KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee (16-10, 9-5 SEC) competes on The Summitt for the final time during the regular season, playing host to Texas A&M (18-9, 6-8 SEC) Thursday on Senior Night.
Recognitions for senior players will take place before the Lady Vols and Aggies face off inside Food City Center in a contest televised by SEC Network at 7 p.m. ET.
Tennessee enters the game holding onto fourth place in the SEC standings and trying to secure a top-four seed for next week’s league tournament in Greenville, S.C. Texas A&M, meanwhile, is tied for eighth with Arkansas and Auburn.
UT and A&M meet for the second time during the 2023-24 campaign, with the Aggies defending their home court in College Station on Jan. 14, 71-56. The Lady Vols are coming off a game in which they challenged LSU into the fourth quarter before falling, 75-60.
The Aggies, who have been without injured leading scorer Endyia Rogers, have dropped three of their past four games. A&M arrives in Knoxville after a 57-41 setback at Auburn on Sunday afternoon.
BROADCAST DETAILS
Sam Gore (PxP) and Tamika Catchings (Analyst) will have the call for the SEC Network broadcast.
All 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 can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play. Jay Lifford is the studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the 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 select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time is typically 30 minutes before tip-off.
2024 SENIOR NIGHT RECOGNITION FOR FIVE
At Thursday’s game, UT will honor five seniors, including three who have the option of returning in 2024-25.
Fifth-year players Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Powell will be making their final regular-season appearances in a game at Food City Center.
Tess Darby, Tamari Key and Jewel Spear all have the option to return next year but are expected to wait until the season is complete to make decisions.
Senior recognitions will begin at 6:40 p.m. ET, so fans should plan to be in their seats early.
UT honored a record seven Lady Vols in 2022-23, with Jackson, Key and Powell opting to return this season.
The total of five honorees in 2023-24 ties for the second-most in program annals along with quintets recognized in 2011-12, 2007-08, 1983-84 and 1974-75.
GAME PROMOTIONS & INFO.
The “Family 4 Pack” is available.
Kids’ 12-and-under pricing is $5.
Students: Play “Second Half Bingo” and get five in a row to win prizes.
Rowdy Rewards pick-up: Students can trade in Rowdy Rewards points for prizes.
Download the Tennessee Athletics app to join the Coca-Cola GBO Zone Lightshow.
Tickets are available for purchase at AllVols.com or by calling the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-332-VOLS or 865-656-1200. Be sure to inquire about the specials listed above.
PARKING, TRAFFIC FLOW, ENTRY ALERTS
Fans coming to campus looking to purchase parking will do so on-site with a credit card for all events, including men’s and women’s hoops.
All tickets and Tennessee Fund parking passes are digital.
Just like last season, fans will see walk-through metal detectors outside of all Food City Center entrances.
The designated rideshare drop-off/pick-up area will be on Todd Helton Drive west of Food City Center.
Campus parking is limited for large Food City Center events, but there is a free shuttle service from the Ag Campus for all fans, dropping off and picking up immediately adjacent to Food City Center.
ADA shuttles and entry are the same as previous years.
PHILLIP FULMER WAY CLOSURE INFO.
Due to construction and upgrades to Neyland Stadium, fans and media members should be aware of changes 7to traffic patterns on Phillip Fulmer Way and Peyton Manning Pass during the 2023-24 basketball season.
Phillip Fulmer Way from G-10 garage to Neyland Stadium Gate 21 vicinity is currently closed.
The G-10 garage will not be accessible southbound on Phillip Fulmer Way.
Phillip Fulmer Way will be closed to southbound traffic at Middle Drive, and it will not be accessible via Peyton Manning Pass.
For events at Food City Center, G-10 and Staff 5 parking areas will be accessible via Lake Loudoun Boulevard, but it is strongly recommended that vehicles enter G-10 via Neyland Drive.
Additionally, G5/30 will only be accessible from Lake Loudoun Blvd.
SEASON RESET
After functioning without All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Rickea Jackson for eight games from Nov. 13 to Dec. 10 and posting a 4-4 record during her absence, Tennessee has been a drastically different team since she was cleared following a lower leg injury.
The Lady Vols are 11-5 since Jackson returned to action and are currently fourth in the SEC standings and sitting at No. 37 in the NET.
As of Feb. 27, ESPN Women’s Bracketology has Tennessee as a No. 9 seed, facing No. 8 Florida State in the first round at Columbus, Ohio, in the Albany 2 Regional. The winner would play the victor of No. 1 Ohio State vs. #16 Sacred Heart or Holy Cross.
Among UT’s triumphs are top-65 NET victories over No. 26 Oklahoma, No. 40 Mississippi State, No. 46 Auburn, No. 57 Vanderbilt (twice), No. 61 Florida and No. 65 Arkansas. The win over Okla. in November was without Rickea Jackson.
Tennessee led at the half and was tied after three quarters vs. No. 1/1 South Carolina on Feb. 15 in a game featuring 14 lead changes and 11 ties that USC ultimately won, 66-55, for its second narrowest margin of victory in SEC play this season.
UT also is coming off a 75-60 setback vs. LSU, which saw the Lady Vols trailing by one with 7:30 remaining.
In addition to getting Jackson back in the lineup, Tennessee has been bolstered by the continued improvement of 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key. The school’s all-time leading shot blocker was sidelined after eight games a year ago due to blood clots in her lungs and understandably needed time to reacclimate to the rigors of the game.
Tennessee also has had to overcome the loss of reserve point guard Destinee Wells, who suffered a lower leg injury just prior to the Wofford game and is out for the season. Fifth-year standout Jasmine Powell impressively picked up more of the load, and junior Kaiya Wynn has stepped up and provided a spark off the bench on both ends of the floor.
With the players available for the past 16 contests stepping into and accepting their roles, the Lady Vols have competed cohesively as a team, with different players each game emerging to provide valuable contributions in starring and support capacities.
For the third week in a row, the Lady Vols are receiving votes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
MILESTONE WATCH
Rickea Jackson, who became the eighth Lady Vol to surpass 2,000 career points on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri, now has 2,094 (in her time at Mississippi State and Tennessee) and overtook Meighan Simmons (2,064, 2010-14) vs. Vanderbilt to move into seventh place on UT’s all-time scoring leaders list, including transfers.
Jackson needs 19 to catch Tamika Catchings in sixth (2,113, 1997-2001) and 43 to tie for fifth with Candace Parker, who tallied 2,137 points from 2005-08.
Jackson became the 49th player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark as a Lady Vol, doing so with 16 points vs. LSU. She now has 1,009, moving past Michelle Marciniak (1,004, 1993-96) and ranking No. 48 on the 1K scorers list in only 53 games.
After passing Marciniak (1,004, 1993-96), Jackson now ranks No. 4 in career points by a transfer at UT, standing behind third-place Diamond DeShields (1,018, 2014-17) by only nine. Cindy Brogdon is second at 1,458 (1977-79), and Cindy Noble is first (1,561, 1978-81).
With 24 points at Vanderbilt, Jackson tied Rennia Davis for fifth place in career 20-point games by a Lady Vol with 23 in only 52 games. With another, she can take sole possession of fifth.
Jackson’s next start will be her 100th in her 121st game played.
Tamari Key has 995 career points and is just five away from becoming the 50th Lady Vol to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
Key is in sole possession of sixth on the SEC all-time blocked shots list after passing South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston (330, 2019-23) with two vs. LSU. Key now has 332 swats and takes aim at Vanessa Hayden of Florida, who stands in fifth place with 357 from 2001-04.
On the glass, Key is 12 away (688) from registering 700 career rebounds and joining Jackson, who eclipsed 700 at Vanderbilt on Feb. 18.
With a pair of treys vs. LSU, Tess Darby moved past Brittany Jackson (161, 2001-05) into a tie for sixth with Shekinna Stricklen (2008-12) on UT’s career three-pointers list with 163.
Darby trails No. 5 Ariel Massengale (164, 2011-15) by one.
The senior currently ranks No. 8 in career three-pointers attempted at 432, standing behind No. 7 Brittany Jackson (443, 2001-05).
With six assists vs. LSU, Jasmine Powell moved her season total to 105 to surpass the century mark for the third consecutive season. She had a career-best 116 last year and 108 in 2021-22 at Minnesota.
Kellie Harper won her 100th game as head coach of the Lady Vols when UT defeated Vanderbilt on Jan. 21.
Harper is now 11 shy of 400 for her career in 20 years.
The LVFL’s win over Missouri was her 50th vs. an SEC foe in her fifth season at her alma mater, and her victory over Arkansas came in her 150th game at UT.
LADY VOL STANDOUT STATS
With five points vs. Texas A&M, Tamari Key (995 pts.) can become the fifth Lady Vol on this year’s roster to tally 1,000 career points. That would tie a program best set by last year’s squad.
UT is 20-3 when Rickea Jackson scores 20+ points, including 6-1 this season.
Jackson is the third-leading scorer among SEC players in all games (18.8) and in league contests (18.7) as well.
Tennessee ranks No. 10 in the nation in rebounds per game at 43.62.
UT is 15-1 during games in which it out-rebounds its opponent and 11-1 when it holds its opponent to 69 points or fewer. The losses in those cases were to Florida State and South Carolina, respectively.
With 105 assists in 2023-24, Jasmine Powell has carded her third-straight 100-dime season and ranks No. 3 in assists per game in SEC play (5.0) and No. 6 in all contests (4.2).
UT has reduced its turnovers per game to 12.1 over its last six contests.
Jewel Spear is No. 5 in the SEC in threes made per game (1.96) in all contests.
Tamari Key shoots 61.3 pct. in SEC play.
FIVE POINTS FROM TYING A UT RECORD
Tamari Key enters Thursday night’s game with 995 points, needing just five to give Tennessee a program-record-tying five 1,000-point career scorers on the same team.
She would join Rickea Jackson (2,094), Destinee Wells (1,716), Jewel Spear (1,714) and Jasmine Powell (1,295).
Tennessee finished the 2022-23 season with its most-ever 1,000-point scorers (5). That group included Rickea Jackson (1,756), Jordan Horston (1,445), Jordan Walker (1,359), Jasmine Franklin (1,279) and Jasmine Powell (1,046).
UT has had three or more 1,000-point scorers at season’s end on 13 occasions and four or more twice.
The 2023-24 foursome of Jackson (1,756), Wells (1,613), Spear (1,385) and Powell (1,046) marked the first time Tennessee had entered a season with four 1,000-point scorers on its roster, the 10th time with two or more and the second time with three or more.
RECAPPING THE LAST GAME
A determined Tennessee squad challenged No. 13/10 LSU and closed the gap to within one in the fourth quarter before the Tigers prevailed, 75-60, in front of a season-high crowd of 15,281 on Sunday afternoon at Food City Center.
UT (16-10, 9-5 SEC) trimmed LSU’s lead to 52-51 with 7:30 remaining in the game but could get no closer to the Tigers (24-4, 11-3 SEC) the rest of the way.
Fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson paced Tennessee with 16 points and nine rebounds, eclipsing the 1,000-point scoring mark with the program in only 53 contests. Redshirt senior Tamari Key also was in double figures, contributing 10 to the Big Orange offensive ledger.
LSU was led in scoring by Hailey Van Lith, who finished with 26 points. Mikaylah Williams chipped in 15, while Angel Reese produced a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.
POSTGAME NOTES VS. LSU
FANS SPARK THE SUMMITT: A season-high 15,281 fans sparked the Summitt in Sunday’s match-up vs. LSU, marking the largest home crowd since the 2014-15 season when 16,013 fans cheered on the Lady Vols vs. Kentucky (2/15/15). Sunday’s attendance marked the 124th all-time game UT has played in front of 15,000+ spectators, with 88 of those coming at home in Thompson Boling Arena at Food City Center.
RICKEA HITS 1,000 AS A LADY VOL: With 16 points against the Tigers, Rickea Jackson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark exclusively as a Lady Vol, tallying the milestone in under two seasons. Jackson, who became the eighth Lady Vol to surpass 2,000 career points on Feb. 4 vs. Missouri, leads the team at 18.8 points per game this season.
TK BRINGS IT: Tamari Key posted a stat-stuffing effort on Sunday vs. the Tigers, recording 10 points, tying her season high, and adding five rebounds, two blocks and an assist in 26 minutes. Her two blocks pushed her past Aliyah Boston to take sole possession of sixth place on the SEC’s all-time blocked shots list with 332.
JP SURPASSES 100 ASSISTS AGAIN: Jasmine Powell dished out a team-leading six assists vs. the Tigers to card her third consecutive season with 100+ dimes. She now has 105 in 2023-24, had a career-best 116 last year and dished 108 in 2021-22 while at Minnesota. The guard is averaging 4.4 assists per game in 2023-24 and 5.0 in SEC contests.
REBOUNDS GALORE: The Lady Vols brought down 53 rebounds vs. LSU to post their fourth-most boards in a game this season and seventh 50-carom game in 2023-24. Coming into Sunday’s contest, Tennessee ranked 11th nationally and fourth in the SEC in rebounds per game at 43.2.
