Coach Jumper
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From: Hoops Central:
Lady Vols vs. EKU
GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO
- Opponent: Eastern Kentucky
- Date: Sun., Dec. 10
- Tip-off: 2:02 p.m. ET
- Venue: Food City Center
- Watch: SECN+
- Radio: Lady Vol Network
- Online: Live Audio, Live Stats
- Watch Live (SECN+)
- Listen Live
- Live Stats
- Tennessee Notes (PDF)
- EKU Notes (PDF)
- 2023-24 Record Book
- Purchase 2023-24 Record Book
- Buy Tickets
- Digital Ticket Guide
- Fan Experience/Promotions
- WBB Gameday Info.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee (4-5), which is receiving votes in the AP and USA TODAY Sports/Coaches Top 25 Polls this week, plays host to Eastern Kentucky University (8-1) on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols and Colonels will clash inside Food City Center at 2:02 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on SECN+.
UT dropped a 73-62 decision to in-state rival Middle Tennessee (7-3) in a neutral site contest at Propst Arena at Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala., on Wednesday night.
Tennessee will be looking to reverse a trend that has seen it lose its last three games and four of its last five, with injuries hitting the forward position particularly hard during that stretch. UT has played without All-America candidate Rickea Jackson for the past seven contests and also did not have 6-5 forward Jillian Hollingshead vs. MTSU.
EKU enters at 8-1, with its only loss at the hands of #4 Utah on Nov. 19, 117-72, in the Great Alaska Shootout. The Colonels easily handled Miami (OH) on Wednesday night at home, 85-55.
GAME PROMOTIONS
- Kids 12-and-under pricing is only $5 vs. EKU.
- Postgame Autographs: Kaiya Wynn
- Purchase tickets at AllVols.com or call the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-332-VOLS or 865-656-1200.
- 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 and recruiting coordinator for the Big Orange.
- The Lady Vols got off to a slow start in 2022-23 as well, including a 2-4 record through six games and a 4-5 mark after the first nine games before winning 12 of their next 13. They also advanced to the SEC Tournament title game and reached the NCAA Sweet 16, making them one of only seven programs to make that round in each of the past two seasons.
- Tennessee has taken on an extremely challenging schedule this season while playing the past seven games without its best overall performer, Rickea Jackson.
- It added Jillian Hollingshead (7.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) to the injury list (concussion protocol) vs. MTSU, meaning Tennessee was missing its top two rebounders and playing without a combined 19.0 rebounds per game from Hollingshead and Jackson. UT lost the board battle, 37-30, to the Lady Raiders.
- After she recorded a 31-point, 17-rebound double-double in a 92-91 road loss at No. 18/22 Florida State on Nov. 9, 6-foot-2 fifth-year forward Rickea Jackson (22.0 ppg., 12.0 rpg.) has been out of action due to a lower leg injury.
- The Lady Vols have gone 3-4 during Jackson's absence, dropping contests to No. 21/19 Indiana (71-57) in the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off, to No. 18/14 Notre Dame (74-69) and No. 16/13 Ohio State (78-58) at home, and to Middle Tennessee (73-62) at a neutral site in Huntsville, Ala.
- During that stretch, UT won, 84-74, in overtime over Memphis and beat Troy, 100-73, at home, before knocking off No. 22/20 Oklahoma in Fort Myers, 76-73.
- UT, which is now 1-4 vs. ranked teams in 2023-24, also has been biding its time while the school's career leader in blocked shots and triple-doubles, Tamari Key, gradually works her way back into form after being sidelined a year ago by blood clots in her lungs.
- Junior Sara Puckett (12.7 ppg., 6.1 rpg.), junior forward Karoline Striplin (11.8 ppg., 4.3 rpg.), fifth-year guard Jasmine Powell (10.9 ppg., 3.9 rpg.) and senior guard Jewel Spear (10.6 ppg., 4.8 rpg.) have stepped up to shoulder the load in offensive production.
- Striplin especially did so vs. Middle Tennessee, firing in a career-high 29 points on Wednesday night.
- Senior guard Destinee Wells (3.7 apg.) and junior forward Jillian Hollingshead (7.0) are tops in assists and rebounds, respectively, during Jackson's absence.
- Key, meanwhile, had her most productive game of the season vs. Ohio State, carding season highs in minutes (16), points (9), rebounds (4) and blocks (2). Her ability to provide that kind of presence would do wonders for UT on both ends of the court.
- Junior Karoline Striplin poured in a career-high 29 points in her home state, but it wasn't enough to overcome a sharp-shooting Middle Tennessee squad that went 12 of 24 from behind the arc Wednesday night in toppling the Lady Vols inside Propst Arena at Von Braun Center, 73-62.
- Striplin was the high scorer for Tennessee (4-5), and fifth-year senior Jasmine Powell and senior Destinee Wells were also top contributors with nine and eight points, respectively.
- Middle Tennessee (7-3) was led by Jalynn Gregory with 22 points and by Savannah Wheeler, who posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Anastasiia Boldyreva was also in double figures with 17 points, while Ta'Mia Scott added 10.
- KARO COOKIN' AT HOME: Back in her home state of Alabama, Karoline Striplin looked right at home, scoring a career-high 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting, including 4-of-8 accuracy beyond the arc. The junior from Hartford scored Tennessee's first nine points vs. Middle Tennessee. She added five more in the second frame to lead the Lady Vols with 14 at the half, scoring in double figures for the fifth time this season. Not to be overlooked on the defensive end, Striplin took a charge in the second quarter for her team-leading fourth of the season and stuffed a shot for a tied-ball situation.
- 300TH BLOCK FOR TK: At the 3:32 mark in the second quarter, Tennessee's all-time leading shot blocker reached another career plateau. Tamari Key recorded block number 300 when she stuffed Sifa Ineza's shot attempt.
