Tennessee Women's Basketball Game Notes vs. Texas A&M (1/8/15)
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2012-13 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS EIGHT-TIME NCAA CHAMPS 1987 1989 1991 1996 1997 1998 2007 2008 34 COMBINED SEC REGULAR SEASON & TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS » 18 NCAA FINAL FOURS » 21 WBCA ALL-AMERICANS » 15 WNBA 1ST-ROUND PICKS 2014-15 » SCHEDULE & RECORD THE RECORD OVERALL RECORD: 12-2 SEC 2-0 NON-CONFERENCE 10-2 HOME 9-0 AWAY 3-2 NEUTRAL 0-0 THE SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT (TV/WEB) TIME/RESULT NOV. 9 CARSON-NEWMAN ^ (SECN+) W, 90-57 (Exhib.) NOV. 14 PENN (SECN+) W, 97-52 NOV. 17 ORAL ROBERTS (SECN+) W, 91-39 NOV. 21 WINTHROP (SECN+) W, 81-48 NOV. 24 TENNESSEE ST. (SECN+) W, 97-46 Nov. 26 at Chattanooga (SoCon Digital Network) L, 63-67 Nov. 30 at #6/9 Texas (FOX Sports 1) L, 59-72 DEC. 3 SAINT FRANCIS (SECN+) W, 111-44 Dec. 7 at Lipscomb (ESPN3) W, 85-51 Dec. 14 at #17/19 Rutgers (ESPN2) W, 55-45 DEC. 16 WICHITA STATE (SEC NETWORK) W, 54-51 DEC. 20 #7/7 STANFORD (SEC NETWORK) W, 59-40 DEC. 28 #10/12 OREGON ST. (SEC NETWORK) W, 74-63 JAN. 2 MISSOURI * (SEC NETWORK) W, 63-53 Jan. 5 at Vanderbilt * (SEC Network) W, 57-49 JAN. 8 #9/8 TEXAS A&M * (SEC NETWORK) 7 P.M. Jan. 11 at #RV/NR Arkansas * (ESPNU) 3 p.m. Jan. 15 at Auburn * (Fox Sports Net) 8 p.m. Jan. 19 at Notre Dame (ESPN2) 7 p.m. JAN. 22 LSU * (SEC NETWORK) 7 P.M. JAN. 25 GEORGIA * (SEC NETWORK) 2 P.M. Jan. 29 at Kentucky * (SEC Network) 7 p.m. FEB. 1 MISSISSIPPI ST. * (SEC NETWORK) 3 P.M. Feb. 8 at Florida * (ESPNU) 2 p.m. Feb. 12 at Ole Miss * (SECN+) 7 p.m. FEB. 15 KENTUCKY * (ESPN2) 3 P.M. FEB. 19 ALABAMA * (FOX SPORTS NET) 7 P.M. Feb. 23 at South Carolina * (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Feb. 26 at Georgia * (SEC Network) 9 p.m. MAR. 1 VANDERBILT * (SEC NETWORK) 5 P.M. Mar. 4-8 SEC Tournament (TBA) TBA Mar. 20-23 NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds (TBA) TBA Mar. 27-30 NCAA Regionals (TBA) TBA Apr. 5 & 7 NCAA Final Four (TBA) TBA ^ Exhibition Game, * SEC Game, All Times Eastern 2014-15 RECORD 12-2/2-0 SEC Preseason Rank: #4/4 2013-14 Record: 29-6 Conf. Rec./Finish: 13-3/2nd Starters Back/Lost: 4/1 Letterwinners Back/Lost: 8/1 Newcomers: 5 2014-15 RECORD 14-2/2-0 SEC Preseason Rank: #5/5 2013-14 Record: 27-9 Conf. Rec./Finish: 13-3/t2nd Starters Back/Lost: 4/1 Letterwinners Back/Lost: 6/2 Newcomers: 3 THE MATCHUP TENNESSEE TEXAS A&M vs THE BASICS #7/9 TENNESSEE LADY VOLS (12-2/2-0) vs. #9/8 TEXAS A&M AGGIES (14-2/2-0) JAN. 8 » THOMPSON-BOLING ARENA » KNOXVILLE, TENN. ON THE AIR TELEVISION SEC Network Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) Carolyn Peck (analyst) Steffi Sorensen (sideline) ONLINE WatchESPN Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) Carolyn Peck (analyst) Steffi Sorensen (sideline) RADIO Lady Vol Network Mickey Dearstone (play-by-play) GAME 15 SET-UP #7/9 Tennessee (12-2, 2-0 SEC) plays host to another undefeated team in league play, as #9/8 Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0 SEC) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a Thursday night showdown at 7 p.m. ET. This is the seventh meeting between these schools, with UT holding a 5-1 record in the series and a 1-0 mark in Knoxville. The game will be televised on the SEC Network, with Paul Sunderland and Carolyn Peck on hand to call the action and Steffi So- rensen providing sideline reports. The contest also can be seen online via WatchESPN. A “Watch Live” link can be found on the Lady Vol Hoops Central page on UTSports.com. Mickey Dearstone’s Lady Vol Network call can be heard on the radio on network sta- tions statewide in Tennessee and via audio stream worldwide on UTSports.com. The Lady Vols bring an eight-game win- ning streak into Thursday night’s match-up after going on the road and securing a 57- 49 win over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym on Monday night. Tennessee has not lost since dropping back-to-back road games at Chattanooga (67-63) on Nov. 26 and #6/9 Texas (72-59) on Nov. 30. Tennessee has been victorious in 13 straight games at Thompson-Boling Arena, including nine in a row this season. The Lady Vols also have won nine-con- secutive contests over SEC opponents, dat- ing back to last season. Texas A&M brings its own streak into Thursday’s tussle with Tennessee, winning its last three after dropping back-to-back con- tests vs. #3/3 Texas (67-65) and Washington (70-49) on Dec. 21 and 29, respectively. On Sunday, the Aggies went on the road to Arkansas and escaped with a narrow, 52- 50 victory over the Razorbacks to remain un- scathed in league play at 2-0. Prior to that, A&M defeated UT’s last op- ponent, Vanderbilt, at home on Jan. 2, 75-61. ANOTHER TOP-10 FOE FOR UT Tennessee will face its fourth top-10 op- ponent of the season when #9/8 Texas A&M comes to town. UT is 2-1 vs. top-10 foes this season, in- cluding 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road. The Lady Vols defeated #7/7 Stanford and #10/12 Oregon State at home on Dec. 20 (59-40) and Dec. 28 (74-63) and fell to #6/9 Texas on the road (72-59) on Nov. 30 while Isabelle Harrison was out with a knee injury. WHAT’S THE PROMOTION? The Texas A&M game is part of the Coke SEC 5-Pack, which includes the five marquee STATISTICAL LEADERS SCORING #5 Ariel Massengale (11.8 ppg) REBOUNDING #20 Isabelle Harrison (8.3 rpg.) ASSISTS #0 Jordan Reynolds (2.8 apg.) STEALS #14 Andraya Carter (2.8 spg.) BLOCKS #20 Isabelle Harrison (1.2 bpg.) SCORING #33 Courtney Walker #1 Courtney Williams (14.6 ppg.) REBOUNDING #35 Achiri Ade (8.0 rpg.) ASSISTS #24 Jordan Jones (6.8 apg.) STEALS #24 Jordan Jones (1.9 spg.) BLOCKS #23 Rachel Mitchell (1.3 bpg.) INSIDE THE SERIES Overall: UT, 5-1 Home: UT, 1-0 Away: UT, 1-0 Neutral: UT, 3-1 Postseason: UT, 2-1 Overtime: N/A Streak: UT, 2 games Last Meeting: #6/6 UT def. #15/14 Texas A&M in the SEC tourney semifinals, 86-77, on March 8, 2014. All-Time Record: 1,259-281 in 70th season @LadyVol_Hoops utsports.com STAY UPDATED www.facebook.com/ BallWithTheLadyVols
Transcript
2012-13 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
WatchESPN Paul Sunderland (play-by-play) Carolyn Peck (analyst) Steffi Sorensen (sideline)
RADIO
Lady Vol Network Mickey Dearstone (play-by-play)
GAME 15 SET-UP #7/9 Tennessee (12-2, 2-0 SEC) plays host
to another undefeated team in league play, as #9/8 Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0 SEC) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a Thursday night showdown at 7 p.m. ET. This is the seventh meeting between
these schools, with UT holding a 5-1 record in the series and a 1-0 mark in Knoxville. The game will be televised on the SEC
Network, with Paul Sunderland and Carolyn Peck on hand to call the action and Steffi So-rensen providing sideline reports. The contest also can be seen online via
WatchESPN. A “Watch Live” link can be found on the Lady Vol Hoops Central page on UTSports.com. Mickey Dearstone’s Lady Vol Network call
can be heard on the radio on network sta-tions statewide in Tennessee and via audio stream worldwide on UTSports.com. The Lady Vols bring an eight-game win-
ning streak into Thursday night’s match-up after going on the road and securing a 57-49 win over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym on Monday night. Tennessee has not lost since dropping
back-to-back road games at Chattanooga (67-63) on Nov. 26 and #6/9 Texas (72-59) on Nov. 30. Tennessee has been victorious in 13
straight games at Thompson-Boling Arena, including nine in a row this season. The Lady Vols also have won nine-con-
secutive contests over SEC opponents, dat-ing back to last season. Texas A&M brings its own streak into
Thursday’s tussle with Tennessee, winning its last three after dropping back-to-back con-tests vs. #3/3 Texas (67-65) and Washington (70-49) on Dec. 21 and 29, respectively. On Sunday, the Aggies went on the road
to Arkansas and escaped with a narrow, 52-50 victory over the Razorbacks to remain un-scathed in league play at 2-0. Prior to that, A&M defeated UT’s last op-
ponent, Vanderbilt, at home on Jan. 2, 75-61.
ANOTHER TOP-10 FOE FOR UT Tennessee will face its fourth top-10 op-
ponent of the season when #9/8 Texas A&M comes to town. UT is 2-1 vs. top-10 foes this season, in-
cluding 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road. The Lady Vols defeated #7/7 Stanford
and #10/12 Oregon State at home on Dec. 20 (59-40) and Dec. 28 (74-63) and fell to #6/9 Texas on the road (72-59) on Nov. 30 while Isabelle Harrison was out with a knee injury.
WHAT’S THE PROMOTION? The Texas A&M game is part of the Coke
SEC 5-Pack, which includes the fi ve marquee
STATISTICAL LEADERS
SCORING#5 Ariel Massengale(11.8 ppg)
REBOUNDING#20 Isabelle Harrison(8.3 rpg.)
ASSISTS#0 Jordan Reynolds(2.8 apg.)
STEALS#14 Andraya Carter(2.8 spg.)
BLOCKS#20 Isabelle Harrison(1.2 bpg.)
SCORING#33 Courtney Walker#1 Courtney Williams(14.6 ppg.)
Last Meeting: #6/6 UT def. #15/14 Texas A&M in the SEC tourney semifinals, 86-77, on March 8, 2014.
All-Time Record: 1,259-281 in 70th season
@LadyVol_Hoops
utsports.com
STAY UPDATED
www.facebook .com/BallWithTheLadyVols
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
MEDIA INFORMATION
COVERING PRACTICEPlease contact Eric Trainer at the
Media Relations Offi ce at least a week in advance to arrange player or coach feature interviews. If you plan to cover a scheduled open practice session, please contact UT Media Relations Offi ce check about changes in the schedule.
PLAYER AND COACH INTERVIEWSMedia wishing to interview coaches
or players are encouraged to set up interviews in advance with the UT Media Relations Offi ce. Generally, the best time to conduct an interview is during a designated day with an open portion of practice and pre-practice media opportunity. The UT Media Relations Offi ce will help with all requests.
MEDIA CREDENTIALSMedia outlets interested in obtaining
credentials to cover Lady Vol basketball home games must apply for those online via Sports Systems. To apply, please visit: http://www.sportssystems.com/seccredentials. Applications for single-game credentials should be submitted fi ve days prior to a game. Once you receive your approval letter via email, you will be provided options for credential pick-up.
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDENTIALSCredentials will be issued only to
accredited photographers or those individuals on special assignment. During regular season games, work area includes the fl oor area at both ends of the court and alongside the corners of the playing fl oor opposite the team benches. Special arrangements for strobes or catwalk access must be made through the UT Media Relations and Arena Management Offi ces no later than one week in advance of the game. UT’s arena security policy requires that all photographers placing strobes will go through a screening process and must be accompanied by a UT police offi cer or representative when placing strobes.
MEDIA RELATIONS INFORMATIONLocation: Anderson Training Center, Ground LevelPhone: (865) 974-1212Fax: (865) 974-9496Mailing Address: P.O. Box 15016 Knox-ville, TN 37901Shipping Address: 1551 Lake Loudoun Blvd., Anderson Training Center, Knoxville, TN 37996-3110Thompson-Boling Arena Press Row: (865) 974-0110Arena Ticket Offi ce: (865) 656-HOOP
TENNESSEE ROSTERNo. Name Pos. Ht. Class Hometown/Previous School
0 Jordan Reynolds 5-11 G SO Portland, Ore./Central Catholic H.S.1 Nia Moore 6-3 C JR Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.
2 Jasmine Jones 6-2 F JR Madison, Ala./Bob Jones H.S. 4 Jannah Tucker 6-0 G R-FR Baltimore, Md./New Town H.S. 5 Ariel Massengale 5-7 PG SR Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.10 Diamond DeShields 6-1 G SO Norcross, Ga./Norcross H.S.11 Cierra Burdick 6-2 F SR Charlotte, N.C./Butler H.S.12 Bashaara Graves 6-2 F JR Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville H.S.13 Kortney Dunbar 6-2 G/F FR Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville H.S.14 Andraya Carter 5-9 G R-SO Flowery Branch, Ga./Buford H.S.20 Isabelle Harrison 6-3 C SR Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro H.S.21 Mercedes Russell 6-6 C SO Springfi eld, Ore./Springfi eld H.S.31 Jaime Nared 6-2 G/F FR Portland, Ore./West View H.S.33 Alexa Middleton 5-9 G FR Murfreesboro, Tenn./Riverdale H.S.
COACHING STAFFHead Coach Holly Warlick Record at Tennessee (Years) 68-16Overall Record Same
Assistant Coach Kyra ElzyAssistant Coach Jolette Law Assistant Coach Dean LockwoodDirector of Basketball Operations Michael BeaumontAssistant to the Head Coach Janet McGeeVideo Coordinator Josh Boucher Strength & Conditioning Coach Lee Taylor
Eric Trainer Associate Media Relations Director Cell: 865.603.2916 Offi ce: 865.974.8173 Email: [email protected] Butler Graduate Assistant Cell: 623.399.7240 Offi ce: 865.974.1294 Email: [email protected]
2014-15 TENNESSEE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACTS
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
BY THE NUMBERS
» Tennessee has a perfect 9-0 re-cord at home this season and has won the last 13 games played in the friendly confines of Thomp-son-Boling Arena.
17.5» After averaging 6.0 points per contest in the pre-conference schedule, sophomore guard Andraya Carter is averaging 17.5 ppg. since SEC play began.
500» Entering the game at 499-76, Tennessee is one victory shy of winning its 500th all-time game against a Southeastern Confer-ence opponent.
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SEC games: Texas A&M, LSU (We Back Pat), Georgia, Kentucky (Live Pink) & Vandy (Se-nior Day). Tickets are available on uttix.com. The fi rst 2,000 fans receive a 2015 Lady
Vol Basketball calendar. The fi rst 250 students receive a 2015
Lady Vol Basketball calendar. The fi rst 200 students receive a $8 con-
cession voucher for free food and drink. The postgame Autograph Player is
Bashaara Graves.
A WIN WOULD... Lift the UT program’s all-time record to
1,260-281 in its 70th season. Improve UT to 6-1 all-time vs. Texas A&M,
including 2-0 in Knoxville. Improve Holly Warlick’s record as head
coach to 69-16 overall and 41-5 in Knoxville. She is 28-11 on the road. Give Warlick her 900th win in 30 years
as a member of the UT coaching staff . Push Warlick’s record vs. SEC foes to 30-5
during the regular season and 34-6 overall. Boost the Lady Vols’ mark to 500-76 vs.
SEC schools, including 347-49 in the regular season. Extend the Big Orange’s current win
streak to nine games, and give Tennessee its 10th-straight win over an SEC opponent. Raise the Tennessee seniors’ career re-
cord to 96-25, including 4-1 overall vs. the Aggies and 2-0 in Knoxville.
THE SERIES VS. TEXAS A&M Tennessee holds a 5-1 all-time record vs.
Texas A&M, dating back to Dec. 19, 1997. UT is 1-0 in Knoxville, 1-0 in College Sta-
tion and 3-1 at neutral sites vs. the Aggies. The Big Orange women are 3-1 vs. A&M
since the Aggies joined the SEC. In the initial meeting between these
teams in Knoxville, on Feb. 28, 2013, Ten-nessee defeated A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give Holly Warlick an SEC regular-season championship on the Lady Vols’ home court
in her fi rst season as head coach. Her squad had been picked to fi nish as low as fi fth. Isabelle Harrison had 10 points and four
boards in that regular season game before being injured late in the contest and missing the second meeting that season at the 2013 SEC Tournament in Duluth, Ga. The Aggies won that second match-up
vs. UT in 2013, overcoming Taber Spani’s ca-reer-high 33 points to topple Tennessee and advance to the SEC title game via a 66-62 triumph. Tennessee made its fi rst-ever women’s
basketball appearance in College Station last season on Jan. 26, 2014, and the (then) #11/12 Lady Vols picked up a key victory over the (then) #17/15 Aggies, 76-55. A&M was the SEC leader at the time of that defeat. That game marked Andraya Carter’s fi rst
start in place of Ariel Massengale, who suf-fered a head injury vs. Florida the game be-fore and would wind up missing the rest of the season. Carter stepped up in a big way for her
team, playing all 40 minutes and tallying 10 points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals. She credited Massengale for showing her the ropes and having her ready to play. Meighan Simmons also had a phenom-
enal game in her fi nal trip to Texas as a Lady Vol last season, hitting 12 of 19 shots and scoring 26 points in 39 minutes. As in 2013, UT would meet A&M again in
2014, this time completing a season sweep in the SEC tourney semifi nals with an 86-77 score in Duluth, Ga. UT overcame a 10-point defi cit, with Isa-
belle Harrison posting a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the way. UT has met A&M in other tournaments,
including one regular-season and one post-season event. After both of those tourney wins over the
Aggies, the Lady Vols would advance to, and win, the NCAA Final Four in those seasons of 1997-98 and 2007-08.
In the fi rst meeting, the #1/1 Lady Vols rolled to a 105-81 victory over the Aggies at the Northern Lights Invitational in Alaska in game two of a three-game stay. The famed “Three Meeks” dazzled #8/9
A&M in that contest, as Chamique Hold-sclaw tallied 29, Semeka Randall tossed in 23 and Tamika Catchings added a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for #1/1 UT in the high-scoring aff air. In 2008, Candace Parker scored 26
points and Alexis Hornbuckle chipped in 14, as the Lady Vols defeated Texas A&M, 53-45, in the Oklahoma City Regional Final to advance to the Final Four in Tampa.
TEXAS A&M UT LEADS, 5-112/19/1997 1/nr 1/nr N81 W 105-814/1/2008 3/8 3/9 N125 W 53-452/28/2013 8/13 8/15 H W 82-723/9/2013 9/19 9/19 N119 L 62-661/26/2014 11/17 12/15 A W 76-553/8/2014 6/15 6/14 N119 W 86-77
ABOUT THE AGGIES Like Tennessee (#4/4), the Aggies
(#5/5) were a top-5 preseason pick in both major polls. A&M was the No. 3 pick in the SEC Pre-
season Polls by the media and coaches, while UT was No. 2 Texas A&M is led by a dynamic duo
of Courtneys, including 5-8 junior guard Courtney Walker and 6-1 junior forward/guard Courtney Williams, who each aver-age 14.6 points per contest. Williams is putting up 20.0 ppg. in
her fi rst two SEC games this season and is shooting 55.2% from the fi eld, including 60.0% (3-5) on threes. Achiri Ade, a 6-1 senior forward, has
stepped up her game during SEC play, averging a double-double of 10.0 and 13.0 rebounds. Junior guard Jordan Jones is A&M’s
best defender and ballhandler, dishing out 6.8 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. She is averaging 10.5 assists per game in SEC action. Walker was a fi rst-team All-SEC selection
and an honorable mention All-American a year ago, while Williams was a second-team All-SEC choice and Jones was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team and was the coaches’ choice for SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The Aggies are led by Gary Blair, who is
686-274 overall in his 30th season and 278-111 in his 12th year at Texas A&M.
THE LAST TIME WE MET For the second game in a row, Ten-
nessee rallied from a double-digit fi rst half defi cit to come back for a victory in the SEC Tournament. On March 28, 2014, the sec-ond-seeded Lady Vols trailed by as many as 10 but came away with an 86-77 victory over third-seeded Texas A&M at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
* - Averages are from 2013-14 # - Averages from 2013-14 season at North Carolina
A LOOK AT THE LADY VOL LINEUP(Based On Last Game)
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Tennessee held Vanderbilt to 33.3 from the fl oor and outrebounded the Commo-dores 39-27. Vanderbilt was led by Christa Reed’s 13
points. The Lady Vols led by double fi gures for
most of the second half. They took a lead as large as 15 on Massengale’s 3-pointer with 14:40 left in the game, 35-20. Vanderbilt crept within seven points on a
3-pointer by Rebekah Dahlman with 1:13 left in the contest, cutting their defi cit to 50-43. Carter made fi ve free throws in the fi nal
1:01 while the Commodores connected on three 3-pointers in the fi nal minutes to get within six points with 16 seconds remaining. But the Lady Vols held on for the win.
STIFLING DEFENSE VS. VANDY The 49 points scored by Vandy were the
fewest they had scored in a UT-VU match-up in Nashville since Jan. 18, 1976, when UT de-feated Vandy 96-27. It was only the fourth time that Vander-
bilt had failed to score 50 points in the series. The 17 fi rst-half points by VU is the low-
est total by a UT SEC opponent since Missis-sippi St. scored 13 on Feb. 16, 2012. For the seventh time in the eight-game
win streak, Tennessee held an opponent to less than 55 points.
