#18 Tennessee (9-0) vs. Richmond (9-2)
Friday, December 20th, 2024 | 1::15pm CT / 2:15pm ET
West Palm Beach, FL | Rubin Arena | TV: BallerTV
West Palm Beach, FL – No. 18/16 Tennessee women’s basketball (9-0) will take on a highly-regarded Richmond squad (9-2) on Friday at 1:15pm CT, 2:15pm ET in the Lady Vols’ opening game of the West Palm Beach Classic.
The teams will meet at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University in a contest streamed live on BallerTV and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com. The Spiders, who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll, are rated just four spots behind No. 27 Tennessee at No. 31 in the NCAA NET Rankings as of December 19th.
UT played at Memphis on Wednesday night and arrived at its hotel in West Palm Beach at 3:00am on Thursday. The Lady Vols are navigating a schedule that includes three games over four days in two different time zones before they get a brief break for the holidays. UR’s most recent contest was last Sunday at home vs. Texas.
The Big Orange will attempt to start the year 10-0 for only the third time in the past 13 seasons and join the 2017-18 (15-0) and 2013-14 (10-0) post-Pat Summitt era UT squads in opening their campaigns that way. If they are successful, it would mark only the 13th time in program history a Lady Vol squad won its first 10.
Kim Caldwell‘s team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in six statistical categories after winning at Memphis on Wednesday night, 90-75, at FedExForum, home of the NBA’s Grizzlies. UT is tops in the NCAA in scoring offense (97.4), three pointers per game (12.9), three-point attempts per game (39.8), offensive rebounds per game (21.9), turnovers forced per game (28.78) and winning percentage (100.0). It is second in steals per game (16.1) and turnover margin (14.0).
Richmond has lost two of its last three after winning its first eight, but those losses were to Georgetown, 55-53, and No. 6 Texas, 65-54. The Spiders also suffered a narrow loss to Oklahoma State, 57-53, on November 30th.
This will mark the second all-time meeting between these programs, with UT leading 1-0 in the series after defeating UR, 80-54, in Knoxville on January 14th, 1991. Tennessee senior Samara Spencer and Richmond redshirt junior Jada Green are both products of Fort Lauderdale, FL, and St. Thomas Aquinas High School, getting to play a game close to home this weekend.
Broadcast Details
Landon Coggins (play-by-play), a junior sports broadcasting major from Palm Beach Atlantic University, will have the call for the BallerTV live stream.
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 the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
Individually Speaking
SIX IN DOUBLE FIGURES: UT has had six players score in double figures the past two games, and the Lady Vols now have a balanced six players averaging 10 or more points per contest.
JEWEL SHINES AGAIN: After missing the N.C. Central game with an injury and going scoreless vs. Iowa, Jewel Spear tallied season highs of 18 points, six rebounds and four assists vs. Memphis.
COOP & ZEE DOUBLE UP: Talaysia Cooper (19.3 ppg.) and Zee Spearman (11.1 ppg.) produced pts./rebs. double-doubles vs. Memphis, carding 12/11 and 18/12 nights. It marked the first time this season UT had two players in the same game do so. Cooper added six assists and four steals vs. UM.
9-0 WITH EIGHT DIFFERENT FIVES: UT has begun the year 9-0 with eight different starting lineups and nine different players appearing in the first five. The Memphis game marked the first time where a repeat lineup was used (same five vs. Florida St.).
GREEN LIGHT ON 3s: Thirteen of the 14 active players on UT’s roster have hit at least one trey this season, a program-best total replacing the 12 in 2022-23.
From A Team Perspective
PILING UP POINTS: The UT Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 97.4 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in ppg. is No. 4, where she was in 2023-24 (85.3) at Marshall.
MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: UT ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 12.9 and has hit 10+ treys six times, eclipsing the school record vs. Memphis for most games with double-digit totals in a season.
ELITE ON O-BOARDS: UT is No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 21.9. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 1 in turnovers forced per game (28.78) and No. 2 in turnover margin (14.0) after hurrying Memphis into 17 miscues on Wednesday night at FedExForum.
RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 2 nationally in steals per game, averaging 16.1, and its total of 145 in nine contests is only 14 behind last year’s sum of 159 in 33 games.
THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 11 times in nine games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.
Inside The Numbers
A NUMBER THAT COUNTS: UT is No. 1 nationally with nine other teams with a win percentage of 100 through December 18th.
AIMING FOR TEN: With a win Friday, Tennessee would open up 10-0 for the first time since 2017-18, when it started 15-0.
FAST STARTS FOR CALDWELL: UT’s 9-0 start is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach behind her 29-0 start at Glenville State in 2021-22 on the way to 35-1.