- OTHER MILESTONES: Two other Lady Vols reached milestone plateaus, including Destinee Wells playing in her 100th game and surpassing 600 career field goals, and Jasmine Powell dropping in 300+ free throws during her college days.
- STREAKS END: Tennessee had won all 17 games vs. in-state opponents under Kellie Harper until Middle Tennessee came out on top in Huntsville. That makes the Lady Vols' record now 261-62-2 all-time vs. schools in the Volunteer State. MTSU also picked up its first victory in the series in the 23rd meeting between the programs.
- With a blocked shot vs. MTSU on Dec. 6, Tamari Key reached 300 for her career and became the ninth player in SEC history to hit that mark.
- Jewel Spear is two games away from her 100th as a collegiate player.
- Tess Darby needs five three-pointers to catch Taber Spani in ninth at 143 on UT's career three-pointers list.
- Kellie Harper is eight wins away from her 100th as head coach at Tennessee and 23 shy of 400 for her career.
- Tamari Key is 99 points away from becoming the 49th player in Lady Vol history to score 1,000 points here.
- Rickea Jackson is seven rebounds away from reaching 600 for her career and 285 points shy of scoring 1,000 as a Lady Vol.
- In nine games, six different players have led UT in scoring.
- Jewel Spear (20), Rickea Jackson (31), Sara Puckett (24) and Karoline Striplin (19) did so in games one through four.
- Jasmine Powell had 19 vs. Oklahoma in game six and Destinee Wells tossed in 11 vs. Ohio State in game eight.
- Tennessee's reserves have outscored their opposition 166-62 the past six games, including 38-8 vs. Troy, 30-8 vs. No. 21/19 Indiana, 31-24 to No. 22/20 Oklahoma, 22-15 to No. 18/14 Notre Dame, 35-4 vs. No. 16/13 Ohio State and 10-3 vs. MTSU.
- That's an average advantage of 31.2 to 11.8 over the past six contests.
- For the season, the Lady Vol bench is outscoring foes, 25.0 to 13.3 on average.
- The 25.0 average ranks No. 3 among SEC schools and No. 72 nationally.
- Rickea Jackson, Tennessee's leading scorer and rebounder, has missed the past seven games (Memphis, Troy, Indiana, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Middle Tennessee) with a leg injury. She has not played since posting a 31-point, 17-rebound double-double vs. No. 18/22 Florida State.
- Jasmine Powell missed the Troy game after suffering a wrist injury vs. Memphis, but she returned vs. No. 21/19 Indiana and contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. She then returned to the starting lineup and tallied 19 points vs. No. 22/20 Oklahoma and 14 vs. No. 18/14 Notre Dame.
- Avery Strickland missed the Troy, Indiana, Oklahoma and Notre Dame games while being in concussion protocol. She returned vs. Ohio State and had four points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.
- Tamari Key, who missed nearly all of last season due to blood clots being discovered in her lungs, is slowly ramping up her playing time and shaking off the rust of inactivity for a prolonged period.
- Key played a season-high 16 minutes vs. Ohio State on Dec. 3, looking more like her "old self" as she contributed nine points, four rebounds, two blocks, an assist and steal.
- Jillian Hollingshead was inactive vs. Middle Tennessee due to being in concussion protocol.
- UT is 9-1 all-time vs. Eastern Kentucky, including a 5-1 record in games played in Knoxville.
- The teams met seven times in the 1970s, once in the 80s and another occasion in the 90s before playing each other twice in the 2020s.
- Last year's and this season's meetings mark the first occasion they played in back-to-back years since doing so seven straight campaigns from 1972-73 to 1978-79.
- Each team registered its second highest scoring total in series history last season, when Tennessee claimed a 105-71 victory on Nov. 27, 2022.
- UT is 29-1 vs. schools currently in the Atlantic Sun.
- Eastern Kentucky University is 8-1 for the first time since 1976.
- EKU has four averaging double figures in points, with Antwainette Walker leading the way at 24.8 ppg.
- She is supported offensively by Ivy Turner (11.7), Alice Recanati (11.4) and Brie Crittendon (10.9), while Sierra McCullough averages an impressive 10.0 rebounds per contest.
- Eastern Kentucky University is coached by third-year skipper Greg Todd, a 1983 graduate of the school.
- Todd guided EKU to an 18-14 record and an 11-7 mark in ASUN play a year ago.
- 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 women's basketball moved to 8-1 with a 30-point, 85-55 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday afternoon at Baptist Health Arena in Richmond, Ky. Antwainette Walker scored her 1,000th career point in the win for the Colonels.
- The Colonels were led by Walker, who recorded a team-leading 21 points, marking her 35th consecutive game scoring in double figures for EKU.
- Brie Crittendon added a career-high 19 points on 5-of-8 accuracy beyond the arc, while Ivy Turner (13) and Alice Recanati (10) also hit double digits.
- No. 23/24 Tennessee posted a season high in points, defeating Eastern Kentucky, 105-71, in a wire-to-wire home victory on Nov. 27, 2022.
- UT (4-4) was led by Jordan Horston, who became the 48th player to tally 1,000 points while playing for the Lady Vols. The 6-foot-2 senior guard finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
- Forward Rickea Jackson chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a steal, while center Tamari Key tallied 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
- Tennessee shot 52 percent from the field and made eight treys as well as dished out a season-high 26 assists with a season-low 12 turnovers.
- After facing EKU, Tennessee has only two more non-conference tilts left before opening SEC play.
- The Lady Vols will welcome Wofford at 6:30 p.m. ET next Tuesday, Dec. 19, and close out the fall semester and the 2023 calendar year with a Dec. 31 clash at Liberty at 2 p.m. (ESPN+).
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