BUSY, BUSY WEEK FOR TENNESSEE Monday’s contest will be the second of
three games in this seven-day calendar week for the Lady Volunteers and the second of four in 10 days. UT hosted Missouri on Friday night,
played at Vandy on Monday, hosts #8/9 Tex-as A&M Thursday night and plays at Arkan-sas on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT/3 E.T. on ESPNU.
STREAKING AT HOME The Tennessee women’s (9-0) and men’s
teams (7-0) thus far have combined for a 16-0 record at home this season through Jan. 2, which UT will attempt to improve vs. Texas A&M Thursday night. The Vols are back in Knoxville for a game
on Jan. 10 vs. Alabama. The Lady Vols have won 13 in a row at
home, beginning with a Feb. 20, 2014, win over Auburn in Knoxville. UT won 14-straight at home from Jan. 31,
2013 (Miss. St.) to Dec. 29, 2013 (Lipscomb) before losing to LSU on Jan. 2, 2014.
TOUGH PLACE TO PLAY Thompson-Boling Arena and Knoxville
have long had a reputation as a diffi cult place for visitors to win. The Lady Vols are 393-28 all-time at
Thompson-Boling Arena in 28 years, ranking the venue No. 3 behind UConn’s Gampel Pa-vilion and Florida Gulf Coast’s Alico Arena, which opened in 2007, in win percentage. In all Knoxville venues, including Alumni
Gym, Stokely Athletics Center and Thomp-son-Boling Arena, UT is a remarkable 546-52 over the past 41 years (since 1974-75). That ranks Knoxville as the toughest city
in the nation to get an NCAA Division I wom-en’s basketball victory. UT has won 12 or more games in the
arena in each of its previous 27 years of exis-tence and 14 on 19 occasions. Tennessee has posted 11 seasons with no
losses in the facility. The Big Orange women are 42-0 at
Tennessee advanced to the SEC Championship game for the 22nd time in the 35-year history of the tournament, where they won their 17th SEC Tournament Championship over Kentucky, the fourth-seed, 71-70. In Saturday’s comeback win, the Lady
Vols (26-5) were down by 10 twice in the fi rst half. But they showed similar grit and hustle with that `we will not be denied’ attitude, which was on display Friday, when they rallied from 15-down to beat LSU by 12 in the SEC Quarterfi nals. Isabelle Harrison led the Lady Vols with 20
points and 13 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season. Meghan Simmons notched 15 points as she made 8-of-10 from the foul line to clinch the game. Bashaara Graves tallied 14 points. Cierra Burdick added nine points and 10 rebounds for her third game in four with double-fi gure rebounds. Freshmen Mercedes Russell (11 points
and 6 rebounds) and Jordan Reynolds (9 points) had major impacts off the bench in the second half. Texas A&M’s `Courtneys’ headed up the
Aggies’ offense, as Courtney Walker (26) and Courtney Williams (22) combined for 48 points. The game had 11 ties and 10 lead changes. The Lady Vols dominated the glass, out-
rebounding the Aggies, 48-26. Tennessee fi nished the game scoring 11
of the game’s fi nal 13 points to return to the title game.
THE LAST TIME IN KNOXVILLE #8 Tennessee (23-5, 14-1 SEC) secured
the outright regular-season SEC champi-onship with an 82-72 victory over #13/15 Texas A&M on Feb. 28, 2013, before 12,213 at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols claimed their 17th SEC reg-
ular-season crown. Senior Kamiko Williams scored a career-high 18 points and classmate Taber Spani scored eight as the duo won their third SEC regular-season title. First-year head coach Holly Warlick be-
came the second coach in SEC history to win the regular-season title in her fi rst year as a head coach in the league, joining Pokey Chatman, who won it at LSU in 2005. Texas A&M, which had won 21 of its last 25
games, fell to 21-8 overall and 11-4 in the SEC. Meighan Simmons netted 17 for her
17th game in a row in double fi gures. Cierra Burdick had her fourth double-double of the season and second in three games with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Freshman Bashaara Graves tallied 14
points for her 25th game this season with 10 or more points. Playing her fi rst home game in a month,
Isabelle Harrison returned with 10 points
-- all in the second half for UT’s fi fth player in double-fi gures. After missing close to a month with an injury, Harrison was hurt late in the action and missed the fi nal 1:52. Texas A&M was led by Adrienne Pratch-
er, who scored a game-high 20. Leading scorer and rebounder Kelsey Bone was lim-ited to 14 points and fi ve rebounds.
A&M’S MOST RECENT GAME Achiri Ade made a buzzer-beating put-
back to give No. 5 Texas A&M a 52-50 win over Arkansas on Sunday at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. Ade grabbed a rebound off of a Jor-
dan Jones miss with two seconds remain-ing, then put the ball back in, putting Texas A&M (14-2, 2-0 SEC) at 2-0 in SEC play for the third time in three years as a member of the league. Ade fi nished with 10 points and 15 re-
bounds, giving her a double-double in back-to-back games for the fi rst time in her two-year A&M career. The shot was Ade’s fi rst game-winning shot in the last minute of regulation or overtime in her career—al-though she hit a clutch shot to tie the game with 29.4 seconds vs. Texas on Dec. 21. Courtney Walker scored with 54 sec-
onds left to put A&M up 50-48, but Arkan-sas’ Jessica Jackson, who fi nished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, responded with a layup with 31.3 remaining to set up Ade’s game-winning shot. Courtney Williams led the Aggies with
18 points, marking her seventh game this season with 18 or more points. Jordan Jones added six assists and moved into sixth on Texas A&M’s career assists list, passing Beth Young (1983-87). Arkansas (10-4, 0-2 SEC) took a 28-25
lead after the fi rst half, taking advantage of a strong performance from Kelsey Brooks, who had 12 of her 15 points in the opening stanza.
UT’S MOST RECENT GAME #7/8 Tennessee won its eighth game
in row, as the Lady Vols stifl ed Vanderbilt, 57-49, at Memorial Gym Monday night. UT moved to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the SEC. Vanderbilt fell to 8-6 and 0-2 in the league. Once again, defense was the name of
the game for the Lady Vols. For the seventh time in the eight-game win streak, Tennes-see held an opponent to less than 55 points. Vanderbilt’s 49 points were the fewest by a Lady Vols’ SEC foe since Tennessee beat Missouri, 84-39, on Jan. 10, 2013. Andraya Carter led Tennessee with a ca-
reer-high 19 points. Ariel Massengale had 12 and Jordan Reynolds tallied 11 points. Cierra Burdick added 10 points, all of which came in the fi rst half.
WEEK GAMES PLAYED RECORD AP/USA TODAYNov. 3-9 W vs. CARSON-NEWMAN (EXH.) ----- 4/4Nov. 10-16 W vs. PENN 1-0 4/4Nov. 17-23 W vs. ORU, W vs. WINTHROP 2-0 4/5Nov. 24-30 W vs. TENN. ST., L @Chattanooga, L @#6/9 Texas 1-2 4/5Dec. 1-7 W vs. SAINT FRANCIS, W @Lipscomb 2-0 14/14Dec. 8-14 W @#17/19 Rutgers 1-0 11/13Dec. 15-21 W vs. WICHITA ST., vs. W #7/7 STANFORD 2-0 11/12Dec. 28 W vs. #10/12 OREGON ST. 1-0 8/11Dec. 29-Jan. 4 W vs. MISSOURI 1-0 8/9Jan. 5-11 W @Vanderbilt, vs. #9/8 TEXAS A&M, @RV/NR Arkansas 1-0 7/9
2014-15 LADY VOLS WEEK-BY-WEEK AT A GLANCE
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Thompson-Boling Arena during NCAA play, including 14-0 in the First Round, 22-0 in the Second Round, 3-0 in the Sweet 16 and 3-0 in the Elite 8.
COMFORTS OF HOME Tennessee is averaging 80.8 points in its
nine home games, all victories, and allowing only 48.4 ppg. By contrast, the Lady Vols have scored
63.8 ppg. on the road and allowed 56.8. The UT women are hitting 43.8% from
the fi eld in games played at Thompson-Bol-ing Arena and 36.1% in road contests. Interestingly enough, UT is hitting 72.4%
of its free throws at home and 74.5% on the road.
WARLICK 18-12 VS. TOP 25 TEAMS During the Holly Warlick era, UT is 18-12
vs. ranked teams. Tennessee is 3-1 vs. ranked teams this
season, taking down #7/7 Stanford and #10/12 Oregon State at home, and #17/19 Rutgers on the road, while losing at #6/9 Texas on the road.
AP Top 25: 17-12 (.586) AP Ranked 1: 0-1 (.000) AP Ranked 2: 0-2 (.000) AP Ranked 3: 0-1 (.000) AP Ranked 1-5: 1-4 (.250) AP Ranked 1-10: 4-7 (.364) AP Ranked 11-25: 13-5 (.722)
USA TODAY Top 25: 18-12 (.600) USA TODAY Ranked 1: 0-1 (.000) USA TODAY Ranked 2: 0-1 (.000) USA TODAY Ranked 3: 0-2 (.000) USA TODAY Ranked 1-5: 1-5 (.200) USA TODAY Ranked 1-10: 2-8 (.200) USA TODAY Ranked 11-25: 16-4 (.800)
UT ALL-TIME VS. TOP 25 TEAMS Overall: 458-180 (.718) AP Ranked 1-10 : 180-132 (.577) AP Ranked 11-25: 249-43 (.853) USA TODAY Ranked 1-10: 138-90 (.605) USA TODAY Ranked 11-25: 219-31 (.876)
STARTING LINEUP IN PLACE In 14 games thus far, Holly Warlick has
sent eight diff erent lineups out to the center circle for the opening tip. The last three games and four of the last
fi ve contests, however, have featured the same starting fi ve. That starting group of Bashaara Graves,
Cierra Burdick, Isabelle Harrison, Jordan Reynolds and Andraya Carter has produced a 4-0 record. Bashaara Graves and Jordan Reynolds
are the only players to start all 14 games for Tennessee this season. From the Saint Francis through the Stan-
ford games, though, Warlick sent fi ve diff er-ent new starting lineups onto the court be-fore she used a repeat of the Wichita State fi ve (Graves/Burdick/Harrison/Reynolds/Carter) vs. Oregon State. That same unit started vs. Missouri and Vandy. The lineup changes were due to injuries
to players and because of early-season play-er punishments for team class attendance policy violations during the off season. Through the Vanderbilt game, six Lady
Vols combined to miss 25 games, and fi nally all 12 active Lady Vols played in a game when Jannah Tucker made her debut vs. Stanford.
LADY VOL DOUBLE DOUBLES The missed games breakdown includes
Jannah Tucker (10), Isabelle Harrison (5), Jasmine Jones (7), Cierra Burdick (2), An-draya Carter (1) and Ariel Massengale (1). Tennessee defeated Lipscomb, #17/19
Rutgers, Wichita State and #7/7 Stanford in consecutive games with four diff erent start-ing lineups. The Rutgers game was Harrison’s fi rst
start of the season and fourth game overall after suff ering a sprained right knee in the opener vs. Penn. Harrison responded with her second
double-double of the season and 26th of her career, carding 11 points and 13 rebounds to help propel the Lady Vols to victory vs. the Scarlet Knights for the 10th straight time overall and third consecutive time in N.J.
BIG LINEUP WORKS, TOO The Lady Vol skipper went with her
biggest lineup of the season vs. Stanford, penciling in 6-2 Bashaara Graves, 6-2 Jas-mine Jones, 6-3 Isabelle Harrison, 6-2 Cierra Burdick and 5-11 Jordan Reynolds. The lineup was problematic for Stanford,
which struggled to 15 points on 23.8% shoot-ing in the fi rst half and fi nished with a sea-son-low 40 points on 25.5% accuracy. Stanford’s high-scoring guard tandem
of Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson were stymied, combining for only 17 points on 6 of 24 shooting.
A VERY DEEP TENNESSEE TEAM Tennessee has 11 of 12 players averag-
ing 5.0 or more points per game through 14 contests, providing Holly Warlick with a lot of options. The Lady Vol reserves have outscored
their opponents in 13 of 14 games, with Van-dy becoming the fi rst team this season to out-point UT’s bench (38-12 on Jan. 5). The UT women have outscored opposing
benches, 436 to 188 (an average of 31.1-13.4). Tennessee has had eight diff erent play-
ers lead the team in scoring this season, with Andraya Carter (16 vs. Missouri, 19 vs. Vandy) the most recent to join the club. Tennessee didn’t have its full comple-
ment of players on the roster (12) available until Jannah Tucker (who worked her way back from an off season procedure on her left knee) played vs. Stanford on Dec. 20. When Izzy Harrison returned from an
injury layoff vs. Saint Francis, UT had six re-serves for the fi rst time in 2014-15. That group (all of them played) produced its best eff ort of the season, outscoring the Red Flash 65-2. Diamond DeShields and Mercedes Rus-
sell are redshirting, leaving Holly Warlick with a roster of 12 when all are healthy.
UT GUARDS ARE ON POINT With defenses focusing their eff orts on
swarming Isabelle Harrison and Bashaara Graves in the paint, Holly Warlick needed her guards to step up their point production. They have done just that with the trio of
Andraya Carter, Ariel Massengale and Jordan Reynolds scoring in double fi gures the last two games for a total of 82 points. The trio scored 40 of UT’s 63 points vs.
Missouri on Jan. 2 and contributed 42 of UT’s 57 at Vanderbilt on Jan. 5. Carter enjoyed the best back-to-back
games of her career, tying her career high of 14 vs. Missouri and then breaking it with 19 at Vanderbilt.
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Reynolds scored 10 vs. Missouri and then matched her career best with 11 vs. Vander-bilt, marking the fi rst back-to-back double-fi gure points eff orts of her career and only the second and third double-digit scoring totals of the season for her. Massengale has come off the bench to
hit double fi gures on eight occasions this year, doing so the last four games with 18, 11, 14 and 12 vs. Stanford, Oregon State, Mis-souri and Vanderbilt, respectively.
BIGS HAVE BEEN NEUTRALIZED Over the last two games, the fi rst two
of the SEC slate, the emphasis of UT’s op-ponents has been to swarm Isabelle Harrison and Bashaara Graves with multiple defenders. Harrison, who was averaging 12.6 points
per game after a 20-point, 12-rebound, fi ve-block eff ort vs. #10/12 Oregon State, en-dured foul trouble vs. Missouri and Vander-bilt and turned in only two points and fi ve rebounds vs. Mizzou and three points and six boards vs. Vandy. Graves, meanwhile, was averaging 10.8
points and 8.2 rebounds, and struggled to post eight points and 11 rebounds vs. Mis-souri and then two points and four rebounds vs. Vanderbilt. Fortunately for Tennessee, its guards
have taken advantage of more room to shoot or drive, tallying 82 points over the last two games.
WIPING THE GLASS CLEAN Tennessee stands No. 1 in the SEC in re-
bounds per game at 46.2 and rebounding margin at 11.8 and ranks No. 8 nationally in rebounding margin. UT is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 in off en-
sive rebounds at 19.3 per game. The Lady Vols had a +6.7 rebounding
margin in the season’s fi rst six games but have a +15.6 gap (47.9 to 32.2) over the last eight contests, all of them wins. Tennessee’s season rebounding average
of 46.2 per game is just off school-record pace (46.9 rpg., 1992-93).
Isabelle Harrison (8.3) and Cierra Burdick (8.1) rank Nos. 5 and 6 in the SEC in rebounds per game. Bashaara Graves is second in the SEC in
off ensive rebounds per game at 4.1. Tennessee has out-rebounded 12 of 14
opponents, and the Big Orange women have an 11.8 rebounding margin, holding a 46.2 to 34.4 advantage on the glass. Only #6/9 Texas (39-38) and Tennessee
State (42-37) outworked the Lady Vols on the glass this season, and those games oc-curred before Isabelle Harrison returned to the lineup. The Lady Vols have had the upper hand
in second chance points in every game this season. UT leads in that category, 238-109 (17.0-7.8) and has allowed only 48 second-chance points over the last eight games while scoring 117 of its own. Tennessee recorded 71 rebounds vs.
Saint Francis, tying for the fourth-most in school history and highest total since UT posted 74 last season vs. Troy.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE Holly Warlick wants her teams to em-
brace playing defense with great energy and eff ort, and it appears the 2014-15 Lady Vols have bought in since losing back-to-back games vs. Chattanooga and Texas. UT ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 9
nationally in scoring defense, allowing 51.4 points per contest. During Tennessee’s eight-game winning
streak, the Lady Vols are allowing only 49.5 points per contest and 32.8% fi eld goal per-centage by their opponents. UT has allowed only one opponent
(#10/12 Oregon State - 63) to score more than 53 points in a game since Nov. 30. In 14 games, Tennessee has allowed only
three teams to score more than 53 points, in-cluding Chattanooga, (L, 67-63), #6/9 Texas (L, 72-59) and #10/12 Oregon State (W, 74-63). The Lady Vols held Vanderbilt to 49
points on Jan. 5, marking the lowest point
total the Commodores have scored at home in the 73-game series since having 27 in 1976. UT limited #7/7 Stanford to 40 points in
the Lady Vols’ 59-40 win in Knoxville to stop a three-game losing skid to the Cardinal.
STEALS = POINTS Tennessee is averaging 11.6 steals per
game through the fi rst 14 contests, thanks to totals of 21 swipes against Oral Roberts, 19 vs. Winthrop and 21 vs. Tennessee State. Only four other times since 2000 had the
Lady Vols registered 21 or more steals. UT had 23 vs. George Wash. (11/27/01),
22 vs. La. Tech (11/28/06) and Alcorn State (11/25/12), and 21 vs. Chattanooga (11/11/07). Andraya Carter is averaging 2.8 steals
(37 total) per contest to lead the SEC and rank No. 27 nationally. Tennessee has a 163 to 89 advantage
on steals against its opponents, leading to a 344-130 margin on points off turnovers. Many of those points are of the fast break
variety, with Tennessee dominating its fi rst 14 opponents, 152-91, in that category.
MAKE ‘EM TURN IT OVER Tennessee has forced 293 turnovers in its
fi rst 14 games, causing opponents to average 20.9 miscues per contest. The Lady Vols posted a program fi rst on
Nov. 24 vs. Tennessee State, causing their third consecutive opponent to commit 30 or more turnovers. The TSU Lady Tigers fi nished with 38
turnovers, following a 34-turnover eff ort by Winthrop and 30 miscues by Oral Roberts. With the back-to-back 30s from ORU
and Winthrop, it marked the fi rst time since 2006-07 Tennessee had forced 30 or more turnovers in back-to-back games. UT last accomplished consecutive games
of forcing 30 turnovers vs. Alabama (30) on Jan. 28, 2007, and South Carolina (34) on Feb. 1, 2007. UT harrassed Saint Francis, Lipscomb
and Stanford into 21, 24 and 20 miscues on Dec. 3, Dec. 7 and Dec. 20, marking the fourth, fi fth and sixth times this season an opponent had more than 20 TOs. Oregon State just missed with 19 on Dec. 28.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY Though it has been a little inconsistent in
its shooting percentage from game to game, Tennessee still leads the SEC in free throw accuracy. The Lady Vols are averaging 73.1% per
game to rank No. 1 in the SEC and 46th na-tionally. UT has hit 80% from the charity stripe in
seven of 14 games. Tennessee connected on 18-of-22 at-
tempts vs. Vanderbilt for 81.8% on Monday night. Against Vanderbilt three players shot
100% from the foul line, including Ariel Mas-sengale (6-6), Jordan Reynolds (4-4) and Cierra Burdick (2-2). Andraya Carter was fi ve-of-six. Cierra Burdick is No. 4 in the league
in free throw percentage at 80.0%, while Bashaara Graves is ninth at 73.0%.
REDISCOVERING THE THREE-BALL Tennessee has hit 14 three-pointers over
its last two games, nailing 14 of 41 attempts for 34% accuracy.
10 Maryland 11-2 52911 Kentucky 13-2 47712 Duke 10-4 42013 Oregon St 12-1 41314 Stanford 10-4 34815 Mississippi St 17-0 33716 Oklahoma St 10-2 30717 Iowa 11-2 28118 Nebraska 10-3 23719 Georgia 13-2 21320 Arizona St 13-1 17521 Syracuse 10-4 10122 Florida St 13-2 9023 Rutgers 10-4 8724 Princeton 16-0 7925 West Virginia 10-3 66
NATIONAL RANKINGS
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
UT was 9-of-24 vs. Missouri and 5-of-17 vs. Vanderbilt. The nine makes vs. Missouri were the
most since the Florida game (10) on Jan. 23, 2014, and the 24 attempts were the most since 26 vs. Virginia on Nov. 28, 2013. Prior to the Mizzou and Vandy games,
the Lady Vols had hit only seven total in four games vs. Rutgers (1-10), Wichita State (1-7), Stanford (5-17) and Oregon State (0-3). Carter was a season-best 3-of-6 vs. Mis-
souri and 2-of-4 vs. Vanderbilt and previous-ly had hit only two all season and none since Dec. 3 vs. Saint Francis. Reynolds hit a pair of trifectas vs. Miz-
zou, and her threes were the fi rst ones made from beyond the arc since going 2-of-2 in the Texas game on Nov. 30. Massengale, UT’s top three-point shooter
at 41.3% (26-63), connected for two vs. Miz-zou and Vandy and had a season-best of six vs. Winthrop (including fi ve straight at one point) and also four vs. Stanford. That 0-3 total on treys vs. Oregon State,
marked the fi rst time since March 7, 2014, vs. LSU in the SEC tourney that the Lady Vols didn’t hit at least one three. Massengale has at least one three-point-
er in 12 of 14 games, has eight games of two or more treys and has knocked down four or more on two occasions. Massengale is second in the SEC in three-
point shoot percentage at 41.3% and fourth in three-pointers made at 2.0. Kortney Dunbar is 10-of-27 to stack up
as Tennessee’s second best from long range in 2014-15. The Lady Vols are 62 of 202 (30.7%) on
treys through 14 games this season, with eight diff erent players hitting at least one from long range.
IZZY IS UT’S GO-TO PLAYER Tennessee’s preseason All-American and
team leader Isabelle Harrison suff ered a right leg injury with 3:26 remaining in the season opener vs. Penn and had to be helped from the fl oor. She was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament in her right knee and missed fi ve games before returning to action vs. Saint Francis on Dec. 3. If her 20 points, 12 rebounds and fi ve
blocks in a career-best-tying 35 minutes vs. #10/12 Oregon State on Dec. 28 is any indi-cation, Harrison is rounding into All-America form. It came in her fourth start of the season,
and she now has scored in double fi gures in six of nine games this year. Harrison was named SEC Player of the
Week vs. Oregon State for her eff ort, mark-ing the fi rst time in her career she had earned that distinction. Her tallies now include six games in dou-
ble fi gures and three double-doubles this season, bringing her career total of double-doubles to 27. That number is No. 2 among active players in the SEC. Harrison came off the bench and played
13 minutes vs. Saint Francis on Dec. 3, scor-ing fi ve points, grabbing seven rebounds and adding a steal in her fi rst game back. In addition to her productivity, her return
provided Tennessee with a huge lift from an emotional and leadership standpoint. In game two back in the lineup, Harrison
was UT’s co-leader in points with 16 on 6-of-10 shooting vs. Lipscomb, with six boards
and two blocks in 22 minutes off the bench. Harrison resumed double-double status
in her third game back from injury, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in 23 min-utes as the Lady Vols knocked off #17/19 Rut-gers on the road. Saddled by foul trouble, Harrison only
played fi ve fi rst-half minutes vs. Rutgers and had 0 points and three rebounds at the break. She had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the second half, however, to spur UT’s come-from-behind win and 16-2 surge over the fi -nal seven minutes of the game. In seven games back since her injury,
Harrison has started the last six and had fi ve straight double-fi gure scoring eff orts until foul trouble sidelined her vs. Missouri and Vanderbilt.
ESPN “NEED TO KNOW” PLAYER Isabelle Harrison had a breakout junior
year, earning All-SEC First Team and SEC Tournament MVP honors as well as third-team Full Court All-America and honorable mention A-A from AP and the WBCA. For those and a few other reason, ESPN
tabbed Harrison as one of its “Need To
Know” players this season. Harrison ranked fi rst in the SEC in fi eld
goal percentage (57.7%) and double-doubles (18), second in rebound average (9.3) and 18th in scoring average (13.6). She set a Tennessee junior record with
those 18 double-doubles, passing the previ-ous record holder, Chamique Holdsclaw, who had 16 in 1997-98. Only Candace Parker had more double-
doubles in a season for UT, tallying 21 as a sophomore in 2006-07. From Dec. 14, 2014 to Jan. 9, 2014, Har-
rison posted seven-straight games with double-doubles, setting a Lady Vol program record for consecutive double-doubles. She scored in double fi gures in 31 of 35
contests, including 20 games in a row from Nov. 29-Feb. 20. She racked up 20 contests with 10 or
more rebounds. Earned SEC Tournament MVP honors af-
ter leading UT to its 17th postseason league title, averaging 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in the tourney.
2014 LADY VOL SIGNEES On national signing day on Nov. 12, third-year head coach Holly Warlick and her staff , who
already will add talented transfer Diamond DeShields into the mix next fall after a redshirt season, signed 5-foot-8 point guard Te’a (TAY-uh) Cooper of McEachern (mick-EE-churn) High School in Powder Springs, Ga., and 5-11 wing Jamasha (juh-ME-sha) “MeMe” Jackson of Blackman High in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
TE’A COOPER >> 5-8 >> PG >> POWDER SPRINGS, GA. >> MCEACHERN H.S.> Ranked No. 1 overall and No. 1 point guard by D1Spects.com> Ranked No. 3 overall and No. 1 point guard by ProspectsNation.com> Ranked No. 4 by Full Court> Ranked No. 7 by All Star Girls Report> Ranked No. 16 by Blue Star> Ranked No. 19 by espnW HoopGurlz> Rated as a fi ve-star recruit on that list> Named to the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship Team but had to
withdraw due to illness during training camp> Participated in the 2013 USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team Trials> MaxPreps Third-Team All-American (2014)> Georgia Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball (2014)> American Family Insurance USA Today All-USA Georgia First Team (2014)> Georgia Class 6A All-State First Team (2014)> Atlanta Tipoff Club Girls Metro Player of the Year (2014) & All-Metro Second Team (2013)> Marietta Daily Journal Cobb County Player of the Year (2014)> MVP of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s North-South All-Star Game after scor-
ing 39 points and making eight 3-pointers> Three year-starter who has led her team to Georgia 6A state titles in 2012 (33-0) and 2014
(29-2)> Averaged 19.6 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 6.0 apg., 5.0 spg. and 1.0 bpg. as a junior> Averaged 18.5 ppg., 5.0 apg., 4.3 spg. as a sophomore> Averaged 11.2 ppg., 4.7 apg., 3.0 spg. and shot 65 percent from the fi eld> Subject of the MTV reality show “True Life”
MEME JACKSON >> 5-11 >> G/F >> MURFREESBORO, TENN. >> BLACKMAN H.S.> Ranked No. 21 by Blue Star> Ranked No. 25 by All Star Girls Report> Ranked No. 35 overall and the No. 7 ranked wing in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 Class
of 2015> Rated as a fi ve-star recruit on that list> Ranked No. 37 overall and the No. 9 wing by ProspectsNation.com> Ranked No. 39 overall by D1Spects.com> Tennessee Sportswriters Association All-State Team (2014)> TSSAA State Championship All-Tournament Team (2014)> District MVP (2014)> All-District (2014)> All-Region (2014)> Led BHS to a 34-1 record in 2013-14 and a TSSSAA state championship> Her team was the No. 1-ranked team in the country by ESPN, USA Today and MaxPreps> Started all 35 games as a junior and averaged 9.4 ppg,. 4.4 rpg., 3.4 apg. and 2.3 spg. on
a team featuring fi ve NCAA Division I prospects
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Number 22. Only two players have ever had a Lady Vol game jersey with that number on it. After the jersey was retired on Feb. 18, 1980, no basketball player has had a No. 22 Tennessee jersey since then. There wasn’t supposed to be another one until Lauren Hill came along.
Hill, a freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University, joins third-year UT head coach Holly Warlick (1976-80) and Joy Scruggs (1971-75) as the only basket-ball players to possess a Tennessee uniform with double deuces. Hill’s inspirational story moved Warlick, Tennes-see’s third-year head coach, and Michael Beaumont, the team’s director of operations, to fi nd a way to show Tennessee’s admiration and support for Hill in any way they could.
“We were all very touched and moved by Lauren’s story and her desire to play one more basketball game,” Warlick said. “We’ve talked a lot this preseason about being thankful for what we’ve been given and taking advantage of every day, because you never know what can happen.
“Lauren’s attitude and fi ght and spirit embody exactly what we’ve been trying to convey, so we couldn’t help but connect and relate to her immediately. She’s one of us.”
ARIEL DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES After missing the exhibition game and
season opener due to a team rule violation (missed a class), and sitting out the fi nal 16 games of the 2013-14 season due to a head injury, senior Ariel Massengale picked up right where she left off last season. Rather than starting, though, as she has
done 74 times in her career, Massengale has settled into a key role coming off the bench for Tennessee this season. Holly Warlick says she likes what Mas-
sengale brings off the bench, and the senior says she is happy to help the team in any way she can. Massengale took that to another level in
the second half vs. Oregon State, grabbing a quick-dry mop from the baseline and blot-ting up some moisture on the fl oor to pre-vent her teammate Isabelle Harrison from slipping and getting hurt. She has scored in double fi gures in the
last four games and in fi ve of the last six, in-cluding 14 vs. Missouri and 12 vs. Vanderbilt. Massengale moved past Kellie Jolly (452)
into sixth place in career assists at UT with 454 total after dishing three vs. Mizzou and moved to 455 vs. Vandy. Despite coming off the bench, Massen-
gale is fi rst on the squad in games of double-fi gure scoring this season with eight. She ranks fi rst on the team in scoring at
11.8 per game and is UT’s leading three-point threat. Massengale has a 41.4 fi eld goal pct. (48-
116), including 26 of 63 on threes (41.3%). Massengale hit eight of 12 shots from the
fi eld and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line to pace UT with 21 points vs. Oral Roberts. She also added three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes. She followed that by hitting a career-high
six threes, including fi ve in quick succession, and fi nishing with 20 points vs. Winthrop. She now has two 20-plus point eff orts
this season and fi ve for her career. Massengale came off the bench to lead
UT in scoring vs. #17/19 Rutgers and #7/7 Stanford, charting 13 and grabbing fi ve re-bounds vs. Rutgers and scoring 18 points and adding three boards and assists vs. Stanford. Over the fi rst 19 games last year, Mas-
sengale averaged 12.5 points and 5.8 assists per game and had three games of scoring 20 or more points, making the all-tournament team at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.
THE BEAST IS BACK! Bashaara Graves, nicknamed “beast” by
her teammates as a freshman for her tough play, has recorded points/rebounds double-doubles in six of 14 games thus far and just missed another with nine points and re-bounds vs. Oregon State. That total of six surpasses her tally of
three for her sophomore season in 2013-14. Graves had 10 double-doubles her fi rst
season at UT en route to SEC Freshman of the Year and fi rst-team All-SEC honors. Her career total now equals 19, ranking
her 16th all-time at UT though she’s a junior. Graves posted exactly 10 rebounds vs.
fi ve opponents and scored 16, 12, 15, 15 and 10, respectively, vs. Penn, ORU, Winthrop, Texas and Stanford. She had rebound season highs of 11 vs.
Missouri and Saint Francis. Currently, Graves is UT’s third-leading
scorer (10.0) and No. 2 rebounder (8.1). Graves is tied for the UT lead with seven
double-fi gure scoring eff orts this season.
BASH, IZZY ON THREE WATCH LISTS Senior center Isabelle Harrison and junior
forward Bashaara Graves have been named to preseason watch lists for national awards. On Nov. 24, Harrison and Graves were
named to the John R. Wooden Award Pre-season Top 30. On Nov. 25, both players were named to
the “Wade Watch” list for the Wade Trophy. On Dec. 10, both were included in the
Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List. Graves was on all three lists last season,
while Harrison is a fi rst-time member.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS Three Lady Vols have 600+ rebounds,
including Harrison (672), Graves (632) and Burdick (622), and it takes 811 or more to break into the all-time UT leaders club. On the Tennessee career double-doubles
list, Harrison ranks eighth with 27, while Bashaara Graves (19) and Cierra Burdick (15) stand No. 16 and No. 20, respectively. Massengale is attempting to become
only the second Lady Vol to lead the team in assists four straight seasons. Dawn Marsh (1984-88) is the only one to do it. On the career free throw percentage list,
Massengale entered the year standing at No. 10 at .796. Harrison is ranked ninth in career blocks
with 116 and is No. 7 on the career block aver-age chart at 1.15. Graves began the year ranked No. 10 on
UT’s career rebound list at 7.4 per contest.
CLIMBING CAREER LEADER LISTS Tennessee has players moving up the ca-
reer lists in assists and blocked shots, includ-ing Ariel Massengale and Isabelle Harrison.
TOTAL ASSISTS Asst Player Seasons
1. 755 Dawn Marsh 1984-882. 673 Holly Warlick 1976-803. 587 Lea Henry 1979-834. 503 Alexis Hornbuckle 2004-085. 456 Kara Lawson 1999-036. 455 Ariel Massengale 2011-
7. 452 Kellie Jolly 1995-998. 449 Michelle Marciniak 1993-969. 439 Dena Head 1988-9210. 429 Kristen Clement 1997-01
FOUR SEEK 1,000-POINT MILESTONE Bashaara Graves (927), Ariel Massen-
gale (913), Isabelle Harrison (908) and Cierra Burdick (797) are trying to reach the 1,000-point plateau in their college careers. UT has had 38 players score 1,000 points
but never has had four in the same season. There have been nine occasions where
Tennessee has had three players with 1,000 points on the same team. The last trio to do that came in 2010-
11, when Angie Bjorklund (1,469), Shekinna Stricklen (1,343) and Glory Johnson (1,132) accomplished that feat.
A-MASS EYING 500/1000 CLUB Ariel Massengale is closing in on mem-
bership in a very select group of players in Lady Vol basketball history. She could become one of only three play-
ers in program history to record 500 assists and score 1,000 points in her career at UT. Lea Henry (1,128 pts., 587 assts., 1979-83)
and Alexis Hornbuckle (1,333 pts., 503 assts., 2004-08) are the only two Tennessee play-ers to accomplish that feat. Below are the players with 400+ assists
who’ve also scored 1,000 points, with Ariel Massengale’s totals also included.UT PLAYERS WITH 400 ASSISTS/1000 POINTS
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WE DO DOUBLE-DOUBLES Tennessee has had 15 double-doubles
this season, led by six from Bashaara Graves, who had only three all last season, and with Isabelle Harrison and Cierra Burdick each re-cording three thus far. UT is the only SEC team to have more
than one player with three or more double-doubles this season. Graves ranks No. 2 in the SEC this sea-
son with her six double-doubles and is 30th nationally. Isabelle Harrison’s 27 career doubles rank
her No. 2 in the SEC among active players. Tennessee set a program record in the
opener vs Penn, with four Lady Vols record-ing double-doubles in a game for the fi rst time in school history. Nia Moore had career highs of 24 points
and 14 rebounds to card her second career double-double, Alexa Middleton had 20 points and 11 assists to open her career with a double-double, Bashaara Graves posted 16 points and 10 rebounds for the (then) 14th double-double of her career, Isabelle Harri-son came off the bench to round up 12 points and 10 boards.
HERE COMES THE RUN Tennessee’s ball pressure, up-tempo
pace and three-point shooting abilities have sparked runs that break open games. In 14 games, the Lady Vols have made 18
runs of 10-0 or longer this season, including unchecked sprees of 26, 22, 19, and 17 points. Most recently, UT trailed Missouri, 25-18,
with :28 remaining in the fi rst stanza before going on a defense-fueled 14-0 spree that bridged the half and sent UT to a 32-25 ad-vantage with 17:51 left in the game. The Lady Vols trailed Lipscomb, 3-2, with
17:21 remaining in the opening half before bursting to a 26-0 spree that put them up 28-3 with 8:09 to go in the half. The Lady Vols trailed 43-39 with 7:13 to
go in the game vs. Rutgers, when UT scored 10 straight points and fi nished the game on a 16-2 run to close out a 55-45 road victory. Tennessee trailed by eight points
(15:44/1st) to Tennessee State before reeling off 22-straight points to fl ip the script. All told, the Lady Vols had runs of 22-0,
19-0, 11-0 and 10-0 vs. the Lady Tigers. UT had a 14-0 blast, a pair 10-0 sprees
and smaller runs in the opener vs. Penn. The 14-0 run helped the Lady Vols over-
come a three-point defi cit to Penn with 11 minutes to go in the fi rst half and win the game, 97-52.
UT began the Oral Roberts game with a 10-0 run and added two more 10-0 blitz-kriegs and another 9-0 spree. Leading 10-7 vs. Winthrop, Tennessee’s
17-0 run broke the game open, thanks to Ar-iel Massengale’s trio of three-pointers during that outburst. The Lady Vols had runs of 11-0, 10-0 and
11-0 vs. Saint Francis.
LEADS, DEFICITS, COMEBACKS Tennessee has three wire-to-wire wins
(ORU, SFU, Stanford) and has trailed in 11 of its 14 games this season. UT has led at halftime 10 times with its
largest margin being 32 (53-21) over SFU and the least being one vs. Oregon State (35-34). The Lady Vols have trailed at the half four
times (UTC, TEX, RUT, MIZ), with the largest halftime defi cit being 16 vs. UTC. UT’s largest fi rst-half defi cit of the year
was 17 vs. Chattanooga, and the Lady Vols erased that entire defi cit (4:31/2nd/57-all) and tied it three times before falling 63-67. The largest second-half defi cit was 16 to
Chattanooga, and the Lady Vols lost after ty-ing the game four times. The Lady Vols have trailed at the half by
double-digits twice and single digits twice. The biggest defi cit (23) and halftime
defi cit (20) ever overcome for a victory by UT were vs. Rutgers (55-51) on Jan. 3, 2009. The biggest defi cit overcome for a win-
during the Holly Warlick era was 15 in the fi rst half vs. both Alabama (Feb. 2, 2014) and LSU (March 7, 2014) during the 2013-14 season. The biggest halftime defi cit overcome
(12) during the Warlick era was against Mid-dle Tennessee on Nov. 8, 2013. The largest second-half defi cit overcome
with Warlick as coach was at Auburn on Jan. 17, 2013, when UT was down 12 with 14:29 re-maining in the game. The largest positive turnaround (31
points) of the Warlick era occured when Ala-bama led Tennessee by 15 in the fi rst half and then trailed UT by as many as 16 in the sec-ond half en route to a 10-point UT win. The largest negative turnaround game
under Warlick occurred vs. #2/2 Notre Dame on Jan. 20, 2014 (29), when UT led by 12 in the fi rst half and trailed by as many as 17 in the second half on its way to a 16-point loss. Tennessee’s largest margin of victory
under Holly Warlick was 68 (110-42) vs. Lip-scomb on Dec. 29, 2013. UT’s highest point total scored was 111
vs. Saint Francis on Dec. 3, 2014, and that 67-point margin of victory is second most.
Tennessee’s largest margin of defeat during the Warlick era was 23 at #3/3 Bay-lor (53-76) on Dec. 18, 2012. That game also produced the worst halftime defi cit in school history (25) and the lowest point total under Warlick (53).
#ONETENNESSEE SUPPORT Via Twitter, the Lady Vols invited the
men’s basketball team and the TaxSlayer Bowl-bound football team to the big game vs. #7/7 Stanford on Dec. 20. Both accepted and had a huge presence. While the men’s basketball team threw
out shirts during a media timeout and formed a tunnel for the Lady Vol starters to run through during the pregame, the football team was honored at halftime for making it to a bowl game this season. After the game, many former Vols and
Lady Vols, including Meighan Simmons and Candace Parker, sent notes of congratula-tions via Twitter.
ABC’S ROBIN ROBERTS AT RU GAME ABC’s Good Morning America co-host
Robin Roberts made the trip to Piscataway to watch Tennessee play Rutgers on Dec. 14. While Roberts has had a previous media
presence and interest in women’s basketball, her attendance this time was personal. Roberts and several Good Morning
America staff ers and interns made the trip to Piscataway to see UT’s Cierra Burdick (a 2014 GMA summer intern) play, and they sat in the UT section behind the team bench. Roberts made a point to stay afterward
and congratulate Burdick on UT’s victory.
IT’S NOT PERSONAL; IT’S BUSINESS Against former Lady Vols as head
coaches, Warlick is 5-1, including 3-1 vs. Nikki Caldwell (LSU), 1-0 vs. Tonya Edwards (Al-corn State) and 1-0 vs. Jody Adams (Wichita State). Against teams with former UT staff
members coaching, Warlick is 8-3, including 1-2 vs. Kentucky (Matthew Mitchell), 2-0 vs. Lipscomb (Greg Brown), 3-1 vs. LSU (Nikki Caldwell, Tasha Butts), 2-0 vs. North Carolina (Sylvia Hatchell). Against teams with former Lady Vols on
the staff , Warlick is 10-3, including 3-1 vs. LSU (Nikki Caldwell, Tasha Butts), 2-0 vs. South Carolina (Nikki McCray), 1-0 vs. Middle Ten-nessee (Dustin Edwards, Alex Fuller), 1-0 vs. Ole Miss (Alex Fuller Simmons), 1-0 vs. Al-corn State (Tonya Edwards), 1-0 vs. Wichita
Off ensive Opportunities Tennessee shooting from the fi eld (all games):20%FG: @RUT (.275)30%FG: WIN (.397), STAN (.383), @UTC (.377), @VAN (.362), @TEX (.350), MIZ (.313)
40%FG: ORU (.494), TSU (.493), PENN (.482), @LIP (.446), OSU (.441), WSU (.408)50%FG: SFU (.500)60%FG: None
Dee -- FenseOpponents shooting from the fi eld (all games):10%FG: None20%FG: SFU (.224), ORU (.250), STAN (.255)30%FG: @RUT (.311), TSU (.321), PENN (.328), @VAN (.333). WIN & @LIP (.345), WSU (.364), MIZ (.385)40%FG: OSU (.424), @TEX (.492)50%FG: @UTC (.533)
Leading at the Break (10): SFU (+32), @LIP (+24), PENN (+22), ORU (+27), WIN (+15), TSU (+17), STAN (+12), @VAN (+8), WSU (+3), OSU (+1)Tied at the Break (0): NoneTrailing at the Break (4): @UTC (-16), @TEX (-10), @RUT (-3), MIZ (-4)
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State (Jody Adams, Bridgette Gordon) and 1-2 vs. Kentucky (Shalon Pillow). Against teams with former Lady Vol play-
ers and/or staff ers, Warlick is 14-3, including 1-0 vs. Alcorn State (Tonya Edwards), 1-2 vs. Kentucky (Matthew Mitchell, Shalon Pillow), 2-0 vs. Lipscomb (Greg Brown), 3-1 vs. LSU (Nikki Caldwell, Tasha Butts), 1-0 vs. Middle Tennessee (Alex Fuller), 2-0 vs. North Caro-lina (Sylvia Hatchell), 1-0 vs. Ole Miss (Alex Fuller Simmons), 2-0 vs. South Carolina (Nik-ki McCray) and 1-0 vs. Wichita State (Jody Adams, Bridgette Gordon).
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL Tennessee is ranked second in turnover
margin (6.9) and turnover ratio (1.0) in the SEC. The Lady Vols have committed 196 turn-
overs through 14 games for an average of 14.0 per contest. UT surrendered a season low of eight
turnovers vs. Penn in the opener and 10 vs. Mizzou in the SEC opener. Only one time all last season did Ten-
nessee have a single-digit turnover total in a game, and that came on March 2, 2014, in a home win over South Carolina (73-61) when UT had only seven on senior day. UT’s freshmen, Kortney Dunbar, Alexa
Middleton and Jaime Nared, combined for 0 turnovers in their fi rst regular season game. Jordan Reynolds has a 2.2 assist-to-turn-
over ratio (39 assts./18 TOs) to lead UT, while Andraya Carter is at 1.9 (28 assts./15 TOs).
SHARING THE BALL Through 14 games, UT has 204 assists
compared to only 130 for its opponents. Jordan Reynolds (2.8), Andraya Carter
(2.2), Alexa Middleton (2.1), Ariel Massengale (1.9) and Cierra Burdick (1.8) are pacing the Big Orange in assists averages. UT had at least 20 assists in each of its
fi rst four games, marking the fi rst time the Lady Vols had put together that many in a row since the 1987-88 season, when the Lady Vols had a streak of six from Jan. 11 to Jan. 27. They also had a run of fi ve from Dec. 13 to Jan. 3 that season. UT’s streak of three in a row 20+ assist
games was the fi rst since the team had three straight 20-assist games vs. George Wash-ington (23, 11/26/02), Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (27, 11/29/02) and Army (21, 11/30/02). There were two other instances of four or
more straight 20-assist games for the Lady Vols, and those were fi ve-game runs from Dec. 9, 1985, to Jan. 4, 1986, and Feb. 6, 1981, to Feb. 21, 1981. Middleton recorded 11 assists in her fi rst
game, the most ever by a Lady Vol in her freshman debut.
ONCE-HIGH-SCORING LADY VOLS Until averaging 69.8 points per game
over their last eight contests, the Lady Vols had been a pretty high-scoring team in 2014-15. Their point total of 111 vs. Saint Francis
on Dec. 3 was the most since UT had 136 vs. Puerto Rico-Mayguez on Nov. 29, 2002. The team’s scoring margin stood at 91.5
to 46.2 prior to the game vs. Chattanooga, when the Lady Mocs slowed it down to their tempo in a 67-63 upset win over Tennessee. Texas followed with a 72-59 triumph. Still, Tennessee opened 2014-15 with
consecutive 90+ scoring eff orts, tallying 97
vs. Penn and 91 vs. Oral Roberts before mak-ing it to 81 vs. Winthrop and then bouncing back to 97 vs. Tennessee State. It marked the fi rst time during the Holly
Warlick era that her club scored 90 or more points on multiple occasions in the fi rst four games. The only previous 90+ game came against Rice (105) on Nov. 15, 2012. The 2001-02 Lady Vols scored 97, 106, 90
and 88 in wins vs. Chattanooga, USC, Louisi-ana Tech and George Washington that sea-son to post the No. 1 scoring total for the fi rst four games (381). Tennessee scored 366 points in its fi rst
four games of 2014-15.
J.J. PLAYED WELL UNTIL INJURY Jasmine Jones suff ered a mild concus-
sion in the fi rst half of the opener vs. Penn and played only seven minutes. After missing the next three games, Jones returned to ac-tion off the bench vs. Chattanooga and pro-pelled a furious second-half UT comeback. The 6-2 junior forward connected for a
career-high 19 points, with 16 of them com-ing in the second half as UT erased a 16-point halftime defi cit before falling, 67-63. Jones had seven boards in 28 minutes. She followed that eff ort with 10 points
and three boards in 25 minutes vs. Texas, marking the fi rst time in her career she hit double fi gures in back-to-back games. She made it three double-digit scoring
eff orts in a row, hitting for 16 points and add-ing eight rebounds vs. Saint Francis. Jones hit double digits in points for the
fourth time in 2014-15 with 12 and added six boards in the win over Rutgers before col-liding with another player and missing the Wichita State game due to a head injury. She hit her head again vs. Stanford and has not played since then. The junior is averaging a career-best 9.4
points per contest through her seven games.
20-POINT UT FRESHMEN Alexa Middleton (20 vs. Penn) and Jai-
me Nared (20 vs. Saint Francis) each have had 20-point games this season, marking the fi rst time UT had has a pair of 20-point freshmen scorers in the same season since 2008-09 when Shekinna Stricklen (4 times) and Glory Johnson (once) met or surpassed that point total. Middleton and Nared are the only the
third rookie duo at UT since 2000 and sixth duo or trio since 1981-82 to net 20 points in a single game. Besides Johnson and Stricklen in 2008-09, Shyra Ely (three times) and Brit-tany Jackson (once) accomplished that feat in 2001-02. Others tandems since 1981-82 include Se-
meka Randall (12 times) and Tamika Catchings (18 times) in 1997-98; Peggy Evans (once) and Nikki Caldwell (once) in 1990-91; and Sheila Frost (2 times), Bridgette Gordon (9 times) and Melissa McCray (once) in 1985-86. Kortney Dunbar, UT’s third active rookie
this season has a 15-point game to her credit and could eventually help her class become the second rookie trio to boast 20-point games along with the 1985-86 unit of Frost, Gordon and McCray. Middleton and Nared also are among
only 12 Tennessee rookies since 1999-2000 to score 20 in their fi rst season. The club also includes Bashaara Graves (2012-13, twice), Meighan Simmons (2010-11, 5 times), Glory Johnson (2008-09, once), Shekinna Stricklen
POINTS IN THE PAINT Tennessee is winning the points in the
paint battle 494 to 308 over the fi rst 14 games, despite 6-3 Isabelle Harrison missing fi ve games with an injury and 6-6 Mercedes Russell redshirting this season. Texas, Oregon State and Missouri are the
only teams to out-point UT in the paint, with the Longhorns winning that battle, 38-26, the Beavers prevailing, 36-32, and the Tigers gaining the edge, 22-14. The 14 paint points vs. Mizzou were the
fewest of the season for Tennessee.
LADY VOL 20-20 CLUB Nia Moore is in some good company with
her back-to-back 20+ point scoring eff orts to open the campaign. Moore had 24 vs. Penn and 20 vs. Oral
Roberts, becoming just the sixth Lady Vol to accomplish 20-point games in the fi rst two games of the season. Only two Lady Vols have ever had more
than two 20+ games to open a campaign, and they were Lady Vol legends Candace Parker (4) and Chamique Holdsclaw (3). Ariel Massengale notched back-to-back
20-point games after sitting out the fi rst game of the season.
MOORE, MOORE, MOORE After averaging 2.3 points per game last
season as a sophomore last year, Nia Moore had a great start to the 2014-15 season fi lling in for the injured Isabelle Harrison. Moore scored in double fi gures in the fi rst
four games for Tennessee and has scored 104 points this season in 14 games, which surpassed her previous two-year combined total of 103 from her freshman and sopho-more seasons. After scoring 29 points in the exhibi-
tion contest vs. Carson-Newman on Nov. 9, Moore appeared to be out to prove a point that her eff ort was no fl uke. The 6-3 post connected on 12 of 18 shots
to card a career- and game-high 24 points for the Lady Vols vs. Penn. Just for good measure, she rounded up
career highs of 14 rebounds and four blocks and tied her career best with three assists. Moore’s points/rebounds double-double
was one of a school-best four for UT vs. Penn. It also was the fi rst time she led the
squad in scoring in a regular season game and third time she paced UT on the boards. Moore’s previous regular season career
bests were 12 points (Ole Miss, 2/10/13), 13 rebounds (Troy, 12/14/13), three blocks (Tenn. State, 12/17/13) and three assists (Troy, 12/14/13). Moore followed that Penn eff ort with 20
points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 29 minutes vs. Oral Roberts. Moore had more fi eld goals (27) in the
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fi rst two games than she did in either her entire freshman or sophomore seasons when she had 19 each. After tossing in 14 points vs. Winthrop,
Moore posted a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to secure her second double-double of the season vs. Tenn. St.
DON’T FOLLOW AN “L” WITH AN “L” Prior to dropping consecutive games vs.
Chattanooga and #6/9 Texas, the Lady Vols had lost back-to-back games in a season only once during the Holly Warlick era, including setbacks to #3/3 Baylor on the road (76-53) on Dec. 18, 2012, and vs. #1/1 Stanford (73-60) in Knoxville on Dec. 22, 2012. After beating Saint Francis on Dec. 3,
Tennessee is 14-2 coming off losses under Holly Warlick, and is 2-0 coming off back-to-back defeats. Consecutive losses also occurred un-
der Pat Summitt during the 2011-12 season (once), 2008-09 (twice), 2005-06 (once), 1996-97 (three times), 1995-96 (once), 1989-90 (once), 1985-86 (once-three games in a row), 1984-85 (three times-one of them was three in a row), 1983-84 (twice), 1982-83 (once), 1981-82 (twice), 1980-81 (once), 1979-80 (once), 1978-79 (twice), 1977-78 (once) and 1976-77 (four times).
SENSATIONAL ROOKIE DEBUTS For only the second time in school histo-
ry, three Lady Vol freshmen scored in double fi gures in the same game during their regular season debuts. Alexa Middleton tossed in 20 points,
Kortney Dunbar scored 15 and Jaime Nared added 10 to accomplish the feat. The fi rst trio to do it made it happen
vs. East Carolina on Nov. 24, 1985, as Sheila Frost (16), Bridgette Gordon (13) and Melissa McCray (10) spurred #9/11 UT to a 74-56 vic-tory in Knoxville. Frost, Gordon and McCray went on to
lead UT to NCAA titles in 1987 and 1989. Middleton also posted a single-game
best for most assists in a Lady Vol debut, dishing out 11 to surpass the nine Jody Ad-ams had as #1/1 Tennessee beat Stetson on Nov. 26, 1989, 112-39. That assist total ties for the second most
ever by a freshman in any game. Ariel Mas-sengale holds the record with 12 vs. Vander-bilt on Jan. 15, 2012. Massengale also had 11 vs. Alabama on Jan. 26, 2012, while Meighan Simmons had 11 vs. Alabama on Jan. 6, 2011. Middleton’s 20 points were the most in a
rookie debut since Meighan Simmons came off the bench to score 22 for #4/4 Tennessee in a 63-50 win at Louisville on Nov. 12, 2012. Middleton is only the fi fth Lady Vol rook-
ie to score 20 or more points in her debut. With her points/assists double-double,
Middleton became the seventh Lady Vol freshman and fi rst rookie guard to post a double-double in her fi rst game. The previous rookie debut double-dou-
ble was Glory Johnson’s 17/12 eff ort vs. San Francisco in 2008. In addition to Middleton and Johnson,
the other freshman debut double-doubles, all of them of the points/rebounds variety, were by Mary Ostrowski (15/10 vs. Alabama in 1980), Lisa Harrison (13/12 vs. Stetson in 1989), Tiff any Johnson (18/17 vs. La. Tech in 1994), Chamique Holdsclaw (13/10 vs. Vir-ginia in 1995) and Candace Parker (19/10 vs. Stetson in 2005).
ROOKIE FIRST-GAME STARTS Alexa Middleton became the 18th fresh-
man to start her fi rst game as a Lady Vol. She did quite nicely, fi nishing with a
double-double of 20 points and 11 assists to go along with six rebounds, three steals and zero turnovers in 32 minutes. Andraya Carter was the last rookie to
draw a starting nod, reporting for the open-ing tip at Chattanooga in 2012. Senior Ariel Massengale also started her
fi rst game in 2011-12, as (then) head coach Pat Summitt predicted before Massengale arrived on campus. Massengale made her debut vs. Pepper-
dine in Knoxville in 2011, tallying two points, three rebounds, fi ve assists and two steals. A year ago, Mercedes Russell had 11
points, seven rebounds, an assist, three blocks and a steal in UT’s opening-game win at Middle Tennessee. In 2012 Bashaara Graves came off the
bench to score 14 points and haul down eight rebounds in UT’s opening-night setback at Chattanooga.
TUCKER MAKES DEBUT Redshirt freshman Jannah Tucker en-
tered the Stanford game to a big ovation from Lady Vol fans with two minutes re-maining and saw her fi rst action since Aug. 16, 2012, when she injured her left knee in a Group A preliminary round game vs. Argen-tina while playing alongside (then) future UT teammate Bashaara Graves at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. Tucker was the No. 8 ranked recruit in
the 2013 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, but her journey to playing at Tennessee was side-tracked by two unfortunate situations. First she suff ered the previously men-
tioned knee injury and sat out her senior year of high school rehabbing. Expected to begin attending school at
UT during summer 2013, Tucker didn’t arrive on campus until Jan. 2014. It was later learned her delay in coming
to UT was the result of her being the victim of domestic violence. Tucker quickly fi t in with her teammates
and was an encourager on the bench for the squad in 2013-14. A procedure to clean up the knee oc-
curred during summer 2014, and Tucker now
will continue to work on returning to the form she displayed at New Town High School in Maryland.
NUMBERS GAME This marks the 70th season of Lady Vol
basketball, as recognized by the NCAA. Minus departed senior guard Meighan
Simmons and redshirting sophomore cen-ter Mercedes Russell, UT returns 70.7% of its points, 83.2% of its rebounds, 81.7% of its as-sists, 79.5% of its steals, 68.9% of its blocks and 76.2% of its turnovers from last season. Tennessee has 14 players on its roster,
marking the most since having 15 in 2004-05. Twelve are active this season. UT has 10 players on its roster who stand
6-0 or taller, the most in school history. Eight of those six-footers are active this year. There are eight Lady Vols 6-2 or taller
on the roster, also the most in school history. Seven of those players are active this season.
FIRST FOUR GAMES WERE AT HOME After hosting one exhibition game and
four regular season games at home, Tenne-see fi nally stepped away from Thompson-Boling Arena to play an opponent, and the result was a loss at Chattanooga. The Lady Vols then followed with a loss at Texas. This marks the fi rst time since 2003-04
and only the second occasion since 1974-75 that the Lady Vols played their fi rst four games at home to open a season. The 2003-04 season was the only other
time the Lady Vols played their fi rst four at home and won all of them. UT started the regular season with wins
vs. Penn (W, 97-52 on Nov. 14), Oral Roberts (W, 91-39 on Nov. 17), Winthrop (W, 81-48 on Nov. 21) and Tennessee State (W, 97-46 on Nov. 24).
CHALLENGING SCHEDULE FOR UT Tennessee will face eight teams this sea-
son that were ranked in the AP Preseason Poll, including fi ve in the top 10. UT also will face eight in the USA Today
Coaches Poll, including fi ve in the top 10. Foes ranked by AP include No. 2 South
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Notre Dame, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 6 Stan-ford, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 Texas, No. 21 Oregon State and No. 24 LSU. The Lady Vols also meet fi ve teams re-
ceiving votes from AP: LSU, Georgia, Vander-bilt, Arkansas and Mississippi State. UT is lined up to face four squads gar-
nering votes in the preseason coaches poll: Rutgers, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Twenty-two of 29 teams on Tennessee’s
regular season schedule saw post-season ac-tion in 2013-14. Notre Dame and Stanford were 2014 Fi-
nal Four teams.
UT BEGAN AT NO. 4 IN RANKINGS UT entered the year ranked No. 4 in both
the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls, which came out on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, respectively. A year ago, UT also entered the cam-
paign ranked fourth by AP and the coaches. Tennessee fi nished the 2013-14 campaign
ranked fourth by AP and third by USA Today.
OTHER PRESEASON PREDICTIONS The Lady Vols were ranked fi fth in the
espnW.com preseason poll. UT was fi fth in Lindy’s Sports Annuals
Preseason Top 25. Graham Hays of espnW.com has the Big
Orange at seventh. Athlon had Tennessee at No. 7, while The
Sporting News ranked the Lady Vols No. 8.
KUDOS FOR HARRISON, GRAVES The fi ve-player AP preseason All-Amer-
ica team was released on Nov. 4. While Isa-belle Harrison wasn’t one of those fi ve, she was among 12 other players who garnered votes for the team. espnW.com ranked its top 25 players in
advance of the 2014-15 season, and Isabelle Harrison is the No. 9 ranked player. Harrison was an espnW preseason All-
America second team choice. Bashaara Graves was the No. 23 ranked
player, according to espnW.com.
TENNESSEE NO. 2 IN SEC POLLS Tennessee was picked by both the me-
dia (Oct. 21) and coaches (Nov. 5) to fi nish second in the Southeastern Conference race behind South Carolina. USC won the SEC regular season trophy,
and UT claimed the tourney title a year ago. Tennessee won the regular season fi nale
over the Gamecocks last season in Knoxville, 73-61, on March 2. Texas A&M and Kentucky rounded out
the top four in both preseason SEC polls.
PRESEASON SEC HONORS FOR TWO League coaches named senior center Is-
abelle Harrison and junior forward Bashaara Graves to the preseason All-SEC First Team. The media, which picks only a fi ve-player
preseason All-SEC Team, included Harrison in their all-star quintet.
THE LOGO REMAINS THE SAME UT announced a branding restructure on
Nov. 10, and the decision will allow the Lady Volunteers to continue using their highly-recognizable and successful brand. The restructure won’t take place un-
til July 1, 2015, but the university and all other athletics teams at Tennessee, except
for women’s basketball, will then utilize the “Power T” logo. The women’s basketball program was
excluded from the transition because of the accomplishments and legacy of the champi-onship program built by Coach Pat Summitt and her former players. “#OneTennessee has united all the ath-
letic programs here at the University of Tennessee,” said head women’s basket-ball coach Holly Warlick. “The value of this bonding enriches the support we can off er to all student-athletes. We now have unlim-ited access to our tremendous facilities and programs that not only benefi t our current athletes while also promoting our pursuit of excellence to future prospects.“The advantage of a state-of-the-art training
facility, our Smokey’s Grill dining facility, where athletes from every sport can eat together, and the modernized future athletic housing are just a few examples of how the One Ten-nessee premise confi rms our high ideals.“The Lady Vol logo, however, has long been
the monogram of excellence and a tradi-tion among our loyal basketball fans. This is a symbol that is recognized and linked with a superior standard of women’s basketball worldwide. In the 38 years of Coach Sum-mitt’s storied career, she established a tradi-tion unlike any other in women’s basketball, and she did so under the banner of the Lady Vol logo. It is with deep respect for Coach Summitt and this great tradition that we will continue to wear the Lady Vol logo with great pride.”
NINE LETTERWINNERS RETURN Tennessee returns nine letterwinners,
(eight active) including four starters, from last year’s team that went 29-6 overall and 13-3 in the Southeastern Conference, won an SEC tournament championship and made the NCAA Sweet 16. Isabelle Harrison, a 6-foot-3 senior cen-
ter, is Tennessee’s top returning player and All-America candidate, having averaged 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds as a junior with an SEC-leading 18 double-doubles. Also back are 6-2 junior forward Bashaara
Graves (9.3 ppg., 6.8 rpg.), 6-2 senior for-ward Cierra Burdick (8.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg.) and 5-6 senior point guard Ariel Massengale (12.5 ppg., 5.8 apg.). Massengale started the fi rst 19 games un-
til a facial injury suff ered vs. Florida ended her season. Andraya Carter, now a 5-9 redshirt soph-
omore, stepped in for Massengale and aver-aged 6.9 points and 2.3 assists per contest while starting 21 contests. Carter made the SEC All-Freshman Team
last season, while Burdick was named to the 2014 SEC All-Tournament Team. Graves was SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC First Team in 2012-13. Jasmine Jones (4.8 ppg., 3.5 rpg.), a 6-2
junior forward returns as UT’s top defender and most athletic player, while 5-11 sopho-more Jordan Reynolds (3.8 ppg., 1.9 rpg.) and 6-3 junior Nia Moore (2.3 ppg., 2.1 rpg.) off er experience at guard and center.
RUSSELL SITS, SIMMONS GRADUATES Of Tennessee’s nine returning letterwin-
ners this season, one of them won’t be play-ing in 2014-15 as she redshirts to completely
recover from off -season foot surgeries. Mercedes Russell (6.3 ppg., 5.0 rpg.), a
6-6 sophomore center, will sit out, leaving UT with eight active returning letterwinners but allowing the Oregonian three more years of eligibility at Tennessee. The Lady Vols lost only one player to
graduation, but it was a key one in Meighan “Speedy” Simmons. Simmons concluded her career as Ten-
nessee’s No. 5 all-time scorer with 2,064 points in 143 games. She is only the fi fth player in school his-
tory to reach the 2,000-point plateau, join-ing Chamique Holdsclaw (3,025, 1995-99), Bridgette Gordon (2,462, 1985-89), Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08) and Tamika Catch-ings (2,113, 1997-2001). Simmons continued the program’s
100-percent graduation rate when she earned a B.A. in psychology in August 2014. Simmons averaged 16.5 points per game
as a senior to rank No. 5 in the SEC. The 5-9 guard was named AP SEC Play-
er of the Year and All-SEC First Team, and earned Full Court All-America Second Team as well as AP and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America distinction. Known for her three-point shooting
prowess, Simmons fi nished with 255 threes in her career to rank No. 4 at UT and her 72 treys in 2013-14 stacked up No. 7.
SIXTH-RANKED FRESHMAN CLASS No. 6-rated Jaime Nared, a 6-2 guard/
forward from Portland, Ore./Westview H.S. is UT’s top-ranked signee and averaged 30.0 ppg. as a senior there. In-state product Alexa Middleton, ranked
No. 28 by espnW HoopGurlz, is a 5-9 guard who led her Murfreesboro, Tenn./Riverdale H.S. squad to a pair of state titles. Three-point marksman Kortney Dunbar
joins UT as the No. 78 signee. She drained 57 treys and averaged 16.8 ppg. and 9.7 rpg. as a senior at Edwardsville (Ill.) H.S. Nared and Middleton were 2014 McDon-
ald’s High School All-Americans, with Nared leading the West to victory with 15 points. Middleton won the Powerade Jam Fest
skills competition and three-point shootout in conjunction with the McDonald’s Game. She became the fi rst McDonald’s All-
American to win two contests at the Pow-erade Jam Fest.
DESHIELDS TRANSFERS TO UT After previously announcing her depar-
ture from North Carolina, Diamond DeShields shared her decision to transfer to UT from UNC on June 12, 2014, and enrolled here for the second session of summer school. DeShields, a 6-0 sophomore guard from
Norcross, Ga., will sit out this season at UT, per NCAA transfer rules. DeShields expressed interest in Tennes-
see coming out of high school but opted for UNC on signing day. The consensus national freshman of the
year for the Tar Heels, DeShields averaged a team-leading 18.0 ppg., 5.4 rpg., 2.6 apg. and 1.7 spg. in 2013-14. She earned honorable mention All-Amer-
ica honors from AP and Full Court and was both All-ACC First Team and All-Freshman. She set four ACC freshman marks, includ-
ing points (648), fi eld goals (248), fi eld goals
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While some might consider those stan-dards incredibly high, it certainly contributes to the Lady Vols having a 100 percent gradu-ation rate for players who complete their eli-gibility at UT. It also helps explain why seven of 11 play-
ers on last year’s squad were members of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE Tennessee has the No. 1-ranked facebook
page among women’s basketball programs with nearly 76,000 Likes. The Lady Vols also rank No. 1 in Twitter
among women’s hoops teams, with more than 25,000 followers. After two seasons as head coach at Ten-
nessee Holly Warlick (@HollyWarlick) checks in number fi ve among women’s college bas-ketball coaches with more than 19,004 fol-lowers, ranking behind former TV analyst Jimmy Dykes of Arkansas (42,000+), Tyler Summitt of La. Tech (40,000+), Kentucky’s Matthew Mitchell (25,000+) and South Caro-lina’s Dawn Staley (19,000+).
PROGRAM SUPERLATIVES Tennessee has won eight NCAA Cham-
pionships, claiming titles in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008. The Lady Vols have appeared in 22 Final
Fours, including 18 NCAA and 4 AIAW. UT has appeared in 13 NCAA title games. Tennessee is the only school to appear in
all 33 NCAA Tournaments and has won more tourney games than any other school (142). The Lady Vols have won a combined 34
SEC titles, including 17 regular season and 17 tournament championships. UT has had 21 players honored as WBCA
All-Americans. Ten with UT ties have been inducted into
the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Seven women are recognized with ban-
ners of honor at Thompson-Boling Arena, including Holly Warlick, Bridgette Gordon, Daedra Charles, Chamique Holdsclaw, Tami-ka Catchings, Pat Summitt and Candace Parker. A total of 38 Lady Vols have played in
the WNBA, including 15 who were fi rst-round draft picks.
TENNESSEE VS. THE SEC Last season, Tennessee boosted its re-
cord to 497-76 all-time vs. schools who are current members of the SEC. In 2013-14, UT also pushed its all-time
SEC regular season record to 344-49 and its regular-season league ledger under Holly Warlick to 27-5 during her fi rst two seasons at the helm. In 2013-14, the Lady Vols improved to 193-
13 in SEC regular-season play since 2000-01.
LADY VOLS HAVE WON 34 TITLES Tennessee upped its total of combined
SEC Championships to 34 in 2013-14, win-ning its 17th all-time SEC Tournament title in Duluth, Ga., 71-70, over Kentucky. The Lady Vols came from 10-down or
more to win all three games during the 2013-14 league tourney. That postseason tournament victory
came on the heels of Tennessee’s SEC regu-
LOOKING BACK TO 2013-14
attempted (582) and double-fi gure scoring games (32). DeShields’ mother, Tisha (Milligan)
DeShields, was a track & fi eld All-American at Tennessee (heptathlon) in 1991.
UT’S RECRUITING RANKINGS UT signed the No. 1 espnW HoopGurlz
recruiting class in 2011, No. 5 in 2012, No. 3 in 2013 and No. 6 in 2014. The top-ranked 2011 group, this year’s se-
niors, included No. 3 Cierra Burdick, No. 4 Ar-iel Massengale and No. 29 Isabelle Harrison. The 2013 class included No. 1 Mercedes
Russell, No. 8 Jannah Tucker and No. 42 Jor-dan Reynolds, but they now can add that year’s No. 3 recruit, Diamond DeShields. The top signees from 2012 and 2014 are
Bashaara Graves (No. 5) and Jaime Nared (No. 6), respectively.
EIGHT MCDONALD’S A-AS ON ROSTER Tennessee has eight McDonald’s All-
Americans on its roster, and six of those play-ers are expected to see the fl oor this season. The eight players are Cierra Burdick,
Diamond DeShields, Bashaara Graves, Ariel Massengale, Alexa Middleton, Jaime Nared, Jordan Reynolds and Mercedes Russell. DeShields and Russell are redshirting. Russell was the 2013 McDonald’s Game
MVP, leading the West to a win with 16 points. Nared led the West to a win in 2014 with
15 points but came up short in MVP voting. Tennessee now has had 26 McDonald’s
All-Americans through the years.
LADY VOLS A POPULAR DRAW The Lady Vols will have 21 of 30 games,
including 15 of 16 league tilts, scheduled for television this season. Tennessee will be featured 12 times on TV
via the SEC Network, four times on ESPN2, twice each on ESPNU and Fox Sports Net, and once on Fox Sports 1. Twenty of those 21 contests also will
be available via WatchESPN, with the Fox Sports 1 telecast being the only exception. Fifteen of 16 Big Orange SEC contests
will be televised, with the Feb. 12 game at Ole Miss being the exception. The nine non-televised games will be
broadcast online. Seven of those events will be carried by SEC Network +, and the others will be on GoMocs.com (Nov. 26 at Chatta-nooga) and on ESPN3 (Dec. 7 at Lipscomb).
MORE GOLD FOR BURDICK Lady Vol senior Cierra Burdick earned
her fourth gold medal with USA Basketball over the summer. Burdick joined Sara Hammond (Louis-
ville), Jewell Loyd (Notre Dame) and Tiff any Mitchell (South Carolina) to capture the 2014 FIBA 3x3 World Championship in Moscow, Russia. The USA quartet qualifi ed for the world
tourney in May by winning at the 2014 USA Basketball Women’s 3x3 National Champion-ship in Colorado Springs. Burdick also struck gold at the 2011 U19
World Championship, 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship and 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
WE GO TO CLASS & GRADUATE Go to class, be on time and sit in the front
three rows are three rules that are UT staples.
lar-season title in 2012-13. The Lady Vols have won 17 SEC regular-
season titles, including three of the past fi ve. UT has 17 league tournament titles to its
credit, including three straight from 2010-12. Since 1985, there have been only fi ve
seasons where Tennessee didn’t win at least a regular season or tournament title. Those were 1986, 1987, 1991, 1997 and 2009. The Lady Vols have swept SEC regular-
season and tournament championships on eight occasions. Those years were 1980, 1985, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2010 and 2011. Tennessee stands fi rst in regular season
and tournament titles in conference history with Georgia ranking second with seven reg-ular season trophies and Vanderbilt standing sixth in tourney hardware with six pieces.
17TH SEC POSTSEASON CROWN Sixth-ranked Tennessee captured its re-
cord 17th SEC Tournament title with a 71-70 victory over No. 12 Kentucky in Duluth, Ga., on March 9. UT had dropped a 75-71 decision to UK
in Knoxville during the regular season and ended a two-game Wildcat winning streak. During the SEC tourney fi nal, senior
Meighan Simmons became the fi fth Lady Vol to score 2,000 points in her career, tallying a team-high 17 to boost her past 2K. Junior center Isabelle Harrison added 16
points, and freshman guard Jordan Reyn-olds, who was clutch down the stretch, fi n-ished with 11 points to help UT prevail. Harrison was named SEC Tournament
MVP, while Cierra Burdick added 10 boards in the fi nal and joined her teammate on the all-tourney team. The No. 2 seed Lady Vols have won four
of the last six SEC Tournament titles and sev-en of the past 10. For the ninth time, Tennessee fi nished
the regular season in second place, and for the ninth time, the Lady Vols went on to win the SEC Tournament. Tennessee now is 17-5 in SEC Tournament
championship games, winning seven consec-utive title games it has played since 2005. The Lady Vols are 73-18 all-time in the
SEC Tournament over its 35 years of exis-tence, including an 18-2 mark since 2008. SIMMONS FINISHES FIFTH IN SCORING Meighan Simmons wrapped up her Lady
Vol career on March 30, 2014, scoring 31 points vs. Maryland in her collegiate fi nale. That tally pushed her career total to
2,064, ranking her fi fth in UT women’s bas-ketball history.
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
tory in 1977. She had no trouble adjusting her enthusiasm and knowledge of the game into the coaching role. In 19 of the past 33 years Warlick has been affi liated with UT, she has found herself at the Final Four as a player (1977, 1979, 1980) or as a coach (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008). Her best Final Four showing as a player was national championship runner-up in her senior season. As a coach, she has helped the Lady Vols win all eight times (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008). A three-time All-American while playing for Summitt from 1976-80, Warlick previously held UT records for most assists in a game (14), most steals in a contest (nine), most assists in a season (225) and most games in a career (142). She continues to hold the Lady Vol single-season steals record with 141 in 1978-79. Warlick possesses vast international experience as well. A member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team, Warlick also participated in the Jones C up, Pan American Games and World Championship competition. In addition, she was a WPBL All-Star, leading the Nebraska Wranglers to the championship of the Women’s Professional Basket-ball League in 1981. She has served as a player representa-tive on the USA BASKETBALL council and was a member of the USOC Advisory Council for Basketball. In recognition of being a former Olympian, Warlick earned the distinct honor of running the Olympic torch through Knoxville as it made its way to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. Prior to joining the Tennessee staff for the 1985-86 season, Warlick gained experience at two other stops on the coaching circuit. She was an assistant at Virginia Tech from 1981-83 and an assistant from 1983-85 at Nebraska. A native of Knoxville, Warlick earned her B.S. in mar-keting from Tennessee in 1981 and her master’s degree in athletic administration from Virginia Tech in 1983. Warlick added “biker” to her vitae in 2001. To commemorate her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, a number of Warlick’s friends got together and presented her with a Harley-Davidson “Sportster” motorcycle. Just six years later, Warlick already was using her love of the bike towards a greater cause, establishing the Champions For A Cause Foundation with Caldwell.
WARLICK’S CAREER
HEAD COACH HOLLY WARLICK
THE WARLICK FILE
Born: June 11, 1958Education:
Bearden High School (Knoxville, Tenn.),‘76 B.S., Tennessee, ‘81 M.S., Virginia Tech, ‘83Playing Career:
University of Tennessee (1976-80): three-time All-American, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, 1980 Olympic Team, fi rst player at UT to have her jersey (#22) retired
For more than three decades, Holly Warlick has been instrumental in the phenomenal success story that is Ten-nessee Lady Vols basketball. Her impact on the program stretches from her ground-breaking days as a three-time All-America point guard at UT (1976-80), to her 27 highly-productive years as a loyal assistant for Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, to her ascension to the head coaching posi-tion at UT. Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Dave Hart named Warlick head coach of the Lady Vols on April 18, 2012, as Summitt stepped into the role of head coach emeritus. In a touching and symbolic gesture the following day at a press conference announcing the changes, Sum-mitt presented her coaching whistle to her long-time aide and former fl oor general. Warlick proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was up to the task with her debut eff ort in 2012-13. Despite having a young, inexperienced team that was picked to fi nish as low as fi fth in the SEC and 20th nationally, the fi rst-year head coach impressively directed her troops to a 27-8 overall record and a 14-2 mark in league play. That ef-fort earned Tennessee its 17th all-time SEC regular season title, and it enabled a team that saw injuries force players to miss a combined total of 53 games to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight for the 26th time in school history. Improvement demonstrated by players not only translated into wins on the court, it also resulted in post-season attention. Meighan Simmons was named a third-team AP All-American, SEC Co-Player of the Year and fi rst-team All-SEC. Bashaara Graves was chosen a Full Court Freshman All-American, SEC Freshman of the Year and fi rst-team All-SEC. Kamiko Williams, meanwhile, was taken in the second round of the WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty. Warlick also was singled out for her performance, which included scoring a top-three recruiting class com-plete with the nation’s No. 1-ranked player in 6-foot-6 Mer-cedes Russell. The members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named her the Spalding Maggie Dix-on Division I Rookie Coach of the Year. She was selected by AP and league coaches as the SEC Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year, and members of the Tennessee Sports Writers Association also chose her as TSWA Women’s Bas-ketball Coach of the Year. In year two, Warlick directed the team to a 29-6 re-cord and the program’s second SEC trophy in as many years with the capturing of the 2014 SEC Tournament. Among her top players were AP SEC Player of the Year Meighan Simmons, who was a third-round WNBA Draft pick of the New York Liberty, and Isabelle Harrison, a fi rst-team All-SEC choice and the SEC tourney’s MVP. Warlick and her staff also continued building for the future, landing the nation’s number six signing class in 2014. Anchoring that group are McDonald’s All-Americans Jaime Nared and Alexa Middleton, the nation’s No. 6 and No. 28 ranked players. After Warlick helped shape the direction of Lady Vol basketball as an assistant on Summitt’s staff for more than a quarter of a century, the pupil took on greater responsi-bility and oversaw daily supervision of the basketball of-fi ce during the 2011-12 season. She also handled a large measure of the media obligations after Summitt’s Aug.
23, 2011, announcement regarding the diagnosis of early-onset dementia, “Alzheimer’s type.” Providing an excellent example of how people rally around each other, the Tennessee staff members pulled together remarkably in the face of that adversity. The end result was a 27-9 overall record, a league-best 16th SEC Tournament Championship and advancement to the NCAA Regional Final. It’s worth noting that Warlick was by Summitt’s side, either as a player or an assistant, for 949 of the coach’s NCAA-record 1,098 wins and all eight NCAA National Championships. Her value to the program has been evi-dent for some time, as she had held the role of associate head coach since the 2005-06 campaign. The WBCA also had recognized Warlick’s contribu-tions to Tennessee’s success through the years, naming Warlick the nation’s top assistant coach after she helped lead UT to its seventh national title in 2007. The NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches also recognized Warlick as one of the nation’s top assistants in 1998, rank-ing her prominently in The Women’s Basketball Journal poll. In addition to the NCAA title and coaching honor in 2007, Warlick also teamed up for the fi rst time with former fellow Lady Vol player and assistant Nikki Caldwell, the current head coach at LSU, to pursue her other passion. That pursuit is riding a motorcycle and raising money for the fi ght against breast cancer. Warlick and Caldwell created the Champions For A Cause Foundation, a long haul motorcycle ride dedicated to raising funds and awareness for a cure for breast cancer. The charitable organization has raised and donated more than $150,000. Past trips include the inaugural ride from San Francisco to Knoxville as well as trips from the Bad-lands to Las Vegas and from Knoxville to Key West, Fla., New Orleans, Niagara Falls and, most recently in 2013 and 2014, Panama City, Fla. With all of her accomplishments in coaching and in her charitable endeavors it might be easy to overlook the fact that Warlick left just as powerful a mark on women’s hoops as a player at UT. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the charismatic Knoxville native was fl ying up and down the court as an All-America Lady Vol point guard. For more than three decades, Warlick has been con-sidered the fi nest point guard ever to play for the Lady Vols. In addition to being selected to the CONVERSE/Lady Vol Team of the Decade for the 1980s in January of 1994, fi ve diff erent halls of fame opened their doors to her. On Feb. 27, 2004, she was inducted into the Tennes-see Sports Hall of Fame. In October 2002, she became a member of the University of Tennessee Lady Vol Hall of Fame in the second class of inductees. In June 2001, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame selected Warlick as one of 10 inductees enshrined into the Hall for the Class of 2001. For the hometown girl, who grew up in the Rocky Hill section of Knoxville and graduated from Bearden High School, it was a dream-come-true. In the summer of 1994, Warlick gained admission to her fi rst hall of fame. She was honored as one of the City of Knoxville’s fi nest all-time athletes with her inclusion in the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame. Including the 2013-14 season, Warlick has invested 33 years in the program, having helped shape UT into a national powerhouse with tenure as both a player and a coach. Warlick’s expertise and major contributions to the team as an assistant came from her work with the guards. In 2010-11, Simmons was the SEC Rookie of the Year, and guard Shekinna Stricklen was the 20th Lady Vol named to the WBCA/State Farm All-America Team. Additionally, Warlick has been a highly-successful re-cruiter for the backcourt, attracting some of the nation’s fi nest players to UT to continue the excellence she helped establish as a player. The Lady Vols welcomed another top fl ight guard to the Orange and White for 2010-11 when she landed McDonald’s All-American Ariel Massengale. As a rookie in 2011-12, Massengale lived up to her billing, earning Full Court Freshman All-America and SEC All-Freshman Team honors. The point guard posted a UT freshman record of 162 assists, ranking second in the SEC in that category, and leading the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.1. Warlick’s tutelage also helped to strengthen the game of four-time All-SEC selection Angie Bjorklund, Kodak All-American and four-time Lady Vol All-SEC performer Kara Lawson and three-time All-SEC selection Shanna Zolman. That trio accounts for the school records for most of UT’s three-point marks. Warlick’s association with the Lady Vols started in 1976 when she joined the program as a scholarship 400-meter track athlete who ended up walking on to the basketball team. Soon, she would become the most pro-lifi c player in the history of Tennessee Lady Vol basketball. Warlick was the fi rst player in Tennessee athletics (men or women) to have her jersey retired (number 22) at the end of her career in 1980. Bearden, her prep alma ma-ter in Knoxville, retired Warlick’s high school jersey (also No. 22) prior to a home football game on Oct. 26, 2012. Known as a play-making wiz during her four years as UT’s point guard, Warlick was once tabbed the “best player in the South.” As a rookie, Warlick helped lead the Lady Vols to their fi rst Final Four appearance in school his-
SCHOOL YEARS RECORDat Tennessee 1976-77 28-5(player) 1977-78 27-4 1978-79 30-9 1979-80 33-5Totals 4 years 118-23
at Virginia Tech 1981-82 16-12(assistant) 1982-83 13-12Totals 2 years 29-24
at Nebraska 1983-84 16-12(assistant) 1984-85 10-18Totals 2 years 26-30
Career Totals 38 years 1072-215 (.833)Overall record as a head coach: 68-16 (.810)Overall record as an assistant coach: 886-176 (.834) Overall record as a player: 118-23
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
BASHAARA GRAVES, F• Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List• Wade Trophy Watch List• John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List• Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team• College Sports Madness Preseason All-SEC Fourth
Team• No. 23 ranked player in 2014 espnW Top 25.
ISABELLE HARRISON, C• SEC Player of the Week (12/29/14)• College Sports Madness SEC POTW (12/29/14)• Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List• Wade Trophy Watch List• John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List•
espnW Preseason All-America Second Team• College Sports Madness Preseason All-America
First Team• Media Preseason All-SEC First Team• Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team• College Sports Madness Preseason All-SEC First
Team• No. 9 ranked player in 2014 espnW Top 25.
