No. 5/4 Tennessee (1-1) will look to build its first winning streak of the 2022-23 season, as it welcomes No. 11/11 Indiana (2-0) to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 6 p.m. ET contest on Monday.
This will mark the third meeting between the Lady Volunteers and Hoosiers and features the first visit by IU to Knoxville. This also is the second part of a home-and-home series between the schools after an unranked Big Orange squad paid a visit to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Dec. 17, 2020, and secured a 66-58 victory.
Tennessee is in the midst of a six-game campaign-opening gauntlet over two weeks, featuring its third contest in the initial seven days of the schedule. The Big Orange began that run of games with an 87-75 late-night loss at No. 14/15 Ohio State, another Big Ten foe, on Tuesday night. UT followed it Thursday with a 74-65 home triumph over a highly-regarded UMass club.
IU enters after posting wins over Vermont, 86-49, on Nov. 8 and vs. the sister school of UT’s previous foe UMass, UMass Lowell, 93-37, on Nov. 11.
Hoops For Hunger/Weekday Family 4 Pack
•The UT-Indiana showdown is Tennessee’s “Hoops For Hunger” game.
•Donate two non-perishable food items and receive one complimentary ticket to the game. Donations benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank.
•A “Weekday Family 4 Pack” ticket package also is available on Monday night, featuring four tickets and four $10 concessions vouchers starting at $48 (plus tax/fees).
Broadcast Information
•UT graduate Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and former Lady Vol basketball assistant (1993-95) Carolyn Peck (analyst) will be on the broadcast for ESPN2.
•All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
•The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Voice of the Lady Vols Brian Rice in his first season behind the mic. He will be joined by studio host Andy Brock.
•A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
•For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
•Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
•Satellite radio listeners can find the UT broadcast on Sirius XM Ch. 136 or 190 or on the SXM App at 961.
Harper Scheduling Very Summitt-Like
•Tennessee’s schedule features games vs. seven teams ranked in the preseason polls and potential match-ups in two more games at the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis.
•Perhaps taking a page out of the Pat Summitt playbook on scheduling, Kellie Harper has her squad opening against two ranked teams in the first three games, followed by the potential for more in the B4A.
•The Big Orange women are set to face three teams from the 2022 NCAA Final Four (South Carolina, Stanford, UConn) and could face a fourth (Louisville) in the Atlantis tourney.
•The Lady Vols host No. 1/1 South Carolina, No. 6/6 UConn, No. 11/11 Indiana and No. 13/13 Virginia Tech.
•UT has road contests at No. 2/2 Stanford, No. 14/15 Ohio State and No. 16/14 LSU.
•Potential ranked Battle 4 Atlantis foes in two contests include No. 3/3 Texas, No. 7/5 Louisville and No. 23/24 South Dakota State.
Next On The Schedule
•Following Monday’s tilt, the Lady Vols will gear up for a trip to Paradise Island, Bahamas, where they’ll take part in the Bad Boy Mowers Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis (PDF).
•Tennessee opens tourney play on Saturday at noon ET vs. Rutgers in a contest streamed by FloHoops.
•The winner will meet the victor of UCLA and No. 23/24 South Dakota State at noon on Sunday. The losers of the first-round game will meet at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
•The lower half of the bracket features first-round match-ups between No. 3/3 Texas and Marquette at 5 p.m. on Saturday and No. 7/5 Louisville vs. Gonzaga at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
•Sunday contests also are on FloHoops. Winners bracket games on Monday are on linear TV, including the championship game at noon on ESPN and the third-place contest at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Everywhere You Look, Greenfield
•Monday night’s match-up will feature a reunion of three players from Greenfield (Tenn.) High School’s 2018 Class A State Championship Team.
•The rural community of 2,000 residents in Northwest Tennessee will be holding a watch party to proudly celebrate their hometown heroes.
•Tennessee’s Tess and Edie Darby and Indiana’s Chloe Moore-McNeil played on that historic Yellowjackets squad and also were on the 2020 juggernaut that had a 34-0 record and No. 1 ranking before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season prematurely.
•Tess Darby and Moore-McNeil were on opposing benches on Dec. 17, 2020, when UT and IU met in Bloomington for a game the Lady Vols claimed by a 66-58 count over the No. 15/15 Hoosiers.
•Greenfield, by the way, is where the late Lady Vol coaching legend and UT Martin graduate Pat Summitt did her student teaching.
Former Minnesota Teammates Face Off
•Tennessee’s Jasmine Powell and Indiana’s Sara Scalia were teammates at Minnesota for the past three seasons before leaving the Gophers for other schools.
•Scalia (17.9) and Powell (12.4) were the squad’s top two scorers a year ago and tied for honors in 2020-21 at 14.5 ppg.
•Powell has stepped right into a starting position at Tennessee and is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for point guards.
•Scalia, meanwhile, appears to have locked down a starting role for the Hoosiers and is on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Watch List for shooting guards.
Familiar Face On Hoosier Bench
•Indiana director of player development Briana Schomaeker should look familar to Lady Vol fans.
•Playing under her maiden name of Briana Bass, the 5-2 dynamo from Indianapolis appeared in 118 games for Tennessee from 2008-12.
•Bass started as a senior at point guard on Pat Summitt’s final team as head coach, helping direct the Lady Vols to a 27-9 record and SEC Tournament title before falling to eventual NCAA champ Baylor in the Elite 8 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Jas Heading For 1,000 Rebounds
•Tennessee graduate power forward Jasmine Franklin is working her way toward 1,000 career rebounds.
