Tennessee (7-6) and Wofford (9-3) open the second halves of their seasons on Tuesday, as they meet in a 6:32 p.m. ET contest at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
Both teams are coming off winter break, with UT last playing at No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 18 and Wofford visiting UNC Asheville on Dec. 19.
After a brutal early-season schedule of facing five teams currently ranked in the polls (including four in the top 10) left UT at 2-4 on Nov. 21, the Big Orange have won five of their last seven and carry a three-game home winning streak into Tuesday’s match-up.
The Lady Vols have been playing their best basketball of the season over the past five games, pushing (then) No. 6 Virginia Tech and second-ranked Stanford to the limit before falling 59-56 and 77-70, respectively. Tennessee had Stanford on the ropes at Maples Pavilion in the last game, leading the Cardinal by eight late in the third quarter and carrying a five-point lead into the fourth frame before a 4-for-21 shooting spell over the final 10 minutes ended a chance at the Big Orange’s biggest win of the season.
Wofford, meanwhile, enters having won back-to-back road affairs, triumphing at Bellarmine, 69-56, on Dec. 17 and overtaking UNC Asheville on Dec. 19, 79-67, after falling at No. 8 North Carolina on Dec. 11.
The Lady Vols and Terriers will meet for the first time in women’s basketball, but the contest will mark a reunion of sorts for UT head coach Kellie Harper and assistant Jon Harper. The Harpers forged a 12-1 record vs. Wofford in 13 meetings while they were employed at Western Carolina from 2004-09.
Game Promotions
•Fans can take advantage of the “Weekday Family 4 Pack Deal,” getting four tickets & four $10 concessions vouchers starting at $48 (plus tax/fees).
•Tickets are available at AllVols.com.
Broadcast Information
•The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host
What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
•Tennessee has already played six top-25 opponents, including four teams that currently reside in the top 10 and three amongst the top four.
•The Lady Vols met No. 3 Ohio State in the opener, No. 4 Indiana in game three, No. 11 UCLA in game five, No. 22 Gonzaga in game six, No. 8 Virginia Tech in game nine and No. 2 Stanford in game 13.
•UT also has battles on the schedule vs. No. 1 South Carolina, No. 9 UConn, No. 10 LSU and No. 17 Arkansas.
•The Big Orange women are set to face three teams from the 2022 NCAA Final Four (South Carolina, Stanford, UConn) and missed the opportunity to potentially meet a fourth (Louisville) in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Adapting To The Personnel On Hand
•With players missing a combined 12 games already, Tennessee has featured six different starting lineups in 13 outings due to medical reasons or coach’s decision.
•The Lady Vols found out on Dec. 8 they’d be without senior center Tamari Key for the rest of the season, after it was announced that testing revealed blood clots in her lungs.
•Key’s last game of 2022-23 came on Dec. 4 vs. No. 9/9 (now No. 8/8) Virginia Tech, when she scored 11 points and held the Hokies’ 2022 ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley to six points on 3-of-13 shooting.
•While Key played vs. VT, Rickea Jackson (coach’s decision), Jillian Hollingshead (concussion protocol) and Jasmine Franklin (concussion protocol) were unavailable for Kellie Harper when the Lady Vols fell narrowly by a 59-56 count in Knoxville.
•Key (4), Franklin (2), Jackson (2), Hollingshead (1), Jordan Horston (1), Justine Pissott (1) and Kaiya Wynn (1) all have been out of the lineup.
Noting The Offense
•The dynamic Jordan Horston is playing the best basketball of her career, shooting 45.0 percent on field goals, 36.4 percent on threes and 73.7 percent on free throws while averaging 16.0 ppg., 6.4 rpg. and 3.2 apg.
•Horston has scored in double figures 11 times, doing so every game in which she has been healthy and carding a team-high three double-doubles this season.
•Coming off the bench the past three games, Rickea Jackson leads Tennessee at 16.1 ppg. Equally as electric as Horston, Jackson grabs 5.4 rpg. and is shooting 53.6 percent from the field and 83.0 percent from the charity stripe.
•Jasmine Franklin, Karoline Striplin and Jillian Hollingshead have emerged of late as inside presences as UT attempts to offset the loss of Tamari Key. Franklin is putting up 8.7 ppg. and 6.3 rpg. over her last four contests, while Striplin is producing 6.3 ppg. and 3.0 rpg. and Hollingshead is contributing 6.0 ppg. and 4.5 rpg.
•Sara Puckett and Marta Suárez have upped their offensive games as well, averaging 10.8 ppg. and 2.5 rpg., and 6.8 ppg. and 2.5 rpg., respectively.
•Puckett (5-10, 50.0 pct.) and Tess Darby (6-13, 46.2 pct.) have been sharpshooters from beyond the three-point arc over the past four contests.
•Tennessee is averaging 83.5 ppg., shooting 46.9 percent from the field and surrendering only 8.3 turnovers per game over its last four contests.
•That 8.3 turnover average during that recent span is a drastic improvement over the 17.9 per contest UT was allowing over the first nine games.
•Tennessee is averaging 77.6 points per game for the season, a number that ranks No. 38 nationally for scoring offense.
•UT has surpassed 90 points four times in 2022-23, including 94 vs. Rutgers, 105 vs. Eastern Kentucky, 96 vs. Wright State and 99 vs. UCF.
•The Lady Vols shot 41.5 percent from the field a year ago and are firing at a 45.3 clip in 2022-23.
•A 59.4 percent shooting effort vs. Wright State was Tennessee’s best since hitting at a 61.7 clip vs. Liberty on 3/16/18 in the NCAA First Round.