ARIEL MASSENGALE, G• College Sports Madness Preseason All-SEC Third
Team
THE LAST TIME
LAST TIME A TENNESSEE PLAYER...Scored 30 points ...................................March 30, 2014 vs. Maryland, Meighan Simmons, 31, (UM 73, UT 62)Scored 40 points ................................................Mar. 3, 1985 vs. Mississippi, Shelia Collins, 40, (UT 79, UM 71) Scored 50 points .......................................... Nov. 13, 1976 vs. Kentucky, Patricia Roberts, 51, (UT 107, UK 53)Had 20 rebounds ................................................... Mar. 19, 2012 vs. DePaul, Glory Johnson, 21, (UT 63, DU 48)Had 25 rebounds .........................................................................................................................................................NeverHad 10 assists .............................................................Nov. 14, 2014 vs. Penn, Alexa Middleton, 11, (UT 97, UP 52)Had 15 assists .............................................................. Mar. 6, 1988 vs. Georgia, Dawn Marsh, 18, (UT 82, UG 76)Made 5+ three-pointers ..............................Nov. 21, 2014 vs. Winthrop, Ariel Massengale, 6, (UT 81, WIN 48)Made 8 three-pointers ................................Nov. 28, 2013 vs. Virginia, Meighan Simmons, 8, (UT 76, UVa 67)Made 10 three-pointers ..............................................................................................................................................NeverNo Lady Vol scored in double fi gures ..............................Mar. 29, 2002 vs. Connecticut (UCONN 79, UT 56)
LAST TIME TENNESSEE...Scored 100 points ............................................................................Dec. 3, 2014 vs. Saint Francis (UT 111, SFU 44)Scored 90 points .............................................................................Dec. 3, 2014 vs. Saint Francis (UT 111, SFU 44)Scored 60 points or less ......................................................................... Jan. 5, 2015 vs. Vanderbilt (UT 57, VU 49)Scored 50 points or less ...................................................................Jan. 23, 2012 at Notre Dame (ND 72, UT 44)Scored 40 points or less ......................................................Feb. 19, 1972 at UNC Greensboro (UNCG 51, UT 36)Shot 60 percent FG ................................................ Jan. 30, 2014 vs. Arkansas, .622 (28-45), (UT 70, ARK 60)Shot 55 percent FG .................................................... Feb. 10, 2014 vs. Vanderbilt, .582 (32-55), (UT 81, VU 53)Shot 40 percent FG or lower ....................................... Jan. 5, 2015 vs. Vanderbilt, .362 (17-47), (UT 57, VU 49)Shot 30 percent FG or lower ..........................................Dec. 14 2014 vs. Rutgers, .275 (19-69), (UT 55, RU 45)Shot 25 percent FG or lower ...........................................Dec. 14, 2010 at Baylor, .250 (18-72), (BU 65, UT 54)Won 20 games in a row .......................................................................Dec.19, 2010-Mar. 28, 2011 25-game streakWon 15 games in a row ........................................................................Dec.19, 2010-Mar. 28, 2011 25-game streakWon 10 games in a row..........................................................................Nov. 8, 2013-Dec. 17, 2013 10-game streakLost 3 games in a row ............................................................................Feb. 5, 1986-Feb. 10, 1986, 3-game streakLost 5 games in a row ........................................................................... Jan. 28, 1970-Jan. 22, 1971, 5-game streakWon 60 home games in a row ............................................................ Feb. 2, 1991-Jan. 6, 1996, 69-game streakWon 50 home games in a row ............................................................ Feb. 2, 1991-Jan. 6, 1996, 69-game streakWon 40 home games in a row ....................................................... Feb. 22, 2009-Feb. 2, 2012, 45-game streakWon 10 road games in a row .......................................................... Jan. 2, 2008-Dec. 14, 2008, 19-game streak Won 15 road games in a row .........................................................Jan. 23, 2000-Jan. 27, 2002, 26-game streakWon 20 road games in a row........................................................Jan. 23, 2000-Jan. 27, 2002, 26-game streakWon 25 road games in a row ........................................................Jan. 23, 2000-Jan. 27, 2002, 26-game streakLost 3 road games in a row ...................................................................Jan. 24 1986-Feb. 5, 1986, 3-game streakLost 5 road games in a row ............................................................ Jan. 25, 2009-Feb. 26, 2009, 5-game streakLost consecutive SEC games Dec. 8, 1996 vs. UGA (UGA 94, UT 93, OT) & Dec. 29, 1996 at AR (AR 77, UT 75) Gave up 100 points ................................................................................... Mar. 6, 1987 vs. Auburn (AU 102, UT 96)Gave up 90 points ................................................................................. Feb. 9, 2012 vs. Vanderbilt (VU 93, UT 79)Gave up 60 points or less ......................................................................... Jan. 2, 2015 vs. Missouri, (UT 63, MU 53)Gave up 50 points or less ......................................................................Jan. 5, 2015 vs. Vanderbilt, (UT 57, VU 49)Gave up 40 points or less .....................................................................Dec. 20, 2014 vs. Stanford, (UT 59, SU 40)Defeated Top 5 Team At Home .....................................March 2, 2014 vs. #4/5 South Carolina (UT 73, SC 61)Defeated Top 5 Team On The Road .............................................. Jan. 6, 2007, at #5/5 UConn (UT 70, UC 64)Defeated Top 10 Team At Home ............................... Dec. 28, 2014 vs. # 10/12 Oregon State, (UT 74, OSU 63)Defeated Top 10 Team On The Road ............................................Jan. 28, 2008 at #9/10 Duke (UT 67, DU 64)Lost To An Unranked Team ...........................................................Nov. 27, 2014 vs. Chattanooga (UTC 67, UT 63)
LAST TIME AN OPPOSING PLAYER...Scored 30 points...............................................March 30, 2014, Alyssa Thomas, Maryland, 33, (UM 73, UT 62)Scored 40 points ..............................................Dec. 20, 2011, Nneka Ogwumike, Stanford, 42, (SU 97, UT 80) Scored 50 points .........................................................................................................................................................NeverHad 20 rebounds ..............................................Dec. 21, 2013, Chiney Ogwumike, Stanford, 20, (SU 76, UT 70)Had 25 rebounds .........................................................................................................................................................NeverHad 10 assists ...................................................March 8, 2014, Jordan Jones, Texas A&M, 10, (UT 86, TAMU 77)Had 15 assists ................................................................................................................................................................NeverMade 5+ three-pointers ......................................................... Jan. 2, 2014, Morgan Eye, Missouri, 5, (UT 63, MU 53)Made 8 three-pointers ......................................Dec. 21, 1992, Molly Goodenbour, Stanford, 9, (UT 84, SU 79)Made 10 three-pointers ..............................................................................................................................................NeverNo opposing player scored in double fi gures ................................... Jan. 9, 2014 vs. Ole Miss (UT 94, UM 70)
LAST TIME AN OPPONENT...Shot 60 percent FG ............................................................. Nov. 25, 2004, Texas, .604 (29-48), (TX 74, UT 59)Shot 55 percent FG ......................................................... Feb. 9, 2012, Vanderbilt, .557 (39-70), (VU 93, UT 79)Shot 50 percent FG ................................................ Nov, 26, 2014, Chattanooga, .533 (24-45), (UTC 67, UT 63)Shot 40 percent FG or lower .......................................................Jan. 5, 2015 vs. Vanderbilt, .333 (UT 57, VU 49) Shot 30 percent FG or lower ......................................................Dec. 20, 2014 vs. Stanford, .255 (UT 59, SU 40)Shot 20 percent FG or lower ............................Dec. 17, 2013 vs. Tennessee State, .189 (14-74), (UT 94, TSU 43)
PRESEASON HONORS
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Jump Balls ControlledTennessee 9Opponents 5
Scored UT’s First PointsBashaara Graves 4Cierra Burdick 3Nia Moore 2Jasmine Jones 2Isabelle Harrison 2Jordan Reynolds 1
How Scored First PointsJump Shot 7Lay-up 63-Pointer 1Free Throw -Free Throw (Technical) -
First Off UT Bench^Ariel Massengale 9Jaime Nared 4Cierra Burdick 4Alexa Middleton 3Andraya Carter 3Isabelle Harrison 2Nia Moore 1^ includes multiple subs
Points Leader* Ariel Massengale 4Isabelle Harrison 3Nia Moore 2Andraya Carter 2Jasmine Jones 1Bashaara Graves 1Jaime Nared 1Cierra Burdick 1
Leading at halftime ..................................................10-0Trailing at halftime .....................................................2-2Tied at halftime ..........................................................0-0
Leading with 10:00 remaining ............................... 11-0Trailing with 10:00 remaining ..................................1-2Tied with 10:00 remaining ......................................0-0
Leading with 5:00 remaining ................................ 12-0Trailing with 5:00 remaining .................................. 0-2Tied with 5:00 remaining ........................................0-0
In Overtime ..................................................................0-0
Tennessee out-rebounds opponent...................... 11-1Tennessee is out-rebounded ....................................1-1Same amount of rebounds .....................................0-0
Tennessee commits more turnovers .................... 1-0Opponent commits more turnovers ..................... 11-1Same amount of turnovers ...................................... 0-1
Tennessee shoots 50 percent or better .............. 1-0Opponent shoots 50 percent or better ............... 0-1
Tennessee shoots 50 percent or less ................. 12-2Opponent shoots 50 percent or less ................... 12-1
Tennessee shoots better than opponent ..........10-0Opponent shoots better than Tennessee............2-2Same shooting percentage ....................................0-0
Tennessee has more free-throw attempts......... 10-1Opponent has more free-throw attempts .......... 0-1Same amount of free-throw attempts ................ 2-0
Tennessee bench outscores opponent bench .... 11-2Opponent bench outscores Tennessee bench .... 1-0Benches score the same ..........................................0-0
Tennessee scores less than 50 ..............................0-0Tennessee scores between 50-59 ..........................4-1Tennessee scores between 60-69 ..........................1-1Tennessee scores between 70-79 ......................... 1-0Tennessee scores between 80-89........................ 2-0Tennessee scores between 90-99 ....................... 3-0Tennessee scores 100 or more ............................... 1-0
Opponent scores less than 50 ................................7-0Opponent scores between 50-59 ........................ 4-0Opponent scores between 60-69 ...........................1-1Opponent scores between 70-79 .......................... 0-1Opponent scores between 80-89 ........................0-0Opponent scores between 90-99 ........................0-0Opponent scores 100 or more ...............................0-0
In November ................................................................4-2In December ................................................................ 6-0In January .................................................................... 2-0In February ..................................................................0-0In March ........................................................................0-0In April...........................................................................0-0
CAREER HONORS• All-State, WBCA Good Works Team Nominee -- 2014• SEC All-Tournament Team - 2014• SEC Community Service Team - 2014• SEC Player of the Week (3/4/13)• SEC Player of the Week (2/3/14) • SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2013• SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll - 2012• SEC Freshman of the Week (2/20/12)
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Produced an important 10 points and team-high seven
rebounds in win vs. in-state rival Vanderbilt.• Added four points, six rebounds, two assists and steals
in the SEC opener vs. Missouri.• Started her fi fth game of season and produced 11 points,
three rebounds, a block and steal vs. #10/12 OSU.• Tallied eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and
tied her career high of three steals vs. #7 Stanford. She was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
• Notched a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 10 points for her third double-double of the season in her third start against Wichita State.
• In 27 minutes vs. #17/19 Rutgers, charted six points, six rebounds and a season-high two blocks in the win.
• Accumulated a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. Lipscomb for her her second double-double of the season and 14th of her career. Hit 8-of-9 free throws.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Named to SEC All-Tournament Team, averaging 8.3
Points: 21 // St. John’s, 3/24/14Rebounds: 11 // St. John’s, 3/24/14Assists: 3 // Northwestern St., 3/22/14Steals: 2 // Oklahoma, 3/31/13Blocks: 2 // DePaul, 3/19/12Field Goals: 10 // St. John’s, 3/24/143-Pointers: 1 // St. John’s, 3/24/14*Free Throws: 5 // Oklahoma, 3/31/13Minutes: 34 // St. John’s, 3/24/14
*Indicates most recent high
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Had a Double-Double 3 15Scored 10+ Points 6 35Scored 20+ Points -- 3Led UT in Scoring 1 5Led UT in 3-pt Made -- 7Led UT in Rebounding 4 23Led UT in Steals 2 7Made 3+ 3-pt -- 2Had 3+ Steals 1 5
points and 10.3 rebounds per game in Duluth, Ga.• Notched 13 double-fi gure scoring outings in 2013-14, includ-
ing three 20-plus point showings (Alabama, 21; LSU, 22; St. John’s, 21).
• Started a career-high 25 games and played in all 35 contests for the Lady Vols, posting career-best scoring (8.7) and re-bounding averages (7.3).
AT TENNESSEE• Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member.• Averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in 2012-13, playing in
27 games and starting 16 of them.• Was a presence on the boards, leading Tennessee in re-
bounding on nine occasions and hitting double fi gures six times as a sophomore.
PERSONAL• Earned an internship with ABC’s Good Morning America for
summer 2014.• Created a community outreach program called “DREAM”
Team with other UT student-athletes.• Had open heart surgery (ASD repair) when she was two
years old.• Her great grandfather, Lloyd Burdick, played tackle for the
NFL’s Chicago Bears with Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski in 1931-32.
• Cierra is majoring in communications and would like to pur-sue a career in broadcast journalism.
• Follow @C_Burdick11 on Twitter and @c_burdick11 on Insta-gram.
CAREER HONORS• SEC All-Freshmen Team - 2014• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014• SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll - 2013
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Had career-best back-to-back scoring games with a
new career-high 19 points scored vs. Vanderbilt. She added four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
• Played a key part in the win of the SEC opener vs. Mis-souri playing the most minutes (35), tying a career high with 16 points, posting a career-high seven rebounds and an SEC high in fi eld goals (6) and three pointers (3).
• Produced four points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win over #10/12 Oregon State.
• Led all UT players in steals vs. Wichita State and #17/19 Rutgers with three.
• Added to her team steals lead with four vs. Lipscomb. She added three assists and two rebounds as well.
• Tallied 12 points, her second double-digit score this season, and added four assists and three rebounds and steals vs. Saint Francis. She also racked up a season-high fi ve fi eld goals.
• Hit a season-high 13 points, tied her career high in re-bounds (7) and added a block and steal vs. #6/9 Texas.
• Accumulated six points, fi ve rebounds and three assists in the loss to UTC while also drawing her second start.
• Made her season debut against Oral Roberts and carded a career-high six steals and contributed eight points, and four assists and rebounds.
Points: 7 // St. John’s, 3/24/14*Rebounds: 2 // St. John’s, 3/24/14*Assists: 3 // Maryland, 3/30/14*Steals: 4 // St. John’s, 3/24/14Blocks: 1 // St. John’s ,3/24/14Field Goals: 3 // Northwestern St., 3/22/143-Pointers: 1 // Northwestern St., 3/22/14Free Throws: 3 // St. John’s, 3/24/14Minutes: 39 // St. John’s, 3/24/14
*Indicates most recent high
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Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points 4 15Scored 20+ Points -- --Led UT in Scoring 2 2Led UT in 3-pt Made 2 11Led UT in Rebounding -- 1Led UT in Steals 6 17Made 3+ 3-pt 1 3Had 3+ Steals 6 12
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team.• After taking over the point guard reins during the Florida
game on Jan. 23, she piloted Tennessee to a 14-2 record over the fi nal 16 games.
• Was the only Lady Vol of the season to snag fi ve steals in a game, recording a career high in that category at home against Vanderbilt.
• Ranked second on the team in assists, dishing out 2.3 per game.
• Recorded 13 games of three or more assists, including a career-high eight helpers against Florida.
• Led the team in steals, averaging 1.6 swipes per game.
AT TENNESSEE• Started the fi rst fi ve games and played in seven contests
as rookie before redshirting due to injury. • Had surgery on that shoulder on Dec. 13, 2012, to repair a
labral tear and missed remainder of the year.• Became the 17th freshman to start her fi rst career game as
a Lady Vol against Chattanooga. • Led the Lady Vols to another key early-season road vic-
tory in 2012-13, going 4-5 from the arc and 4-4 from the free throw line for a career-high 16 points in 28 minutes at No. 23/23 Miami.
• Made SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a freshman.
PERSONAL• Born on Nov. 12, 1993, in Decatur, Ga., and signed with UT
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Sitting out the 2014-15 season after transferring to UT from
North Carolina.• Chosen as one of three SEC student-athletes to represent
the league on proposed governance rule changes under the NCAA’s Div. I autonomy process.
CAREER HONORS (UNC)• USBWA National Freshman of the Year -- 2014 • espnW National Freshman of the Year -- 2014 • Full Court National Freshman of the Year -- 2014•Full Court Freshman All-America First Team -- 2014 • Full Court All-America Honorable Mention -- 2014• AP All-America Honorable Mention Team -- 2014• ACC Rookie of the Year -- 2014 • All-ACC First Team -- 2014• ACC All-Freshman Team -- 2014 • All-ACC Tournament -- 2014• Three-time ACC Rookie of the Week -- 2014 • ACC Player of the Week -- 2013-14 (Feb. 11)• NCAA.com Nat’l. Player of the Week -- 2013-14 (Feb. 11)• USBWA and espnW National Player of the Week -- 2013-14
(Feb. 17 & 18) • John R. Wooden Top-15 List -- 2014• Naismith Award Midseason Top-30 List --2014• Preseason All-ACC -- 2013-14• ACC Newcomer Preseason Watch List -- 2013-14
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS (UNC)• Only fi rst-year player on 2014 John R. Wooden Top-15 List.• Averaged 18.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.7
steals per game as a freshman at UNC in 2013-14.• Set four ACC freshman marks, including points (648), fi eld
goals (248), fi eld goals attempted (582) and double fi gure
Had a Double-Double N/A 0Scored 10+ Points N/A 28Scored 20+ Points N/A 14Led UT in Scoring N/A N/ALed UT in 3-pt Made N/A N/ALed UT in Rebounding N/A N/ALed UT in Steals N/A N/AMade 3+ 3-pt N/A 5Had 3+ Steals N/A 8
scoring games (32).• Averaged 21.3 points per contest during the ACC Tour-
nament for North Carolina, earning all-tourney honors.• In ACC play, she averaged 19.8 points per contest to lead
all freshmen.• Named espnW National Player of the Week on Feb. 16
after her 38-point eff ort (the highest single-game eff ort ever by a UNC freshman) keyed the Tar Heels to an 89-82 win at NC State.
USA/AAU BASKETBALL• Led Team USA to the gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Un-
der-17 World Championships and was named MVP.• Won gold at the 2012 USA 3x3 U18 World Champion-
ships, as the youngest member of the 2011 U19 World Championship Team and with the 2010 U18 Champion-ship Team.
• Played for the Georgia Pistols (2007 AAU national champions), Georgia Elite (2008 AAU national runners-up) and Georgia Ice (2009 AAU national champs).
PERSONAL• Full name is Diamond Danae-Aziza DeShields.• Announced decision to transfer to UT from UNC on June
12, 2014, and enrolled in school in July for the second semester of summer school.
• Mother was an All-America track & fi eld athlete (hep-tathlon, 1991) at Tennessee.
• Father played 13 years of Major League Baseball with stints in Montreal, L.A. (Dodgers), St. Louis, Baltimore and Chicago (Cubs).
• Majoring in journalism and electronic media.• Follow @DDeShields23 on Twitter and @dddeshields on
Instagram.
2014-15 GAME-BY-GAME STATSOPPONENT DATE MIN FG-FGA PCT 3FG-FGA PCT FT-FTA PCT OR DR TR PF-FO A TO BLK STL PTSvs. Penn 11/14/14 DNPvs. Oral Roberts 11/17/14 DNPvs. Winthrop 11/21/14 DNPvs. Tennessee St. 11/24/14 DNPat Chattanooga 11/26/14 DNPat Texas 11/30/14 DNPvs. St. Francis 12/3/14 DNPat Lipscomb 12/7/14 DNPat Rutgers 12/14/14 DNPvs. Wichita St. 12/16/14 DNPvs. Stanford 12/20/14 DNPvs. Oregon St. 12/28/14 DNPvs. Missouri 1/2/15 DNPat Vanderbilt 1/5/14 DNPvs. Texas A&M 1/8/14 DNPat Arkansas 1/11/14 DNPat Auburn 1/15/14 DNPat Notre Dame 1/19/14 DNPvs. LSU 1/22/14 DNPvs. Georgia 1/25/14 DNPat Kentucky 1/29/14 DNPvs. Miss. St. 2/1/14 DNPat Florida 2/8/14 DNPat Ole Miss 2/12/14 DNPvs. Kentucky 2/15/14 DNPvs. Alabama 2/19/14 DNPat S Carolina 2/23/14 DNPat Georgia 2/26/14 DNPvs. Vanderbilt 3/1/14 DNP
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
1313KORTNEY DUNBARFreshman • 6-2 • Guard/ForwardEdwardsville, Ill. • Edwardsville H.S.
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Played a couple of minutes in the SEC opener vs. Missouri
but grabbed two rebounds and added an assist. • Scored three points with a rebound and block vs. Lip-
scomb.• Played for the fi rst time since Tennessee State and racked
up six points, fi ve rebounds and a block in 12 minutes vs Saint Francis.
• Produced eight points in 11 minutes against Tennessee State.
• Tallied three points and a rebound, block and steal against Winthrop.
• Shot 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and contributed 10 points, six rebounds, an assist and steal vs. ORU.
• Made her Lady Vol debut with 15 points, including three treys, one rebound and steal vs. Penn.
HIGH SCHOOL• Ranked No. 78 in 2014 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100.• Rated as a four-star recruit on that list and the No.
22-ranked wing player.• All-Star Girls Report ranked her the No. 65 player in the
country.• Blue Star ranked her the No. 74 player in the nation.• SchollyMe All-World Game participant (2014).• McDonald’s All-American nominee (2014).• Associated Press Class 4A All-State First Team (2014) and
Second Team (2013).• Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Class 4A
All-State First Team (2014) and Second Team (2013).• Selected to play in IBCA All-Star Game (2014).• Champaign News-Gazette All-State First Team (2014).• Chicago Tribune All-State Girls Basketball Second Team
Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points 2 2Scored 20+ Points -- --Led UT in Scoring -- --Led UT in 3-pt Made 2 2Led UT in Rebounding -- --Led UT in Steals -- --Made 3+ 3-pt 1 1Had 3+ Steals -- --
(2014).• Edwardsville Intelligencer Girls Basketball MVP (2014).• Southwestern Conference All-Conference First Team
(2013, 2014).• Averaged 16.8 ppg. and 9.7 rpg., and hit 57 three-pointers
as a senior.• Also had 59 assists, 44 bls bocks and 36 steals in 2013-14.• Finished her career with 1,205 points and 546 rebounds,
both ranking sixth in EHS history.• Had single-game prep career highs of 28 points and 23
rebounds, both as a senior.• Also recorded 64 steals, 57 assists and 31 blocks in 2012-
13.
USA/AAU BASKETBALL• Played for Midwest Elite-Platinum AAU team.• Participated in 2013 USA 3-on-3 U18 Team Trials.
PERSONAL• Full name is Kortney Nicole Dunbar.• Nicknames include Kort and KD.• Born on July 3, 1996, in Florissant, Mo.• Parents are Mark and Christine Dunbar.• Has an older sister, Kirstin.• Majoring in recreation and sport management.• Follow @Kortney_Dunbar1 on Twitter and @kdunbar13
CAREER HONORS• Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List - 2014• John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List - 2014• Wade Trophy Watch List - 2014• Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team - 2014• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014• Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List - 2013• Coaches SEC Freshman of the Year - 2013• Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 - 2013• AP SEC Newcomer of the Year - 2013• “Wade Watch” List - 2013• Coaches All-SEC First Team - 2013• Media & Coaches Preseason All-SEC - 2013• Associated Press All-SEC Second Team - 2013• Full Court National Freshman of the Year - 2013• Coaches SEC All-Freshman Team - 2013• Full Court First-Team Freshman All-American - 2013• SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll - 2013
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Posted two points, four rebounds, three assists, two
steals and a block in the win over Vandy.• Grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds along with eight
points, including 4-for-4 from the free throw line, in the win over Missouri.
• Racked up nine points and nine rebounds along with a steal in the win over #10/12 Oregon State.
• Carded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, adding two steals and an assist vs. #7 Stanford.
• In 30 minutes, produced seven points, seven rebounds, including fi ve points from the free throw line vs. Wichita State.
Had a Double-Double 6 19Scored 10+ Points 7 51Scored 20+ Points -- 4Led UT in Scoring 1 14Led UT in 3-pt Made -- --Led UT in Rebounding 6 29Led UT in Steals 1 11Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals 1 10
• Had most minutes for UT (31) and produced six re-bounds, fi ve points, two assists & two steals vs. Rutgers.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Led the team in rebounding on eight occasions in 2013-
14 while notching six games with 10 or more boards.• Averaged 10.0 rebounds per contest in NCAA play to
lead Tennessee.• Set a school record with 14 off ensive rebounds against
Georgia Tech. Recorded 18 total rebounds, the most by a Lady Vol since Glory Johnson on March 19, 2012.
AT TENNESSEE• Was the Lady Vols’ No. 1 rebounder (8.0) and No. 2 scor-
er (13.2) as a rookie in 2012-13, ranking seventh and 11th overall (No. 1 in both among freshmen), respectively, in the SEC in those categories in 2012-13.
• In UT history, only Chamique Holdsclaw (16) and Sheila Frost (11) had more double-doubles as freshmen than Graves, who tied Candace Parker with 10 and was one ahead of Tamika Catchings (9).
USA BASKETBALL• Four-time gold medalist with USA Basketball.• Played on the USA U19 squad that captured gold at the
2013 U19 Championships in Lithuania, starting all nine contests as the Americans went undefeated.
PERSONAL• Full name is Bashaara Keyana Graves• Majoring in sociology.• Admires Clarksville native and U.S. Olympian Wilma Ru-
CAREER HONORS• SEC Player of the Week - 12/29/14• Naismith Trophy Women’s 50 Watch List - 2014• John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List - 2014• Wade Trophy Watch List - 2014• espnW Preseason All-America Second Team - 2014• Coaches Preseason All-SEC First Team - 2014 • Media Preseason All-SEC First Team - 2014• Full Court Third-Team All-American - 2014 • SEC Tournament MVP - 2014• AP Honorable Mention All-American - 2014 • SEC All-Tournament Team - 2014• WBCA Honorable Mention All-American -2014 • SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014• WBCA All-Region 3 Team - 2014 • SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2013• AP & Coaches All-SEC First Team - 2014 • SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll - 2012
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Moved into ninth place on the UT career blocks list passing
Chamique Holdsclaw (111) with a total of 116.• Grabbed six rebounds and tallied three points and a block
in 24 minutes vs. Vanderbilt..• Despite foul trouble, managed to grab fi ve rebounds and
two points in seven minutes of the SEC opener vs. Missouri.• Scored a season-high 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and
blocked a season-best fi ve shots in a career-high-tying 35 minutes vs. #10/12 Oregon State to earn SEC Player of the Week honors.
