2010-11 LADY VOL BASKETBALL ARCHIVED NOTES DID YOU KNOW SUMMITT WAS A “STAR” Coach Pat Summitt was the first person honored with a star on the new Riverwalk of Fame during a ceremony on Knoxville’s Volunteer Landing on Jan. 5. The Riverwalk of Fame - which will stretch along Volunteer Landing - will honor people from Knoxville and the surrounding area who have made a great mark nationally or internationally and in doing so, brought honor to East Tennessee. The honorees can range from writers, musicians, actors, athletes and coaches to scientists, astronauts, statesmen and others of note. Tennessee governor elect and outgoing Mayor Bill Haslam made the announcement that Summitt would honored after she won her 1,000th game as the Lady Volunteers coach last February. Each person on the Riverwalk will be honored with a large star that will include their name as well as a small, but significant, symbol of what that person did that made a difference in people’s lives. In Summitt’s case it will be a basketball. “We’re all proud of Pat Summitt and always happy to have an opportunity to let her know how much she means to us,” Haslam said. “She’s a great choice to be the person honored with this first star on the Riverwalk.” 422 GAMES WITH A TRIPLE -- SNAPPED AT LSU Against LSU on Jan. 2, 2011 the Lady Vols failed to make a three-pointer (going 0-7) and had their consecutive three-pointer record snapped at 422 consecutive games. Previously, the last time UT did not make at least one three was Jan. 21, 1999, at Florida. UT won that game 77-64. IT WAS INCREDIBLE From 1980-1997, the Lady Vols claimed a total of six SEC regular season titles in 17 years. From 1998-2004, Tennessee captured seven consecutive SEC regular season crowns producing an amazing 109-4 record. UT’s only league losses were to Vandy, Georgia and LSU (twice) during this stretch. EIGHT WAS GREAT Over the years, eight Lady Vols teams have gone undefeated in SEC play: 1993, ‘94, ‘95, ‘98, 2001, ‘03, ‘04 and ‘07. FAST STARTS FOR LADY VOL ROOKIES Tennessee has enjoyed a tremendous tradition of some great Lady Vol rookies. Current frosh Meighan Simmons joined that elite group by registering doublefigure scoring in her first 13 games. She was on pace to tie Chamique Holdsclaw’s rookie record by reaching double figure scoring in her first 14 games at UT. Simmons fell short in her 14th game versus Rutgers scoring just seven points in 13 minutes after getting into foul trouble in the first half. Candace Parker started her career by reaching double figures in her first nine games, while Glory Johnson accomplished the feat in her first 10 collegiate contests. Consecutive Double-Digit Scoring Performances to Begin UT Freshman Season (Since 1980-81): Chamique Holdsclaw 1995-96 14 Meighan Simmons 2010-11 13 Glory Johnson 2008-09 10 Candace Parker 2005-06 9 Dana Johnson 1991-92 6 Tamika Catchings 1997-98 5 LADY VOL NATIONAL CHAMPION DIES The Lady Vol basketball family learned on Mon., Dec. 27, that Melissa Ann McCray-Dukes had lost her long and hard fought battle with breast cancer. McCray-Dukes was 43 years old. Nicknamed “Emma” by her Tennessee teammates, McCray-Dukes played on four consecutive NCAA Final Four teams (1986-87-8889) and started as a guard on coach Pat Summitt’s first two national championship teams in 1987 and 1989. “Melissa was one of the most incredible people you could ever meet,” Summitt said. “She fought cancer with the same determination and tenacity she showed on the basketball court. She went into every single day of her life as a winner. Melissa had incredible optimism but she also knew she was in God’s hands at the end of her fight. She has taught me so many life lessons over the last four years and she will be missed. Our prayers and thoughts go out to her family and many friends.” She was the wife to the Reverend Johnny Dukes and mother to daughter Stephanie McCray, 20, and son Chandler Dukes, 16. She was born on Jan. 27, 1967 in Savannah, Ga. As a tribute to her, the 201011 Lady Vol team will wear her Tennessee number, a black and white number 35, on their game shorts beginning with the contest versus Rutgers. NOT SURPRISED IT WENT TO OT Chances are always pretty good that a Tennessee vs. Stanford game might need to go into extra innings. The Lady Vols have now participated in 41 overtime affairs all-time (against all opponents) and one-eighth of those games (six) have come against the Cardinal. UT’s meeting with #3/2-ranked Stanford on Dec. 19 in Knoxville was forced into an extra frame with the Lady Vols winning, 82-72. With that victory, UT leads 4-2 in overtime contests vs. SU. In fact, the previous time the two teams met in Thompson-Boling Arena, Tennessee claimed a 79-69 OT victory on Dec. 21, 2008. Few would know it then but it would become the signature vic-