UT’S BEST COACHING START: The win over N.C. Central on December 14th gave Kim Caldwell (now 9-0) eight straight to open her tenure, making it the best coaching debut in the rich history of Lady Vol basketball.
UT HOOPS STANDS ALONE: UT is the only school to have both its women’s (9-0) and men’s (11-0) basketball teams still undefeated entering this weekend.
UT NO. 27 IN NET RANKINGS: UT is No. 27 in the NCAA’s NET rankings through December 18th, with wins over No. 24 Florida State, No. 32 Iowa and No. 62 Middle Tennessee.
NO. 28 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: The Lady Vols’ cumulative schedule ranks No. 28 on the NCAA’s Toughest Schedule report.
Looking Back At The Last Game
No. 18/16 Tennessee placed six players in double figures in its first true road game of the season, earning a hard-fought, 90-75 victory over Memphis at FedExForum on Wednesday night.
Fifth-year guard Jewel Spear was back in the lineup after a one-game absence due to injury, carding season highs with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists to help her team improve to 9-0. Junior forward Zee Spearman had co-scoring honors and produced her first double-double as a Lady Vol, working the paint with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Talaysia Cooper added a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double and was joined in the 10-plus scoring club by Tess Darby and Samara Spencer with 12 each, and Ruby Whitehorn with 10.
Tilly Boler tossed in 23 points to pace the Tigers (2-8), while Tanyuel Welch had 16 and Michigan State transfer DeeDee Hagemann poured in 19 in her UM debut. Hagemann, an All-Big Ten selection for the Spartans, was a difference-maker for her new team with 14 points in the first half.
UT/UR Series Notes
Tennessee leads the all-time series, 1-0.
The Lady Vols beat Richmond, 80-54, on January 14th, 1991, in Knoxville the only other time these teams met.
UT is 26-0 vs. schools in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Lady Vol assistant Jenna Burdette played her college ball at A-10 school Dayton from 2014-18.
UT’s Samara Spencer and UR’s Jada Green both played high school ball at St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
About the Richmond Spiders
The Richmond Spiders have been picked to repeat as Atlantic 10 champions after sweeping the regular season and postseason titles in 2023-24.
Addie Budnik and Maggie Doogan were named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference First Team, while Rachel Ullstrom was picked for second-team honors. Budnik, who was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24, was also named to the Preseason All-Defensive Team.
Richmond is paced by Ullstrom and Doogan, who average 16.5 and 14.5 points per game, respectively, while hitting 56.5 and 53.8 percent from the field.
As a team, the Spiders are shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 39 percent beyond the arc, firing in 99 of 254 tries from long range thus far.
Defensively, Richmond is surrendering only 54.6 ppg. and allowing foes to shoot only 35.7 percent.
About Richmond Head Coach Aaron Roussell
Aaron Roussell is 415-181 in his 21st year as a head coach, including 103-59 in his sixth year at Richmond.
He led the Spiders to one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2023-24, as UR won the A-10 regular season title and the program’s first A-10 championship title, its first conference crowns of any kind since the 1991 season in the CAA.
Roussell was named 2023-24 A-10 Coach of the Year, Richmond’s first honor since Stephanie Gaitley picked up the only other honor in 1989-90 (CAA).
A 2001 graduate of Iowa, Roussell previously coached at Bucknell (2012-09) and the University of Chicago (2004-12), collecting five conference coach of the year honors (two at BU and three at UC).
UR’S Last Game
The Spiders went toe-to-toe with No. 6 Texas, dropping a hard-fought game, 65-54, last Sunday afternoon inside the Robins Center in Richmond. With the loss, Richmond fell to 9-2 on the season, while the Longhorns improved to 10-1.
UR held Texas to its lowest point total of the season.
Rachel Ullstrom paced the Spiders with 20 points, marking her fourth 20-point game this season. Addie Budnik and Maggie Doogan also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Katie Hill dished out a team-high five assists.
Richmond connected on 20 of 49 attempts from the floor, including seven of 22 from deep, and hit seven of 10 from the charity stripe, but it committed 24 turnovers and Texas tallied 26 points off those.
Last Time We Met Richmond
All-America center Daedra Charles scored a game-high 27 points on 13-of-20 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Lady Vols to an 80-54 triumph over Richmond on January 14th, 1991.
The Spiders were led by Ginny Norton, who compiled a 20-point, 14-rebound double-double.
UR was within nine at the half, 36-27, but the Lady Vols outscored the visitors 44-27 the final 20 minutes.
Next Up For UT Women’s Basketball
After facing Richmond, the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team will meet Tulsa (5-5 entering Friday’s game vs. Montana) at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University on Saturday at 11:00am ET to close out the teams’ stays at the West Palm Beach Classic.
The contest will be streamed live by BallerTV and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations with audio streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio channel 380.