• Accumulated 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists vs. #7 Stanford.
Had a Double-Double 3 27Scored 10+ Points 6 54Scored 20+ Points 1 7Led UT in Scoring 3 14Led UT in Steals -- 7Led UT in Rebounding 2 31Led UT in Blocks 3 44Made 3+ Steals -- 4Had 3+ Blocks 1 14
• Produced a team-high 14 points, nine rebounds along with a block and steal in the win over Wichita State.
• Earned her second double-double of the season and 26th career with 11 points and 13 rebounds vs. #17/19 Rutgers.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Scored in double fi gures in 31 of 35 contests, including 20
games in a row from Nov. 29-Feb. 20.• From Dec. 14, 2014 to Jan. 9, 2014, posted seven-straight
games with double-doubles, setting a Lady Vol program record for consecutive double-doubles.
• Set a Tennessee junior season record with 18 double-doubles, passing the previous record holder, Chamique Holdsclaw, who had 16 in 1997-98. That is the second-best season total in school history.
AT TENNESSEE• Averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks as a
sophomore, playing in 25 games and starting 17.• Ended up posting six double-doubles on the season and
notched double-digit scoring performances on 14 occa-sions and rebounding eff orts 10 times.
PERSONAL• Full name is Isabelle Hannah “Izzy” Harrison.• Has 11 siblings, including DeeDee, who played volleyball at UT.• Her father, Dennis, played in the NFL for 10 seasons with
the Philadelphia Eagles, the then-Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.
• Earned a degree in communication studies in three years and is pursuing a graduate degree in agricultural leader-ship, education and communications.
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
JASMINE JONESJunior • 6-2 • ForwardMadison, Ala. • Bob Jones H.S. 22
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Added another start to her career along with two points
and two rebounds in 15 minutes vs. #7/7 Stanford.• Produced 12 points, six rebounds, a season-high two
steals and a block in the win over #17/19 Rutgers.• Against Lipscomb, accumulated a career-high four assists.
Added seven points, a block and steal.• Earned a double-digit score for the third consecutive
game for the fi rst time in her career. She fi lled the stat sheet with 16 points, eight rebounds and a steal in the win over Saint Francis.
• Scored 10 points and added three rebounds in her second start of the season at #6/9 Texas. She has had back-to-back double-fi gure scoring outputs for the fi rst time in her career.
• Tallied a career-high 19 points in the game vs. UTC and added eight rebounds, two assists and a steal.
• Added a rebound and assist in seven minutes against Penn before sitting out the rest of the game and next three contests due to a mild concussion.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Recorded four outings with 10 or more points.• Against Maryland in the Sweet 16, put up 11 points, going
4-of-6 in fi eld goals and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, while also grabbing two rebounds and one steal in 17 min-utes.
• Contributed six points and four boards while dishing out two assists in the Lady Vols’ SEC Tournament title victory over Kentucky.
Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points 4 13Scored 20+ Points -- --Led UT in Scoring 1 1Led UT in 3-pt Made - 1Led UT in Rebounding 1 5Led UT in Steals - 10Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals -- 5
• Pulled down a team-best six rebounds and tied her season high in scoring with 13 points against Vander-bilt while adding a block and a steal.
• Led the team in rebounding on two occasions.• Tallied three games with a team-best steals total, in-
cluding two contests with three or more swipes.
AT TENNESSEE• Was Tennessee’s fi rst player off the bench in 18 of 35
games as a freshman, and she played in all 35 con-tests.
• Perhaps the most athletic player on the roster, she hit double fi gures in scoring on fi ve occasions and in rebounding once.
• Averaging 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds for the entire season, she elevated her numbers to 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in NCAA tournament play.
• Scored a career-high 14 points and added eight points, four blocks an assist and a steal vs. Alabama, which happens to be her mom’s alma mater.
• Grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds in only her sec-ond college game, also contributing six points and an assist as Tennessee bounced back from a season-opening loss with a big road victory over No. 16/20 Georgia Tech.
PERSONAL• Mother is Latrish Jones, a former standout player at
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ARIEL MASSENGALESenior • 5-7 • Point GuardBolingbrook, Ill. • Bolingbrook H.S. 55CAREER HONORS• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014• Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List - 2014• SEC Player of the Week (11/11/13-11/18/13)• NCAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Week (11/11/13-
11/18/13)• Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament Team (11/29/13)•Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List - 2014
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Has recorded 455 assists to rank No. 6 on UT’s career list
and stands just behind Kara Lawson (456). Moved past Kellie Jolly (452) with three during the game vs. Missouri.
• Was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line vs. Vandy and earned a total of 12 points, two rebounds, two steals and an assist. Holds a team-best 86.5 free throw pct.
• In 34 minutes, earned 14 points to go with her three assists while going 4-for-5 from the free throw line vs. Missouri.
• Added 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal in the win over #10/12 OSU. Went 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Led UT vs. Stanford with 18 points, including 4-for-8 from the three-point line. Added three rebounds and assists.
• Produced three points, three rebounds and a season-high four assists vs. Wichita State. Hit two clutch free throws with 5.1 seconds on the clock to give UT the win.
• Notched a team-high 13 points, season-high fi ve rebounds and an assist and steal in the win over #17/19 Rutgers.
• Against Winthrop, she made a career-high six treys and led UT in scoring with 20 points while adding three steals.
• Massengale returned to the court for the fi rst time since Jan. 23, 2014. She produced 21 points to lead the team and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Had a Double-Double -- 3Scored 10+ Points 6 42Scored 20+ Points 2 5Led UT in Scoring 4 14Led UT in 3-pt Made 5 32Led UT in Rebounding -- --Led UT in Steals 1 20Made 3+ 3-pt 3 11Had 3+ Steals -- 11
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Missed 16 games after suff ering a facial injury in the fi rst
half vs. UF on Jan. 23.• With her two assists against Florida, surpassed Kristen
“Ace” Clement (429) on UT’s all-time career assists chart, moving into ninth with 430 career assists.
• Recorded back-to-back 20+ point outings for the fi rst time in her career as she notched 23 points against Ole Miss after a personal-high 28 points at Georgia.
• Dished out fi ve or more assts. in 14 of 19 games as a junior.
AT TENNESSEE• Scored in double fi gures 13 times and led the team in
three-pointers on 10 occasions while averaging 7.9 points and 4.5 assists per contest as a sophomore in 2012-13.
• Recorded 162 assists as a rookie, the most-ever by a UT freshman and the eighth-best total in school history and followed that up with 158 as a sophomore.
PERSONAL•Ariel is majoring in recreation and sport management.• Played on the same high school squad with Lady Vol
teammate Nia Moore and Moore’s twin sister, Annaya, a manager on the team.
• Her brother Avery played college football, as did her dad.• Other relatives with collegiate careers include Wayne
Buckingham (basketball), Barry Stewart (basketball) and Lendel Massengale (football).
• Follow @Aye_Mass05 on Twitter and @aye_mass5 on Ins-tagram.
Had a Double-Double 1 1Scored 10+ Points 5 5Scored 20+ Points 1 1Led UT in Scoring -- --Led UT in 3-pt Made -- --Led UT in Rebounding -- --Led UT in Steals 3 3Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals 3 3
• Blue Star rated her as the No. 22 player in the country.• Full Court ranked her the No. 32 player in the nation.• All-Star Girls Report had her 46th.• WBCA All-American (2014).• McDonald’s All-American (2014).• Had three points, fi ve assists and four rebounds in 20
minutes in the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Game.• Won Powerade Jam Fest skills competition and three-
point shootout in conjunction with the McDonald’s Game.
• Became fi rst McDonald’s All-American to win two con-tests at the Powerade Jam Fest.
• USA TODAY All-American - Third Team (2014).• Class AAA Miss Basketball (2014) and Miss Basketball
fi nalist (2013).• Tennessean Mid-State Player of the Year (2013).• Played on back-to-back state championship teams in
2012 and 2013.• Four-time Class AAA all-state honoree.• Four-time all-district and all-region selection.• Avg. 17.8 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 3.4 apg. and 2.8 spg. as a senior.
PERSONAL• Full name is Alexa C. Middleton.• Born on Oct. 31, 1995, in Nashville, Tenn.• Parents are Michael and Celeste Middleton.• Celeste played basketball at Murfreesboro Oakland High
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS • Managed to grab two defensive rebounds in three minutes
vs. Vanderbilt.• Tallied two points and two rebounds in the win over #7/7
Stanford.• One of only six players in UT history to record back-to-
back 20-point games to open a season.• Earned eight points, four rebounds, two assists, two blocks
and a steal vs. Lipscomb. She shot 3-for-3 from the fi eld and 2-for-2 from the line.
• Produced a career-high 25 points and three steals and added 11 rebounds vs. Tennessee State for her second double-double of the season.
• Had her third double-digit scoring game of the season and added four rebounds and a block and steal vs. Winthrop.
• Accumulated 20 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals in her third career start against Oral Roberts.
• Made her second career start and earned new career highs in points (24), rebounds (14), blocks (4), fi eld goals made (12) and minutes played (31) vs. Penn. Moore led in both points and rebounds and had her second career double-double.
• Started in the Carson-Newman exhibition and scored a team and career-high 29 points in 35 minutes. She tallied fi ve rebounds and four blocks with one steal in the win.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS • Recorded one steal and contributed two points against the
Lady Demons in UT’s NCAA First Round against North-western State.
• Led the team in blocked shots on six occasions as a sopho-more, including a three-block outing against Tennessee
Had a Double-Double 2 3Scored 10+ Points 4 78Scored 20+ Points 3 3Led UT in Scoring 2 2Led UT in Blocks 3 11Led UT in Rebounding 2 4Led UT in Steals -- 2Made 3+ Blocks 2 3Had 3+ Steals 1 1
State.• Recorded her second double-fi gure scoring outing of the
year with a season-high 11 points against Lipscomb.• Produced two double-fi gure scoring games.• Led the team in rebounding in one contest.
AT TENNESSEE• Saw action in 20 games as a freshman and was in the start-
ing lineup vs. Davidson.• Wore No. 21 during her fi rst year at UT before switching to
No. 1 after her rookie season.• Scored in double fi gures in a pair of games for the Lady
Vols.• Tossed in a career-high 12 points vs. Ole Miss, connecting on
four-of-fi ve shots from the fi eld and four-of-four from the free throw line.
• First double-fi gure scoring game came vs. Alcorn State, when she rang up 10 points and added a career-best seven boards in a career-high 18 minutes of action.
• Had the highest free throw percentage on the team at .944, hitting four-of-four charity tries vs. North Carolina, Missis-sippi State and Ole Miss.
• Originally signed with Illinois, but asked for, and was grant-ed, a release.
PERSONAL• Twin sister, Annaya, is a manager for the Lady Vol basketball
team.• Played with Annaya and Lady Vol teammate Ariel Massen-
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Played nine minutes vs. Vandy and tallied a rebound, assist
and steal.• In her fi rst SEC game vs. Missouri, managed to grab four
rebounds and score fi ve points.• Accumulated three points, three rebounds and a steal in 12
minutes vs. #7/7 Stanford.• Played 10 minutes, but snared six rebounds (5 off .), scored
two points and dished out two assists in win over Rutgers. • Racked up a career-high 20 points to become the second
freshman to do so this season. She added six rebounds and four steals with an assist vs. Saint Francis.
• Scored a career-high 11 points and had six rebounds and a personal-best three steals vs. Tennessee State.
• Produced 10 points, two rebounds and two steals vs. Win-throp in her second career start.
• Tallied nine points, six rebounds and four assists in her fi rst career start vs. ORU.
USA/AAU BASKETBALL• Participated in 2012 USA U17 World Championship Team
Trials along with current Lady Vols Alexa Middleton, Mer-cedes Russell and Jannah Tucker.
• Participated in the 2011 USA U16 Team Trials.• Played for Team Concept AAU team with current Lady
Vol teammates and fellow Oregonians Russell and Jordan Reynolds.
HIGH SCHOOL• Ranked No. 6 in 2014 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100.• Rated as a fi ve-star recruit on that list and the No. 1 wing.• Full Court ranks her the No. 9 player in the nation.
Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points 4 4Scored 20+ Points 1 1Led UT in Scoring 1 1Led UT in 3-pt Made -- --Led UT in Rebounding -- --Led UT in Steals 2 2Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals 2 2
• Blue Star rates her No. 19 nationally.• The All-Star Girls Report had her at No. 25 in the country.• McDonald’s All-American (2014).• Tallied a team-leading 15 points, four rebounds and two
steals in 17 minutes to help the West to victory in the 2014 McDonald’s All-American Game.
• Parade All-American (2014).• USA TODAY All-American - Second Team (2014).• Max Preps All-American - Second Team (2014).• Gatorade Oregon Girls Basketball Player of the Year
(2014).• Oregon 6A Player of the Year (2014).• The Oregonian Player of the Year (2014).• Three-time recipient of 6A OSAA All-State accolades
(2012, 2013, 2014). • Three-time Metro League Player of the Year (2012, 2013,
2014).• Four-time All-Metro League First Team (2011, 2012, 2013,
2014).• Averaged 28.2 ppg., 14.0 rpg., 4.1 spg. and 3.0 apg. in
2014.• Featured in New York Times, Good Morning America and
CNN in 2008 as a 12-year-old for being banned from a boys basketball league for being too good.
PERSONAL• Jaime Nicole Nared was born Sept. 14, 1995, in Portland,
Ore.• Parents are Reiko Williams and Greg Nared.• Father played basketball at Maryland from 1985-89.• Has two sisters, Jackie Nared and Eboni Clay.• Jackie signed to play basketball at Maryland, transferred
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JORDAN REYNOLDSSophomore• 5-11 • GuardPortland, Ore. • Central Catholic H.S.00CAREER HONORS• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• With 11 points vs. Vandy, Reynolds earned her fi rst back-
to-back double-fi gure scoring games of her career. Went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added a rebound and assist.
• Notched a season-high 10 points along with four re-bounds and three assists in the SEC opener vs. Missouri.
• Added seven points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist vs. #10/12 Oregon State.
• Notched three assists and four points in the win over Wichita State.
• Produced six points, two rebounds and an assist in the win over #17/19 Rutgers.
• Accumulated four points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal vs. Lipscomb.
• Scored a season-high 10 points, three rebounds and led the team with two steals vs. Texas.
• Produced seven points, four assists and three steals while also going 7-8 from the free throw line vs. Tennes-see State.
• Accumulated eight rebounds and seven assists to go with her six points against Winthrop.
• Tallied fi ve points, four rebounds, seven assists and steals vs. ORU. Her seven steals were a career high and was just one short of the UT sophomore record in a game (8).
• Made her fi rst career start and carded a career-high eight rebounds and team-high three steals against Penn.
• Started in the exhibition game against Carson-Newman and turned in fi ve points alongside a team-high 11 re-
Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points 3 4Scored 20+ Points -- --Led UT in Scoring -- --Led UT in 3-pt Made -- 3Led UT in Rebounding -- --Led UT in Steals 5 9Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals 4 7
bounds and six assists.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Stepped up as a key reserve point guard for the Lady Vols
the last half of the season.• In 34 games, she posted 62 assists compared to only 34
turnovers during her fi rst college season.• That diff erential resulted in a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio,
which ranked her second on the team behind Ariel Massen-gale.
• Driving force in the Lady Vols’ 17th SEC Tournament title, scoring a career-best 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the fi eld and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line vs. Kentucky.
• Was nationally trending on Twitter following her career-high outing against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament champion-ship game.
• Instrumental in the Lady Vols’ win at Ole Miss, stepping up as fl oor commander and contributing seven points, three rebounds and one steal.
• Connected on 18-of-23 free throw attempts, making her fi nal 14 shots of the season to fi nish at 78.3 percent for the year.
• Led the team in steals on four occasions, including three outings with three or more swipes.
PERSONAL• Parents are Kimberly James and Gary Thomas, and her step-
father is Mark James.• Her mom played at San Diego State, and her aunt, Deborah
Lange, played at Oregon.• Reynolds’ sister, Ariel, is a 6-2 forward at the University of
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2121MERCEDES RUSSELLSophomore • 6-6 • CenterSpringfi eld, Ore. • Springfi eld H.S.CAREER HONORS• SEC Academic Honor Roll - 2014 • SEC Freshman of the Week (12/23-12/30)
2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS• Redshirting after having surgery on both feet during the off season.
2013-14 HIGHLIGHTS• Notched nine double-digit scoring outings as a freshman.
• Shot a team-leading 59.6 percent from the fi eld (93-156) for the season.
• Led the team in blocks on 17 occasions while re-cording fi ve games with three or more blocks.
• Her 1.1 blocks per game led all Lady Vols for the 2013-14 season.
• In NCAA games, averaged 5.3 points and 5.3 re-bounds.
• Shot 77.8 precent from the fi eld (7-for-9) in NCAA postseason action.
• Had a team-best 12 points against Northwestern State, going 5-for-6 from the fi eld and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. It was the fi rst time in her career that she led the team in scor-ing.
• Instrumental in UT’s SEC Semifi nal win vs. Texas A&M scoring 11 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 in
Had a Double-Double N/A --Scored 10+ Points N/A 9Scored 20+ Points N/A --Led UT in Scoring N/A 1Led UT in Blocks N/A 17Led UT in Rebounding N/A 3Led UT in Steals N/A 2Made 3+ Blocks N/A 5Had 3+ Steals N/A --
FGs and 3-for-3 from the FT line; also grabbed six rebounds.
• Tied her career high in rebounds with 11 at Missouri, leading the team in boards for the third time this season.
• Picked up SEC Freshman of the Week honors (Dec. 30) after scoring 12 points with seven rebounds and fi ve blocks against Lipscomb.
• Produced two double-fi gure rebounding games and led UT in boards in three contests.
USA BASKETBALL• Has won two gold medals in international play with USA Basketball, playing for former Lady Vol Jill Rankin-Schneider on both occasions.
PERSONAL• Shoots right-handed but writes with her left hand.• Lists Candace Parker as a role model.• Joins Kelley Cain and Vonda Ward as the three tall-est players in UT history at 6-6.
• Majoring in communication studies.• Follow @MerSladezz on Twitter and @mersladezz on Instagram.
2014-15 GAME-BY-GAME STATSOPPONENT DATE MIN FG-FGA PCT 3FG-FGA PCT FT-FTA PCT OR DR TR PF-FO A TO BLK STL PTSvs. Penn 11/14/14 DNPvs. Oral Roberts 11/17/14 DNPvs. Winthrop 11/21/14 DNPvs. Tennessee St. 11/24/14 DNPat Chattanooga 11/26/14 DNPat Texas 11/30/14 DNPvs. St. Francis 12/3/14 DNPat Lipscomb 12/7/14 DNPat Rutgers 12/14/14 DNPvs. Wichita St. 12/16/14 DNPvs. Stanford 12/20/14 DNPvs. Oregon St. 12/28/14 DNPvs. Missouri 1/2/15 DNPat Vanderbilt 1/5/14 DNPvs. Texas A&M 1/8/14 DNPat Arkansas 1/11/14 DNPat Auburn 1/15/14 DNPat Notre Dame 1/19/14 DNPvs. LSU 1/22/14 DNPvs. Georgia 1/25/14 DNPat Kentucky 1/29/14 DNPvs. Miss. St. 2/1/14 DNPat Florida 2/8/14 DNPat Ole Miss 2/12/14 DNPvs. Kentucky 2/15/14 DNPvs. Alabama 2/19/14 DNPat S Carolina 2/23/14 DNPat Georgia 2/26/14 DNPvs. Vanderbilt 3/1/14 DNP* indicates game started
Had a Double-Double -- --Scored 10+ Points -- --Scored 20+ Points -- --Scored 30+ Points -- --Led UT in Scoring -- --Led UT in 3-pt Made -- --Led UT in Steals -- --Made 3+ 3-pt -- --Had 3+ Steals -- --
in June 2011, playing with Lady Vol classmate Mercedes Russell.
• Started all fi ve games and averaged 9.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.6 assists for the American squad.
• Played for former Lady Vol Jill Rankin Schneider on that team.
• Played AAU ball for the Philly Belles.
PERSONAL• Full name is Jannah Sabree Tucker.• Nickname is “JT.”• Born on May 17, 1995, in Baltimore, Md.• Parents are Robert and Cynthia Tucker.• Siblings include Robbie, Amirah, Mayah and Kho-ri.
• Father played basketball at the University of Richmond and Loyola College; sister, Amirah, plays basketball at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; uncle, Jason Tucker, played basketball at Nichols State; and aunt, Alisha Johnson, played basketball at Lincoln University.