tory in the Lady Vols dismal, 22-11 campaign in 2008-09. HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?? Tennessee’s 25 percent field goal shooting night against Baylor was the lowest in school history. The horrendous 18-72 shooting display eclipsed the previous all-time school record low of 27 percent (17-63) against North Carolina in the 2007 NCAA Final Four semifinals on April 1, 2007. In 1,247 games coached by Pat Summitt, her teams have dipped under 30 percent shooting just six times and five of those times have occurred in the last six years. In addition to the Baylor and North Carolina low marks, UT shot .278 vs. Rutgers (12-29-04), .280 vs. Duke (12-2-04), .286 at Minnesota (12-4-83) and .296 against Rutgers (2-11-08) TEXAS TRIP ROAD REMNANTS After the Texas road swing, freshman Meighan Simmons led the team in scoring, averaging 17.4 ppg and ranked second on the team in assists, dishing out 26 on the season...The Cibolo, Texas, native also ranked third in the Southeastern Conference in scoring...Over the three road contests (including ODU), Simmons averaged 18.0 points a contest, including 22 at Baylor...Also on the road trip, junior Shekinna Stricklen averaged a team-high 8.7 rebounds, pulling 11 down against both Texas and Baylor...Stricklen also posted her third doubledouble on the season against the Longhorns, scoring 10 points to go along with her 11 boards... HEY, HEY, THE GANG’S ALL HERE The game with Texas marked the first time in the 2010-11 season that the Lady Vols were at full-strength with a full complement of 13 players. At Texas, freshman point guard Lauren Avant made her first appearance since the season opener at Louisville. Avant had been sidelined with an ankle sprain. Junior post Alyssia Brewer was cleared by team physicians for full go on Monday, Dec. 6 -about a month earlier than first anticipated. Brewer had surgery to her left Achilles tendon and was not expected back until January. Against Texas, she was the first Lady Vol sub off the bench and logged four minutes recording a pair of assists and a steal in four minutes. IT WAS A BIG WEEK FOR BAUGH Lady Vol redshirt junior center Vicki Baugh graduated ahead of her class on Dec. 11, 2010, with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Communication Studies. She will begin graduate school in Sports Psychology in January 2011 while completing her athletic eligibility. DON’T MAKE A LIAR OUT OF ME Sophomore guard Kamiko Williams was a work horse for the Lady Vols at Texas. She earned her second start of the season and the fourth of her career against the Longhorns. Williams, who was known to give into fatigue as a freshman, played 37 minutes on at Texas and scored a season high 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished four assists and blocked two shots. Most impressive stat? Zero miscues. FIVE ALIVE UT coach Pat Summitt played her fifth different line-up in 10 games at Texas and found some pretty good results with the combination of Meighan Simmons, Kamiko Williams, Glory Johnson, Shekinna Stricklen and Angie Bjorklund. The five some all scored in double-figures with Bjorklund dropping in 20 points, Simmons 18, Williams 14, Johnson 13 and Stricklen, a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. LOVE US SOME LADY VOLS Over the years, the Tennessee Lady Vols have been fortunate to help to attract some big crowds on the road. Plus, there’s UT orange every where you go. Louisville enjoyed a record advance sell-out of 22,124 on Nov. 12. Old Dominion broke the Ted Constant Arena record for a women’s hoops game with 7,774 on Dec. 5. Tennessee also had over 100 fans join them in the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, Nov. 25-27. Baylor enjoyed an all-time high throng of 10,569 when the Lady Vols visited on Dec. 14, 2010. MICKIE D BACK IN TENNESSEE ORANGE Tennessee fans are tickled to death to have longtime Lady Vol staffer Mickie DeMoss back on the Tennessee bench in 2010. DeMoss left UT for the head coaching position at the University of Kentucky in 2003. Prior to DeMoss taking the helm at Kentucky, the Lady Vols had outscored the Wildcats by an average of 32.0 ppg (85.8 to 53.8) in the four previous seasons (2000-03). The “DeMoss Factor” (2004-07) narrowed the score to a Tennessee leading 70.3-62.3, just a +8.0 winning margin for UT. DeMoss’ Cats shaved Tennessee’s margin of victory by 24 points. DeMoss stepped down from coaching after the 2007 season only to be lured back into the fray by taking an assistant position with Texas. When a position opened up on Coach Pat Summitt’s staff last spring, DeMoss took the opportunity to come home to Knoxville as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator.