KNOXVILLE ? Louisiana Tech head coach Chris Long knows his young basketball team has a long way to go.
Monday night at 6 p.m. CST, Long will have a better idea of just how far as his Lady Techsters ? fresh off the Memphis Thanksgiving Classic championship title ? face top-ranked Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The game will be aired live on ESPN 97.7 FM and streamed over the Internet at www.espn977.com with the pregame show beginning at 5:30 p.m. It will also be televised live on Fox SportSouth.
?Tennessee is so talented,? Long said. ?There is a reason they are ranked as the best team in the country right now. They?ve won all four of their games this year by an average margin of almost 20 points and that?s against some great competition in Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.
?It will be a huge challenge for our team. We?ve been able to score fairly well in all three of our games so far but Tennessee will pose a new challenge with their incredible height and athleticism. We need to take care of the ball and shoot it well.?
Tech (2-1) is averaging 83.3 points a contest through three games while shooting 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from the three-point line. Five Lady Techsters are averaging double figures led by Jo Sneed (14.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg),
Nastassja Levingston (13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg),
Shanavia Dowdell (11.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg),
Whitney Jones (11.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and
Adrienne Johnson (10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg).
?We?ve been very balanced offensively which is something that I hope continues. Anytime you have that many players contributing, it makes it that much harder for your opponents. As this team matures on the offensive end, I think we will only get better and better.?
Defensively, Tech has struggled at times early in the season, allowing 73.7 points a contest while opponents have hit 40 percent of its field goals.
The Lady Techsters will have to find a way to slow down a vaunted Lady Vols attack that is led by the nation?s most talented player in junior Candace Parker, who is averaging 25.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 2.8 blocks and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 54 percent from the field.
?Candace is a special player, one that doesn?t come along every day,? Long said. ?She can play any position on the floor and guard any position on the floor. However, Tennessee is far from a one-woman show. They have so much depth. We?ll have our hands full. Our kids will come ready to play and give it everything they have though.?
Tennessee leads the all-time series between the two programs 22-17, including a current streak of seven straight wins.