• Majoring in psychology• Father introduced her to the sport of boxing to
2014-15 GAME-BY-GAME STATSOPPONENT DATE MIN FG-FGA PCT 3FG-FGA PCT FT-FTA PCT OR DR TR PF-FO A TO BLK STL PTSvs. Penn 11/14/14 DNPvs. Oral Roberts 11/17/14 DNPvs. Winthrop 11/21/14 DNPvs. Tennessee St. 11/24/14 DNPat Chattanooga 11/26/14 DNPat Texas 11/30/14 DNPvs. St. Francis 12/3/14 DNPat Lipscomb 12/7/14 DNPat Rutgers 12/14/14 DNPvs. Wichita St. 12/16/14 DNPvs. Stanford 12/20/14 2 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1 0 1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0vs. Oregon St. 12/28/14 DNPvs. Missouri 1/2/15 DNPat Vanderbilt 1/5/14 DNPvs. Texas A&M 1/8/14at Arkansas 1/11/14at Auburn 1/15/14at Notre Dame 1/19/14vs. LSU 1/22/14vs. Georgia 1/25/14at Kentucky 1/29/14vs. Miss. St. 2/1/14at Florida 2/8/14at Ole Miss 2/12/14vs. Kentucky 2/15/14vs. Alabama 2/19/14at S Carolina 2/23/14at Georgia 2/26/14vs. Vanderbilt 3/1/14* indicates game started
TEAM STATISTICS UT OPPSCORING 1046 720 Points per game 74.7 51.4 Scoring margin +23.3 -FIELD GOALS-ATT 379-918 272-784 Field goal pct . 4 1 3 . 3 4 73 POINT FG-ATT 62-202 71-226 3-point FG pct . 3 0 7 . 3 1 4 3-pt FG made per game 4.4 5.1FREE THROWS-ATT 226-309 105-163 Free throw pct . 7 3 1 . 6 4 4 F-Throws made per game 16.1 7.5REBOUNDS 647 482 Rebounds per game 46.2 34.4 Rebounding margin +11.8 -ASSISTS 204 130 Assists per game 14.6 9.3TURNOVERS 196 293 Turnovers per game 14.0 20.9 Turnover margin +6.9 - Assist/turnover ratio 1.0 0.4STEALS 163 89 Steals per game 11.6 6.4BLOCKS 57 53 Blocks per game 4.1 3.8ATTENDANCE 88872 22657 Home games-Avg/Game 9-9875 5-4531 Neutral site-Avg/Game - 0-0
Score by Periods 1st 2nd TotalsTennessee 469 577 1046Opponents 339 381 720
Date Opponent Score Att.11/14/14 PENN W 97-52 970611/17/14 ORAL ROBERTS W 91-39 886111/21/14 WINTHROP W 81-48 926711/24/14 TENNESSEE STATE W 97-46 913711/26/14 at Chattanooga L 63-67 416011/30/14 at Texas L 59-72 419812/03/14 SAINT FRANCIS W 111-44 912612/07/14 at Lipscomb W 85-51 274212/14/14 at Rutgers W 55-45 434512/16/14 WICHITA STATE W 54-51 902612/20/14 STANFORD W 59-40 1305612/28/14 OREGON STATE W 74-63 11123
* 01/02/15 MISSOURI W 63-53 9570* 01/05/15 at Vanderbilt W 57-49 7212
* = Conference game
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2014-15 SEC STATISTICS
2014-15 Tenn. Women's BasketballTennessee Combined Team Statistics (as of Jan 05, 2015)
Conference games
RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRALALL GAMES 2-0 1-0 1-0 0-0CONFERENCE 2-0 1-0 1-0 0-0NON-CONFERENCE 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
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HIGHS & LOWS
TENNESSEE INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHS
POINTS 25 Moore, Nia vs Tennessee State (11/24/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 12 Moore, Nia vs Penn (11/14/14)FIELD GOAL ATT. 19 HARRISON, ISABELLE VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14)FG PCT (MIN 5 MADE) .833 (5-6) MIDDLETON, ALEXA VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14)3-POINT FG MADE 6 MASSENGALE, ARIEL VS WINTHROP (11/21/14)3-POINT FG ATT. 10 MASSENGALE, ARIEL VS WINTHROP (11/21/14)3-PT FG PCT (MIN 2 MADE) 1.000 (2-2)REYNOLDS, JORDAN AT TEXAS (11/30/14)
1.000 (2-2) DUNBAR, KORTNEY VS ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14) 1.000 (2-2) MIDDLETON, ALEXA VS PENN (11/14/14)FREE THROWS MADE 9 BURDICK, CIERRA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)FREE THROW ATT. 11 HARRISON, ISABELLE VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14) FT PCT (MIN 3 MADE) 1.000 (9-9) BURDICK, CIERRA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14) 1.000 (6-6) MASSENGALE, ARIEL AT VANDERBILT (01/05/15) 1.000 (5-5) NARED, JAIME VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14) 1.000 (4-4) REYNOLDS, JORDAN AT VANDERBILT (01/05/15) 1.000 (4-4) GRAVES, BASHAARA VS MISSOURI (01/02/15) 1.000 (4-4) BURDICK, CIERRA VS STANFORD (12/20/14) 1.000 (4-4) MASSENGALE, ARIEL VS STANFORD (12/20/14) 1.000 (4-4) MASSENGALE, ARIEL AT RUTGERS (12/14/14) 1.000 (4-4) GRAVES, BASHAARA AT LIPSCOMB (12/07/14) 1.000 (4-4) GRAVES, BASHAARA AT CHATTANOOGA (11/26/14) 1.000 (4-4) GRAVES, BASHAARA VS TENNESSEE STATE (11/24/14) 1.000 (4-4) MASSENGALE, ARIEL VS ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14) 1.000 (4-4) GRAVES, BASHAARA VS PENN (11/14/14)
1.000 (3-3) HARRISON, ISABELLE VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)REBOUNDS 17 BURDICK, CIERRA VS WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)ASSISTS 11 Middleton, Alexa vs Penn (11/14/14)STEALS 7 Reynolds, Jordan vs Oral Roberts (11/17/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 5 HARRISON, ISABELLE VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14)TURNOVERS 6 JONES, JASMINE AT RUTGERS (12/14/14) 6 HARRISON, ISABELLE VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)
TENNESSEE TEAM GAME HIGHS
POINTS 111 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 40 PENN (11/14/14)FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 83 PENN (11/14/14)FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE .500 (38-76) SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)3 PT FIELD GOALS MADE 9 MISSOURI (01/02/15)3 PT FG ATTEMPTS 24 MISSOURI (01/02/15) 24 WINTHROP (11/21/14)3 PT FG PERCENTAGE .417 (5-12) ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14)FREE THROWS MADE 28 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)FREE THROW ATTEMPTS 38 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)FREE THROW PERCENTAGE .889 (8-9) STANFORD (12/20/14)REBOUNDS 71 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)ASSISTS 27 PENN (11/14/14)STEALS 21 TENNESSEE STATE (11/24/14) 21 ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 9 at Lipscomb (12/07/14) 9 PENN (11/14/14)TURNOVERS 20 at Vanderbilt (01/05/15)FOULS 21 at Chattanooga (11/26/14)
TENNESSEE TEAM GAME LOWS
POINTS 54 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 17 at Vanderbilt (01/05/15)FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 47 at Vanderbilt (01/05/15)FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE .275 (19-69) at Rutgers (12/14/14)3 PT FIELD GOALS MADE 0 OREGON STATE (12/28/14)3 PT FG ATTEMPTS 3 OREGON STATE (12/28/14)3 PT FG PERCENTAGE .000 (0-3) OREGON STATE (12/28/14)FREE THROWS MADE 8 STANFORD (12/20/14)FREE THROW ATTEMPTS 9 STANFORD (12/20/14)FREE THROW PERCENTAGE .520 (13-25) at Texas (11/30/14)REBOUNDS 35 at Chattanooga (11/26/14)ASSISTS 3 at Texas (11/30/14)STEALS 5 at Texas (11/30/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 0 STANFORD (12/20/14)TURNOVERS 8 PENN (11/14/14)FOULS 9 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)
OPPONENT INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHS
POINTS 27 GILBERT, KEIANA AT CHATTANOOGA (11/26/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 11 GILBERT, KEIANA AT CHATTANOOGA (11/26/14)FIELD GOAL ATT. 24 HAYWARD, ALEXA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14) FG PCT (MIN 5 MADE) 1.000 (5-5) TAYLOR, BRIANNA AT TEXAS (11/30/14) .727 (8-11) LANG, KELSEY AT TEXAS (11/30/14)3-POINT FG MADE 6 HAYWARD, ALEXA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)3-POINT FG ATT. 19 HAYWARD, ALEXA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)3-PT FG PCT (MIN 2 MADE) 1.000 (2-2)JACOBS, KELSEY VS WICHITA STATE (12/16/14) 1.000 (2-2) SMITH, KELLI AT LIPSCOMB (12/07/14)FREE THROWS MADE 5 GILBERT, KEIANA AT CHATTANOOGA (11/26/14)FREE THROW ATT. 7 GILBERT, KEIANA AT CHATTANOOGA (11/26/14)FT PCT (MIN 3 MADE) 1.000 (4-4) WIESE, SYDNEY VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14) 1.000 (4-4) HAYWARD, ALEXA VS SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)REBOUNDS 15 NUNN, SCHAQUILLA VS WINTHROP (11/21/14)ASSISTS 6 WIESE, SYDNEY VS OREGON STATE (12/28/14)STEALS 7 HARDEN, ALEX VS WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 6 Stipanovich, Sydney vs Penn (11/14/14)TURNOVERS 10 Doyle, Jordan vs Oral Roberts (11/17/14)
OPPONENT TEAM GAME HIGHS
POINTS 72 at Texas (11/30/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 29 at Texas (11/30/14)FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 67 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE .533 (24-45) at Chattanooga (11/26/14)33 PT FIELD GOALS MADE 9 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)3 PT FG ATTEMPTS 34 SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)3 PT FG PERCENTAGE .571 (4-7) WINTHROP (11/21/14)FREE THROWS MADE 15 at Chattanooga (11/26/14)FREE THROW ATTEMPTS 23 at Chattanooga (11/26/14)FREE THROW PERCENTAGE 1.000 (2-2) WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)REBOUNDS 44 WINTHROP (11/21/14)ASSISTS 14 OREGON STATE (12/28/14) 14 at Texas (11/30/14)STEALS 13 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 9 PENN (11/14/14)TURNOVERS 38 TENNESSEE STATE (11/24/14)FOULS 28 OREGON STATE (12/28/14) 28 TENNESSEE STATE (11/24/14)
OPPONENT TEAM GAME LOWS
POINTS 39 ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 13 STANFORD (12/20/14)FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS 45 at Chattanooga (11/26/14)FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE .224 (15-67) SAINT FRANCIS (12/03/14)3 PT FIELD GOALS MADE 1 ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14)3 PT FG ATTEMPTS 5 at Rutgers (12/14/14)3 PT FG PERCENTAGE .063 (1-16) ORAL ROBERTS (11/17/14)FREE THROWS MADE 2 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)FREE THROW ATTEMPTS 2 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14FREE THROW PERCENTAGE .538 (7-13) PENN (11/14/14)REBOUNDS 24 WICHITA STATE (12/16/14)FIELD GOALS MADE 13 STANFORD (12/20/14)STEALS 2 PENN (11/14/14)BLOCKED SHOTS 1 WINTHROP (11/21/14)TURNOVERS 12 at Texas (11/30/14)FOULS 15 STANFORD (12/20/14)
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
2014-15 BOX SCORES
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsPenn vs Tennessee11/14/14 7:03 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Roy Gulbeyan, Troy Winders, Charlie HustTechnical fouls: Penn-None. Tennessee-None.Attendance: 9706
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalPenn 25 27 52Tennessee 47 50 97
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchPENN 20 7 9 2 13UT 56 23 28 14 37
Last FG - PENN 2nd-02:52, UT 2nd-00:06.Largest lead - PENN by 3 1st-11:05, UT by 45 2nd-00:06.PENN led for 03:33. UT led for 35:19. Game was tied for 01:08.
Score tied - 4 times.Lead changed - 9 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsOral Roberts vs Tennessee11/17/14 7:03 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Dee Kantner, Cameron Inouye, Eric KochTechnical fouls: Winthrop-None. Tennessee-None.Attendance: 9267
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalWinthrop 25 23 48Tennessee 40 41 81
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchWU 24 7 16 4 12UT 42 36 20 8 32
Last FG - WU 2nd-01:42, UT 2nd-01:14.Largest lead - WU by 1 1st-19:08, UT by 34 2nd-03:49.WU led for 02:13. UT led for 37:15. Game was tied for 00:32.
Score tied - 0 times.Lead changed - 2 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsTennessee State vs Tennessee11/24/14 7:02 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalTennessee 21 42 63Chattanooga 37 30 67
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchUT 42 13 26 6 33UTC 32 11 11 2 24
Last FG - UT 2nd-02:41, UTC 2nd-02:18.Largest lead - UT by 2 1st-18:58, UTC by 17 1st-01:00.UT led for 00:30. UTC led for 37:09. Game was tied for 02:21.
Score tied - 4 times.Lead changed - 1 time.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsTennessee vs Texas11/30/14 5:40 P.M. at Austin, TX (Erwin Center)
Officials: Tina Napier, Lisa Mattingly, Bryan EnterlineTechnical fouls: Tennessee-None. Texas-None.Attendance: 4198
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalTennessee 20 39 59Texas 30 42 72
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchUT 26 10 13 2 18TEXAS 38 15 7 12 14
Last FG - UT 2nd-00:06, TEXAS 2nd-02:50.Largest lead - UT by 2 1st-14:25, TEXAS by 15 2nd-12:51.UT led for 00:14. TEXAS led for 37:19. Game was tied for 02:20.
Score tied - 1 time.Lead changed - 2 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsSaint Francis vs Tennessee12/03/14 7:02 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Joe Cunningham, Ed Novak, Erica BradleyTechnical fouls: Tennessee-None. Lipscomb-None.Attendance: 2742
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalTennessee 39 46 85Lipscomb 15 36 51
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchUT 34 36 16 4 58LIP 18 4 5 7 19
Last FG - UT 2nd-00:36, LIP 2nd-01:18.Largest lead - UT by 36 2nd-00:36, LIP by 1 1st-17:21.UT led for 37:13. LIP led for 00:28. Game was tied for 02:19.
Score tied - 0 times.Lead changed - 2 times.
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsTennessee vs Rutgers12/14/14 3:00 pm at The RAC - Piscataway, N.J.
Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Dee Kantner, Denise BrooksTechnical fouls: Tennessee-None. Rutgers-None.Attendance: 4345
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalTennessee 20 35 55Rutgers 23 22 45
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchUT 22 11 11 4 21RU 22 11 3 12 3
Last FG - UT 2nd-00:33, RU 2nd-01:27.Largest lead - UT by 10 2nd-00:13, RU by 6 1st-08:39.UT led for 12:41. RU led for 20:04. Game was tied for 07:02.
Score tied - 7 times.Lead changed - 11 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsWichita State vs Tennessee12/16/14 7:03 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Laura Morris, Billy Smith, Pualani SpurlockTechnical fouls: Wichita State-None. Tennessee-None.Attendance: 9026
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalWichita State 28 23 51Tennessee 31 23 54
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchWICH 22 9 8 9 2UT 24 16 11 10 15
Last FG - WICH 2nd-00:25, UT 2nd-00:38.Largest lead - WICH by 4 1st-11:45, UT by 10 2nd-13:05.WICH led for 06:21. UT led for 31:11. Game was tied for 02:28.
Score tied - 4 times.Lead changed - 6 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsStanford vs Tennessee12/20/14 1:03 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Lisa Mattingly, Tina Napier, Mark ZentzTechnical fouls: Stanford-None. Tennessee-None.Attendance: 13056
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalStanford 15 25 40Tennessee 27 32 59
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchSTAN 10 17 4 2 17UT 24 17 10 6 27
Last FG - STAN 2nd-01:35, UT 2nd-02:48.Largest lead - STAN None, UT by 24 2nd-05:01.STAN led for 00:00. UT led for 39:36. Game was tied for 00:16.
Score tied - 0 times.Lead changed - 0 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsOregon State vs Tennessee12/28/14 1:02 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Jesse Dickerson, Bruce Morris, Kim TheboTechnical fouls: Oregon State-None. Tennessee-None.Attendance: 11123
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalOregon State 34 29 63Tennessee 35 39 74
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchOSU 36 6 11 4 12UT 32 26 15 10 23
Last FG - OSU 2nd-03:37, UT 2nd-02:39.Largest lead - OSU by 5 1st-01:34, UT by 11 2nd-00:35.OSU led for 16:31. UT led for 19:34. Game was tied for 03:54.
Score tied - 10 times.Lead changed - 7 times.
2014-15 BOX SCORES
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsMissouri vs Tennessee01/02/15 9:08 p.m. at Knoxville, Tenn. (Thompson-Boling Arena)
Officials: Bryan Enterline, Gina Cross, Eric KochTechnical fouls: Missouri-Robinson, Juanita. Tennessee-Harrison, Isabelle;Moore, Nia.Attendance: 9570Offsetting Flagrant-2 Technical Fouls resulted in ejection for Harrison (UT)and Robinson (MU). Moore (UT) was ejected for leaving bench.
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalMissouri 25 28 53Tennessee 21 42 63
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchMU-W 22 16 10 6 5UT 14 22 13 6 23
Last FG - MU-W 2nd-00:03, UT 2nd-01:34.Largest lead - MU-W by 7 1st-02:56, UT by 13 2nd-00:56.MU-W led for 13:18. UT led for 22:31. Game was tied for 04:11.
Score tied - 4 times.Lead changed - 6 times.
Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final StatisticsTennessee vs Vanderbilt01/05/15 6 p.m. at Nashville, Tenn. (Memorial Gym)
Officials: Dee Kantner, Bob Trammell, Felicia GrinterTechnical fouls: Tennessee-None. Vanderbilt-None.Attendance: 7212
Score by periods 1st 2nd TotalTennessee 25 32 57Vanderbilt 17 32 49
In Off 2nd FastPoints Paint T/O Chance Break BenchUT 18 17 12 2 12VANDY 16 16 4 4 38
Last FG - UT 2nd-05:49, VANDY 2nd-00:16.Largest lead - UT by 15 2nd-14:40, VANDY by 1 1st-18:20.UT led for 37:27. VANDY led for 00:16. Game was tied for 02:09.
Score tied - 2 times.Lead changed - 2 times.
2014-15 BOX SCORES
2014-15 LADY VOL BASKETBALL » UTSPORTS.COM » @LADYVOL_HOOPS
.
JASMINE JONES Jr. • F • 6-2 • Madison, Ala./Bob Jones H.S.
JORDAN REYNOLDS So. • G • 5-11 • Portland, Ore./Central Catholic H.S.
0
BASHAARA GRAVES Jr. • F • 6-2 • Clarksville, Tenn./Clarksville H.S.
12
ISABELLE HARRISON Sr. • C • 6-3 • Nashville, Tenn./Hillsboro H.S.
20
BROADCAST MEDIA SHEET (probable starters noted with orange numbers)
• With 11 points vs. Vandy, Reynolds tallied her fi rst back-to-back double-fi gure scoring games of her career. Went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added a rebound and assist.• Tallied 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in her start vs. Missouri to open SEC play. • Had seven points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist vs. #10/12 Oregon State.• Dished out 62 assists compared to only 34 turnovers as a freshman in 34 games.
NIA MOORE Jr. • C • 6-3 • Chicago, Ill./Bolingbrook H.S.
• Produced two points and two rebounds vs. #7/7 Stanford.• Her total of 104 points this season surpasses the 103 she scored in her fi rst two seasons combined.• One of only six players in UT history to record back-to-back 20-point games to open a season.• Played with her twin sister, Annaya (now a Lady Vol manager), and UT teammate Ariel Massengale at Bolingbrook High School.
• Had 12 points, six rebounds, a season-high two steals and a block in the win over #17/19 Rutgers.• Scored 19, 10 and 16 points in consecutive games vs. Chattanooga, Texas and Saint Francis, marking
the fi rst time in her career she scored in double fi gures in back-to-back and three-straight contests.• UT’s most athletic player and a defensive standout, she can guard any position on the fl oor.• Her mom, Latrish Jones, is a former standout player at Alabama.
• Her 455 assists rank her No. 6 on UT’s career list, and she is within striking distance of Kara Lawson (456) entering the game vs. Texas A&M.• Was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line vs. Vandy and contributed a total of 12 points, two
rebounds, two steals and an assist. • In the SEC opener vs. Missouri, tallied 14 points and three assists to assist the winning cause.
• Posted two points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the win over Vandy.• Grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds, eight points and assists while going 4-for-4 from the free throw
line vs. Missouri.• Her six double-doubles are more than her season total (3) from 2013-14. She had 10 in 2012-13.• Set a Lady Vol record with 14 off ensive rebounds against Georgia Tech last season, as well as tallying
career highs of 18 total rebounds, 23 points and fi ve assists vs. the Yellow Jackets.
• Had her best back-to-back scoring games with a new career-high 19 points vs. Vanderbilt. She added four rebounds, two steals and an assist. She had 16 vs. Mizzou, including three treys.
• Led all UT players in steals in back-to-back games vs. Wichita State and #17/19 Rutgers with three.• Named to the SEC All-Freshman Team for her performance as UT’s point guard last season.• Started 21 of 35 games as a redshirt freshman, guiding the team to a 14-2 record over the fi nal 16
games after the team’s starting point guard, Ariel Massengale, was lost to injury.
• Grabbed six rebounds and tallied three points and a block in 24 minutes vs. Vanderbilt.• Moved into ninth place on the UT career blocks list passing Chamique Holdsclaw (111) with a total
of 116.• Named SEC Player of the Week for the fi rst time in her career after her performance vs. Oregon State.• Earned her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds vs. Rutgers. Scored
all 11 of her points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the second half to spur UT’s win.
• Came off the bench to contribute fi ve key points and four rebounds in the win over SEC-foe Missouri.• Has scored in double fi gures four times this season and has had six boards on three occasions.• Scored a career-high 20 points and added six rebounds and four steals vs. Saint Francis on Dec. 3.• Ranked No. 6 in 2014 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, fi ve-star recruit and No. 1-ranked wing.• Led the West in scoring with 15 points at the 2014 McDonald’s All-America Game.
JANNAH TUCKER RS-Fr. • G • 6-0 • Baltimore, Md./New Town H.S.
4 • Made her Lady Vol debut and made her fi rst appearance on the court for the fi rst time in two years at the end of the game vs. #7/7 Stanford. She grabbed one rebound.• Part of gold-medal-winning USA U18 unit at the FIBA Americas Championship in August 2012.• Was ranked the No. 8 player nationally in 2013 by HoopGurlz/espnW.• Her father taught her the sport of boxing to help increase her speed and shooting.
• Produced an important 10 points and team-high seven rebounds over in-state rival Vanderbilt.• Notched a career-high 17 rebounds and 10 points for her third double-double of the season vs. Wichita St.• Participated in a summer internship at Good Morning America, working with Robin Roberts, who
came to watch her play at the Rutgers game on Dec. 14.• Created “DREAM” team, “Daring to Role Model Excellence as an Athletic Mentor,” a community out-
reach program with other UT student-athletes committed to being alcohol, drug, and violence free.
13 • Made her regular season debut vs. Penn and scored 15 points and was 3-for-8 on treys.• Also scored in double fi gures vs. Oral Roberts, hitting for 10 points and grabbing six rebounds.• McDonald’s All-American nominee and participated in 2013 USA 3-on-3 U18 Team Trials• Averaged 16.8 ppg and 9.7 rpg., and hit 57 three-pointers as a senior at Edwardsville High School
33 • Has hit double fi gures in four of the last seven games including 12 vs. #10/12 Oregon State.• Middleton’s 11 assists vs. Penn were the second highest ever tallied by a Lady Vol freshman.• Opened career and UT’s season with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds vs. Penn.• Ranked No. 28 in 2014 espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 fi ve-star recruit and No. 4-ranked guard.• Became fi rst McDonald’s All-American to win two contests at the Powerade Jam Fest.