DARBY CLIMBS THREES LIST: Tess Darby knocked down two three-pointers in five attempts on Sunday, running her career total to 163 at Tennessee. That mark ties her with Shekinna Stricklen (2008-12) for the sixth-most all-time by a Lady Vol.
PUCKETT ON THE GLASS: Sara Puckett registered a season-high nine rebounds vs. LSU while leading the team with three offensive boards. The junior is averaging five rebounds per game in 2023-24.
UT/A&M SERIES NOTES
UT is 4-2 in Knoxville, 2-5 in College Station and 4-1 at neutral sites vs. the Aggies.
The Big Orange women are 8-8 vs. Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC.
A&M is 2-0 in overtime games vs. UT, with both of those taking place in College Station.
In the initial meeting in Knoxville between these teams on Feb. 28, 2013, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give UT an SEC regular-season championship on the Lady Vols’ home court.
Kellie Harper is 2-4 all-time vs. the Aggies, including 2-3 as Tennessee’s head coach with victories in two of the past three meetings.
Junior Tamari Key blocked a career-best 11 shots against TAMU on Jan. 6, 2022, ranking second all-time in Lady Vol single-game records behind Kelley Cain’s 12 vs. LSU on Feb. 22, 2010.
As a student-athlete at UT from 1995-99, Kellie (Jolly) Harper was 1-0 vs. the Aggies.
She had 14 points as the Lady Vols defeated Texas A&M, 105-81, in Anchorage, Alaska, on Dec. 19, 1997, at the Northern Lights Invitational.
A LOOK AT THE AGGIES
Texas A&M is led by the trio of Endyia Rogers (12.8), Aicha Coulibaly (12.4) and Janiah Barker (12.0).
Rogers also is A&M’s leading scorer in league games (15.7), but she has missed four contests due to injury, including Sunday’s 57-41 loss at Auburn.
The Aggies have the number two scoring defense in the SEC in all games (56.67) and are third in league contests (63.93).
ABOUT THE HEAD COACH
Joni Taylor is in her second season as head coach at Texas A&M after being at Georgia from 2015-22.
Taylor was the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year at UGA.
A 2002 alum of Alabama, Joni (Crenshaw) Taylor’s playing career (1997-2001) intersected for two seasons with that of Tennessee’s Kellie (Jolly) Harper, who played at UT for Pat Summitt from 1995-99.
TEXAS A&M’S MOST RECENT GAME
Texas A&M was unable to cash in on a strong defensive effort in a 57-41 loss at Auburn on Sunday.
The Aggies held AU to 32.2% (19-of-59) shooting from the field and logged 14 steals.
Texas A&M, though, committed a season-high 29 turnovers while notching five assists and was without the services of starting point guard Endyia Rogers for the fourth-straight game due to injury.
The Aggies, who entered the fray with a +10.6 rebounding margin, lost by a 41-30 tally to Auburn.
LAST UT-A&M CONTEST
The Lady Vols suffered their first SEC loss of the season on Jan. 14, falling at Texas A&M, 71-56.
Sara Puckett led Tennessee (10-6, 3-1 SEC) with 12 points, while Jewel Spear was close behind with 11 and Rickea Jackson ended the day with 10, as UT saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.
Aicha Coulibaly was the high scorer for the Aggies (14-3, 2-2 SEC), finishing with 19 points. Sahara Jones and Endyia Rogers had 15 each.
LAST TIME WE MET IN KNOXVILLE
No. 7/8 Tennessee rolled past No. 25/23 Texas A&M in Knoxville, 73-45, on Jan. 6, 2022.
UT (14-1, 3-0 SEC) was led by Jordan Horston, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Tamari Key added nine points and a career-high 11 blocks.
Destiny Pitts led the Aggies (10-4, 0-2 SEC) with 12 points. Kayla Wells and Qadashah Hoppie were also in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively.
COMING UP
Tennessee closes out the regular season on the road on Sunday, making its way to Columbia to face No. 1/1 South Carolina for the second time this season.
The Lady Vols and Gamecocks will meet at noon at Colonial Life Arena, just two weeks after USC prevailed in Knoxville, 66-55, in a contest that featured 14 lead changes and 11 ties.
Sunday’s game will be televised by ESPN and carried on Lady Vol Network stations statewide and via live stream on UTSports.com.
Source: University Of Tennessee
