Nov. 22, 2008
KNOXVILLE -- Louisiana Tech and Tennessee will meet for the 41st time Sunday when the Lady Techsters face the 13th ranked Lady Vols at 2 p.m. CST at Thompson Boling Arena.
Tech (1-1) looks to rebound -- in more ways than one -- as the Lady Techsters are coming off a tough 67-60 loss to Memphis Tuesday in a game where they shot only 29 percent from the field.
UT (2-1) returns home -- where the lost 83-82 to Virginia Monday night -- after a close 63-60 road win over UT-Chattanooga on Friday night. And although the Lady Vols are learning how to play without the nucleus of the team which won back-to-back national titles, Tech head coach Chris Long said he's been impressed with what he has seen on film of this year's UT team.
"Tennessee has some great young talent," Long said. "They signed arguably the top recruiting class in the country last year. I think this team may end up being one of the most athletic, big groups at Tennessee and that's saying something.
"They are aggressive and long. We must take care of the basketball and get good shots, and when we get good shots, we must knock them down. They present match-up problems for us. They can go very big and still be very athletic."
Both teams will enter the game minus starters as Tech will be without sophomore guard Tarkeisha Wysinger while UT will play without guard Angie Bjorkland.
Through three games, UT has been led by a couple of true freshman in Glory Johnson (16.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Shekinna Stricklen (11.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) although the Lady Vols have been struggling at times offensively.
UT is shooting only 39 percent from the field, 25 percent from the three-point line and 65 percent from the free throw line.
Long knows his team will have to play good defense but also do a job on the boards against the much-bigger Lady Vols.
"We have rebounded with Tennessee over the years and we must box out and crash the boards again Sunday," Long said. "It will be a tremendous test, but one I'm looking forward to playing. It will benefit our young team."
Through LA Tech's first two games, the Lady Techsters have also struggled with offensive consistency, shooting 36 percent from the field, 29 percent from the three-point line and 50 percent from the free throw line.
However, Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt recognizes Tech's strengths and knows her team will have to come to play.
"In just looking at film of them, (we saw) that they are really quick, athletic and aggressive," Summitt said in her teleconference prior to the UT-Chattanooga win.
Junior Shanavia Dowdell leads Tech, averaging 17.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game while sophomores Adrienne Johnson (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Whitney Jones (13.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg) have also been two of the Lady Techsters top offensive threats.
UT leads the all-time series against Tech 23-17, including eight straight wins, although Tech's 17 wins over the Lady Vols are the most by any program.
The contest can be heard on ESPN 97.7 FM with UT broadcaster Mickey Dearstone providing the action. It can also be heard at www.espn977.com and can be seen streamed live over the UT website at www.utladyvols.com.
There will be no television for this game.
