No. 23/24 Tennessee (3-4) tries to even its season record on Sunday, as Eastern Kentucky (4-2) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 2:02 p.m. ET matinee.
The contest marks the Lady Vols’ second of a six-game home stand and a stretch of nine out of 11 on The Summitt between Nov. 25 and Jan. 5. For only the second time in eight contests, the Lady Vols will not be facing a team that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Thus far, in an extremely-challenging season-opening stretch, UT has met 2022 NCAA teams Ohio State, UMass, Indiana, UCLA, Gonzaga and Colorado, going 2-4 against those programs with home wins over UM and CU. Of that collection, No. 4/6 Ohio State and No. 6/5 Indiana were ranked in the preseason, UCLA was receiving votes and is now ranked 20/21, and Gonzaga and UMass are currently receiving votes in the polls.
Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky are meeting for the 10th time, with the Big Orange holding an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series. The programs have not met since Feb. 24, 1993, when No. 1/1 UT extended its series winning streak to five games with a 95-58 triumph in Richmond during the Lady Vols’ penultimate game of the regular season.
Tennessee assistant coach Samantha Williams was the head coach at EKU from 2019-21 before opting to join Kellie Harper‘s staff as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Game Promotions
- A special promotion for the Eastern Kentucky game includes a “Weekend Family 4-Pack Deal,” featuring four tickets & four $10 concession vouchers starting at $72 (plus tax/fees).
- Tickets are available at AllVols.com.
Broadcast Information
- The SECN+ will stream the Tennessee vs. Eastern Kentucky contest, with Andy Brock (PxP) and Sami Kincaid (Analyst) on the call.
- 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 on the call.
- 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.
- The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard on satellite radio via SiriusXM channels 113 and 190, and via channel 961 on the SXM App.
Lady Vol Trending Topics
- Tennessee has had a 20-point scorer in four of its first seven games, including two of them in the last outing vs. Colorado.
- Rickea Jackson has carded three 20+ scoring games, including 26 vs. Rutgers, 24 vs. UMass and 20 vs. Colorado, while Jordan Horston filled the nets with 20+ vs. Ohio State in the opener (20) and against Colorado (23) on Friday night.
- Tennessee has had five different leading rebounders over the first seven contests, including Jordan Horston, Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell, Marta Suárez, Marta Suárez, Jasmine Franklin and Jordan Horston in that order.
- Jasmine Powell has dished out four or more assists in six of seven games thus far.
- Jasmine Franklin and Jillian Hollingshead have shown signs of settling in the past two games off the bench, with Franklin producing 11 points, nine boards vs. Gonzaga and Hollingshead coming up with seven points and four rebounds vs. Colorado.
- Tennessee has forced an average of 20 turnovers per contest over the last four games, including an opponent season-high 25 by Colorado on Friday night.
- The Lady Vols have held three of their past four opponents under 40 percent shooting, with UCLA’s 43.5 effort serving as the exception.
- UT has limited foes to 28 percent shooting from long range in four of seven games, with UCLA’s 53.3 (16-30) outburst serving as a distant outlier.
What’s Next?
- After six days between games, the Lady Vols return to Thompson-Boling Arena to play host to No. 11/9 Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4.
- The match-up was chosen as the 2022 Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona and will air on ESPN2.
- It’s also Knox County School Day with the Lady Vols. Fans who donate two new school supplies will receive one complimentary ticket to the UT/VT contest. All donations benefit the Knox County School Supply supporting local teachers and education.
- Of note to fans, there will be a second contest on The Summitt next Sunday, as the UT men play host to Alcorn State at 6 p.m.
- Ticketing for each game is separate.
Looking Back At The Colorado Game
- Keeping control throughout the game, the No. 23/24-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers got back in the win column in their return to Rocky Top, defeating Colorado 69-51 Friday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- It was a masterful showing on the offensive end for Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson on their home court. The duo scored 23 and 20, respectively, shooting a combined 18-of-25 (72 percent) from the floor. Horston was UT’s leading rebounder, securing eight boards, followed closely by Jackson who had four. Horston also tied for the team high in assists with Jasmine Powell, dishing out four vs. the Buffaloes.
