looked ready to end their winless streak against Tennessee (8-1), cutting the lead to four points three times early in the second half.
After the last time, Spencer hit a 3 and Candace Parker scored to put Tennessee up 51-42. George Washington scored again, but Spencer made back-to-back 3s and another basket to start a 16-1 run that gave the Lady Vols a 67-45 lead with 8:49 remaining. The Colonials could not muster another rally.
"I knew that the score was close, but it was just an opportunity that I took," Spencer said.
Said Summitt: "She knocked down a lot of great looks for us and helped us break open the game in the second half. The team did a really excellent job of finding her."
Despite the win, Tennessee looked out of sync at times, particularly when some of the reserves replaced starters, and Parker struggled early.
Parker finished with 19 points, Nicky Anosike added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Alexis Hornbuckle scored 14.
The Lady Vols had trouble guarding George Washington center Jessica Adair, who led the Colonials with a career-high 23 points. Kenan Cole had 14 and Sarah-Jo Lawrence 13 for George Washington.
"Our bench came in and obviously gave up a lot of points. We talked about that at halftime and elected to shorten the bench," Summitt said. "The challenge right now is to find out which players can come in and allow us to keep our intensity and our play at a certain level."
The Colonials fell to 0-8 against the Lady Vols, including last year's loss in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"I think we had the right idea. We just couldn't execute for 40 minutes," George Washington coach Joe McKeown said. "We just had no answer for Spencer to be honest with you. She just unloaded on us. Pretty simple."
George Washington trailed the entire first half, but got within 32-28 with 3:13 left before halftime on an 8-0 run fueled by three baskets from Lawrence.
Tennessee responded with Spencer's 3-pointer that barely beat the shot-clock buzzer and a pair of free throws by Anosike.
Adair then scored twice in the final 1:16, before and after Parker's first basket since early in the half, to make it 39-32 at the break.
The Lady Vols had their biggest lead of the first half at 29-14 after the Colonials were in a hole early, 13-4.
Parker had a three-point play and a basket in the first six minutes, but went cold until a minute before halftime.
Tennessee outrebounded George Washington 40-20. Both teams had 17 turnovers.
The Colonials haven't beaten a Top 10 team since a win over then-No. 7 Rutgers in 1999.
George Washington had won three straight since a loss to top-ranked Maryland on Nov. 19, and the Colonials were off to their third-best start in school history.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Lady Vols Host GW Tonight
GAME NOTES
THE GAME
The #6/5-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vols (7-1) faces their last opponent before a 10-day break for final exams as #21/19 George Washington University (7-1) visits "The Summitt" at Thompson-Boling Arena.
LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE
This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 920-178 overall record... Is just 80 wins away from a staggering 1,000 career victories...Collected her 900th coaching win with a 80-68 decision over #19-ranked Vanderbilt on Jan. 19, 2006... She passed Dean Smith (879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ...Her 2005-06 squad advanced to the NCAA Elite...Finished with a 31-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions...
This season, UT returned six letterwinners, welcomed a senior manager turned player, two junior college transfers and a pair of rookies...The 2006-07 season marks the Lady Vol debut for former senior manager #10 Elizabeth Curry, JC transfers #00 Shannon Bobbitt and #33 Alberta Auguste...True freshman, #2 Cait McMahan, a 5-4 guard from Maryville, Tenn., and #34 Nicci Moats, a 6-2 forward from Daleville, Va., also see their first action in the Orange and White this season.
THE 4-1-1 ON THE COLONIALS
In their last contest before traveling to Tennessee, #21/19 George Washington defeated Stony Brook, 68-55, at Stony Brook Arena on Dec. 2 as four Colonials reached double-figures and junior Whitney Allen grabbed a game- and career-high 14 rebounds. The GWU scoring charge was led by senior Kenan Cole and junior Sarah-Jo Lawrence each tossing in 13 points, while junior Kimberly Beck and sophomore Jessica Adair finished with 12 apiece. In addition to her 14 boards, Allen also contributed seven points, four steals, three assists and a block. GW trailed by 11 points, 23-12, midway through the first half, but quickly snapped out of its sluggish start. Redshirt sophomore Lisa Steele, Lawrence and Cole all hit three-pointers to spark a 19-6 surge which put the Colonials ahead by two points, 31-29, at the break. Led by Allen's career-high, the Colonials won the battle of the boards, 42-39 but shot just 41.7 percent (25-of-60). The Colonials are now 7-1 on the season, marking the third best start in school history and best since the 1994-95 Colonials won 11 of their first 12 games.
OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The Lady Vols have a relatively light schedule this week. This week, UT faced Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 5, an 85-29 win) and #21/19 George Washington (Dec. 7). The team will then be off for final exams until a Dec. 17 meeting at #22 Texas.
LADY VOLS ON TV
A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for national/regional television this season. Five non-televised games will be available as streaming video with voice-over from Mickey Dearstone on utladyvols.com. UT is 4-1 on TV this season.
ON THIS DAY
UT is 8-1 in games played on Dec. 7. The Lady Vols are 3-1 at home, 4-0 on the road and 1-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Dec. 7, the Lady Vols registered a 59-43 victory over George Washington on the road in 2005.
LOOKING BACK
Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 8-0 and had just defeated #George Washington, 59-43.
PLAYING 12 RANKED TEAMS
Tennessee will play 12 teams in 14 games and five of the nation's top 10 teams ranked this season in the AP and USA TODAY ESPN poll North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Arizona St., Vanderbilt, Kentucky, UCLA, George Washington and Texas.
UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Chattanooga (.579), MTSU (.565), Arizona St. (.548), UCLA (.531), UT-Martin (.509), Stanford (.500); 40%FG: Louisiana Tech (.483); 30%FG: North Carolina (.362)
DEEE ----- FENSE
In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), North Carolina (.444), Chattanooga (.431), 30%FG: none; 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295), UT-Martin (.204)
2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL
Wins: +56 (1), +30 (1), +24 (1), +23 (1), +21 (1), +17 (1), +9 (1),
Losses: -13 (1)
UPCOMING OPPONENT - TEXAS
The #22 Texas Longhorns are 6-1 on the season going into their game against UT-Pan American... UT is on a three-game winning streak and has moved up to a ranking of 22 in both polls.... The Longhorns are off to their best start since a 7-0 start in 2003-04 ... They finish their four-game homestand -- their longest of the year - against UT-Pan American ... Then, Texas faces its stiffest back-to-back competition of the year when it travels to Durham, N.C. to face No. 4 Duke (Sunday, Dec. 10, noon on ESPNU TV) ... One week later, Texas is at home to go up against No. 6/5 Tennessee on Sunday, Dec. 17 in an FSN-televised game from the Erwin Center with a 12:30 p.m. CT tip...Senior forward Tiffany Jackson continues to lead the UT effort, averaging 19.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.6 blocks per game... Sophomore guard Erika Arriaran chips in with 10.1 ppg, 2.9 apg and a team-high seven 3-pointers, while redshirt freshman forward Earnesia Williams (8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg), freshman guard Niqky Hughes (7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and junior guard Erneisha Bailey (7.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) round out the stat leaders...
EXPECTING A LITTER THIS WEEKEND
Please excuse Tennessee Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt if she seems a little preoccupied this week. Sure, she has been busy preparing for games against UT-Martin and #21/19 George Washington. Summitt, however, has been keeping an eye on the family dog, a yellow Lab named Sally Sue. Sally is expecting her first litter of puppies on Dec. 10 and Mom will be on delivery duty since 16-year old son Tyler will be out-of-town. An ultrasound taken on Dec. 1 revealed at least eight puppies. Shouldn't be a problem for Summitt, an old farm girl and 4-H'er.
GEORGE WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK
The #21/19 George Washington Colonials will put its three-game winning streak and 7-1 mark on the line against #6/5 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thursday at 7:00 pm. The Colonials 7-1 start is the third best in school history, eclipsing the 1977-78 and 1980-81 teams 6-1 starts. After beginning the 1991-92 season by splitting against nationally-ranked teams Texas (W, 70-62) and Stanford (L, 74-71), GW won 11 straight games for the best start in program annals. Three years later the Colonials put together six- and five-game winning streaks around a neutral site loss to Penn State for an 11-1 start. Four players are averaging double-figures, paced by Sarah-Jo Lawrence's 15.0 ppg. Junior Kimberly Beck is once again leading the A-10 in assists at 5.88 apg and is ranked in the top-six in six other categories. The Colonials improved to No. 19 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll this week, but remained at No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll. GW is 0-7 all-time against Tennessee, including a pair of losses last season. UT escaped the Smith Center with a 59-43 victory on Dec. 7, 2005, a game in which the Colonials led midway through the first half. The Lady Vols then knocked GW out of the NCAA Tournament last March with a 66-53 second-round win. The 13-point margin was the tightest in the seven-game series.
ALL-TIME SERIES MEETINGS
DATE RANK SITE W/L SCORE
12/29/92 1/nr N64 W 73-53
11/27/01 2/22 A W 88-57
11/26/02 4/21 H W 83-61
12/30/03 5/nr A W 65-51
11/23/04 1/nr H W 71-41
12/7/05 1/nr A W 59-43
3/21/06 8/nr N118 W 66-53
GWU SERIES
This marks the eighth meeting between the two schools dating back to the inaugural contest in 1992 at the Maryland Invitational Tournament. Coach Pat Summitt brought her Lady Vol team back east to play near All-America Dana Johnson's Baltimore home. In the 2001-02 season, UT visited GWU for Kara Lawson's homecoming game in 2001 and were treated to the first sell-out crowd ever for women's hoops at GWU. Last season, the two teams met twice - once during the regular season in Washington, D.C. and in UT's 34th game of the season at the NCAA Second Round in Norfolk, Va.
AVERAGE SCORE WITH GWU
The average score of a UT-GWU game is 72.1 for UT and 51.2 for GWU - a +20.9 ppg winning margin for the Lady VOls
VERSUS THE A-10
Tennessee has taken on eight teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference all-time and sports a 16-1 record, with the only loss coming to Xavier, 80-65, on March 24, 2001. Last season, the Lady Vols had three meetings with Atlantic 10 opponents. UT constructed a 3-0 record registering wins at George Washington, 59-43 on Dec. 7, 2005; a 75-50 victory at Temple on Dec. 28, 2005, and an NCAA Second Round win over GWU, 66-53, in Norfolk, Va., on Mar. 21, 2006.
THAT A-10 LOSS
UT's lone loss to an Atlantic 10 Conference team came in the 2001 NCAA Mideast Regionals. The Lady Vols were shocked, 80-65, by #12/11 ranked Xavier.
WE MEET AGAIN
Tennessee and George Washington have met just seven times in history, but six of those have come in each of the past five seasons, including 2005-06. UT has claimed each of those, in addition to a 73-53 win in the 1992-93 campaign at the Maryland Invitational. UT registered a 59-43 win on Dec. 7, 2005, and earned 71-41, 65-51, 83-61 and 88-57 the previous four years, respectively. The squads met in NCAA Tournament play for the first time last March as UT won 66-53 in Second Round action on Mar. 21, 2006.
OUR LAST MEETING
In the Second Round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee's Shanna Zolman scored 19 points and Candace Parker added 15, and the second-seeded Lady Vols used a fast start to send eighth-seeded George Washington reeling in a 66-53 victory on March 21, 2006. UT Coach Pat Summitt improved to 38-0 in the first and second rounds in her career, and gave Tennessee (30-4) its 16th 30-win season in her 32 years as coach. With the win, the Lady Vols have now advanced to 25 consecutive regional semifinals. The Lady Vols players and staff, miffed at earning a #2 seed, turned it into a positive. "We're going to continue to use that (the seeding) as motivation," said Zolman whose three-pointer with 3:52 left in the first half gave her the UT career three-point record. George Washington (23-9) trailed by double digits almost the whole way after the Lady Vols' opening 16-2 burst. After 11 minutes, Zolman had 11 points and Parker had 10, both exceeding the Colonials' total and Tennessee was up 25-8 and cruising. GWU missed its first nine shots, but used an 11-3 run to begin the second half to get within 43-34 with 13:50 to go. But Zolman and Sidney Spencer hit back-to-back 3-pointers, sparking a 13-0 run that put the Colonials back in a hole. Jessica Simmonds led the Colonials with 14 points. The Colonials shot just 30 percent and were outrebounded 53-37. Spencer added 12 points and Nicky Anosike had nine and a season-high 12 rebounds.
TENNESSEE GW
OVERALL RECORD 7-1 7-1
SCORING 80.8 67.9
SCORING DEFENSE 59.9 60.5
POINT MARGIN +20.9 + 7.4
REBOUNDS 36.1 38.5
OPP. REBOUNDS 32.0 38.2
REBOUND MARGIN + 4.1 + 0.3
FG% .511 .432
OPPONENT FG% .401 .372
THREE POINT FG% .436 .394
OPPONENT 3FG% .376 .357
FT% .707 .663
OPPONENT FT% .647 .636
ASSISTS 17.9 14.3
BLOCKS AVERAGE 6.3 4.9
STEALS AVERAGE 14.5 9.4
TURNOVER AVERAGE 16.9 15.5
OUR FIRST MEETING WITH GWU LAST SEASON
Candace Parker scored 14 points, and Tennessee held George Washington scoreless for 8 1/2 minutes in the second half en route to a 59-43 victory Dec. 7, 2005, despite playing little like the nation's No. 1 team for stretches. Parker also added eight rebounds. Shanna Zolman added 12 points for the Lady Vols (8-0), who were closing a five-game road trip in which they logged more than 13,000 miles by the time they returned home. Jessica Simmonds led GWU (2-3) with 13 points. Before the game, there was little reason to think it would be as close as it was into the second half. The Lady Vols came in having outscored opponents by an average of 26.7 points this season and without a loss to an unranked opponent in 3 1/2 years. The Colonials, meanwhile, had never lost by fewer than 14 points in five previous games against UT. But the Lady Vols were shaky, committing 23 turnovers in the game and shooting just 43 percent in the first half. That helped the Colonials make a game of it, leading for most of the first 10 minutes. Trailing 40-35, GW had a chance to cut its deficit to three, but Simmonds - a 29 percent free throw shooter - missed both attempts from the line. Six minutes into the second half, Jazmine Adair's baseline jumper drew the Colonials to 42-37. But that's when UT turned up its defense, forcing poor shots, air balls, shot-clock violations and steals. By the time GW scored again, on Simmonds' jumper with 5 1/2 minutes left, Tennessee had used a 12-0 run to take control at 54-37. The Lady Vols held GW to 22 percent shooting in the second half and finished the game with 12 steals, five by Alexis Hornbuckle. Tennessee outrebounded GW 39-27. The Lady Vols didn't take their first lead until more than 9 1/2 minutes had elapsed, on Sidney Spencer's jumper near the foul line that made it 15-14. Jessica Adair's inside basket gave GW what would be its final lead of the game, 16- 15. The Colonials went scoreless for more than 3 minutes as Tennessee used a 10-2 run and appeared to be pulling away. But a late spurt by GW made its deficit just 34-29 at halftime. That matched Tennessee's lowest output in a half. The 14 points scored by GW in the second half tied for the second fewest by an opponent in the second period in Tennessee history.
TENNESSEE TOPS AP ALL-TIME
The Tennessee Lady Vols are the top-ranked team in the history of the Top 25 rankings in the Associated Press poll. The poll, now in its 31st season, has found Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Vols ranked in 508 of a possible 522 polls. Through the poll released on Dec. 4, the top five team poll rankings are: 1. Pat Summitt, TENNESSEE - 508 (missed just 14 polls in entire AP history) 2. Andy Landers, Georgia - 400 3. Jody Conradt, Texas - 391 4. C.Vivian Stringer (Cheyney, Iowa, Rutgers) - 349 5. Rene Portland (St. Joseph, Penn St.) - 336
PARKER'S A FOUL MAGNET
Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker has been a foul magnet in 2006-07. With all of the double and triple-teaming she has seen this season, 25 percent of the opponent's 155 total fouls have been inflicted on her. In seven games this season, Parker has drawn 39 fouls. In games against Arizona State, Stanford and North Carolina, players guarding Parker were whistled for nine fouls.
ELITE COMPANY FOR BIG NICK
Junior post Nicky Anosike has moved into an elite Lady Vol club. "Big Nick" has joined Tennessee greats Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings as the only Lady Vols all-time to accumulate at least 500+ points, 400+ rebounds, 80+ blocked shots, 100+ assists and 100+ steals. The mobile 6-4 Anosike has generated 556 points, 447 rebounds, 92 blocked shots, 131 assists, and 110 steals in 79 career games.
UT REBOUNDED VS. MARTIN
After suffering its first defeat of the season, Tennessee rebounded with a big win over Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin. The Lady Vols opened the game on an 18-0 run. UTM did not score until 11:43 left in the first half. Martin's 13 first half points tie for the seventh fewest by a UT opponent in and their 16 second half points tie for the eighth fewest by a UT opponent in history. Overall, UTM's 29 total points tie for the fourth fewest by a UT opponent. For the first time this season, all 11 Lady Vols scored. Best of all, Tennessee had its lowest turnover total (9) of the season. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 44. She has made a steal in 65 of 72 career games; Candace Parker...Reached double figures for the 22nd consecutive time, the 41st time in her career. She also recorded a double-double for the second straight game, the third time this season and the 13th time of her career. Remained perfect from the three-point line this season; Alex Fuller...Scored a career-high 14 points; Sidney Spencer ...Reached double figures for the seventh time this season, the 34th time of her career; Nicci Moats...Scored her first career field goal and had a career-high three points, former manager Elizabeth Curry ...Scored her first career points.
THE WHEELS FELL OFF
Tennessee's trip to #2 North Carolina had few things to write home about as the wheels fell off for the first time this season. Against the Tar Heels, Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season dropping the Lady Vols' record to 6-1. UT was in unfamiliar territory as they trailed at the half for the first time this season. After connecting on better than 50 percent from the field in five games, UT's field goal percentage (.362) was the lowest of the season. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle...-Extended her streak of games with at least one steal to 43. She has recorded at least one steal in 64 of 71 career games; Candace Parker... Reached double figures for 21st consecutive game, and for the 40th time in her career, Nicky Anosike...
Moved into a tie for 11th place on the career blocks list (88) and rookie Cait McMahan...deserved the "Spunk Award" after getting tangled up with UNC's Ivory Latta - Caity Mac did not back down.
BOBBITT BACK IN LINE-UP
UT junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt was back in the starting line-up against #2-ranked North Carolina. Bobbitt (5.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) missed the contest at Louisiana Tech due to a test in one of her classes. Rookie Cait McMahan started in Bobbitt's place in the 71-50 win over the Lady Techsters. McMahan had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 24 minutes.
VERSUS THE RANKED
In #21/19-ranked George Washington, the Lady Vols will face their fifth ranked opponent in nine games. UT recorded wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60), at #11 Arizona State (83-74) and against #11 Stanford (77-60) but lost to UNC 70-57. Next week, UT takes on #22-ranked Texas after final exams.
SUMMITT CAPTURED ROAD WIN NUMBER 300 AT LA TECH
Lady Vol basketball coach Pat Summitt notched her 300th career victory on the road at Louisiana Tech. Summitt has now fashioned a 300-78 all-time record in hostile arenas - which equates to an amazing 80 percent winning mark on the road in 33 seasons at the helm of the Lady Vols.
CONFERENCE CALL
In addition to the 14-game Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will take on teams from 10 other conferences this season. The Lady Vols will be doing their best impression as members of the Pac-10 and the BIG EAST facing three opponents from each of those conferences. UT will play two foes from the ACC and one each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Colonial, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and WAC.
CAN THIS TEAM DEFEND THE 3?
Coach Pat Summitt has not been pleased with the Lady Vols' commitment to defending the three-pointer. On the season, UT's opponents have connected on 6.3 treys per game and are shooting at a 38 percent clip of their attempts. Chattanooga recorded a school record 31 attempts from three-point land versus the Lady Vols. MTSU registered 13-26 (50%) from three-point land.
STEALS, STEALS EVERYWHERE
The Pat Summitt mantra of "let your defense start your offense" hasn't fallen on deaf ears with the Lady Vols so far this season. Tennessee already has 116 thefts on the year against quality opposition for an average of 15.0 spg. Alexis Hornbuckle is leading the team individually with over four steals per game.
PARKER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Candace Parker was tabbed the SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 27, after leading her team to victories over #11-ranked Stanford, 77-60 and Middle Tennessee, 88-64. The Naperville, Ill., native averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two games. Parker connected on both three-point attempts and made 65 percent of her shots from the field. Additionally, she dished four assists and nabbed six steals in the pair of contests. She also slammed home her second dunk of the 2006-07 season and fourth of her career in the win over the Cardinal. Parker earned the honor for the second time this season.
LEFTOVERS FROM RUSTON
With Tennessee's sloppy 71-50 win over Louisiana Tech, it marked the Lady Vols seventh consecutive victory over the Lady Techsters. The 71 points were the fewest scored by the Lady Vols this season and the 50 points scored by Tech were the fewest of an opponent this season. The UT starting lineup of Cait McMahan, Alexis Hornbuckle, Sidney Spencer, Candace Parker and Nicky Anosike was used for the first time this season. Starting point guard Shannon Bobbitt stayed in Knoxville to take a test. Tennessee's smothering defense forced 10 Lady Techster turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game. The 19 first half turnovers by LTU were the most by a UT opponent this season. UT's halftime lead (+27) was the largest halfway margin since the opening game against Chattanooga (+28). In the bad news department, the smaller Tech squad embarrassed the Lady Vols on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding margin. Individually, Cait McMahan... Got her first career start...Made her first career free throw attempt and earned career-highs in points (7) and rebounds (4)...Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 42. She has made at least one steal in 63 of 70 career games. Her six steals against Tech moved her past Kellie Jolly (177) into 20th place in the UT record books for career steals (180). She had four steals in the first eight minutes of the game in Ruston...Candace Parker... Became the eighth Lady Vol of all time to reach the 100-blocks plateau and she reached it in just 42 games. On the first two offensive plays of the game for LTU, Parker blocked both attempts. Her seven blocks tied her own personal-best, tie for the most by ever by a UT sophomore and vaulted her into seventh place in the UT record books for career blocks (103), past Daedra Charles (97), Vonda Ward (98) and Abby Conklin (102). Also, she scored in double figures for the 20th game in a row, the 39th time in her career...Alberta Auguste...The only Lady Vol in history to hail from the state of Louisiana, she played in Ruston, about five hours (340 miles) from her hometown of Marrero, La. Against the Techsters, and in front of a bunch of family from Marrero, she had a career-high eight steals, five of which came in the first half...Sidney Spencer...The first of four Lady Vols to reach double figures, her 10 points marked her seventh consecutive 10+ point game... Dominique Redding... Spencer's senior sidekick had a career-high 13 points on a career-high six field goals.
LADY VOL BITS & PIECES FROM THE MTSU GAME
Tennessee made 10 three-pointers, tying for the 10th most in program history...All 11 Lady Vols saw playing time... Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season and the 19th game in a row dating back to last season and moved into fourth place in career field goal percentage (.462) with her 7-of-9 shooting... Alexis Hornbuckle... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 41 and now has at least one steal in 62 of 69 career games. She moved into a tie for 21st place in the Lady Vol record books with 174 career thefts...Sidney Spencer-Scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, the sixth time in a row dating back to the North Carolina game on March 28, 2006. The streak of six consecutive double-digit scoring outings is the longest of her career. She also made four three-pointers, the most by a Lady Vol this season...Alex Fuller-The first of four Lady Vols to reach double-digits in the game. Her 12 points are a career-high and her two three-pointers tied a career-high...Nicky Anosike-Had a season-high 13 points, marking her 15th career game with a double-digit output. She moved into a tie for 13th place for career blocks (88)...Nicci Moats-Scored her first points at UT.
LADY VOLS: THE BEST AND THE WORST OF 2006-07
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME:102 points ....vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME: 57 points .........at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY AN OPPONENT IN A GAME: 74 points ....at Arizona St. (11/19)
LEAST POINTS BY AN OPPONENT IN A GAME: 29 points ...... vs. UT-Martin (12/5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE LEAD:
57 points............85-28 vs. UT-Marin (12-5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE DEFICIT:
15 points .............55-70 at UNC (12/3)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE LEAD IN A LOSS: 5 points.....9-4 at UNC (12/3)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE DEFICIT IN A WIN: 6 points ......13-7 vs. MTSU (11/26)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE HALFTIME LEAD: 30 points.....43-13 vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE HALFTIME DEFICIT: 5 points...25-30 at UNC (12/3)
BEST TENNESSEE 1ST HALF FG%:
.636 (21-33) ....... vs. MTSU (11/26)
WORST TENNESSEE 1ST HALF FG%:
.346(9-26) ............. at UNC (12/3)
BEST TENNESSEE 2ND HALF FG%:
.609 (14-23) .............. vs. Stanford (11/24)
WORST TENNESSEE 2ND HALF FG%:
.375 (12-32) ........... at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 1ST HALF: 59 points ......vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 1ST HALF: 25 points ......... at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 1ST HALF: 38 points.......at Arizona St. (11/19)
LEAST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 1ST HALF: 13 points ..... vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 2ND HALF: 43 points ...... vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 2ND HALF: 29 points ......... at La Tech (11/28)
MOST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 2ND HALF: 41 points .........vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 2ND HALF: 16 points ........vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
TENNESSEE has led in the first half of every game ...
TENNESSEE has never trailed in the first half of seven games...
TENNESSEE has led at halftime of 7 games...
TENNESSEE has trailed at halftime of 1 game
TENNESSEE has led in the second half of 7 games...
TENNESSEE has never led in the second half of 1 game...
TENNESSEE has led in rebounding in 5 games...
TENNESSEE has been outrebounded in 3 games (43-33 at UNC, 46-37 at La Tech and 37-27 vs. Chattanooga)...
NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Candace Parker broke Michelle Snow's school record for most dunks in a career in the game with #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker's one-handed slam with 10:55 left in the first half was the fourth of Parker's career and the second of the season. Snow registered three dunks (1998-2002) during her career.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
After opening games shooting at .613 (UTC), .531 (UCLA), .516 (Arizona St.) - UT had its first stinker in the opening 20 minutes making just 13-31 field goals for a season-low .419 shooting percentage in the first half against Stanford ...UT responded with .609 accuracy in the second half (14-23) for the best second half field goal performance of the season...
UT-STANFORD WRAP-UP
All Lady Vols who played scored...UT missed only one free throw, shooting at a 94.7 percent clip... Individually, Candace Parker... Sank her first three-point attempt of the season, recorded her second dunk of the season, her first career dunk against a ranked opponent, Was the first of two Lady Vols to reach double-figures, Eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third straight game and the 13th time in her career, Surpassed 700 points for her career, Recorded five blocks, tying for the 10th-most in a single game by a Lady Vol (She now has 93 for her career, moving past Tiffani Johnson (89) and Cindy Noble (91) into 10th place in the Lady Vol record books); Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 40. She has made at least one steal in 61 of 68 career game; Sidney Spencer... Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, the 31st time in her career.
UT LEADS PAC-10 AT 3-0
The Tennessee Lady Vols have finished their Pac-10 slate with a 3-0 record against three ranked teams in consecutive games. During the stretch of wins over #20/21 UCLA, at #11 Arizona State and #11 Stanford in the last week, UT averaged 81.0 ppg and gave up 64.7 ppg for a 16.3 scoring margin. The Lady Vols shot .528 from the field, .455 from three point land and .760 from the line. UT forced the opposition in an average of 23.0 turnovers per game while coming up with 14.0 steals per contest. Individually, Candace Parker tossed in 24.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and registered two dunks.
FIFTY IS NIFTY
With the victory over Stanford, Tennessee has now claimed 52 victories all-time against teams from the Pac-10. Outside of the Southeastern Conference (365 wins), the Lady Vols have recorded 77 wins over teams from the ACC and 66 victories over BIG EAST Conference schools. The Pac-10 ranks as the fourth most defeated conference by UT.
FIRST MONTH OF THE SEASON: STATE LOVE & PAC-10 EAST
In the first month of the 2006-07 season, the Lady Vols have eight foes scheduled. Three teams hail from the state of Tennessee as the Lady Vols will face Chattanooga (a 102-72 win), Middle Tennessee (an 88-64 win) and Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin (Dec. 5). UT will seem like a member of the Pac-10, eastern division, as the Lady Vols faced three ranked Pac-10 schools in consecutive games: #20/21 UCLA (an 83-60 win), at #11 Arizona State (an 83-74 win ) and #11 Stanford (a 77-60 win). Trips to long-standing rival Louisiana Tech (a 71-50 victory) and #2-ranked North Carolina (Dec. 3) round out the first month of the season.
Candace Parker EARNS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Tennessee sophomore basketball standout Candace Parker was named the SEC Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19) for her performances in wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60) and at #11 Arizona State (83-74). Last season, Parker received the league's Freshman of the Week honor on four occasions, and the Player of the Week award once during her rookie campaign. In two games, Parker averaged 23.5 points and eight rebounds along with four steals and a pair of blocks. In the game against Arizona State, the Naperville, Ill., native picked up her 11th career double-double and first of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 10-of-15 from the field against UCLA and stayed perfect from the line (2-of-2) for 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to earn Philips Player of the Game accolades. The scoring occurrences marked the 35th and 36th double figure games in her 39-game career. The match-ups were also the 10th and 11th game with 20 or more points.
LADY VOL SPOILERS
The Lady Vols have enjoyed the role of spoiler snapping long-standing winning streaks on a number of opponent's home floors over the years. On Nov. 19, Tennessee halted Arizona State's 26-game winning streak at Wells Fargo Arena with an 83-74 win. Last season, Stanford had amassed a 23-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion before the Lady Vols grabbed a 74-67 win on Dec. 4, 2005.
FREE THROW WOES
Good thing that the Lady Vols exploded to as much as a 24-point lead against Arizona State. Had Tennessee been forced to rely on relief from the charity stripe down the stretch, it would have been a bad outcome. UT made only 12-21 free throws against the Sun Devils for just 57.1 percent. Candace Parker missed four (7-11), Shannon Bobbitt missed the front end of two 1+1 situations (0-2) and Alex Fuller, uncharacteristically, missed both of her bonus tosses (0-2).
UCLA WAS 370TH WIN VS. RANKED
Tennessee's victory over UCLA improved its record 2-0 on the season and gave the Lady Vols their 370th all-time win over a ranked foe. The Big Orange is now 372-145 in games against Top-25 ranked opposition. At halftime, Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt challenged her team to get off to a quick start in the second half and hunker down on defense. Challenge answered. Tennessee opened the second half with a 10-0 run and UCLA did not score a field goal until 3:55 into the second stanza. Individually: Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with at least one steal to 38 straight contests; Sidney Spencer...The first of three Lady Vols to reach double-figures -- it was the 29th double-digit game of her career; Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the 35th time in her 38-game career -- it was her 11th career contest of 20 or more points. No dunks against the Bruins. However, her repertoire of shots was simply amazing; Nicky Anosike...Surpassed the 500-point plateau for her career -- she now has 503 career points and Alex Fuller...Scored a career-high 10.
NEW UNIFORM PATCH
This year, University of Tennessee student-athletes who achieve a 3.0 GPA or better in the classroom have a "VS" patch on their uniform. The "VS" stands for Vol Scholar. Every Lady Vol basketball player (except for the newcomers -- rookies Cait McMahan and Nicci Moats and junior college transfers Alberta Auguste and Shannon Bobbitt) are proudly displaying the patch on their uniform jerseys this season.
THREE 100 POINT GAMES
In the two preseason exhibition tilts and in the first game of the season, the Tennessee Lady Vols registered at least 100 points in all three contests. It marks the first time in program history that a Lady Vol team had tallied triple digits in back-to-back-to-back contests. UT dropped in 102 points against Chattanooga in the season opener and recorded games of 104 points versus Carson-Newman and 101 points against the Houston Jaguars in a pair of exhibition match-ups.
"SOMETHING SPECIAL"
In her first handful of games in a Lady Vol uniform, 5'2" junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt has quickly become a crowd favorite. The diminutive Bobbitt is so quick with the ball, she has left defenders shaking their heads more than once. Hailing from Manhattan, N.Y., Bobbitt earned her hoops rep on some of the toughest courts in the city. The guys at the famed hoops mecca, Rucker Park, nicknamed her "something special." After watching some of her moves in the first two games, a more accurate nickname might be "the ankle breaker."
CANDACE JAMS
Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker gave Lady Vols fans the dunk they had been waiting to see at Thompson-Boling Arena. On Nov. 12, 2006, with UT leading Chattanooga, 75-43, Parker stole the ball from the Lady Mocs' Brooke Hand near the sideline. The 6-4 forward took off for the other end of the court and slammed the rock in with her right hand with 16:02 left in the game as cheers shook the Arena. The rangy soph brought the crowd to their collective feet in Thompson-Boling Arena again recording her first dunk against a ranked opponent throwing one down at the 10:55 mark in the first half against #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker elected to finger roll a couple of shots last year but never dunked at home. She finally dunked twice as a rookie in the NCAA First Round game versus Army last season. Prior to Parker's dunking exploits, Michelle Snow dunked three times as a Lady Vol. Unfortunately, the dunks occurred on the road at Maui, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. In Snow's final game at Thompson-Boling Arena, she went in to dunk against Notre Dame in the waning seconds of UT's NCAA Second Round victory over the Irish, but she was fouled instead and the dunk never went down. Parker's dunk against #11 Stanford passed Snow for the Lady Vol records for "dunks in a career" with four.
FIRST GAME IMPRESSIONS
The 102-72 win over Chattanooga improves Tennessee to 68-3 in 100-point games...Tennessee made its first six shots of the game from the field and its first 11 free throws...In the first half, the Lady Vols shot a sizzling 60 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on six of 10 attempts...Every Lady Vols saw playing time in the first half... Chattanooga broke the opponent record for three-pointers in a game with 13...The previous opponent record was 12, by Stanford in Knoxville on Dec. 21, 1992...The Lady Vols reached the century scoring mark when rookie Cait McMahan drove the length of the floor for a lay up with just over five minutes remaining in the game...This was the first 100+ point season-opening game for the Lady Vols since a 112-39 victory over Stetson on Nov. 26, 1989...Shannon Bobbitt was the first of six Lady Vols to reach double-figure scoring...Alex Fuller tied a career high in blocks (2) in the first half and scored a career-high nine points...Cait McMahan's first bucket in a Lady Vol uniform came when she snuck around the defense for her first career lay-up...Alexis Hornbuckle extended her streak of games to 37 with at least one steal and she shattered her own career-best mark with seven steals against UTC...Candace Parker scored in double-figures for the 15th consecutive game dating back to last season and dunked for the first time at home in her 37-game career -- It was the first recorded dunk by a woman in a game in Thompson-Boling Arena history.
EXHIBIONISTS I TELL YOU In two 2006-07 preseason exhibition tilts against Carson-Newman and the Houston Jaguars, the Lady Vols averaged 102.5 ppg while giving up 50.0 ppg. UT connected on 49.7 percent from the field and cashed in on 70.2 percent from the line. UT's defense forced 35.5 turnovers per game and came away with 22.0 steals per outing.
SIX IN DOUBLE-FIGS
Another interesting stat from the exhibition contests found six Lady Vols registering double-digits. Leader of the pack was sophomore forward Alex Fuller who tossed in 15.5 ppg while also grabbing a team leading 11.5 rpg. Fuller was followed in the scoring parade by senior Dominique Redding (15.0 ppg), sophomore Candace Parker (15.0 ppg), junior Alexis Hornbuckle (15.0 ppg), junior Nicky Anosike (12.5 ppg) and senior Sidney Spencer (11.5 ppg). Junior College transfers Shannon Bobbitt and Alberta "Bird" Auguste were impressive in their Lady Vol debut. Bobbitt started at point guard and averaged 9.5 ppg, 6.0 apg and 3.5 spg. Auguste averaged 7.5 ppg, grabbed 5.5 rpg and handed out 4.0 apg.
62 INCHES OF DYNAMITE
Lady Vol junior college transfer Shannon Bobbitt is listed at 5'2" and is the shortest player on the roster since Diane Brady donned uniform number 20 for Tennessee during the 1973-75 seasons.
PARKER NAMED TO AP A-A
Lady Vols' Candace Parker was named to yet another preseason All-America team earning the nod from the Associated Press on Nov. 9, 2006. Joining Parker (45 votes) on the team was leading vote getter Courtney Paris of Oklahoma (47 votes out of 50). Also named to the team was North Carolina's Ivory Latta (43), Stanford's Candice Wiggins (35) and Maryland's Crystal Langhorne (28). Parker, the 2006 SEC rookie of the year, is returning for her second season at Tennessee after winning a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the world championships in Brazil.
WOODEN AWARD NOMINEES
Tennessee Lady Vols Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle were named to the list of 30 preseason candidates for the 2006-07 John R. Wooden Women's Award. Defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Maryland and No. 2-ranked North Carolina placed three athletes each on the list, while Duke, Rutgers and Tennessee each added two players. The 30 candidates are comprised of the top returning players. The award, which is voted on by sports writers and broadcasters, is entering its fourth year.
PARKER UP FOR THE WADE
Lady Vol basketball star Candace Parker has been named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) preseason "Wade Watch" list for The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year for the 2006-2007 season. The list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are members of an NCAA Division I institution and are selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The national awards committee who selects these candidates is comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball administrators.
In 2006, Parker guided the Lady Vols to a 31-5 record, the SEC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight during her rookie season. The Naperville, Ill., native led the team in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg) and was named a Kodak/WBCA All-American. Parker became the first female to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game and the only woman to dunk twice in the same contest, when she slammed two home against Army in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2006. She was a first team All-SEC selection, the SEC Freshman of the Year and the conference tournament MVP after hitting the game-winning shot to lift Tennessee past LSU, 63-62.
THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA
WELCOME TO "THE SUMMITT"
The playing court in the Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus donned a new look for the 2005-06 season. After Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt passed Dean Smith for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 win over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005, UT named the TBA court, "The Summitt." The floor had a complete overhaul with permanent logos of both the Lady Vols and Vols painted directly in front of the scorer's table; the free throw lanes were painted orange with "SEC" reversed out; the giant jump circle/mid-court TENNESSEE was given a new brighter color scheme, and "The Summitt," Coach Summitt's actual signature adorns the sidelines opposite the team benches.
ON OUR WAY TO 300 WINS
Tennessee recorded its 200th win in Thompson-Boling Arena when the Lady Vols defeated the University of Southern California on Nov. 18, 2001, 106-66. UT has now amassed a 270-16 (.943) record since the Orange and White moved into the Thompson-Boling Arena to start the 1987-88 season 19-years ago. Along the way, the Lady Vols have produced nine flawless home records in 1988-89 (15-0), 1991-92 (14-0), 1992-93 (13-0), 1993-94 (15-0), 1994-95 (15-0), 1997-98 (16-0), 1998-99 (14-0), 2000-01 (15-0) and 2002-03 (16-0). UT also registered an NCAA record 69-game home court-winning streak from Feb. 1, 1991 thru Jan. 2, 1996.
JUST 16 LOSSES
The Tennessee Lady Vols rarely lose at home. In fact, since moving to the Thompson-Boling Arena for the 1987-88 campaign, UT has lost two games in one season just six times. UT lost two games in TBA during the inaugural 1987-88 campaign, 1996-97, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04 and the 2005-06 seasons. The 16 all-time losses at Thompson-Boling Arena have come at the hands of just nine teams: Florida (2006), LSU (2006), Duke (2004), Connecticut (2004, 2002, 2000, 1996), Louisiana Tech (1999, 1989), Georgia (1996, 1991), Texas (2003, 2002, 1987), Stanford (1996) and Auburn (1988).
HOME SWEET HOME -- 400th HOME WIN
The victory over Georgia on Jan. 31, 2005, was the Lady Vols 400th home win since Pat Summitt took over as head coach in 1974. Summitt has won 91.4 percent of all home games in 33 years producing a 423-40 overall record. Home losses (in the Summitt era) include: six in Alumni Gym from 1974-76; 18 in Stokely Athletics Center from 1976-87; and 16 in Thompson-Boling Arena since 1987.
221 OF 234 AT HOME
UT has won 221 of their last 234 games in Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to 2-1-91. UT's 13 losses during this time have been to Florida, LSU, Duke, Louisiana Tech, UConn (four times), Stanford, Texas (three times) and Georgia (OT).
500 GAMES VERSUS RANKED
Tennessee's game versus #13 Georgia on Feb. 16, 2006 was the Lady Vols' 500th all-time versus a ranked team since the inception of the polls in 1976. UT is an amazing 372-146 (.703) versus ranked teams. Last year, Tennessee was 13-3 versus ranked teams.
LADY VOL STREAKS
The last time the Lady Vols lost at home was against Florida, 95-93 OT on Feb. 26, 2006 -- since then, UT has won five games at home. The last time UT lost on the road was on Dec. 3, 2006 at UNC, since then, UT not played on the road. The last time the Lady Vols lost on a neutral court was against North Carolina, 75-63, in the NCAA Elite 8 game on Mar. 28, 2006 Since then, UT has not played on a neutral court.
THE GAME
The #6/5-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vols (7-1) faces their last opponent before a 10-day break for final exams as #21/19 George Washington University (7-1) visits "The Summitt" at Thompson-Boling Arena.
LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE
This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 920-178 overall record... Is just 80 wins away from a staggering 1,000 career victories...Collected her 900th coaching win with a 80-68 decision over #19-ranked Vanderbilt on Jan. 19, 2006... She passed Dean Smith (879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ...Her 2005-06 squad advanced to the NCAA Elite...Finished with a 31-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions...
This season, UT returned six letterwinners, welcomed a senior manager turned player, two junior college transfers and a pair of rookies...The 2006-07 season marks the Lady Vol debut for former senior manager #10 Elizabeth Curry, JC transfers #00 Shannon Bobbitt and #33 Alberta Auguste...True freshman, #2 Cait McMahan, a 5-4 guard from Maryville, Tenn., and #34 Nicci Moats, a 6-2 forward from Daleville, Va., also see their first action in the Orange and White this season.
THE 4-1-1 ON THE COLONIALS
In their last contest before traveling to Tennessee, #21/19 George Washington defeated Stony Brook, 68-55, at Stony Brook Arena on Dec. 2 as four Colonials reached double-figures and junior Whitney Allen grabbed a game- and career-high 14 rebounds. The GWU scoring charge was led by senior Kenan Cole and junior Sarah-Jo Lawrence each tossing in 13 points, while junior Kimberly Beck and sophomore Jessica Adair finished with 12 apiece. In addition to her 14 boards, Allen also contributed seven points, four steals, three assists and a block. GW trailed by 11 points, 23-12, midway through the first half, but quickly snapped out of its sluggish start. Redshirt sophomore Lisa Steele, Lawrence and Cole all hit three-pointers to spark a 19-6 surge which put the Colonials ahead by two points, 31-29, at the break. Led by Allen's career-high, the Colonials won the battle of the boards, 42-39 but shot just 41.7 percent (25-of-60). The Colonials are now 7-1 on the season, marking the third best start in school history and best since the 1994-95 Colonials won 11 of their first 12 games.
OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The Lady Vols have a relatively light schedule this week. This week, UT faced Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 5, an 85-29 win) and #21/19 George Washington (Dec. 7). The team will then be off for final exams until a Dec. 17 meeting at #22 Texas.
LADY VOLS ON TV
A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for national/regional television this season. Five non-televised games will be available as streaming video with voice-over from Mickey Dearstone on utladyvols.com. UT is 4-1 on TV this season.
ON THIS DAY
UT is 8-1 in games played on Dec. 7. The Lady Vols are 3-1 at home, 4-0 on the road and 1-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Dec. 7, the Lady Vols registered a 59-43 victory over George Washington on the road in 2005.
LOOKING BACK
Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 8-0 and had just defeated #George Washington, 59-43.
PLAYING 12 RANKED TEAMS
Tennessee will play 12 teams in 14 games and five of the nation's top 10 teams ranked this season in the AP and USA TODAY ESPN poll North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Georgia, LSU, Stanford, Arizona St., Vanderbilt, Kentucky, UCLA, George Washington and Texas.
UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Chattanooga (.579), MTSU (.565), Arizona St. (.548), UCLA (.531), UT-Martin (.509), Stanford (.500); 40%FG: Louisiana Tech (.483); 30%FG: North Carolina (.362)
DEEE ----- FENSE
In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), North Carolina (.444), Chattanooga (.431), 30%FG: none; 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295), UT-Martin (.204)
2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL
Wins: +56 (1), +30 (1), +24 (1), +23 (1), +21 (1), +17 (1), +9 (1),
Losses: -13 (1)
UPCOMING OPPONENT - TEXAS
The #22 Texas Longhorns are 6-1 on the season going into their game against UT-Pan American... UT is on a three-game winning streak and has moved up to a ranking of 22 in both polls.... The Longhorns are off to their best start since a 7-0 start in 2003-04 ... They finish their four-game homestand -- their longest of the year - against UT-Pan American ... Then, Texas faces its stiffest back-to-back competition of the year when it travels to Durham, N.C. to face No. 4 Duke (Sunday, Dec. 10, noon on ESPNU TV) ... One week later, Texas is at home to go up against No. 6/5 Tennessee on Sunday, Dec. 17 in an FSN-televised game from the Erwin Center with a 12:30 p.m. CT tip...Senior forward Tiffany Jackson continues to lead the UT effort, averaging 19.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.6 blocks per game... Sophomore guard Erika Arriaran chips in with 10.1 ppg, 2.9 apg and a team-high seven 3-pointers, while redshirt freshman forward Earnesia Williams (8.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg), freshman guard Niqky Hughes (7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and junior guard Erneisha Bailey (7.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) round out the stat leaders...
EXPECTING A LITTER THIS WEEKEND
Please excuse Tennessee Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt if she seems a little preoccupied this week. Sure, she has been busy preparing for games against UT-Martin and #21/19 George Washington. Summitt, however, has been keeping an eye on the family dog, a yellow Lab named Sally Sue. Sally is expecting her first litter of puppies on Dec. 10 and Mom will be on delivery duty since 16-year old son Tyler will be out-of-town. An ultrasound taken on Dec. 1 revealed at least eight puppies. Shouldn't be a problem for Summitt, an old farm girl and 4-H'er.
GEORGE WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK
The #21/19 George Washington Colonials will put its three-game winning streak and 7-1 mark on the line against #6/5 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Thursday at 7:00 pm. The Colonials 7-1 start is the third best in school history, eclipsing the 1977-78 and 1980-81 teams 6-1 starts. After beginning the 1991-92 season by splitting against nationally-ranked teams Texas (W, 70-62) and Stanford (L, 74-71), GW won 11 straight games for the best start in program annals. Three years later the Colonials put together six- and five-game winning streaks around a neutral site loss to Penn State for an 11-1 start. Four players are averaging double-figures, paced by Sarah-Jo Lawrence's 15.0 ppg. Junior Kimberly Beck is once again leading the A-10 in assists at 5.88 apg and is ranked in the top-six in six other categories. The Colonials improved to No. 19 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll this week, but remained at No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll. GW is 0-7 all-time against Tennessee, including a pair of losses last season. UT escaped the Smith Center with a 59-43 victory on Dec. 7, 2005, a game in which the Colonials led midway through the first half. The Lady Vols then knocked GW out of the NCAA Tournament last March with a 66-53 second-round win. The 13-point margin was the tightest in the seven-game series.
ALL-TIME SERIES MEETINGS
DATE RANK SITE W/L SCORE
12/29/92 1/nr N64 W 73-53
11/27/01 2/22 A W 88-57
11/26/02 4/21 H W 83-61
12/30/03 5/nr A W 65-51
11/23/04 1/nr H W 71-41
12/7/05 1/nr A W 59-43
3/21/06 8/nr N118 W 66-53
GWU SERIES
This marks the eighth meeting between the two schools dating back to the inaugural contest in 1992 at the Maryland Invitational Tournament. Coach Pat Summitt brought her Lady Vol team back east to play near All-America Dana Johnson's Baltimore home. In the 2001-02 season, UT visited GWU for Kara Lawson's homecoming game in 2001 and were treated to the first sell-out crowd ever for women's hoops at GWU. Last season, the two teams met twice - once during the regular season in Washington, D.C. and in UT's 34th game of the season at the NCAA Second Round in Norfolk, Va.
AVERAGE SCORE WITH GWU
The average score of a UT-GWU game is 72.1 for UT and 51.2 for GWU - a +20.9 ppg winning margin for the Lady VOls
VERSUS THE A-10
Tennessee has taken on eight teams from the Atlantic 10 Conference all-time and sports a 16-1 record, with the only loss coming to Xavier, 80-65, on March 24, 2001. Last season, the Lady Vols had three meetings with Atlantic 10 opponents. UT constructed a 3-0 record registering wins at George Washington, 59-43 on Dec. 7, 2005; a 75-50 victory at Temple on Dec. 28, 2005, and an NCAA Second Round win over GWU, 66-53, in Norfolk, Va., on Mar. 21, 2006.
THAT A-10 LOSS
UT's lone loss to an Atlantic 10 Conference team came in the 2001 NCAA Mideast Regionals. The Lady Vols were shocked, 80-65, by #12/11 ranked Xavier.
WE MEET AGAIN
Tennessee and George Washington have met just seven times in history, but six of those have come in each of the past five seasons, including 2005-06. UT has claimed each of those, in addition to a 73-53 win in the 1992-93 campaign at the Maryland Invitational. UT registered a 59-43 win on Dec. 7, 2005, and earned 71-41, 65-51, 83-61 and 88-57 the previous four years, respectively. The squads met in NCAA Tournament play for the first time last March as UT won 66-53 in Second Round action on Mar. 21, 2006.
OUR LAST MEETING
In the Second Round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee's Shanna Zolman scored 19 points and Candace Parker added 15, and the second-seeded Lady Vols used a fast start to send eighth-seeded George Washington reeling in a 66-53 victory on March 21, 2006. UT Coach Pat Summitt improved to 38-0 in the first and second rounds in her career, and gave Tennessee (30-4) its 16th 30-win season in her 32 years as coach. With the win, the Lady Vols have now advanced to 25 consecutive regional semifinals. The Lady Vols players and staff, miffed at earning a #2 seed, turned it into a positive. "We're going to continue to use that (the seeding) as motivation," said Zolman whose three-pointer with 3:52 left in the first half gave her the UT career three-point record. George Washington (23-9) trailed by double digits almost the whole way after the Lady Vols' opening 16-2 burst. After 11 minutes, Zolman had 11 points and Parker had 10, both exceeding the Colonials' total and Tennessee was up 25-8 and cruising. GWU missed its first nine shots, but used an 11-3 run to begin the second half to get within 43-34 with 13:50 to go. But Zolman and Sidney Spencer hit back-to-back 3-pointers, sparking a 13-0 run that put the Colonials back in a hole. Jessica Simmonds led the Colonials with 14 points. The Colonials shot just 30 percent and were outrebounded 53-37. Spencer added 12 points and Nicky Anosike had nine and a season-high 12 rebounds.
TENNESSEE GW
OVERALL RECORD 7-1 7-1
SCORING 80.8 67.9
SCORING DEFENSE 59.9 60.5
POINT MARGIN +20.9 + 7.4
REBOUNDS 36.1 38.5
OPP. REBOUNDS 32.0 38.2
REBOUND MARGIN + 4.1 + 0.3
FG% .511 .432
OPPONENT FG% .401 .372
THREE POINT FG% .436 .394
OPPONENT 3FG% .376 .357
FT% .707 .663
OPPONENT FT% .647 .636
ASSISTS 17.9 14.3
BLOCKS AVERAGE 6.3 4.9
STEALS AVERAGE 14.5 9.4
TURNOVER AVERAGE 16.9 15.5
OUR FIRST MEETING WITH GWU LAST SEASON
Candace Parker scored 14 points, and Tennessee held George Washington scoreless for 8 1/2 minutes in the second half en route to a 59-43 victory Dec. 7, 2005, despite playing little like the nation's No. 1 team for stretches. Parker also added eight rebounds. Shanna Zolman added 12 points for the Lady Vols (8-0), who were closing a five-game road trip in which they logged more than 13,000 miles by the time they returned home. Jessica Simmonds led GWU (2-3) with 13 points. Before the game, there was little reason to think it would be as close as it was into the second half. The Lady Vols came in having outscored opponents by an average of 26.7 points this season and without a loss to an unranked opponent in 3 1/2 years. The Colonials, meanwhile, had never lost by fewer than 14 points in five previous games against UT. But the Lady Vols were shaky, committing 23 turnovers in the game and shooting just 43 percent in the first half. That helped the Colonials make a game of it, leading for most of the first 10 minutes. Trailing 40-35, GW had a chance to cut its deficit to three, but Simmonds - a 29 percent free throw shooter - missed both attempts from the line. Six minutes into the second half, Jazmine Adair's baseline jumper drew the Colonials to 42-37. But that's when UT turned up its defense, forcing poor shots, air balls, shot-clock violations and steals. By the time GW scored again, on Simmonds' jumper with 5 1/2 minutes left, Tennessee had used a 12-0 run to take control at 54-37. The Lady Vols held GW to 22 percent shooting in the second half and finished the game with 12 steals, five by Alexis Hornbuckle. Tennessee outrebounded GW 39-27. The Lady Vols didn't take their first lead until more than 9 1/2 minutes had elapsed, on Sidney Spencer's jumper near the foul line that made it 15-14. Jessica Adair's inside basket gave GW what would be its final lead of the game, 16- 15. The Colonials went scoreless for more than 3 minutes as Tennessee used a 10-2 run and appeared to be pulling away. But a late spurt by GW made its deficit just 34-29 at halftime. That matched Tennessee's lowest output in a half. The 14 points scored by GW in the second half tied for the second fewest by an opponent in the second period in Tennessee history.
TENNESSEE TOPS AP ALL-TIME
The Tennessee Lady Vols are the top-ranked team in the history of the Top 25 rankings in the Associated Press poll. The poll, now in its 31st season, has found Pat Summitt's Tennessee Lady Vols ranked in 508 of a possible 522 polls. Through the poll released on Dec. 4, the top five team poll rankings are: 1. Pat Summitt, TENNESSEE - 508 (missed just 14 polls in entire AP history) 2. Andy Landers, Georgia - 400 3. Jody Conradt, Texas - 391 4. C.Vivian Stringer (Cheyney, Iowa, Rutgers) - 349 5. Rene Portland (St. Joseph, Penn St.) - 336
PARKER'S A FOUL MAGNET
Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker has been a foul magnet in 2006-07. With all of the double and triple-teaming she has seen this season, 25 percent of the opponent's 155 total fouls have been inflicted on her. In seven games this season, Parker has drawn 39 fouls. In games against Arizona State, Stanford and North Carolina, players guarding Parker were whistled for nine fouls.
ELITE COMPANY FOR BIG NICK
Junior post Nicky Anosike has moved into an elite Lady Vol club. "Big Nick" has joined Tennessee greats Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings as the only Lady Vols all-time to accumulate at least 500+ points, 400+ rebounds, 80+ blocked shots, 100+ assists and 100+ steals. The mobile 6-4 Anosike has generated 556 points, 447 rebounds, 92 blocked shots, 131 assists, and 110 steals in 79 career games.
UT REBOUNDED VS. MARTIN
After suffering its first defeat of the season, Tennessee rebounded with a big win over Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin. The Lady Vols opened the game on an 18-0 run. UTM did not score until 11:43 left in the first half. Martin's 13 first half points tie for the seventh fewest by a UT opponent in and their 16 second half points tie for the eighth fewest by a UT opponent in history. Overall, UTM's 29 total points tie for the fourth fewest by a UT opponent. For the first time this season, all 11 Lady Vols scored. Best of all, Tennessee had its lowest turnover total (9) of the season. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 44. She has made a steal in 65 of 72 career games; Candace Parker...Reached double figures for the 22nd consecutive time, the 41st time in her career. She also recorded a double-double for the second straight game, the third time this season and the 13th time of her career. Remained perfect from the three-point line this season; Alex Fuller...Scored a career-high 14 points; Sidney Spencer ...Reached double figures for the seventh time this season, the 34th time of her career; Nicci Moats...Scored her first career field goal and had a career-high three points, former manager Elizabeth Curry ...Scored her first career points.
THE WHEELS FELL OFF
Tennessee's trip to #2 North Carolina had few things to write home about as the wheels fell off for the first time this season. Against the Tar Heels, Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season dropping the Lady Vols' record to 6-1. UT was in unfamiliar territory as they trailed at the half for the first time this season. After connecting on better than 50 percent from the field in five games, UT's field goal percentage (.362) was the lowest of the season. Individually, Alexis Hornbuckle...-Extended her streak of games with at least one steal to 43. She has recorded at least one steal in 64 of 71 career games; Candace Parker... Reached double figures for 21st consecutive game, and for the 40th time in her career, Nicky Anosike...
Moved into a tie for 11th place on the career blocks list (88) and rookie Cait McMahan...deserved the "Spunk Award" after getting tangled up with UNC's Ivory Latta - Caity Mac did not back down.
BOBBITT BACK IN LINE-UP
UT junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt was back in the starting line-up against #2-ranked North Carolina. Bobbitt (5.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) missed the contest at Louisiana Tech due to a test in one of her classes. Rookie Cait McMahan started in Bobbitt's place in the 71-50 win over the Lady Techsters. McMahan had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 24 minutes.
VERSUS THE RANKED
In #21/19-ranked George Washington, the Lady Vols will face their fifth ranked opponent in nine games. UT recorded wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60), at #11 Arizona State (83-74) and against #11 Stanford (77-60) but lost to UNC 70-57. Next week, UT takes on #22-ranked Texas after final exams.
SUMMITT CAPTURED ROAD WIN NUMBER 300 AT LA TECH
Lady Vol basketball coach Pat Summitt notched her 300th career victory on the road at Louisiana Tech. Summitt has now fashioned a 300-78 all-time record in hostile arenas - which equates to an amazing 80 percent winning mark on the road in 33 seasons at the helm of the Lady Vols.
CONFERENCE CALL
In addition to the 14-game Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will take on teams from 10 other conferences this season. The Lady Vols will be doing their best impression as members of the Pac-10 and the BIG EAST facing three opponents from each of those conferences. UT will play two foes from the ACC and one each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Colonial, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and WAC.
CAN THIS TEAM DEFEND THE 3?
Coach Pat Summitt has not been pleased with the Lady Vols' commitment to defending the three-pointer. On the season, UT's opponents have connected on 6.3 treys per game and are shooting at a 38 percent clip of their attempts. Chattanooga recorded a school record 31 attempts from three-point land versus the Lady Vols. MTSU registered 13-26 (50%) from three-point land.
STEALS, STEALS EVERYWHERE
The Pat Summitt mantra of "let your defense start your offense" hasn't fallen on deaf ears with the Lady Vols so far this season. Tennessee already has 116 thefts on the year against quality opposition for an average of 15.0 spg. Alexis Hornbuckle is leading the team individually with over four steals per game.
PARKER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Candace Parker was tabbed the SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 27, after leading her team to victories over #11-ranked Stanford, 77-60 and Middle Tennessee, 88-64. The Naperville, Ill., native averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two games. Parker connected on both three-point attempts and made 65 percent of her shots from the field. Additionally, she dished four assists and nabbed six steals in the pair of contests. She also slammed home her second dunk of the 2006-07 season and fourth of her career in the win over the Cardinal. Parker earned the honor for the second time this season.
LEFTOVERS FROM RUSTON
With Tennessee's sloppy 71-50 win over Louisiana Tech, it marked the Lady Vols seventh consecutive victory over the Lady Techsters. The 71 points were the fewest scored by the Lady Vols this season and the 50 points scored by Tech were the fewest of an opponent this season. The UT starting lineup of Cait McMahan, Alexis Hornbuckle, Sidney Spencer, Candace Parker and Nicky Anosike was used for the first time this season. Starting point guard Shannon Bobbitt stayed in Knoxville to take a test. Tennessee's smothering defense forced 10 Lady Techster turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game. The 19 first half turnovers by LTU were the most by a UT opponent this season. UT's halftime lead (+27) was the largest halfway margin since the opening game against Chattanooga (+28). In the bad news department, the smaller Tech squad embarrassed the Lady Vols on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding margin. Individually, Cait McMahan... Got her first career start...Made her first career free throw attempt and earned career-highs in points (7) and rebounds (4)...Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 42. She has made at least one steal in 63 of 70 career games. Her six steals against Tech moved her past Kellie Jolly (177) into 20th place in the UT record books for career steals (180). She had four steals in the first eight minutes of the game in Ruston...Candace Parker... Became the eighth Lady Vol of all time to reach the 100-blocks plateau and she reached it in just 42 games. On the first two offensive plays of the game for LTU, Parker blocked both attempts. Her seven blocks tied her own personal-best, tie for the most by ever by a UT sophomore and vaulted her into seventh place in the UT record books for career blocks (103), past Daedra Charles (97), Vonda Ward (98) and Abby Conklin (102). Also, she scored in double figures for the 20th game in a row, the 39th time in her career...Alberta Auguste...The only Lady Vol in history to hail from the state of Louisiana, she played in Ruston, about five hours (340 miles) from her hometown of Marrero, La. Against the Techsters, and in front of a bunch of family from Marrero, she had a career-high eight steals, five of which came in the first half...Sidney Spencer...The first of four Lady Vols to reach double figures, her 10 points marked her seventh consecutive 10+ point game... Dominique Redding... Spencer's senior sidekick had a career-high 13 points on a career-high six field goals.
LADY VOL BITS & PIECES FROM THE MTSU GAME
Tennessee made 10 three-pointers, tying for the 10th most in program history...All 11 Lady Vols saw playing time... Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season and the 19th game in a row dating back to last season and moved into fourth place in career field goal percentage (.462) with her 7-of-9 shooting... Alexis Hornbuckle... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 41 and now has at least one steal in 62 of 69 career games. She moved into a tie for 21st place in the Lady Vol record books with 174 career thefts...Sidney Spencer-Scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, the sixth time in a row dating back to the North Carolina game on March 28, 2006. The streak of six consecutive double-digit scoring outings is the longest of her career. She also made four three-pointers, the most by a Lady Vol this season...Alex Fuller-The first of four Lady Vols to reach double-digits in the game. Her 12 points are a career-high and her two three-pointers tied a career-high...Nicky Anosike-Had a season-high 13 points, marking her 15th career game with a double-digit output. She moved into a tie for 13th place for career blocks (88)...Nicci Moats-Scored her first points at UT.
LADY VOLS: THE BEST AND THE WORST OF 2006-07
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME:102 points ....vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN A GAME: 57 points .........at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY AN OPPONENT IN A GAME: 74 points ....at Arizona St. (11/19)
LEAST POINTS BY AN OPPONENT IN A GAME: 29 points ...... vs. UT-Martin (12/5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE LEAD:
57 points............85-28 vs. UT-Marin (12-5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE DEFICIT:
15 points .............55-70 at UNC (12/3)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE LEAD IN A LOSS: 5 points.....9-4 at UNC (12/3)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE DEFICIT IN A WIN: 6 points ......13-7 vs. MTSU (11/26)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE HALFTIME LEAD: 30 points.....43-13 vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
BIGGEST TENNESSEE HALFTIME DEFICIT: 5 points...25-30 at UNC (12/3)
BEST TENNESSEE 1ST HALF FG%:
.636 (21-33) ....... vs. MTSU (11/26)
WORST TENNESSEE 1ST HALF FG%:
.346(9-26) ............. at UNC (12/3)
BEST TENNESSEE 2ND HALF FG%:
.609 (14-23) .............. vs. Stanford (11/24)
WORST TENNESSEE 2ND HALF FG%:
.375 (12-32) ........... at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 1ST HALF: 59 points ......vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 1ST HALF: 25 points ......... at UNC (12/3)
MOST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 1ST HALF: 38 points.......at Arizona St. (11/19)
LEAST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 1ST HALF: 13 points ..... vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
MOST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 2ND HALF: 43 points ...... vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY TENNESSEE IN 2ND HALF: 29 points ......... at La Tech (11/28)
MOST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 2ND HALF: 41 points .........vs. Chattanooga (11/12)
LEAST POINTS BY OPPONENT IN 2ND HALF: 16 points ........vs. UT-Martin (12-5)
TENNESSEE has led in the first half of every game ...
TENNESSEE has never trailed in the first half of seven games...
TENNESSEE has led at halftime of 7 games...
TENNESSEE has trailed at halftime of 1 game
TENNESSEE has led in the second half of 7 games...
TENNESSEE has never led in the second half of 1 game...
TENNESSEE has led in rebounding in 5 games...
TENNESSEE has been outrebounded in 3 games (43-33 at UNC, 46-37 at La Tech and 37-27 vs. Chattanooga)...
NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Candace Parker broke Michelle Snow's school record for most dunks in a career in the game with #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker's one-handed slam with 10:55 left in the first half was the fourth of Parker's career and the second of the season. Snow registered three dunks (1998-2002) during her career.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
After opening games shooting at .613 (UTC), .531 (UCLA), .516 (Arizona St.) - UT had its first stinker in the opening 20 minutes making just 13-31 field goals for a season-low .419 shooting percentage in the first half against Stanford ...UT responded with .609 accuracy in the second half (14-23) for the best second half field goal performance of the season...
UT-STANFORD WRAP-UP
All Lady Vols who played scored...UT missed only one free throw, shooting at a 94.7 percent clip... Individually, Candace Parker... Sank her first three-point attempt of the season, recorded her second dunk of the season, her first career dunk against a ranked opponent, Was the first of two Lady Vols to reach double-figures, Eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third straight game and the 13th time in her career, Surpassed 700 points for her career, Recorded five blocks, tying for the 10th-most in a single game by a Lady Vol (She now has 93 for her career, moving past Tiffani Johnson (89) and Cindy Noble (91) into 10th place in the Lady Vol record books); Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 40. She has made at least one steal in 61 of 68 career game; Sidney Spencer... Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, the 31st time in her career.
UT LEADS PAC-10 AT 3-0
The Tennessee Lady Vols have finished their Pac-10 slate with a 3-0 record against three ranked teams in consecutive games. During the stretch of wins over #20/21 UCLA, at #11 Arizona State and #11 Stanford in the last week, UT averaged 81.0 ppg and gave up 64.7 ppg for a 16.3 scoring margin. The Lady Vols shot .528 from the field, .455 from three point land and .760 from the line. UT forced the opposition in an average of 23.0 turnovers per game while coming up with 14.0 steals per contest. Individually, Candace Parker tossed in 24.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and registered two dunks.
FIFTY IS NIFTY
With the victory over Stanford, Tennessee has now claimed 52 victories all-time against teams from the Pac-10. Outside of the Southeastern Conference (365 wins), the Lady Vols have recorded 77 wins over teams from the ACC and 66 victories over BIG EAST Conference schools. The Pac-10 ranks as the fourth most defeated conference by UT.
FIRST MONTH OF THE SEASON: STATE LOVE & PAC-10 EAST
In the first month of the 2006-07 season, the Lady Vols have eight foes scheduled. Three teams hail from the state of Tennessee as the Lady Vols will face Chattanooga (a 102-72 win), Middle Tennessee (an 88-64 win) and Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin (Dec. 5). UT will seem like a member of the Pac-10, eastern division, as the Lady Vols faced three ranked Pac-10 schools in consecutive games: #20/21 UCLA (an 83-60 win), at #11 Arizona State (an 83-74 win ) and #11 Stanford (a 77-60 win). Trips to long-standing rival Louisiana Tech (a 71-50 victory) and #2-ranked North Carolina (Dec. 3) round out the first month of the season.
Candace Parker EARNS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Tennessee sophomore basketball standout Candace Parker was named the SEC Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19) for her performances in wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60) and at #11 Arizona State (83-74). Last season, Parker received the league's Freshman of the Week honor on four occasions, and the Player of the Week award once during her rookie campaign. In two games, Parker averaged 23.5 points and eight rebounds along with four steals and a pair of blocks. In the game against Arizona State, the Naperville, Ill., native picked up her 11th career double-double and first of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 10-of-15 from the field against UCLA and stayed perfect from the line (2-of-2) for 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to earn Philips Player of the Game accolades. The scoring occurrences marked the 35th and 36th double figure games in her 39-game career. The match-ups were also the 10th and 11th game with 20 or more points.
LADY VOL SPOILERS
The Lady Vols have enjoyed the role of spoiler snapping long-standing winning streaks on a number of opponent's home floors over the years. On Nov. 19, Tennessee halted Arizona State's 26-game winning streak at Wells Fargo Arena with an 83-74 win. Last season, Stanford had amassed a 23-game winning streak at Maples Pavilion before the Lady Vols grabbed a 74-67 win on Dec. 4, 2005.
FREE THROW WOES
Good thing that the Lady Vols exploded to as much as a 24-point lead against Arizona State. Had Tennessee been forced to rely on relief from the charity stripe down the stretch, it would have been a bad outcome. UT made only 12-21 free throws against the Sun Devils for just 57.1 percent. Candace Parker missed four (7-11), Shannon Bobbitt missed the front end of two 1+1 situations (0-2) and Alex Fuller, uncharacteristically, missed both of her bonus tosses (0-2).
UCLA WAS 370TH WIN VS. RANKED
Tennessee's victory over UCLA improved its record 2-0 on the season and gave the Lady Vols their 370th all-time win over a ranked foe. The Big Orange is now 372-145 in games against Top-25 ranked opposition. At halftime, Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt challenged her team to get off to a quick start in the second half and hunker down on defense. Challenge answered. Tennessee opened the second half with a 10-0 run and UCLA did not score a field goal until 3:55 into the second stanza. Individually: Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with at least one steal to 38 straight contests; Sidney Spencer...The first of three Lady Vols to reach double-figures -- it was the 29th double-digit game of her career; Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the 35th time in her 38-game career -- it was her 11th career contest of 20 or more points. No dunks against the Bruins. However, her repertoire of shots was simply amazing; Nicky Anosike...Surpassed the 500-point plateau for her career -- she now has 503 career points and Alex Fuller...Scored a career-high 10.
NEW UNIFORM PATCH
This year, University of Tennessee student-athletes who achieve a 3.0 GPA or better in the classroom have a "VS" patch on their uniform. The "VS" stands for Vol Scholar. Every Lady Vol basketball player (except for the newcomers -- rookies Cait McMahan and Nicci Moats and junior college transfers Alberta Auguste and Shannon Bobbitt) are proudly displaying the patch on their uniform jerseys this season.
THREE 100 POINT GAMES
In the two preseason exhibition tilts and in the first game of the season, the Tennessee Lady Vols registered at least 100 points in all three contests. It marks the first time in program history that a Lady Vol team had tallied triple digits in back-to-back-to-back contests. UT dropped in 102 points against Chattanooga in the season opener and recorded games of 104 points versus Carson-Newman and 101 points against the Houston Jaguars in a pair of exhibition match-ups.
"SOMETHING SPECIAL"
In her first handful of games in a Lady Vol uniform, 5'2" junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt has quickly become a crowd favorite. The diminutive Bobbitt is so quick with the ball, she has left defenders shaking their heads more than once. Hailing from Manhattan, N.Y., Bobbitt earned her hoops rep on some of the toughest courts in the city. The guys at the famed hoops mecca, Rucker Park, nicknamed her "something special." After watching some of her moves in the first two games, a more accurate nickname might be "the ankle breaker."
CANDACE JAMS
Lady Vol sophomore All-American Candace Parker gave Lady Vols fans the dunk they had been waiting to see at Thompson-Boling Arena. On Nov. 12, 2006, with UT leading Chattanooga, 75-43, Parker stole the ball from the Lady Mocs' Brooke Hand near the sideline. The 6-4 forward took off for the other end of the court and slammed the rock in with her right hand with 16:02 left in the game as cheers shook the Arena. The rangy soph brought the crowd to their collective feet in Thompson-Boling Arena again recording her first dunk against a ranked opponent throwing one down at the 10:55 mark in the first half against #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker elected to finger roll a couple of shots last year but never dunked at home. She finally dunked twice as a rookie in the NCAA First Round game versus Army last season. Prior to Parker's dunking exploits, Michelle Snow dunked three times as a Lady Vol. Unfortunately, the dunks occurred on the road at Maui, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. In Snow's final game at Thompson-Boling Arena, she went in to dunk against Notre Dame in the waning seconds of UT's NCAA Second Round victory over the Irish, but she was fouled instead and the dunk never went down. Parker's dunk against #11 Stanford passed Snow for the Lady Vol records for "dunks in a career" with four.
FIRST GAME IMPRESSIONS
The 102-72 win over Chattanooga improves Tennessee to 68-3 in 100-point games...Tennessee made its first six shots of the game from the field and its first 11 free throws...In the first half, the Lady Vols shot a sizzling 60 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on six of 10 attempts...Every Lady Vols saw playing time in the first half... Chattanooga broke the opponent record for three-pointers in a game with 13...The previous opponent record was 12, by Stanford in Knoxville on Dec. 21, 1992...The Lady Vols reached the century scoring mark when rookie Cait McMahan drove the length of the floor for a lay up with just over five minutes remaining in the game...This was the first 100+ point season-opening game for the Lady Vols since a 112-39 victory over Stetson on Nov. 26, 1989...Shannon Bobbitt was the first of six Lady Vols to reach double-figure scoring...Alex Fuller tied a career high in blocks (2) in the first half and scored a career-high nine points...Cait McMahan's first bucket in a Lady Vol uniform came when she snuck around the defense for her first career lay-up...Alexis Hornbuckle extended her streak of games to 37 with at least one steal and she shattered her own career-best mark with seven steals against UTC...Candace Parker scored in double-figures for the 15th consecutive game dating back to last season and dunked for the first time at home in her 37-game career -- It was the first recorded dunk by a woman in a game in Thompson-Boling Arena history.
EXHIBIONISTS I TELL YOU In two 2006-07 preseason exhibition tilts against Carson-Newman and the Houston Jaguars, the Lady Vols averaged 102.5 ppg while giving up 50.0 ppg. UT connected on 49.7 percent from the field and cashed in on 70.2 percent from the line. UT's defense forced 35.5 turnovers per game and came away with 22.0 steals per outing.
SIX IN DOUBLE-FIGS
Another interesting stat from the exhibition contests found six Lady Vols registering double-digits. Leader of the pack was sophomore forward Alex Fuller who tossed in 15.5 ppg while also grabbing a team leading 11.5 rpg. Fuller was followed in the scoring parade by senior Dominique Redding (15.0 ppg), sophomore Candace Parker (15.0 ppg), junior Alexis Hornbuckle (15.0 ppg), junior Nicky Anosike (12.5 ppg) and senior Sidney Spencer (11.5 ppg). Junior College transfers Shannon Bobbitt and Alberta "Bird" Auguste were impressive in their Lady Vol debut. Bobbitt started at point guard and averaged 9.5 ppg, 6.0 apg and 3.5 spg. Auguste averaged 7.5 ppg, grabbed 5.5 rpg and handed out 4.0 apg.
62 INCHES OF DYNAMITE
Lady Vol junior college transfer Shannon Bobbitt is listed at 5'2" and is the shortest player on the roster since Diane Brady donned uniform number 20 for Tennessee during the 1973-75 seasons.
PARKER NAMED TO AP A-A
Lady Vols' Candace Parker was named to yet another preseason All-America team earning the nod from the Associated Press on Nov. 9, 2006. Joining Parker (45 votes) on the team was leading vote getter Courtney Paris of Oklahoma (47 votes out of 50). Also named to the team was North Carolina's Ivory Latta (43), Stanford's Candice Wiggins (35) and Maryland's Crystal Langhorne (28). Parker, the 2006 SEC rookie of the year, is returning for her second season at Tennessee after winning a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the world championships in Brazil.
WOODEN AWARD NOMINEES
Tennessee Lady Vols Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle were named to the list of 30 preseason candidates for the 2006-07 John R. Wooden Women's Award. Defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Maryland and No. 2-ranked North Carolina placed three athletes each on the list, while Duke, Rutgers and Tennessee each added two players. The 30 candidates are comprised of the top returning players. The award, which is voted on by sports writers and broadcasters, is entering its fourth year.
PARKER UP FOR THE WADE
Lady Vol basketball star Candace Parker has been named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) preseason "Wade Watch" list for The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year for the 2006-2007 season. The list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are members of an NCAA Division I institution and are selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The national awards committee who selects these candidates is comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball administrators.
In 2006, Parker guided the Lady Vols to a 31-5 record, the SEC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight during her rookie season. The Naperville, Ill., native led the team in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocks (2.4 bpg) and was named a Kodak/WBCA All-American. Parker became the first female to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game and the only woman to dunk twice in the same contest, when she slammed two home against Army in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2006. She was a first team All-SEC selection, the SEC Freshman of the Year and the conference tournament MVP after hitting the game-winning shot to lift Tennessee past LSU, 63-62.
THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA
WELCOME TO "THE SUMMITT"
The playing court in the Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus donned a new look for the 2005-06 season. After Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt passed Dean Smith for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 win over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005, UT named the TBA court, "The Summitt." The floor had a complete overhaul with permanent logos of both the Lady Vols and Vols painted directly in front of the scorer's table; the free throw lanes were painted orange with "SEC" reversed out; the giant jump circle/mid-court TENNESSEE was given a new brighter color scheme, and "The Summitt," Coach Summitt's actual signature adorns the sidelines opposite the team benches.
ON OUR WAY TO 300 WINS
Tennessee recorded its 200th win in Thompson-Boling Arena when the Lady Vols defeated the University of Southern California on Nov. 18, 2001, 106-66. UT has now amassed a 270-16 (.943) record since the Orange and White moved into the Thompson-Boling Arena to start the 1987-88 season 19-years ago. Along the way, the Lady Vols have produced nine flawless home records in 1988-89 (15-0), 1991-92 (14-0), 1992-93 (13-0), 1993-94 (15-0), 1994-95 (15-0), 1997-98 (16-0), 1998-99 (14-0), 2000-01 (15-0) and 2002-03 (16-0). UT also registered an NCAA record 69-game home court-winning streak from Feb. 1, 1991 thru Jan. 2, 1996.
JUST 16 LOSSES
The Tennessee Lady Vols rarely lose at home. In fact, since moving to the Thompson-Boling Arena for the 1987-88 campaign, UT has lost two games in one season just six times. UT lost two games in TBA during the inaugural 1987-88 campaign, 1996-97, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2003-04 and the 2005-06 seasons. The 16 all-time losses at Thompson-Boling Arena have come at the hands of just nine teams: Florida (2006), LSU (2006), Duke (2004), Connecticut (2004, 2002, 2000, 1996), Louisiana Tech (1999, 1989), Georgia (1996, 1991), Texas (2003, 2002, 1987), Stanford (1996) and Auburn (1988).
HOME SWEET HOME -- 400th HOME WIN
The victory over Georgia on Jan. 31, 2005, was the Lady Vols 400th home win since Pat Summitt took over as head coach in 1974. Summitt has won 91.4 percent of all home games in 33 years producing a 423-40 overall record. Home losses (in the Summitt era) include: six in Alumni Gym from 1974-76; 18 in Stokely Athletics Center from 1976-87; and 16 in Thompson-Boling Arena since 1987.
221 OF 234 AT HOME
UT has won 221 of their last 234 games in Thompson-Boling Arena dating back to 2-1-91. UT's 13 losses during this time have been to Florida, LSU, Duke, Louisiana Tech, UConn (four times), Stanford, Texas (three times) and Georgia (OT).
500 GAMES VERSUS RANKED
Tennessee's game versus #13 Georgia on Feb. 16, 2006 was the Lady Vols' 500th all-time versus a ranked team since the inception of the polls in 1976. UT is an amazing 372-146 (.703) versus ranked teams. Last year, Tennessee was 13-3 versus ranked teams.
LADY VOL STREAKS
The last time the Lady Vols lost at home was against Florida, 95-93 OT on Feb. 26, 2006 -- since then, UT has won five games at home. The last time UT lost on the road was on Dec. 3, 2006 at UNC, since then, UT not played on the road. The last time the Lady Vols lost on a neutral court was against North Carolina, 75-63, in the NCAA Elite 8 game on Mar. 28, 2006 Since then, UT has not played on a neutral court.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Teleconference Transcript
Lady Vols host George Washington Thursday before breaking for exams
Dec. 6, 2006
Opening comments...
"Overall I think our team has had valuable experiences with our schedule, in particular at North Carolina with a challenging but good environment and against a team who was very impressive. That's why we play that schedule. Last night, UT-Martin was not the same caliber of team that we played against at North Carolina, Arizona State or versus Stanford. It was more about us. I thought we did a good job of maintaining our intensity. We got to work on some aspects of the game that we haven't spent a lot of time on and really concentrate in that area. Looking ahead to George Washington; they present a different look. They extend their defense and are very aggressive due to their high-level action. Their guards are very capable of running the ball up our backs, so we have to be ready for some baseline-to-baseline action."
On George Washington being the fifth ranked team UT has played this season...
"I think we get more than just the benefit of playing teams that are well-coached and that challenge us throughout the regular season. It allows our basketball team to understand that they have to be ready to play every night. Our schedule is tough enough that on any given night if we aren't ready to play, it could be really costly for us. It's all about the postseason for me, understanding that you can have a near-perfect regular season, but if you're not ready for postseason, then anything is possible in that situation."
On preparing for George Washington and Texas during final exams...
"It only gives us one day of preparation, and that's today. Our staff has been watching tape on them. I think with our team and some of the things we'll see, we have obviously seen that before this season. The preparation time is not on our side, but we are familiar with them having played them on other occasions. That gives us a little more knowledge of what we will face."
On the series with George Washington...
"I like playing teams in different conferences because you see teams with different styles. The SEC gives us one style of play, so the opportunity to play other schools in other conferences, it has allowed us to prepare for a lot of different looks. George Washington does a good job of varying its action defensively to give you different looks. I think it has been good for us, and also I have a lot of respect for them. We have a lot of fans and alumni in that area which is good for them to have a chance to see us. We're going to extend the series."
On watching tape of George Washington...