•The native of Fayetteville, Ark., now has 917 boards combined during her time at Missouri State and Tennessee.
•She has averaged 8.8 rpg. during her career.
Mock Draft Includes Two Lady Vols
•ESPN’s M.A. Voepel revealed a mock WNBA Draft on Nov. 10, and that projection included two Lady Vols being taken with back-to-back picks in the first round.
•Voepel has Jordan Horston going with the No. 5 pick to the Chicago Sky and possibly playing with Candace Parker.
•With the next selection, Rickea Jackson is expected to be chosen by the New York Liberty at No. 6.
•UT head coach Kellie Harper has produced top-10 picks in each of the past two drafts, including Rennia Davis at No. 9 in 2021 (Minnesota) and Rae Burrell at No. 9 in 2022 (Los Angeles).
•Tennessee has not produced top-10 WNBA Draft picks in three consecutive seasons since Tamika Catchings (2001), Michelle Snow (2002) and the duo of Kara Lawson and Gwen Jackson (2003). That was the only occasion it occurred back to back to back for UT.
Rockin’ Rickea
•Senior Rickea Jackson recorded the seventh double-double of her career as she fueled Tennessee in her Lady Vol debut at Thompson-Boling Arena with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
•It was the 20th time in her career that she eclipsed the 20-point margin.
•The Cheryl Miller Award candidate and preseason All-SEC First-Teamer averaged 20.3 points per game last year before transferring from Mississippi State.
Lady Vols Dropping 20
•Dating back to last year, a Lady Vol has scored at least 20 points in four straight games. During that stretch, each occasion was achieved by a different Lady Vol.
•Alexus Dye had 20 points against Belmont in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, and Rae Burrell finished with 22 points against Louisville in the Sweet 16.
•Jordan Horston scored 20 in the season opener at Ohio State, and then Rickea Jackson went for 24 against UMass.
•In three of those performances, the player also finished with a double-double (Dye, Horston, Jackson).
•With back-to-back 20-point efforts to start the season, this was the first time since the 2017-18 campaign Tennessee accomplished that feat. Mercedes Russell opened the season with 20 points against ETSU before Jaime Nared dropped 25 against James Madison.
A Look At Indiana
•Indiana is coming off its second-straight NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2021-22, when it went 24-9 overall and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament title game for the first time in 20 years.
•In the Big Ten Preseason Polls, the Hoosiers are picked to finish second by the media and third by the coaches, with 6-0 senior guard Grace Berger and 6-3 junior forward Mackenzie Holmes projected once again as all-league performers.
•Berger and Holmes were All-American honorees last season and among four Hoosiers on All-Big Ten teams.
•Berger (Cheryl Miller Award/Naismith Trophy), Holmes (Lisa Leslie Award/Naismith Trophy) and transfer Sara Scalia (Ann Meyers Drysdale Award) are on preseason watch lists.
About The Head Coach
•Teri Moren is in her ninth season with Indiana Women’s Basketball. She entered 2022-23 ranked second in overall wins at Indiana, holding a record of 172-89 and 371-219 overall in her 19 seasons as a head coach.
•The Seymour, Indiana, native has taken the program to new levels in her eight seasons at the helm, including four NCAA Tournament appearances. That includes back-to-back Sweet Sixteens and an Elite Eight appearance along with seven-consecutive 20-win seasons.
UT/IU Notes
•This marks the third meeting between these programs but the first time a game has been played between them in Knoxville.
•Tennessee leads the series with Indiana, 2-0, holding a 1-0 mark both on the road and at neutral sites.
•The schools last met on Dec. 17, 2020, when an unranked Lady Vols squad went into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and pulled off a 66-58 victory over the No. 15/15 Hoosiers.
•The Lady Vols also faced IU in the 1987 Communiplex Classic in Cincinnati, rolling to a 91-52 victory on Nov. 27 of that year.
•Lady Vol Head Coach Kellie Harper is 1-1 vs. Indiana with Teri Moren as a head coach, including Tennessee defeating IU on Dec. 17, 2020, in Bloomington and her final Missouri State team dropping a 98-74 decision to the Hoosiers in Bloomington on Dec. 9, 2018.
•UT is 80-16 all-time vs. schools currently in the Big Ten.
•The Big Orange women are facing their second Big Ten foe of the 2022-23 campaign after falling in the opener at No. 14/15 Ohio State, 87-75.
Last Game Recap For The Hoosiers
•Senior forward Mackenzie Holmes led all scorers with 17 points as No. 11 Indiana cruised to 93-37 victory over UMass Lowell on Friday night in Bloomington.
•Holmes got things started for the Hoosiers (2-0) early, as she had all seven points for her team with 6:12 to play in the first quarter. She ended up with nine in the opening period, as IU led 22-12.
•Defense was key in the second quarter, as the River Hawks hit just one shot as Holmes and senior guard Sara Scalia (finished with 15) each had six points to give Indiana a 49-17 advantage at the break.
•Holding UMass Lowell (0-2) to single digits again in the third quarter, the Hoosiers were able to utilize their bench down the stretch as freshman forward Lilly Meister came in and offered up 10 points, eight in the second half as IU led by as many as 59 in the fourth quarter.