- As a team, the Lady Vols fired at a 48.1 percent clip, going 26-of-54, and were ruthless on the defensive side, swiping away 15 total steals. Jackson and Horston accounted for four each. Karoline Striplin was a force in the fourth quarter, swatting away three Colorado (4-2) shots in the final period alone.
- Tennessee did a superb job turning takeaways into points, as the Big Orange outscored CU 24-8 in fast break points and owned the paint to the tune of a 34-22 advantage.
- The Orange & White never trailed in the game, building a lead as large as 24 points in the third quarter. Its stifling defense showed up in the box score, as the Buffaloes put up just 14 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
- Colorado finished with three double-digit scorers, led by Kindyll Wetta with 13. Jaylyn Sherrod totaled 11, while Aaronette Vonleh netted 10. Its leading scorer for the season at 17.2 ppg., Quay Miller, was held to only three by the Big Orange.
Dynamic Duo
- Seniors Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson led Tennessee in scoring for the fourth straight game, marking the first game of the season in which UT has had two players with 20 or more points.
- Horston has scored in double figures in every game in which she’s been active and completed the contest, and Jackson has tallied 14 or more in every game except the opener against Ohio State.
- The duo has combined for 216 points on the season, just over 42 percent of Tennessee’s 514 total points.
Starting Strong, Defensively
- The Lady Vols limited the Buffaloes to just nine first-quarter points and five second-quarter points.
- It was the first time this season the Buffaloes scored less than 12 points in an opening period and marked their fewest first-half point total.
- It was also the first time Tennessee had held an opponent to single-digit scoring in a first quarter this season and the fewest points they’ve given up in a first half this season as well as a second quarter.
Back On The Boards
- UT won the battle of the boards against the Buffaloes, out-rebounding them 38-33 on the night.
- The Lady Vols have now won the rebounding battle four times on the season and in three of the last four contests.
Taking Charge
A Look At The Colonels
- Antwainette Walker, a 5-foot-11, redshirt senior forward brings an impressive double-double average of 20.3 points and 11.8 rebounds to Knoxville.
- EKU has three others putting up double-digit scoring averages, including Danielle Rainey (10.8), Alice Recanati (10.7) and Kalissa Lacy (10.7).
- The Colonels average 78.3 points and 42.3 rebounds per outing, shooting 42.4 percent from the field, 35.8 on threes and 74.8 at the charity stripe.
- Eastern Kentucky is coached by second-year skipper Greg Todd, a 1983 graduate of the school.
- Todd enters Sunday’s game with a 19-18 record at his alma mater and a 281-188 overall mark in his 17th year as a head coach.
- Prior to coming to Richmond, Todd led the program at Morehead State from 2014-21 and was previously at Transylvania (Lexington, Ky.) from 2006-14.
EKU’s Last Game
- Eastern Kentucky handled Midway University by a score of 88-57 on Wednesday afternoon inside Baptist Health Arena in Richmond.
- With the win, EKU moved to 4-2 on the season before hitting the road for a five-game road swing that includes stops at No. 23 Tennessee, Miami (Ohio), Northern Kentucky, Boston College and Army West Point.
- Five Colonels scored in double figures to pace a balanced attack, including Alice Recanati (19), Kalissa Lacy (17), Emma Hacker (14), Bridgid Fox (13) and Antwainette Walker (12).
- Walker pulled down 17 rebounds to card a double-double and paced her team with six assists.
- EKU broke open a seven-point contest at the half with a 23-8 third-quarter burst to put the game away.
UT/EKU Notes
- UT is 8-1 all-time vs. Eastern Kentucky, including a 4-1 record in games played in Knoxville.
- The teams met seven times in the 1970s, once in the 80s and another occasion in the 90s.
- The last meeting came on Feb. 24, 1993, as No. 1/1 Tennessee rolled past the Colonels in Richmond, Ky., 95-58, in the midst of a regular-season-closing three-game road swing for the Lady Vols.
- UT assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Samantha Williams was head coach at EKU from 2019-21 before opting to join Kellie Harper‘s staff.