"I have watched tape and there are a lot of similarities to what we saw last year. I think their man-defense gave us some problems when we played them in the NCAA playoffs, so we have to be in tune with that. Their perimeter players are very aggressive, and they can break you down off the dribble. That definitely will challenge us. It depends on whether they want to run with us or not. Some people come in and like to run up and down. George Washington does a good job of keeping you off balance."
On the friendship with George Washington head coach Joe McKeown...
"When I was working with the Mystics I got to visit with him and we got to sit together and talk basketball. He's a great father and family man and a very sincere but competitive individual. I've enjoyed getting to know him. He is someone in the profession that I feel like if I needed someone, I could call him. Come game time, however, we are extremely competitive."
On the pregnancy of Summitt's dog Sally Sue...
"She is hanging in there. She is probably going to have eight puppies this weekend, so thank goodness I will have basketball behind me for a break. With the ultrasound they said eight, but you can always expect one or two more, so we will have a house full of puppies. I have several people who have been through this, so they are going to help me."
Dec. 6, 2006
Opening comments...
"Overall I think our team has had valuable experiences with our schedule, in particular at North Carolina with a challenging but good environment and against a team who was very impressive. That's why we play that schedule. Last night, UT-Martin was not the same caliber of team that we played against at North Carolina, Arizona State or versus Stanford. It was more about us. I thought we did a good job of maintaining our intensity. We got to work on some aspects of the game that we haven't spent a lot of time on and really concentrate in that area. Looking ahead to George Washington; they present a different look. They extend their defense and are very aggressive due to their high-level action. Their guards are very capable of running the ball up our backs, so we have to be ready for some baseline-to-baseline action."
On George Washington being the fifth ranked team UT has played this season...
"I think we get more than just the benefit of playing teams that are well-coached and that challenge us throughout the regular season. It allows our basketball team to understand that they have to be ready to play every night. Our schedule is tough enough that on any given night if we aren't ready to play, it could be really costly for us. It's all about the postseason for me, understanding that you can have a near-perfect regular season, but if you're not ready for postseason, then anything is possible in that situation."
On preparing for George Washington and Texas during final exams...
"It only gives us one day of preparation, and that's today. Our staff has been watching tape on them. I think with our team and some of the things we'll see, we have obviously seen that before this season. The preparation time is not on our side, but we are familiar with them having played them on other occasions. That gives us a little more knowledge of what we will face."
On the series with George Washington...
"I like playing teams in different conferences because you see teams with different styles. The SEC gives us one style of play, so the opportunity to play other schools in other conferences, it has allowed us to prepare for a lot of different looks. George Washington does a good job of varying its action defensively to give you different looks. I think it has been good for us, and also I have a lot of respect for them. We have a lot of fans and alumni in that area which is good for them to have a chance to see us. We're going to extend the series."
On watching tape of George Washington...
"I have watched tape and there are a lot of similarities to what we saw last year. I think their man-defense gave us some problems when we played them in the NCAA playoffs, so we have to be in tune with that. Their perimeter players are very aggressive, and they can break you down off the dribble. That definitely will challenge us. It depends on whether they want to run with us or not. Some people come in and like to run up and down. George Washington does a good job of keeping you off balance."
On the friendship with George Washington head coach Joe McKeown...
"When I was working with the Mystics I got to visit with him and we got to sit together and talk basketball. He's a great father and family man and a very sincere but competitive individual. I've enjoyed getting to know him. He is someone in the profession that I feel like if I needed someone, I could call him. Come game time, however, we are extremely competitive."
On the pregnancy of Summitt's dog Sally Sue...
"She is hanging in there. She is probably going to have eight puppies this weekend, so thank goodness I will have basketball behind me for a break. With the ultrasound they said eight, but you can always expect one or two more, so we will have a house full of puppies. I have several people who have been through this, so they are going to help me."
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
(6) Tennessee 85, Tenn-Martin 29
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Candace Parker scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help No. 6 Tennessee respond to its first loss by beating Tennessee-Martin 85-29 on Tuesday night.
The Lady Vols (7-1) lost 70-57 at second-ranked North Carolina on Sunday, struggling against the Tar Heels' defensive pressure.
UT-Martin, the alma mater of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, was not expected to challenge the Lady Vols, and the Skyhawks (4-2) didn't.
The Lady Vols were ahead 18-0 before Jennifer Angler scored for UT-Martin with 11:43 left in the first half.
The Ohio Valley Conference team last played its sister school in 1999, and Tennessee won 133-60.
Reserve Alex Fuller added 14 points for the Lady Vols while Sidney Spencer had 13 and Nicky Anosike 10.
Tennessee was ahead 43-13 at halftime and continued to pull away in the second half. The Skyhawks had trouble getting off shots, and the buzzer often sounded for shot clock violations. They were smaller than the Lady Vols and struggled to defend and rebound.
The Lady Vols had the rebounding edge, 46-24.
Parker scored 11 points in the first 12 minutes of the first half and then sat and watched until halftime. She added six points in the second half before going to the bench with most of the other starters with 10:15 remaining and the Lady Vols ahead by 41.
UT-Martin named its basketball court in Summitt's honor in 1997.
The Skyhawks were led in scoring by Nicole Holman, Phyllisha Mitchell and Andreika Jackson each with six points. UT-Martin made 10 of 49 shots from the field.
The Lady Vols (7-1) lost 70-57 at second-ranked North Carolina on Sunday, struggling against the Tar Heels' defensive pressure.
UT-Martin, the alma mater of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, was not expected to challenge the Lady Vols, and the Skyhawks (4-2) didn't.
The Lady Vols were ahead 18-0 before Jennifer Angler scored for UT-Martin with 11:43 left in the first half.
The Ohio Valley Conference team last played its sister school in 1999, and Tennessee won 133-60.
Reserve Alex Fuller added 14 points for the Lady Vols while Sidney Spencer had 13 and Nicky Anosike 10.
Tennessee was ahead 43-13 at halftime and continued to pull away in the second half. The Skyhawks had trouble getting off shots, and the buzzer often sounded for shot clock violations. They were smaller than the Lady Vols and struggled to defend and rebound.
The Lady Vols had the rebounding edge, 46-24.
Parker scored 11 points in the first 12 minutes of the first half and then sat and watched until halftime. She added six points in the second half before going to the bench with most of the other starters with 10:15 remaining and the Lady Vols ahead by 41.
UT-Martin named its basketball court in Summitt's honor in 1997.
The Skyhawks were led in scoring by Nicole Holman, Phyllisha Mitchell and Andreika Jackson each with six points. UT-Martin made 10 of 49 shots from the field.
Summitt and Dorrance
Pat Summitt might have left North Carolina with Tennessee's first loss of the season, but the Lady Vols' longtime coach didn't go home empty-handed.
Summitt has six NCAA titles on her résumé, and when compared to most of her peers, she's at the top of the list. That is, except when she's rubbing elbows with UNC women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
Summitt, known as a tireless learner, asked to sit in on Dorrance's locker room pregame speech as the Tar Heels prepared to take the field in the women's soccer national championship game Sunday in Cary, N.C. In town to face the UNC women's hoops team later that night in nearby Chapel Hill, N.C., Summitt -- dressed head-to-toe in an orange Tennessee sweat suit -- listened in as Dorrance addressed his team just moments before the Tar Heels kicked off the title game against Notre Dame.
During a pregame interview Sunday night at Carmichael Auditorium, Summitt told ESPN's Rebecca Lobo she asked to listen in because Summitt "wants to learn from the best." And that just might be Dorrance. On Sunday, his Tar Heels collected their 18th NCAA title. In 28 seasons, Dorrance's teams are 629-28-18.
So what did Summitt, who said she has known Dorrance for some time and just finished reading his second book, take away from the locker room talk?
"His speech was serious with the right amount of humor," Summitt told Lobo. "Even before a national championship game, his humor struck me because he had the right balance."
The adoration appears to be mutual.
"For our kids, a lot of them when they were kids were basketball players as well," Dorrance told Lobo. "So it was a thrill for all of us to have her in there and we loved it."
Summitt has six NCAA titles on her résumé, and when compared to most of her peers, she's at the top of the list. That is, except when she's rubbing elbows with UNC women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance.
Summitt, known as a tireless learner, asked to sit in on Dorrance's locker room pregame speech as the Tar Heels prepared to take the field in the women's soccer national championship game Sunday in Cary, N.C. In town to face the UNC women's hoops team later that night in nearby Chapel Hill, N.C., Summitt -- dressed head-to-toe in an orange Tennessee sweat suit -- listened in as Dorrance addressed his team just moments before the Tar Heels kicked off the title game against Notre Dame.
During a pregame interview Sunday night at Carmichael Auditorium, Summitt told ESPN's Rebecca Lobo she asked to listen in because Summitt "wants to learn from the best." And that just might be Dorrance. On Sunday, his Tar Heels collected their 18th NCAA title. In 28 seasons, Dorrance's teams are 629-28-18.
So what did Summitt, who said she has known Dorrance for some time and just finished reading his second book, take away from the locker room talk?
"His speech was serious with the right amount of humor," Summitt told Lobo. "Even before a national championship game, his humor struck me because he had the right balance."
The adoration appears to be mutual.
"For our kids, a lot of them when they were kids were basketball players as well," Dorrance told Lobo. "So it was a thrill for all of us to have her in there and we loved it."
Sunday, December 03, 2006
No. 2 Tar Heels top No. 4 Lady Vols
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Erlana Larkins didn't do much against Tennessee last time, and North Carolina teammate Ivory Latta wouldn't let her forget it.
"Although Ivory and everybody else said I needed to redeem myself, I tried not to think about that," Larkins said. "Brand new game. Brand new year."
And brand new result for Larkins — even though the same team won.
Larkins had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 2 North Carolina to a 70-57 victory over No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday night.
Latta had 12 points and Camille Little added 11 for the Tar Heels (8-0), who never trailed in the second half, overcame a productive game from Candace Parker and claimed their first noteworthy nonconference win of the season.
It was a dramatically better performance than Larkins had in last season's Cleveland Regional finals. She was just 3-of-11 from the field with seven points in North Carolina's 75-63 victory over the Lady Vols that put the Tar Heels into the Final Four for just the second time in school history.
"I just think I did a better job of getting open," Larkins said.
Parker had a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Vols (6-1), who entered 3-0 against ranked teams this season, but could neither keep up with the Tar Heels nor overcome a dry spell late in the first half.
North Carolina outrebounded the Lady Vols 43-33. Tennessee, which entered shooting 48 percent from 3-point range, was just 3-of-11 from beyond the arc.
"Obviously, we really struggled to put the ball in the hole. North Carolina had a lot to do with it," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "We were just trying to get the ball inside and get three-point opportunities that way, since we were not shooting well from the outside."
After the Tar Heels won their first seven games by an average of 49 points, they treated their game against the Lady Vols as their first significant test — one they passed by keeping Tennessee at bay for most of the second half.
"They don't have any weaknesses. We just made more shots than they did tonight," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
Parker's baseline layup with 18:13 remaining made it 30-all and gave Tennessee its first tie since midway through the first half.
"We figured she was going to get her points," Hatchell said.
But the Tar Heels scored nine straight: Larkins converted a three-point play and then hit a layup, Alex Miller nailed a 15-footer, and Jessica Breland took a feed from Latta and made a layup to make it 39-30 with 15:37 to play.
Only once more did Tennessee get as close as three — Nicky Anosike's jumper with 12:51 left made it 41-38 — and Latta led the Tar Heels' response by scoring seven points during a 9-2 spurt that pushed the lead to 10 points. Tennessee didn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
"We'd get back in it, and get back in it, and couldn't get over the hump," Parker said.
North Carolina started slowly but eventually dominated a sloppy first half. The Tar Heels led by as many as nine, took the lead for good on Rashanda McCants' 3-pointer midway through a 19-7 run and held the Lady Vols to three field goals during the final 14:41 of the half.
The Tar Heels led 30-25 at the break. The teams combined for more turnovers (31) and fouls (22) than field goals (21) in the opening 20 minutes.
"I thought it was too slow," Hatchell said. "I kept telling Ivory to push it. We were setting up too much. I wanted to push the ball more. I don't think we were as aggressive offensively as we needed to be."
"Although Ivory and everybody else said I needed to redeem myself, I tried not to think about that," Larkins said. "Brand new game. Brand new year."
And brand new result for Larkins — even though the same team won.
Larkins had 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 2 North Carolina to a 70-57 victory over No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday night.
Latta had 12 points and Camille Little added 11 for the Tar Heels (8-0), who never trailed in the second half, overcame a productive game from Candace Parker and claimed their first noteworthy nonconference win of the season.
It was a dramatically better performance than Larkins had in last season's Cleveland Regional finals. She was just 3-of-11 from the field with seven points in North Carolina's 75-63 victory over the Lady Vols that put the Tar Heels into the Final Four for just the second time in school history.
"I just think I did a better job of getting open," Larkins said.
Parker had a season-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Vols (6-1), who entered 3-0 against ranked teams this season, but could neither keep up with the Tar Heels nor overcome a dry spell late in the first half.
North Carolina outrebounded the Lady Vols 43-33. Tennessee, which entered shooting 48 percent from 3-point range, was just 3-of-11 from beyond the arc.
"Obviously, we really struggled to put the ball in the hole. North Carolina had a lot to do with it," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "We were just trying to get the ball inside and get three-point opportunities that way, since we were not shooting well from the outside."
After the Tar Heels won their first seven games by an average of 49 points, they treated their game against the Lady Vols as their first significant test — one they passed by keeping Tennessee at bay for most of the second half.
"They don't have any weaknesses. We just made more shots than they did tonight," North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said.
Parker's baseline layup with 18:13 remaining made it 30-all and gave Tennessee its first tie since midway through the first half.
"We figured she was going to get her points," Hatchell said.
But the Tar Heels scored nine straight: Larkins converted a three-point play and then hit a layup, Alex Miller nailed a 15-footer, and Jessica Breland took a feed from Latta and made a layup to make it 39-30 with 15:37 to play.
Only once more did Tennessee get as close as three — Nicky Anosike's jumper with 12:51 left made it 41-38 — and Latta led the Tar Heels' response by scoring seven points during a 9-2 spurt that pushed the lead to 10 points. Tennessee didn't get closer than five the rest of the way.
"We'd get back in it, and get back in it, and couldn't get over the hump," Parker said.
North Carolina started slowly but eventually dominated a sloppy first half. The Tar Heels led by as many as nine, took the lead for good on Rashanda McCants' 3-pointer midway through a 19-7 run and held the Lady Vols to three field goals during the final 14:41 of the half.
The Tar Heels led 30-25 at the break. The teams combined for more turnovers (31) and fouls (22) than field goals (21) in the opening 20 minutes.
"I thought it was too slow," Hatchell said. "I kept telling Ivory to push it. We were setting up too much. I wanted to push the ball more. I don't think we were as aggressive offensively as we needed to be."
This year's Lady Vols ready to run vs. UNC
KNOXVILLE — Pat Summitt made it only to halftime Thursday night when she tried to watch the film again.
The countless mistakes made by her Tennessee women's basketball team against North Carolina in the Elite Eight last season weren't any easier to swallow eight months later.
"They just swarmed the ball," Summitt said of North Carolina's 75-63 win on March 28 in the NCAA Tournament's Cleveland Regional final. "And we were casual and careless and overanxious ourselves."
But for once, the tape didn't tell the entire tale.
Truth be told, Summitt didn't know what to take from last year's game in her preparation for today's game between the fourth-ranked Lady Vols (6-0) and the No. 2 Tar Heels (7-0) at Carmichael Auditorium.
She just knows that what she sees from her team this time hardly will resemble what she saw on film.
"Our speed's better (than last year)," she said. " … Athletically, we are a better match for them now than we were a year ago."
That doesn't mean the Lady Vols have forgotten about the team that kept them from reaching the Final Four for the first time in five years.
"They ended our season, so obviously it leaves a bad taste in our mouth about that," sophomore forward Candace Parker said. "But I think we're just going to approach it like any other game.
"We're going to come out and not be tight, not be overanxious and just play the style of play that we have been playing for the last six games."
Led by 5-foot-6 point guard Ivory Latta, North Carolina used its overwhelming speed last season to exploit a UT team left without a healthy point guard after Alexis Hornbuckle's wrist injury and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood's midseason transfer.
Hornbuckle returned ahead of schedule to play a limited role in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee expects this year's meeting to be different, mainly because of the addition of junior-college transfer Shannon Bobbitt, a 5-2 point guard.
"We're a different team than we were last year," junior center Nicky Anosike said. "We should be able to keep up with their pace. We weren't really able to do that last year. This time, everyone's going to be at their natural position."
The countless mistakes made by her Tennessee women's basketball team against North Carolina in the Elite Eight last season weren't any easier to swallow eight months later.
"They just swarmed the ball," Summitt said of North Carolina's 75-63 win on March 28 in the NCAA Tournament's Cleveland Regional final. "And we were casual and careless and overanxious ourselves."
But for once, the tape didn't tell the entire tale.
Truth be told, Summitt didn't know what to take from last year's game in her preparation for today's game between the fourth-ranked Lady Vols (6-0) and the No. 2 Tar Heels (7-0) at Carmichael Auditorium.
She just knows that what she sees from her team this time hardly will resemble what she saw on film.
"Our speed's better (than last year)," she said. " … Athletically, we are a better match for them now than we were a year ago."
That doesn't mean the Lady Vols have forgotten about the team that kept them from reaching the Final Four for the first time in five years.
"They ended our season, so obviously it leaves a bad taste in our mouth about that," sophomore forward Candace Parker said. "But I think we're just going to approach it like any other game.
"We're going to come out and not be tight, not be overanxious and just play the style of play that we have been playing for the last six games."
Led by 5-foot-6 point guard Ivory Latta, North Carolina used its overwhelming speed last season to exploit a UT team left without a healthy point guard after Alexis Hornbuckle's wrist injury and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood's midseason transfer.
Hornbuckle returned ahead of schedule to play a limited role in the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee expects this year's meeting to be different, mainly because of the addition of junior-college transfer Shannon Bobbitt, a 5-2 point guard.
"We're a different team than we were last year," junior center Nicky Anosike said. "We should be able to keep up with their pace. We weren't really able to do that last year. This time, everyone's going to be at their natural position."
Lady Vols Battle North Carolina In Top 5 Showdown
The last time the fourth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols faced off against North Carolina on the Tar Heels home floor eighteen years ago, the defending NCAA champions was ranked third and the Tar Heels were 10-13 and not making post-season plans.
The game wasn’t televised and the Lady Vols trounced UNC 88-65 that February day. Ironically, the game ended the UT-UNC series that started in 1978 and the teams would not meet again until the 1993 NCAA Sweet Sixteen when UT advanced with a 74-54 win.
Fast forward to the present and oh, how times have changed.
Of course, the Lady Vols have added five more NCAA titles since then and numerous SEC championships while remaining a perennial top five team.
North Carolina, on the other hand, is not the team of 1988.
The Tar Heel squad of today is ranked second, was the NCAA runner-up to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland and was the team that prevented UT from going to the Final Four eight months ago with a 75-63 victory at the Cleveland Regional.
When UT (6-0) and UNC (7-0) meet at 8pm tonight before a sell-out crowd of 8,000 plus at Carmichael Auditorium and a ESPN audience in the battle of the unbeatens and the latest version of a potential Final Four showdown, the newborn rivalry will become more intense and Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt is eagerly anticipating the renewal of the series.
“Sylvia Hatchell (UNC head coach and a longtime friend of Summitt’s) approached me about scheduling again.” She said during her weekly teleconference. “She said she needed some time to deal with when she cancelled the series years ago. Obviously she didn’t need much time.”
“I thought it would be appealing for us, for them and for basketball fans, so we decided to do it and got the games scheduled.”
“I’m looking forward to the series with North Carolina.” She continued. “Our game against them last year in the Elite Eight convinced me even more to stick with the series. Any time that there is a program out there that has a chance of being one of the best in the country, I try to schedule them.”
The meeting will be the 15th between the schools with UT holding a decisive 12-2 lead.
The game will also feature a pair of Player of the Year candidates in UT’s Candace
Parker and UNC’s senior point guard Ivory Latta whose team has been winning games by an average of 49 points.
Parker and Latta are leading their teams in scoring (18.8 and 13.4 points per game respectively) and in accolades. Latta was the ESPN’s 2006 Player of the Year and Parker is a contender for the 2007 award having already been named the network’s pre-season winner and also being named the SEC Player of the Week twice to go along with her conference Pre-Season Player of the Year honor.
When Summitt was asked about the Lady Vols’ match-up with the Tar Heels, she said her team will have to be prepared to contend with UNC’s Erlana Larkins and Camille Little as both women are averaging 12 points and eight rebounds per outing.
“Looking at North Carolina, they are very balanced and deep.” She said. “They have great support off the bench with the point guard play (Latta) and with what they have down the middle.”
“Erlana Larkins (6’1” junior forward) was a really tough guard for us last year and Camille Little (6’2” senior forward) can make great plays.”
“They just have great balance and depth.” Summitt added. “Playing them on their home court will be a good challenge for us and just what this team needs.”
“It will be a good measure of how good we are and where we can improve. When we play against a talented team like North Carolina that can expose weakness and challenge us, it will be good for us.”
In their six previous games, the Lady Vols have been winning by an average of 20 points and the trip to Chapel Hill will be just the second road game of the season. Summitt said this game will give her an indication of how her team has progressed at this juncture.
“I think some of the games that we played in were much more one sided, so we don’t expose our weaknesses in games like that.” She said. “It gives us an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and identify where we need to get better. That is why we play the tough opponents that we face.”
UT’s Shannon Bobbitt will return to the starting lineup tonight after missing the Louisiana Tech game due to a class exam. Some observers have noted that the 5’2” Bobbitt can match her 5’6” counterpart Latta on speed and quickness.
UNC’s Hatchell, who is in her 21st season at Chapel Hill, is a graduate of Carson-Newman College and received her Master’s in Physical Education at UT in 1975.
Gameday Data:
The #4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (6-0) venture over the Smoky Mountains tonight to face the #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (7-0) at 8 p.m. in a primetime meeting on ESPN in Carmichael Auditorium.
LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE
This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 919-177 overall record... Is just 81 wins away from a staggering 1,000 career victories...Collected her 900th coaching win with a 80-68 decision over #19-ranked Vanderbilt on Jan. 19, 2006... She passed Dean Smith (879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ...Her 2005-06 squad advanced to the NCAA Elite...Finished with a 31-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions...
This season, UT returned six letterwinners, welcomed a senior manager turned player, two junior college transfers and a pair of rookies...The 2006-07 season marks the Lady Vol debut for former senior manager #10 Elizabeth Curry, JC transfers #00 Shannon Bobbitt and #33 Alberta Auguste...True freshman, #2 Cait McMahan, a 5-4 guard from Maryville, Tenn., and #34 Nicci Moats, a 6-2 forward from Daleville, Va., also see their first action in the Orange and White this season.
THE 4-1-1 ON THE TAR HEELS
The #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are 7-0 on the season after a 103-48 rout of UNC Greensboro on Nov. 30, in their final tune-up before facing #4-ranked Tennessee. In the win, UNC's Camille Little scored 16 points and was one of five Tar Heels in double-figures. She was joined in the scoring parade by LaToya Pringle with 15 points, Jessica Breland adding a dozen, Heather Claytor with 11 points and Christina Dewitt tossing in 10. North Carolina scored more than 100 points for the second time this season after doing it twice all last season, and had its most points since scoring 106 against East Tennessee State on Nov. 24, 2002. Earlier in the week, UNC captured the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 26, with a 94-69 victory over Arkansas in the title game. The trip to the Islands marked the only journey for the Tar Heels outside of the Carolinas until a Jan. 2, 2007, junket to open ACC play at Georgia Tech. UNC's seven victories have come at the expense of East Tennessee (96-35), Winston-Salem State (83-32), Elon (90-36), UNC Greensboro (103-48) - all at home - and Sacramento State (99-38), Gonzaga (101-63) and Arkansas (94-69) in Hawaii.
OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The Lady Vols have a relatively light schedule this week. UT traveled to Louisiana Tech on Nov. 28 and recorded a sloppy 71-50 win. Tennessee now faces #2-ranked North Carolina on Sun., Dec. 3 in an 8 p.m. ESPN primetime telecast. In the coming week, UT entertains Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 5) and #21/20 George Washington (Dec. 7).
LADY VOLS ON TV
A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for national/regional television this season. Five non-televised games will be available as streaming video with voice-over from Mickey Dearstone on utladyvols.com. UT is 4-0 on TV this season.
ON THIS DAY
UT is 13-0 in games played on Dec. 3. The Lady Vols are 7-0 at home, 3-0 on the road and 3-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Dec. 3, the Lady Vols registered a 90-66 victory over Wisconsin in Knoxville in 2000.
LOOKING BACK
Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 6-0 and had just defeated #16 Texas, 102-61.
PLAYING 12 RANKED TEAMS
Tennessee will play 12 teams in 14 games and five of the nation's top 10 teams ranked in the AP and USA TODAY ESPN polls: 2. North Carolina, 5. Duke, 7. Connecticut, 8. Georgia, 9. LSU, 11. Stanford, 13/12. Arizona St., 14. Vanderbilt, 20/24. Kentucky 21/19. UCLA, 23/21. George Washington, and 25/NR Texas.
BOBBITT EXPECTED TO BE BACK IN THE LINE-UP
UT junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt is expected to be back in the starting line-up against #2-ranked North Carolina. Bobbitt (6.0 ppg, 4.3 apg) missed Tuesday's contest at Louisiana Tech due to a test in one of her classes. Rookie Cait McMahan started in Bobbitt's place in the 71-50 win over the Lady Techsters. McMahan had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 24 minutes.
UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Chattanooga (.579), MTSU (.565), Arizona St. (.548), UCLA (.531), Stanford (.500); 40%FG: Louisiana Tech (.483); 30%FG: none,
DEEE ----- FENSE
In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), Chattanooga (.431), 30%FG: none; 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295)
2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL
Wins: +30 (1), +24 (1), +23 (1), +21 (1), +17 (1), +9 (1), Losses: none
UPCOMING OPPONENT - UT-MARTIN
Lady Vol Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, Tennessee-Martin, rolls into Knoxville on Tues., Dec. 5, for a 7 p.m. meeting with Tennessee. Prior to facing the Lady Vols, the Skyhawks (3-1) will take on the Memphis Lady Tigers on the road. In their last outing, Tennessee-Martin junior Crystal Fuller stepped to the free throw line with 19 seconds left in overtime and drained both free throws to give the Skyhawks a 53-52 victory over Dayton. It was their second consecutive one-point win and their third consecutive one-point decision of the season. Fuller sealed the win with a defensive rebound with 12 seconds left on the clock. She finished the game with 12 rebounds and seven points. UTM sophomore Phyllisha Mitchell and senior Andreika Jackson posted double-doubles for the Skyhawks. Mitchell had 12 rebounds and 15 points, while Jackson had 13 rebounds and 12 points. Dayton stormed back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game at 49-all and send it into overtime. The Skyhawks out rebounded the Flyers, 54-37.
PARKER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Candace Parker was tabbed the SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 27, after leading her team to victories over #11-ranked Stanford, 77-60 and Middle Tennessee, 88-64. The Naperville, Ill., native averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two games. Parker connected on both three-point attempts and made 65 percent of her shots from the field. Additionally, she dished four assists and nabbed six steals in the pair of contests. She also slammed home her second dunk of the 2006-07 season and fourth of her career in the win over the Cardinal. Parker earned the honor for the second time this season.
NORTH CAROLINA NOTEBOOK
The #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are 7-0 on the season after a 103-48 rout of UNC Greensboro on Nov. 30, in their final tune-up before facing #4-ranked Tennessee. The Tar Heels had a busy week traveling back to Chapel Hill from Honolulu. UNC captured the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 26, 2006, with a 94-69 victory over Arkansas in the title game. Tar Heel junior forward Erlana Larkins was named ACC Player of the Week after leading UNC to the title. The trip to the Islands marked the only journey for the Tar Heels outside of the Carolinas until a Jan. 2, 2007, junket to open ACC play at Georgia Tech. UNC's seven victories have come at the expense of East Tennessee (96-35), Winston-Salem State (83-32), Elon (90-36) and UNC Greensboro103-48 - all at home - and Sacramento State (99-38), Gonzaga (101-63) and Arkansas (94-69) in Hawaii. Carolina currently has five players averaging double-figures led by senior guard Ivory Latta with 13.4 ppg, Larkins averaging 12.1 ppg, senior forward Camille Little tossing in 12.0 ppg, 6-3 rookie post Jessica Breland with 11.3 ppg and junior post LaToya Pringle rounding out the double-digit averages with 10.3 ppg.
ALL-TIME SERIES MEETINGS
DATE RANK SITE W/L SCORE
3/9/78 1/nr A20 W 92-66
2/3/79 8/nr H W 95-57
12/1/79 4/nr A W 66-55
1/26/81 7/nr H W 76-72
1/30/82 A W 76-62
11/24/82 4/nr H W 108-65
1/2/84 11/nr A W 75-59
12/7/84 16/nr H W 84-70
1/11/86 11/19 A L 68-82
1/4/87 1/nr H W 87-68
2/25/88 3/nr A W 88-65
3/25/93 2/17 N48 W 74-54
3/23/98 1/7 N83 W 76-70
3/28/06 6/1 N93 L 63-75
UNC SERIES
This marks just the 15th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1977-78 season. Lady Vol Associate Head Coach Holly Warlick was the starting UT point guard in the first meeting ever between the two schools in the AIAW Region II Championships on Mar. 9, 1978, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Top-ranked Tennessee recorded a 92-66 win. After that meeting, the two teams played in a home-and-home series from 1979-1988. The three most recent match-ups have all come in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT CONTESTS
The 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional Final match-up with North Carolina marked the 14th meeting between the two teams and the third in NCAA play. UNC denied the Lady Vols a trip to the Final Four with a convincing 75-63 decision. Previously, Tennessee topped the Tar Heels, 76-70, in Nashville, Tenn., to advance to the 1998 Final Four on its way to its third consecutive and sixth overall national title. In the 1993 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee defeated UNC, 74-54, in a Mideast Regional Semifinal contest played in Iowa City, Iowa.
VERSUS THE ACC
Tennessee is 77-14 (.864) all-time versus 11 teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. UT's last match-up with an ACC team came on Mar. 28, 2006, when the Lady Vols were defeated 75-63 by North Carolina. Currently, UT is on a two-game losing streak to the ACC with back-to-back losses to UNC and Duke. Tennessee's last win over an ACC opponent was on Nov. 26, 2005, with a 80-75 victory over #10-ranked Maryland at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The only ACC squad to accumulate four wins over UT is Duke (4-4), while Maryland (UT leads, 10-3) and N.C. State (UT leads, 12-3) have registered three victories. UT has an 11-1 mark vs. Clemson and Virginia and is undefeated against BC (3-0), Florida State (2-0), Georgia Tech (3-0), Virginia Tech (7-0) and Wake Forest (2-0).
TENNESSEE LA TECH
OVERALL RECORD 6-0 7-0
SCORING 84.0 95.1
SCORING DEFENSE 63.3 45.9
POINT MARGIN +20.7 + 49.3
REBOUNDS 35.0 53.7
OPP. REBOUNDS 31.5 29.9
REBOUND MARGIN + 3.5 + 23.9
FG% .535 .496
OPPONENT FG% .422 .285
THREE POINT FG% .481 .373
OPPONENT 3FG% .427 .241
FT% .720 .724
OPPONENT FT% .635 .520
ASSISTS 18.2 20.0
BLOCKS AVERAGE 6.0 7.3
STEALS AVERAGE 15.5 29.7
TURNOVER AVERAGE 17.0 23.6
OUR LAST MEETING
Sixth-ranked Tennessee (31-5) didn't have the answer for top-ranked North Carolina and their speedster guard Ivory Latta, as the Lady Vols went down in defeat, 75-63, in the 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional Championship game on Mar. 28. The Lady Vols were seeking an unprecedented 17th trip to the Final Four while Carolina earned their second visit to the Big Dane with the win. UNC got off to a fast start and the Lady Vols never held a lead in the contest - the closest UT came was a 4-4 tie with 17:11 showing in the first half. UNC starting pulling away at the 10 minute mark going up by eight points, 22-14, about the same time as Tennessee rookie All-American Candace Parker was on the bench with two fouls. UT's Nicky Anosike hit a lay up with 3:57 to go in the opening stanza to cut the margin back to eight, 33-25, but then the wheels fell off. The Big Orange hit a nightmarish two minute stretch and with 2:04 before the break, UNC led by 16 points, 43-27. UT sliced the deficit to a dozen and trailed 43-31 at the half after UNC scored 10 points off of first half Lady Vol miscues. A three-pointer by UT senior Shanna Zolman sliced UNC's lead back to eight with 12:52 to play, 50-42. Six minutes later, another bucket by Zolman reduced the lead to seven, 59-52. The Lady Vols kept chipping away and a Parker lay-up at 5:54 saw UT behind by just five points, 59-54, but Carolina answered with a trey. UT was still fighting when Parker scored on a lay up with 1:42 left and UT down by six, 69-63. Tennessee was forced to foul down the stretch and lost 75-63. "You don't win a basketball game in the first half, but you certainly can lose one," said Pat Summitt, Tennessee's Hall of Fame coach. "We just dug too deep of a hole. We were just trying to get back into the game and they just answered everything. A lot of those plays were huge." Parker led the Lady Vols with 20 points and nine rebounds, despite Carolina's swarming defense of double and triple teams. Sidney Spencer added 13 points and Zolman 11 for Tennessee. Tye'sha Fluker contributed 11 rebounds in her final collegiate game. The Lady Vols held the rebounding margin by one (37-36) and stuffed ten Tar Heel attempts, including five blocks by Anosike.
SYLVIA & PAT GO WAY BACK
UNC head coach Sylvia Rhyne Hatchell cut her coaching teeth in Knoxville as a graduate assistant with the Lady Vols in the mid-70s under coach Pat Head Summitt. Both were graduate assistants at the time - Head Summitt had just been named the head coach and Rhyne Hatchell was in charge of the junior varsity squad. Prior to arriving at Rocky Top, Hatchell was a 1974 cum laude graduate of Carson-Newman College in nearby Jefferson City. After she earned a master's degree in physical education from UT in 1975, she became the head coach at Francis Marion, where she led the Lady Patriots to a 272-80 mark over 11 seasons. In her time at the Florence, S.C., school, she led FMU to the 1982 AIAW small college division national championship and the 1986 squad to the NAIA national title. Combined with her 1994 title with the Tar Heels, she is the only women's basketball coach to lead teams to national titles on the AIAW, NAIA and NCAA Division I levels.
EARLY TENNESSEE DOMINANCE
The Lady Vols claimed the first eight meetings between the schools before UNC took an 82-68 decision in Chapel Hill on Jan. 11, 1986. Since that contest, the UT has won four of the last five.
VERSUS THE RANKED
In #2-ranked North Carolina, the Lady Vols will be taking on their fourth ranked opponent in seven games. UT has recorded wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60), at #11 Arizona State (83-74) and against #11 Stanford (77-60). The game with Tennessee will mark North Carolina's first game against a ranked opponent this season. Next week, UT takes on #21/20-ranked George Washington before final exams.
DUNK YOU VERY MUCH
Forget about Michael Jordan's resounding dunks in Carmichael Auditorium. The ladies are in the house this weekend. Both the Tennessee and North Carolina women have an impressive dunking history. Lady Vol sophomore Candace Parker has already dunked twice this season (both in the first half) -- on Nov. 12, Parker stole the ball from the Chattanooga Lady Mocs, took off for the other end of the court and slammed the rock in with her right hand with 16:02 left in the game as cheers shook the Arena. The rangy soph brought the crowd to their collective feet in Thompson-Boling Arena again recording her first dunk against a ranked opponent throwing one down at the 10:55 mark in the first half against #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Last season, Parker completed the feat twice in UT's 102-54 win over Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2006. Parker dunks followed those of former Lady Vol Michelle Snow. On Nov. 25, 2000, Snow made a two-handed slamming dunk with 10 seconds remaining in the first half of UT's 111-62 victory over 21st-ranked Illinois. The game was the first sporting event ever broadcast by the Oxygen Sports Network and, within 12 minutes, the accomplishment was replayed on ESPN's SportsCenter and was labeled the "Play of the Day" by just about every network, sports program, etc. Snow had two more dunks in her career. For Carolina, former Tar Heel Charlotte Smith had a one-handed stuff against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 4, 1994, a 113-58 UNC win.
SUMMITT CAPTURED ROAD WIN NUMBER 300 AT LA TECH
Lady Vol basketball coach Pat Summitt notched her 300th career victory on the road at Louisiana Tech. Summitt has now fashioned a 300-78 all-time record in hostile arenas - which equates to an amazing 80 percent winning mark on the road in 33 seasons at the helm of the Lady Vols.
CONFERENCE CALL
In addition to the 14-game Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will take on teams from 10 other conferences this season. The Lady Vols will be doing their best impression as members of the Pac-10 and the BIG EAST facing three opponents from each of those conferences. UT will play two foes from the ACC and one each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Colonial, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and WAC.
LEFTOVERS FROM RUSTON
With Tennessee's sloppy 71-50 win over Louisiana Tech, it marked the Lady Vols seventh consecutive victory over the Lady Techsters. The 71 points were the fewest scored by the Lady Vols this season and the 50 points scored by Tech were the fewest of an opponent this season. The UT starting lineup of Cait McMahan, Alexis Hornbuckle, Sidney Spencer, Candace Parker and Nicky Anosike was used for the first time this season. Starting point guard Shannon Bobbitt stayed in Knoxville to take a test. Tennessee's smothering defense forced 10 Lady Techster turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game. The 19 first half turnovers by LTU were the most by a UT opponent this season. UT's halftime lead (+27) was the largest halfway margin since the opening game against Chattanooga (+28). In the bad news department, the smaller Tech squad embarrassed the Lady Vols on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding margin. Individually, Cait McMahan... Got her first career start...Made her first career free throw attempt and earned career-highs in points (7) and rebounds (4)...Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 42. She has made at least one steal in 63 of 70 career games. Her six steals against Tech moved her past Kellie Jolly (177) into 20th place in the UT record books for career steals (180). She had four steals in the first eight minutes of the game in Ruston...Candace Parker... Became the eighth Lady Vol of all time to reach the 100-blocks plateau and she reached it in just 42 games. On the first two offensive plays of the game for LTU, Parker blocked both attempts. Her seven blocks tied her own personal-best, tie for the most by ever by a UT sophomore and vaulted her into seventh place in the UT record books for career blocks (103), past Daedra Charles (97), Vonda Ward (98) and Abby Conklin (102). Also, she scored in double figures for the 20th game in a row, the 39th time in her career...Alberta Auguste...The only Lady Vol in history to hail from the state of Louisiana, she played in Ruston, about five hours (340 miles) from her hometown of Marrero, La. Against the Techsters, and in front of a bunch of family from Marrero, she had a career-high eight steals, five of which came in the first half...Sidney Spencer...The first of four Lady Vols to reach double figures, her 10 points marked her seventh consecutive 10+ point game... Dominique Redding... Spencer's senior sidekick had a career-high 13 points on a career-high six field goals.
CAN THIS TEAM DEFEND THE 3?
Coach Pat Summitt has not been pleased with the Lady Vols' commitment to defending the three-pointer. On the season, UT's opponents have connected on 6.8 treys per game and are shooting at a 43 percent clip of their attempts. Chattanooga recorded a school record 31 attempts from three-point land versus the Lady Vols. MTSU registered 13-26 (50%) from three-point land.
STEALS, STEALS EVERYWHERE
The Pat Summitt mantra of "let your defense start your offense" hasn't fallen on deaf ears with the Lady Vols so far this season. Tennessee already has 93 thefts on the year against quality opposition for an average of 15.5 spg. Alexis Hornbuckle is leading the team individually with over four steals per game.
LADY VOL BITS & PIECES FROM THE MTSU GAME
Tennessee made 10 three-pointers, tying for the 10th most in program history...All 11 Lady Vols saw playing time... Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season and the 19th game in a row dating back to last season and moved into fourth place in career field goal percentage (.462) with her 7-of-9 shooting... Alexis Hornbuckle... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 41 and now has at least one steal in 62 of 69 career games. She moved into a tie for 21st place in the Lady Vol record books with 174 career thefts...Sidney Spencer-Scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, the sixth time in a row dating back to the North Carolina game on March 28, 2006. The streak of six consecutive double-digit scoring outings is the longest of her career. She also made four three-pointers, the most by a Lady Vol this season...Alex Fuller-The first of four Lady Vols to reach double-digits in the game. Her 12 points are a career-high and her two three-pointers tied a career-high...Nicky Anosike-Had a season-high 13 points, marking her 15th career game with a double-digit output. She moved into a tie for 13th place for career blocks (88)...Nicci Moats-Scored her first points at UT.
NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Candace Parker broke Michelle Snow's school record for most dunks in a career in the game with #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker's one-handed slam with 10:55 left in the first half was the fourth of Parker's career and the second of the season. Snow registered three dunks (1998-2002) during her career.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
After opening games shooting at .613 (UTC), .531 (UCLA), .516 (Arizona St.) - UT had its first stinker in the opening 20 minutes making just 13-31 field goals for a season-low .419 shooting percentage in the first half against Stanford ...UT responded with .609 accuracy in the second half (14-23) for the best second half field goal performance of the season...
UT-STANFORD WRAP-UP
All Lady Vols who played scored...UT missed only one free throw, shooting at a 94.7 percent clip... Individually, Candace Parker... Sank her first three-point attempt of the season, recorded her second dunk of the season, her first career dunk against a ranked opponent, Was the first of two Lady Vols to reach double-figures, Eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third straight game and the 13th time in her career, Surpassed 700 points for her career, Recorded five blocks, tying for the 10th-most in a single game by a Lady Vol (She now has 93 for her career, moving past Tiffani Johnson (89) and Cindy Noble (91) into 10th place in the Lady Vol record books); Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 40. She has made at least one steal in 61 of 68 career game; Sidney Spencer... Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, the 31st time in her career.
UT LEADS PAC-10 AT 3-0
The Tennessee Lady Vols have finished their Pac-10 slate with a 3-0 record against three ranked teams in consecutive games. During the stretch of wins over #20/21 UCLA, at #11 Arizona State and #11 Stanford in the last week, UT averaged 81.0 ppg and gave up 64.7 ppg for a 16.3 scoring margin. The Lady Vols shot .528 from the field, .455 from three point land and .760 from the line. UT forced the opposition in an average of 23.0 turnovers per game while coming up with 14.0 steals per contest. Individually, Candace Parker tossed in 24.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and registered two dunks.
FIFTY IS NIFTY
With the victory over Stanford, Tennessee has now claimed 52 victories all-time against teams from the Pac-10. Outside of the Southeastern Conference (365 wins), the Lady Vols have recorded 77 wins over teams from the ACC and 66 victories over BIG EAST Conference schools. The Pac-10 ranks as the fourth most defeated conference by UT.
FIRST MONTH OF THE SEASON: STATE LOVE & PAC-10 EAST
In the first month of the 2006-07 season, the Lady Vols have eight foes scheduled. Three teams hail from the state of Tennessee as the Lady Vols will face Chattanooga (a 102-72 win), Middle Tennessee (an 88-64 win) and Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin (Dec. 5). UT will seem like a member of the Pac-10, eastern division, as the Lady Vols faced three ranked Pac-10 schools in consecutive games: #20/21 UCLA (an 83-60 win), at #11 Arizona State (an 83-74 win ) and #11 Stanford (a 77-60 win). Trips to long-standing rival Louisiana Tech (a 71-50 victory) and #2-ranked North Carolina (Dec. 3) round out the first month of the season.
Candace Parker EARNS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Tennessee sophomore basketball standout Candace Parker was named the SEC Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19) for her performances in wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60) and at #11 Arizona State (83-74). Last season, Parker received the league's Freshman of the Week honor on four occasions, and the Player of the Week award once during her rookie campaign. In two games, Parker averaged 23.5 points and eight rebounds along with four steals and a pair of blocks. In the game against Arizona State, the Naperville, Ill., native picked up her 11th career double-double and first of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 10-of-15 from the field against UCLA and stayed perfect from the line (2-of-2) for 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to earn Philips Player of the Game accolades. The scoring occurrences marked the 35th and 36th double figure games in her 39-game career. The match-ups were also the 10th and 11th game with 20 or more points.
The game wasn’t televised and the Lady Vols trounced UNC 88-65 that February day. Ironically, the game ended the UT-UNC series that started in 1978 and the teams would not meet again until the 1993 NCAA Sweet Sixteen when UT advanced with a 74-54 win.
Fast forward to the present and oh, how times have changed.
Of course, the Lady Vols have added five more NCAA titles since then and numerous SEC championships while remaining a perennial top five team.
North Carolina, on the other hand, is not the team of 1988.
The Tar Heel squad of today is ranked second, was the NCAA runner-up to Atlantic Coast Conference rival Maryland and was the team that prevented UT from going to the Final Four eight months ago with a 75-63 victory at the Cleveland Regional.
When UT (6-0) and UNC (7-0) meet at 8pm tonight before a sell-out crowd of 8,000 plus at Carmichael Auditorium and a ESPN audience in the battle of the unbeatens and the latest version of a potential Final Four showdown, the newborn rivalry will become more intense and Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt is eagerly anticipating the renewal of the series.
“Sylvia Hatchell (UNC head coach and a longtime friend of Summitt’s) approached me about scheduling again.” She said during her weekly teleconference. “She said she needed some time to deal with when she cancelled the series years ago. Obviously she didn’t need much time.”
“I thought it would be appealing for us, for them and for basketball fans, so we decided to do it and got the games scheduled.”
“I’m looking forward to the series with North Carolina.” She continued. “Our game against them last year in the Elite Eight convinced me even more to stick with the series. Any time that there is a program out there that has a chance of being one of the best in the country, I try to schedule them.”
The meeting will be the 15th between the schools with UT holding a decisive 12-2 lead.
The game will also feature a pair of Player of the Year candidates in UT’s Candace
Parker and UNC’s senior point guard Ivory Latta whose team has been winning games by an average of 49 points.
Parker and Latta are leading their teams in scoring (18.8 and 13.4 points per game respectively) and in accolades. Latta was the ESPN’s 2006 Player of the Year and Parker is a contender for the 2007 award having already been named the network’s pre-season winner and also being named the SEC Player of the Week twice to go along with her conference Pre-Season Player of the Year honor.
When Summitt was asked about the Lady Vols’ match-up with the Tar Heels, she said her team will have to be prepared to contend with UNC’s Erlana Larkins and Camille Little as both women are averaging 12 points and eight rebounds per outing.
“Looking at North Carolina, they are very balanced and deep.” She said. “They have great support off the bench with the point guard play (Latta) and with what they have down the middle.”
“Erlana Larkins (6’1” junior forward) was a really tough guard for us last year and Camille Little (6’2” senior forward) can make great plays.”
“They just have great balance and depth.” Summitt added. “Playing them on their home court will be a good challenge for us and just what this team needs.”
“It will be a good measure of how good we are and where we can improve. When we play against a talented team like North Carolina that can expose weakness and challenge us, it will be good for us.”
In their six previous games, the Lady Vols have been winning by an average of 20 points and the trip to Chapel Hill will be just the second road game of the season. Summitt said this game will give her an indication of how her team has progressed at this juncture.
“I think some of the games that we played in were much more one sided, so we don’t expose our weaknesses in games like that.” She said. “It gives us an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and identify where we need to get better. That is why we play the tough opponents that we face.”
UT’s Shannon Bobbitt will return to the starting lineup tonight after missing the Louisiana Tech game due to a class exam. Some observers have noted that the 5’2” Bobbitt can match her 5’6” counterpart Latta on speed and quickness.
UNC’s Hatchell, who is in her 21st season at Chapel Hill, is a graduate of Carson-Newman College and received her Master’s in Physical Education at UT in 1975.
Gameday Data:
The #4-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols (6-0) venture over the Smoky Mountains tonight to face the #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (7-0) at 8 p.m. in a primetime meeting on ESPN in Carmichael Auditorium.
LADY VOLS AT A GLANCE
This is the Lady Vols' 33rd season under Head Coach Pat Summitt...She has compiled a staggering 919-177 overall record... Is just 81 wins away from a staggering 1,000 career victories...Collected her 900th coaching win with a 80-68 decision over #19-ranked Vanderbilt on Jan. 19, 2006... She passed Dean Smith (879 wins) for most NCAA collegiate basketball wins of all-time with a 75-54 victory over Purdue on Mar. 22, 2005 ...Her 2005-06 squad advanced to the NCAA Elite...Finished with a 31-5 overall record and were the SEC Tournament Champions...
This season, UT returned six letterwinners, welcomed a senior manager turned player, two junior college transfers and a pair of rookies...The 2006-07 season marks the Lady Vol debut for former senior manager #10 Elizabeth Curry, JC transfers #00 Shannon Bobbitt and #33 Alberta Auguste...True freshman, #2 Cait McMahan, a 5-4 guard from Maryville, Tenn., and #34 Nicci Moats, a 6-2 forward from Daleville, Va., also see their first action in the Orange and White this season.
THE 4-1-1 ON THE TAR HEELS
The #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are 7-0 on the season after a 103-48 rout of UNC Greensboro on Nov. 30, in their final tune-up before facing #4-ranked Tennessee. In the win, UNC's Camille Little scored 16 points and was one of five Tar Heels in double-figures. She was joined in the scoring parade by LaToya Pringle with 15 points, Jessica Breland adding a dozen, Heather Claytor with 11 points and Christina Dewitt tossing in 10. North Carolina scored more than 100 points for the second time this season after doing it twice all last season, and had its most points since scoring 106 against East Tennessee State on Nov. 24, 2002. Earlier in the week, UNC captured the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 26, with a 94-69 victory over Arkansas in the title game. The trip to the Islands marked the only journey for the Tar Heels outside of the Carolinas until a Jan. 2, 2007, junket to open ACC play at Georgia Tech. UNC's seven victories have come at the expense of East Tennessee (96-35), Winston-Salem State (83-32), Elon (90-36), UNC Greensboro (103-48) - all at home - and Sacramento State (99-38), Gonzaga (101-63) and Arkansas (94-69) in Hawaii.
OUR SCHEDULE THIS WEEK
The Lady Vols have a relatively light schedule this week. UT traveled to Louisiana Tech on Nov. 28 and recorded a sloppy 71-50 win. Tennessee now faces #2-ranked North Carolina on Sun., Dec. 3 in an 8 p.m. ESPN primetime telecast. In the coming week, UT entertains Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 5) and #21/20 George Washington (Dec. 7).
LADY VOLS ON TV
A record 21 Lady Vol regular season games are slated for national/regional television this season. Five non-televised games will be available as streaming video with voice-over from Mickey Dearstone on utladyvols.com. UT is 4-0 on TV this season.
ON THIS DAY
UT is 13-0 in games played on Dec. 3. The Lady Vols are 7-0 at home, 3-0 on the road and 3-0 on neutral courts. The last time out on Dec. 3, the Lady Vols registered a 90-66 victory over Wisconsin in Knoxville in 2000.
LOOKING BACK
Last year at this time, the Lady Vols were 6-0 and had just defeated #16 Texas, 102-61.
PLAYING 12 RANKED TEAMS
Tennessee will play 12 teams in 14 games and five of the nation's top 10 teams ranked in the AP and USA TODAY ESPN polls: 2. North Carolina, 5. Duke, 7. Connecticut, 8. Georgia, 9. LSU, 11. Stanford, 13/12. Arizona St., 14. Vanderbilt, 20/24. Kentucky 21/19. UCLA, 23/21. George Washington, and 25/NR Texas.
BOBBITT EXPECTED TO BE BACK IN THE LINE-UP
UT junior point guard Shannon Bobbitt is expected to be back in the starting line-up against #2-ranked North Carolina. Bobbitt (6.0 ppg, 4.3 apg) missed Tuesday's contest at Louisiana Tech due to a test in one of her classes. Rookie Cait McMahan started in Bobbitt's place in the 71-50 win over the Lady Techsters. McMahan had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 24 minutes.
UT'S OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
In all games, this is how Tennessee has shot from the field: 50%FG: Chattanooga (.579), MTSU (.565), Arizona St. (.548), UCLA (.531), Stanford (.500); 40%FG: Louisiana Tech (.483); 30%FG: none,
DEEE ----- FENSE
In all games, this is how the opposition has shot from the field: 50%FG: none, 40%FG: Arizona St. (.469), Stanford (.456), MTSU (.453), UCLA (.451), Chattanooga (.431), 30%FG: none; 20%FG: Louisiana Tech (.295)
2006-07 WON-LOSS DIFFERENTIAL
Wins: +30 (1), +24 (1), +23 (1), +21 (1), +17 (1), +9 (1), Losses: none
UPCOMING OPPONENT - UT-MARTIN
Lady Vol Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, Tennessee-Martin, rolls into Knoxville on Tues., Dec. 5, for a 7 p.m. meeting with Tennessee. Prior to facing the Lady Vols, the Skyhawks (3-1) will take on the Memphis Lady Tigers on the road. In their last outing, Tennessee-Martin junior Crystal Fuller stepped to the free throw line with 19 seconds left in overtime and drained both free throws to give the Skyhawks a 53-52 victory over Dayton. It was their second consecutive one-point win and their third consecutive one-point decision of the season. Fuller sealed the win with a defensive rebound with 12 seconds left on the clock. She finished the game with 12 rebounds and seven points. UTM sophomore Phyllisha Mitchell and senior Andreika Jackson posted double-doubles for the Skyhawks. Mitchell had 12 rebounds and 15 points, while Jackson had 13 rebounds and 12 points. Dayton stormed back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game at 49-all and send it into overtime. The Skyhawks out rebounded the Flyers, 54-37.
PARKER NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Candace Parker was tabbed the SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 27, after leading her team to victories over #11-ranked Stanford, 77-60 and Middle Tennessee, 88-64. The Naperville, Ill., native averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in the two games. Parker connected on both three-point attempts and made 65 percent of her shots from the field. Additionally, she dished four assists and nabbed six steals in the pair of contests. She also slammed home her second dunk of the 2006-07 season and fourth of her career in the win over the Cardinal. Parker earned the honor for the second time this season.
NORTH CAROLINA NOTEBOOK
The #2-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are 7-0 on the season after a 103-48 rout of UNC Greensboro on Nov. 30, in their final tune-up before facing #4-ranked Tennessee. The Tar Heels had a busy week traveling back to Chapel Hill from Honolulu. UNC captured the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Nov. 26, 2006, with a 94-69 victory over Arkansas in the title game. Tar Heel junior forward Erlana Larkins was named ACC Player of the Week after leading UNC to the title. The trip to the Islands marked the only journey for the Tar Heels outside of the Carolinas until a Jan. 2, 2007, junket to open ACC play at Georgia Tech. UNC's seven victories have come at the expense of East Tennessee (96-35), Winston-Salem State (83-32), Elon (90-36) and UNC Greensboro103-48 - all at home - and Sacramento State (99-38), Gonzaga (101-63) and Arkansas (94-69) in Hawaii. Carolina currently has five players averaging double-figures led by senior guard Ivory Latta with 13.4 ppg, Larkins averaging 12.1 ppg, senior forward Camille Little tossing in 12.0 ppg, 6-3 rookie post Jessica Breland with 11.3 ppg and junior post LaToya Pringle rounding out the double-digit averages with 10.3 ppg.
ALL-TIME SERIES MEETINGS
DATE RANK SITE W/L SCORE
3/9/78 1/nr A20 W 92-66
2/3/79 8/nr H W 95-57
12/1/79 4/nr A W 66-55
1/26/81 7/nr H W 76-72
1/30/82 A W 76-62
11/24/82 4/nr H W 108-65
1/2/84 11/nr A W 75-59
12/7/84 16/nr H W 84-70
1/11/86 11/19 A L 68-82
1/4/87 1/nr H W 87-68
2/25/88 3/nr A W 88-65
3/25/93 2/17 N48 W 74-54
3/23/98 1/7 N83 W 76-70
3/28/06 6/1 N93 L 63-75
UNC SERIES
This marks just the 15th meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1977-78 season. Lady Vol Associate Head Coach Holly Warlick was the starting UT point guard in the first meeting ever between the two schools in the AIAW Region II Championships on Mar. 9, 1978, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Top-ranked Tennessee recorded a 92-66 win. After that meeting, the two teams played in a home-and-home series from 1979-1988. The three most recent match-ups have all come in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT CONTESTS
The 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional Final match-up with North Carolina marked the 14th meeting between the two teams and the third in NCAA play. UNC denied the Lady Vols a trip to the Final Four with a convincing 75-63 decision. Previously, Tennessee topped the Tar Heels, 76-70, in Nashville, Tenn., to advance to the 1998 Final Four on its way to its third consecutive and sixth overall national title. In the 1993 NCAA Tournament, Tennessee defeated UNC, 74-54, in a Mideast Regional Semifinal contest played in Iowa City, Iowa.
VERSUS THE ACC
Tennessee is 77-14 (.864) all-time versus 11 teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference. UT's last match-up with an ACC team came on Mar. 28, 2006, when the Lady Vols were defeated 75-63 by North Carolina. Currently, UT is on a two-game losing streak to the ACC with back-to-back losses to UNC and Duke. Tennessee's last win over an ACC opponent was on Nov. 26, 2005, with a 80-75 victory over #10-ranked Maryland at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The only ACC squad to accumulate four wins over UT is Duke (4-4), while Maryland (UT leads, 10-3) and N.C. State (UT leads, 12-3) have registered three victories. UT has an 11-1 mark vs. Clemson and Virginia and is undefeated against BC (3-0), Florida State (2-0), Georgia Tech (3-0), Virginia Tech (7-0) and Wake Forest (2-0).
TENNESSEE LA TECH
OVERALL RECORD 6-0 7-0
SCORING 84.0 95.1
SCORING DEFENSE 63.3 45.9
POINT MARGIN +20.7 + 49.3
REBOUNDS 35.0 53.7
OPP. REBOUNDS 31.5 29.9
REBOUND MARGIN + 3.5 + 23.9
FG% .535 .496
OPPONENT FG% .422 .285
THREE POINT FG% .481 .373
OPPONENT 3FG% .427 .241
FT% .720 .724
OPPONENT FT% .635 .520
ASSISTS 18.2 20.0
BLOCKS AVERAGE 6.0 7.3
STEALS AVERAGE 15.5 29.7
TURNOVER AVERAGE 17.0 23.6
OUR LAST MEETING
Sixth-ranked Tennessee (31-5) didn't have the answer for top-ranked North Carolina and their speedster guard Ivory Latta, as the Lady Vols went down in defeat, 75-63, in the 2006 NCAA Cleveland Regional Championship game on Mar. 28. The Lady Vols were seeking an unprecedented 17th trip to the Final Four while Carolina earned their second visit to the Big Dane with the win. UNC got off to a fast start and the Lady Vols never held a lead in the contest - the closest UT came was a 4-4 tie with 17:11 showing in the first half. UNC starting pulling away at the 10 minute mark going up by eight points, 22-14, about the same time as Tennessee rookie All-American Candace Parker was on the bench with two fouls. UT's Nicky Anosike hit a lay up with 3:57 to go in the opening stanza to cut the margin back to eight, 33-25, but then the wheels fell off. The Big Orange hit a nightmarish two minute stretch and with 2:04 before the break, UNC led by 16 points, 43-27. UT sliced the deficit to a dozen and trailed 43-31 at the half after UNC scored 10 points off of first half Lady Vol miscues. A three-pointer by UT senior Shanna Zolman sliced UNC's lead back to eight with 12:52 to play, 50-42. Six minutes later, another bucket by Zolman reduced the lead to seven, 59-52. The Lady Vols kept chipping away and a Parker lay-up at 5:54 saw UT behind by just five points, 59-54, but Carolina answered with a trey. UT was still fighting when Parker scored on a lay up with 1:42 left and UT down by six, 69-63. Tennessee was forced to foul down the stretch and lost 75-63. "You don't win a basketball game in the first half, but you certainly can lose one," said Pat Summitt, Tennessee's Hall of Fame coach. "We just dug too deep of a hole. We were just trying to get back into the game and they just answered everything. A lot of those plays were huge." Parker led the Lady Vols with 20 points and nine rebounds, despite Carolina's swarming defense of double and triple teams. Sidney Spencer added 13 points and Zolman 11 for Tennessee. Tye'sha Fluker contributed 11 rebounds in her final collegiate game. The Lady Vols held the rebounding margin by one (37-36) and stuffed ten Tar Heel attempts, including five blocks by Anosike.
SYLVIA & PAT GO WAY BACK
UNC head coach Sylvia Rhyne Hatchell cut her coaching teeth in Knoxville as a graduate assistant with the Lady Vols in the mid-70s under coach Pat Head Summitt. Both were graduate assistants at the time - Head Summitt had just been named the head coach and Rhyne Hatchell was in charge of the junior varsity squad. Prior to arriving at Rocky Top, Hatchell was a 1974 cum laude graduate of Carson-Newman College in nearby Jefferson City. After she earned a master's degree in physical education from UT in 1975, she became the head coach at Francis Marion, where she led the Lady Patriots to a 272-80 mark over 11 seasons. In her time at the Florence, S.C., school, she led FMU to the 1982 AIAW small college division national championship and the 1986 squad to the NAIA national title. Combined with her 1994 title with the Tar Heels, she is the only women's basketball coach to lead teams to national titles on the AIAW, NAIA and NCAA Division I levels.
EARLY TENNESSEE DOMINANCE
The Lady Vols claimed the first eight meetings between the schools before UNC took an 82-68 decision in Chapel Hill on Jan. 11, 1986. Since that contest, the UT has won four of the last five.
VERSUS THE RANKED
In #2-ranked North Carolina, the Lady Vols will be taking on their fourth ranked opponent in seven games. UT has recorded wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60), at #11 Arizona State (83-74) and against #11 Stanford (77-60). The game with Tennessee will mark North Carolina's first game against a ranked opponent this season. Next week, UT takes on #21/20-ranked George Washington before final exams.
DUNK YOU VERY MUCH
Forget about Michael Jordan's resounding dunks in Carmichael Auditorium. The ladies are in the house this weekend. Both the Tennessee and North Carolina women have an impressive dunking history. Lady Vol sophomore Candace Parker has already dunked twice this season (both in the first half) -- on Nov. 12, Parker stole the ball from the Chattanooga Lady Mocs, took off for the other end of the court and slammed the rock in with her right hand with 16:02 left in the game as cheers shook the Arena. The rangy soph brought the crowd to their collective feet in Thompson-Boling Arena again recording her first dunk against a ranked opponent throwing one down at the 10:55 mark in the first half against #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Last season, Parker completed the feat twice in UT's 102-54 win over Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2006. Parker dunks followed those of former Lady Vol Michelle Snow. On Nov. 25, 2000, Snow made a two-handed slamming dunk with 10 seconds remaining in the first half of UT's 111-62 victory over 21st-ranked Illinois. The game was the first sporting event ever broadcast by the Oxygen Sports Network and, within 12 minutes, the accomplishment was replayed on ESPN's SportsCenter and was labeled the "Play of the Day" by just about every network, sports program, etc. Snow had two more dunks in her career. For Carolina, former Tar Heel Charlotte Smith had a one-handed stuff against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 4, 1994, a 113-58 UNC win.
SUMMITT CAPTURED ROAD WIN NUMBER 300 AT LA TECH
Lady Vol basketball coach Pat Summitt notched her 300th career victory on the road at Louisiana Tech. Summitt has now fashioned a 300-78 all-time record in hostile arenas - which equates to an amazing 80 percent winning mark on the road in 33 seasons at the helm of the Lady Vols.
CONFERENCE CALL
In addition to the 14-game Southeastern Conference schedule, Tennessee will take on teams from 10 other conferences this season. The Lady Vols will be doing their best impression as members of the Pac-10 and the BIG EAST facing three opponents from each of those conferences. UT will play two foes from the ACC and one each from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, Colonial, Ohio Valley, Southern, Sun Belt and WAC.
LEFTOVERS FROM RUSTON
With Tennessee's sloppy 71-50 win over Louisiana Tech, it marked the Lady Vols seventh consecutive victory over the Lady Techsters. The 71 points were the fewest scored by the Lady Vols this season and the 50 points scored by Tech were the fewest of an opponent this season. The UT starting lineup of Cait McMahan, Alexis Hornbuckle, Sidney Spencer, Candace Parker and Nicky Anosike was used for the first time this season. Starting point guard Shannon Bobbitt stayed in Knoxville to take a test. Tennessee's smothering defense forced 10 Lady Techster turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game. The 19 first half turnovers by LTU were the most by a UT opponent this season. UT's halftime lead (+27) was the largest halfway margin since the opening game against Chattanooga (+28). In the bad news department, the smaller Tech squad embarrassed the Lady Vols on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding margin. Individually, Cait McMahan... Got her first career start...Made her first career free throw attempt and earned career-highs in points (7) and rebounds (4)...Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 42. She has made at least one steal in 63 of 70 career games. Her six steals against Tech moved her past Kellie Jolly (177) into 20th place in the UT record books for career steals (180). She had four steals in the first eight minutes of the game in Ruston...Candace Parker... Became the eighth Lady Vol of all time to reach the 100-blocks plateau and she reached it in just 42 games. On the first two offensive plays of the game for LTU, Parker blocked both attempts. Her seven blocks tied her own personal-best, tie for the most by ever by a UT sophomore and vaulted her into seventh place in the UT record books for career blocks (103), past Daedra Charles (97), Vonda Ward (98) and Abby Conklin (102). Also, she scored in double figures for the 20th game in a row, the 39th time in her career...Alberta Auguste...The only Lady Vol in history to hail from the state of Louisiana, she played in Ruston, about five hours (340 miles) from her hometown of Marrero, La. Against the Techsters, and in front of a bunch of family from Marrero, she had a career-high eight steals, five of which came in the first half...Sidney Spencer...The first of four Lady Vols to reach double figures, her 10 points marked her seventh consecutive 10+ point game... Dominique Redding... Spencer's senior sidekick had a career-high 13 points on a career-high six field goals.
CAN THIS TEAM DEFEND THE 3?
Coach Pat Summitt has not been pleased with the Lady Vols' commitment to defending the three-pointer. On the season, UT's opponents have connected on 6.8 treys per game and are shooting at a 43 percent clip of their attempts. Chattanooga recorded a school record 31 attempts from three-point land versus the Lady Vols. MTSU registered 13-26 (50%) from three-point land.
STEALS, STEALS EVERYWHERE
The Pat Summitt mantra of "let your defense start your offense" hasn't fallen on deaf ears with the Lady Vols so far this season. Tennessee already has 93 thefts on the year against quality opposition for an average of 15.5 spg. Alexis Hornbuckle is leading the team individually with over four steals per game.
LADY VOL BITS & PIECES FROM THE MTSU GAME
Tennessee made 10 three-pointers, tying for the 10th most in program history...All 11 Lady Vols saw playing time... Candace Parker...Scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season and the 19th game in a row dating back to last season and moved into fourth place in career field goal percentage (.462) with her 7-of-9 shooting... Alexis Hornbuckle... Extended her streak of games with a steal to 41 and now has at least one steal in 62 of 69 career games. She moved into a tie for 21st place in the Lady Vol record books with 174 career thefts...Sidney Spencer-Scored in double figures for the fifth time this season, the sixth time in a row dating back to the North Carolina game on March 28, 2006. The streak of six consecutive double-digit scoring outings is the longest of her career. She also made four three-pointers, the most by a Lady Vol this season...Alex Fuller-The first of four Lady Vols to reach double-digits in the game. Her 12 points are a career-high and her two three-pointers tied a career-high...Nicky Anosike-Had a season-high 13 points, marking her 15th career game with a double-digit output. She moved into a tie for 13th place for career blocks (88)...Nicci Moats-Scored her first points at UT.
NEW SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Candace Parker broke Michelle Snow's school record for most dunks in a career in the game with #11 Stanford on Nov. 24. Parker's one-handed slam with 10:55 left in the first half was the fourth of Parker's career and the second of the season. Snow registered three dunks (1998-2002) during her career.
A TALE OF TWO HALVES
After opening games shooting at .613 (UTC), .531 (UCLA), .516 (Arizona St.) - UT had its first stinker in the opening 20 minutes making just 13-31 field goals for a season-low .419 shooting percentage in the first half against Stanford ...UT responded with .609 accuracy in the second half (14-23) for the best second half field goal performance of the season...
UT-STANFORD WRAP-UP
All Lady Vols who played scored...UT missed only one free throw, shooting at a 94.7 percent clip... Individually, Candace Parker... Sank her first three-point attempt of the season, recorded her second dunk of the season, her first career dunk against a ranked opponent, Was the first of two Lady Vols to reach double-figures, Eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third straight game and the 13th time in her career, Surpassed 700 points for her career, Recorded five blocks, tying for the 10th-most in a single game by a Lady Vol (She now has 93 for her career, moving past Tiffani Johnson (89) and Cindy Noble (91) into 10th place in the Lady Vol record books); Alexis Hornbuckle...Extended her streak of games with a steal to 40. She has made at least one steal in 61 of 68 career game; Sidney Spencer... Scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, the 31st time in her career.
UT LEADS PAC-10 AT 3-0
The Tennessee Lady Vols have finished their Pac-10 slate with a 3-0 record against three ranked teams in consecutive games. During the stretch of wins over #20/21 UCLA, at #11 Arizona State and #11 Stanford in the last week, UT averaged 81.0 ppg and gave up 64.7 ppg for a 16.3 scoring margin. The Lady Vols shot .528 from the field, .455 from three point land and .760 from the line. UT forced the opposition in an average of 23.0 turnovers per game while coming up with 14.0 steals per contest. Individually, Candace Parker tossed in 24.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg and registered two dunks.
FIFTY IS NIFTY
With the victory over Stanford, Tennessee has now claimed 52 victories all-time against teams from the Pac-10. Outside of the Southeastern Conference (365 wins), the Lady Vols have recorded 77 wins over teams from the ACC and 66 victories over BIG EAST Conference schools. The Pac-10 ranks as the fourth most defeated conference by UT.
FIRST MONTH OF THE SEASON: STATE LOVE & PAC-10 EAST
In the first month of the 2006-07 season, the Lady Vols have eight foes scheduled. Three teams hail from the state of Tennessee as the Lady Vols will face Chattanooga (a 102-72 win), Middle Tennessee (an 88-64 win) and Coach Pat Summitt's alma mater, UT-Martin (Dec. 5). UT will seem like a member of the Pac-10, eastern division, as the Lady Vols faced three ranked Pac-10 schools in consecutive games: #20/21 UCLA (an 83-60 win), at #11 Arizona State (an 83-74 win ) and #11 Stanford (a 77-60 win). Trips to long-standing rival Louisiana Tech (a 71-50 victory) and #2-ranked North Carolina (Dec. 3) round out the first month of the season.
Candace Parker EARNS SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Tennessee sophomore basketball standout Candace Parker was named the SEC Player of the Week (Nov. 13-19) for her performances in wins over #20/21 UCLA (83-60) and at #11 Arizona State (83-74). Last season, Parker received the league's Freshman of the Week honor on four occasions, and the Player of the Week award once during her rookie campaign. In two games, Parker averaged 23.5 points and eight rebounds along with four steals and a pair of blocks. In the game against Arizona State, the Naperville, Ill., native picked up her 11th career double-double and first of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. She shot 10-of-15 from the field against UCLA and stayed perfect from the line (2-of-2) for 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to earn Philips Player of the Game accolades. The scoring occurrences marked the 35th and 36th double figure games in her 39-game career. The match-ups were also the 10th and 11th game with 20 or more points.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Two of the country's top teams to clash Sunday
The last time North Carolina and Tennessee clashed, a trip to the Final Four was on the line.
The future of the season is hardly at stake when the second-ranked Tar Heels (7-0) play host to the No. 4 Lady Vols (6-0) on Sunday (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). But the game will mark the first loss of 2006-07 for one of them -- and undoubtedly some shuffling in the polls.
A look at some big questions heading into the matchup, which should mark the best nonconference game of the season so far (Tennessee leads the all-time series 12-2):
Is anyone playing better than Tennessee's Candace Parker right now? And how should UNC defend her?
No one is playing better than Parker, whose overall game and confidence are at an all-time high. She's averaging 18.8 points on 58 percent shooting from the field, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists in 26.3 minutes per game.
No one has been able to stop her this season. However, unlike some teams, UNC has the athletes to play against Parker, or at least deter her. To do that, the long and athletic Tar Heels constantly must give Parker different defensive looks -- play behind her, in front of her, run big players at her, run small players at her, throw a double-team on her every once in awhile.
UNC must keep Parker off balance and make her a facilitator with the basketball -- not a finisher. The Tar Heels must force Parker to make decisions and not let her have her way offensively.
UNC's frenetic pace and running ability are also an advantage. The Tar Heels are essentially a full-court team, and they should use that to try to force Tennessee's other players to beat them.
When UNC beat Tennessee 75-63 in last season's Cleveland Regional final, Parker put up impressive numbers (20 points, nine rebounds). But Parker -- who was saddled with two fouls just 4:33 into the first half of that game -- also had eight turnovers. She's more mature and experienced now, but the Tar Heels' swarming defense can be tough on anyone.
How should Tennessee defend UNC senior Ivory Latta?
In that last meeting, Latta was incredible, tallying 20 points, nine assists and four steals in 40 minutes. The 5-foot-6 All-American point guard scored nine of UNC's final 11 points, including six straight free throws in the final 56.1 seconds.
Simply, Tennessee really didn't have anyone to guard her. Now, however, Tennessee's Shannon Bobbitt is at least as quick as Latta. Plus, she has the added advantage of being a junior (Bobbitt is a junior college transfer), so experience should not be a factor here.
Bobbitt must focus on preventing Latta from penetrating and force her side-to-side. If Latta can get to the rim and break down Tennessee's interior defense, that means she's either scoring on high-percentage shots, going to the foul line or driving and dishing to her teammates for the open shot.
This season, Latta -- who like Parker is a national player of the year candidate (both were named Kodak All-Americans last season) -- is averaging a team-high 14.2 ppg, shooting 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range (15-for-37), while also tallying averages of 3.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Which team has the better frontcourt?
The Tar Heels are big and strong and more experienced inside -- and aside from Latta, get most of their scoring from their forwards.
Junior Erlana Larkins (12.1 ppg) and senior Camille Little (12.0 ppg) lead the way, ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring. But freshman Jessica Breland (11.3 ppg) and junior LaToya Pringle (10.3 ppg) give UNC five players averaging double figures. Plus, sophomore starter Rashanda McCants, a 6-1 forward, adds 9.6 points per game. Larkins is shooting 63 percent from the field, while Breland is hitting 65 percent and Pringle 57 percent.
"Erlana Larkins was a really tough guard for us last year, and Camille Little can make great plays," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said in her weekly teleconference. "They just have great balance and depth."
Granted, the Tar Heels haven't played anyone significant -- their "closest" win was by 25 points, and their average margin of victory so far is 49 points. But through seven games, UNC is averaging almost 54 rebounds with a plus-23.8 rebounding margin.
Still, Parker is the X-factor here; how much time will the versatile All-American spend in the paint?
Also, Tennessee's frontcourt has a slight size advantage. While Breland, who comes off the bench, and Pringle are two of UNC's tallest players at 6-3, Tennessee's Nicky Anosike (8.2 ppg) is 6-4 and Sidney Spencer (13.2 ppg, 67 percent from 3-point range) and Alex Fuller (9.0 ppg) are each 6-3.
The Lady Vols, who have beaten three ranked teams from the Pac-10 (UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford),are averaging 35 rebounds.
The battle in the paint should just be a great athletic matchup.
Tennessee will win if … ?
… the Lady Vols have few turnovers and can outrebound North Carolina.
This is also a game in which Tennessee's Alexis Hornbuckle will look to step up and pay good ball. She needs to make some big plays.
Summitt said getting off to a fast start is also key.
"I'm very hopeful that we handle their pressure better; I think we're better equipped in the backcourt with our guard play this year," Summitt said. "I thought that was a big difference in the game, matching their intensity and taking care of the ball better. Last year we turned it over way too much early on. … I have to believe that as a basketball team we're more skilled and experienced (now)."
UNC will win if … ?
… the Tar Heels continue to get balanced scoring, can create some turnovers from their defense and push tempo.
What does this game mean to the top-25 rankings?
Regardless of which team loses, neither should fall more than two or three spots in the polls. UNC is still regarded as a Final Four team, and we think Tennessee has that potential, too.
Tennessee might have more to gain, at least in the rankings. Should the Lady Vols "upset" the Tar Heels, Tennessee likely would jump past UNC to third -- which means Oklahoma would move from third to No. 2. But it's only early December, and these polls won't mean anything come March.
The future of the season is hardly at stake when the second-ranked Tar Heels (7-0) play host to the No. 4 Lady Vols (6-0) on Sunday (ESPN, 8 p.m. ET). But the game will mark the first loss of 2006-07 for one of them -- and undoubtedly some shuffling in the polls.
A look at some big questions heading into the matchup, which should mark the best nonconference game of the season so far (Tennessee leads the all-time series 12-2):
Is anyone playing better than Tennessee's Candace Parker right now? And how should UNC defend her?
No one is playing better than Parker, whose overall game and confidence are at an all-time high. She's averaging 18.8 points on 58 percent shooting from the field, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists in 26.3 minutes per game.
No one has been able to stop her this season. However, unlike some teams, UNC has the athletes to play against Parker, or at least deter her. To do that, the long and athletic Tar Heels constantly must give Parker different defensive looks -- play behind her, in front of her, run big players at her, run small players at her, throw a double-team on her every once in awhile.
UNC must keep Parker off balance and make her a facilitator with the basketball -- not a finisher. The Tar Heels must force Parker to make decisions and not let her have her way offensively.
UNC's frenetic pace and running ability are also an advantage. The Tar Heels are essentially a full-court team, and they should use that to try to force Tennessee's other players to beat them.
When UNC beat Tennessee 75-63 in last season's Cleveland Regional final, Parker put up impressive numbers (20 points, nine rebounds). But Parker -- who was saddled with two fouls just 4:33 into the first half of that game -- also had eight turnovers. She's more mature and experienced now, but the Tar Heels' swarming defense can be tough on anyone.
How should Tennessee defend UNC senior Ivory Latta?
In that last meeting, Latta was incredible, tallying 20 points, nine assists and four steals in 40 minutes. The 5-foot-6 All-American point guard scored nine of UNC's final 11 points, including six straight free throws in the final 56.1 seconds.
Simply, Tennessee really didn't have anyone to guard her. Now, however, Tennessee's Shannon Bobbitt is at least as quick as Latta. Plus, she has the added advantage of being a junior (Bobbitt is a junior college transfer), so experience should not be a factor here.
Bobbitt must focus on preventing Latta from penetrating and force her side-to-side. If Latta can get to the rim and break down Tennessee's interior defense, that means she's either scoring on high-percentage shots, going to the foul line or driving and dishing to her teammates for the open shot.
This season, Latta -- who like Parker is a national player of the year candidate (both were named Kodak All-Americans last season) -- is averaging a team-high 14.2 ppg, shooting 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range (15-for-37), while also tallying averages of 3.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
Which team has the better frontcourt?
The Tar Heels are big and strong and more experienced inside -- and aside from Latta, get most of their scoring from their forwards.
Junior Erlana Larkins (12.1 ppg) and senior Camille Little (12.0 ppg) lead the way, ranking second and third, respectively, in scoring. But freshman Jessica Breland (11.3 ppg) and junior LaToya Pringle (10.3 ppg) give UNC five players averaging double figures. Plus, sophomore starter Rashanda McCants, a 6-1 forward, adds 9.6 points per game. Larkins is shooting 63 percent from the field, while Breland is hitting 65 percent and Pringle 57 percent.
"Erlana Larkins was a really tough guard for us last year, and Camille Little can make great plays," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said in her weekly teleconference. "They just have great balance and depth."
Granted, the Tar Heels haven't played anyone significant -- their "closest" win was by 25 points, and their average margin of victory so far is 49 points. But through seven games, UNC is averaging almost 54 rebounds with a plus-23.8 rebounding margin.
Still, Parker is the X-factor here; how much time will the versatile All-American spend in the paint?
Also, Tennessee's frontcourt has a slight size advantage. While Breland, who comes off the bench, and Pringle are two of UNC's tallest players at 6-3, Tennessee's Nicky Anosike (8.2 ppg) is 6-4 and Sidney Spencer (13.2 ppg, 67 percent from 3-point range) and Alex Fuller (9.0 ppg) are each 6-3.
The Lady Vols, who have beaten three ranked teams from the Pac-10 (UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford),are averaging 35 rebounds.
The battle in the paint should just be a great athletic matchup.
Tennessee will win if … ?
… the Lady Vols have few turnovers and can outrebound North Carolina.
This is also a game in which Tennessee's Alexis Hornbuckle will look to step up and pay good ball. She needs to make some big plays.
Summitt said getting off to a fast start is also key.
"I'm very hopeful that we handle their pressure better; I think we're better equipped in the backcourt with our guard play this year," Summitt said. "I thought that was a big difference in the game, matching their intensity and taking care of the ball better. Last year we turned it over way too much early on. … I have to believe that as a basketball team we're more skilled and experienced (now)."
UNC will win if … ?
… the Tar Heels continue to get balanced scoring, can create some turnovers from their defense and push tempo.
What does this game mean to the top-25 rankings?
Regardless of which team loses, neither should fall more than two or three spots in the polls. UNC is still regarded as a Final Four team, and we think Tennessee has that potential, too.
Tennessee might have more to gain, at least in the rankings. Should the Lady Vols "upset" the Tar Heels, Tennessee likely would jump past UNC to third -- which means Oklahoma would move from third to No. 2. But it's only early December, and these polls won't mean anything come March.
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