•UT recorded a school-record 84.6 shooting percentage for a quarter in the third frame vs. Wright State.
•Jillian Hollingshead is hitting 61.0 pct. from the field through 12 games played to lead all active Lady Vols. Tamari Key was at 66.7 percent before her year ended.
Defensively Speaking
•Over the past four games, Tennessee has limited its foes to shooting 36.6 percent from the field.
•The Lady Vols have held eight of their past 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting, with UCLA’s 43.5 effort and Stanford’s 42.2 serving as the exceptions.
•Through three contests, UT was barely out-rebounding opponents (39.3-38.0). They’ve now opened that margin up to +8.5 (42.2-33.8), out-boarding foes in nine of 13 games, including five of the past six.
•Tennessee is at No. 40 nationally in rebound margin (+8.5) after its slow start and is 43rd for rebounds per game at 42.2.
•Tennessee allowed only 15 rebounds to Wright State last Sunday, which is second in UT history only to the 13 grabbed by Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on 11/29/02 and tied with the 15 by Ole Miss on 2/24/11.
•Despite facing a more rigorous schedule, Tennessee is averaging more steals (7.8 to 7.2) per game than it was last season.
•Over the past four games, however, Tennessee is holding opponents to 36.6 percent shooting from the field and 59.3 points per contest after allowing 38.2 percent and 68.8 percent over the first nine contests.
What’s Next?
•Tennessee flies on Wednesday to Gainesville, Fla., where it will embark on the Southeastern Conference schedule.
•The Lady Vols and Gators will meet at 6 p.m. ET (SECN+) on Thursday in Exactech Arena at the Stephen C O’Connell Center.
•UT then hosts Alabama on Jan. 1 (Noon/SEC Network).
Looking Back At The Stanford Game
•Tennessee dropped a hard-fought contest at No. 2/2 Stanford on Dec. 18, falling 77-70 in Maples Pavilion in a contest that featured 15 lead changes and seven ties.
•The Lady Vols and Cardinal were tied at 35-all after three quarters, and UT grabbed the lead and pushed it to as many as eight points in the third period. SU, however, started a comeback late in the third frame and used a 12-0 run spanning the final two stanzas to flip the script and seize a victory.
•Senior Jordan Horston was the top performer for Tennessee (7-6), recording her third double-double of the season with 19 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high tying four steals. Senior Rickea Jackson and sophomore Sara Puckett were also in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
•Stanford (11-1) was led by Cameron Brink, who finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Haley Jones and Hannah Jump were also top scorers, logging 19 each, with Jones also carding a double-double with 12 boards.
A Record-Setting Turnover Turnaround
•Tennessee committed just five turnovers against Stanford, marking the lowest turnover total of the season and of the Harper era.
•The Lady Vols have now finished three straight contests (9/6/5) with single-digit turnovers, marking the first time in program history a Lady Vol squad has accomplished that feat.
•Each of those game totals represented successive Harper-era lows for miscues.
•The total of five vs. Stanford marked the fewest turnovers in a game by Tennessee since the 2017-18 season, when UT had a school-record low four miscues against Alabama State (12/3/17).
•Over the last four games, UT is committing an impressive average of only 8.3 turnovers per contest, forging a +7.5 margin.
•During the first nine games of the campaign, the Lady Vols turned it over on average 17.9 times per contest for a -0.9 margin.
•That difference equals 9.6 fewer miscues per game.
•For the season, Tennessee has cut its average of miscues to 14.9 per outing and now has a +1.7 turnover margin.
A Look At The Terriers
•Wofford is led by a pair of double-figure scorers in fifth-year guard Jackie Carman (16.7 ppg.) and sophomore guard Rachael Rose (16.6 ppg.
•Rose shoots 50.7 percent from the field, including 50 percent on three-pointers (19-38), and is hitting 82.4 percent at the free-throw line with 42 makes in 51 attempts.
•Carman leads the team with 26 treys, hitting at a 32.5-percent clip.
•After starting the season 0-2 with losses at Youngstown State (81-72) and Clemson (79-68), the Terriers bounced back to win the next seven and nine of their past 10.
•The only loss during that stretch came on Dec. 11 at top-10 opponent North Carolina, 99-67.
•WC claimed victory in its last two games before heading into the holiday break, triumphing at Bellarmine (69-56) and UNC Asheville (79-67).
Wofford’s Last Game
•The Wofford women’s basketball team was locked in a tight battle with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs Dec. 19 in Kimmel Arena until a 14-point run in the third quarter changed the game, propelling the Terriers to a 79-67 triumph.
•The road win lifted Wofford to 9-3 on the season, while Asheville fell to 4-6.
•Wofford’s nine non-conference wins are the second most in program history, just behind the 10 of the 2016-17 campaign.
•The Terriers shot 41.2 percent (28-of-68) from the field, but they had an off night from distance at just 15.6 percent (5-of-32).
•Asheville posted marks of 36.4 percent (24-of-66) and 22.6 percent (7-of-31).
•The charity stripe was huge for the Terriers, as Wofford went 18-of-23 at the line, a 78.3 percent rate.
UT/WC Notes
•This marks the first meeting between Tennessee and Wofford in women’s basketball.
•The Lady Vols, however, are meeting a Southern Conference foe for the second time this season after defeating Chattanooga, 69-39, on Dec. 6.
•UT is 70-20-1 all-time vs. schools currently in the SoCon.
•Kellie Harper will be facing the Terriers for the 14th occasion in her career, taking a 12-1 record and eight-game winning streak vs. Wofford into Tuesday night’s match-up.
•All of those meetings occurred while Harper was head coach at Western Carolina.
