1996–97 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

1996–97 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 10
Record29–10 (8–4 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaThompson-Boling Arena
Seasons
1996–97 SEC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Georgia 11 1   .917 25 6   .806
No. 8 Alabama 10 2   .833 25 7   .781
No. 7 Florida 9 3   .750 24 9   .727
No. 9 LSU 9 3   .750 25 5   .833
No. 10 Tennessee 8 4   .667 29 10   .744
No. 20 Vanderbilt 6 6   .500 20 11   .645
Arkansas 5 7   .417 18 10   .643
Ole Miss 5 7   .417 16 11   .593
Auburn 5 7   .417 22 10   .688
Kentucky 2 10   .167 8 19   .296
Mississippi State 1 11   .083 11 16   .407
South Carolina 1 11   .083 12 15   .444
1997 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 1996–97 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996-97 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers rebounded from a challenging regular season to finish 29–10 and win back-to-back national championships, while playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Lady Vols started off the season ranked number four.

Roster

[edit]
1996–97 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 3 Niya Butts 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Americus Americus, Georgia
F 5 Kyra Elzy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Oldham La Grange, Kentucky
G 14 Kellie Jolly 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So White County Sparta, Tennessee
G 21 Semeka Randall 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Trinity Cleveland, Ohio
F/C 23 Chamique Holdsclaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Christ the King Astoria, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[1]

1996–97 Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Roster
Number Name Position Height Year Hometown High School
11 Laurie Milligan Guard 5–8 Junior Tigard, Oregon Tigard High School
13 Misty Greene Guard/Forward 5–9 Sophomore Decatur, Tennessee Meigs County High School
31 Brynae Laxton Forward 6–0 Sophomore Oneida, Tennessee Oneida High School
34 LaShonda Stephens Forward 6–3 Freshman Canton, Georgia Sequoyah High School

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 14, 1996*
No. 5 No. 1 Stanford L 65–82  7–3
Thompson–Boling Arena 
Knoxville, TN
Jan 7, 1997*
No. 9 at No. 2 Old Dominion L 72–83  10–6
Norfolk Scope 
Norfolk, VA
Feb 22, 1997
No. 8 No. 13 LSU L 78–83  21–8
(8–4)
Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 24, 1997*
No. 8 at No. 6 Louisiana Tech L 80–98  21–9
Thomas Assembly Center 
Ruston, Louisiana
SEC tournament
Feb 28, 1997*
No. 8 vs. South Carolina
First round
W 75–48  22–9
McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mar 1, 1997*
No. 8 vs. No. 9 LSU
Quarterfinal
W 100–99 OT 23–9
McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mar 2, 1997*
No. 8 vs. Auburn
Semifinal
L 59–61  23–10
McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, Tennessee
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 (14 MW) Grambling State
First round
W 91–54  24–10
Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 17, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 (6 MW) Oregon
Second round
W 76–59  25–10
Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 22, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 vs. (2 MW) No. 18 Colorado
Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 91–81  26–10
Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, Iowa
Mar 24, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 vs. (1 MW) No. 1 Connecticut
Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 91–81  27–10
Carver–Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, Iowa
Mar 28, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 vs. (6 E) No. 15 Notre Dame
National Semifinal – Final Four
W 80–66  28–10
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 30, 1997*
(3 MW) No. 10 vs. (1 ME) No. 2 Old Dominion
National Championship
W 68–59  29–10
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

[2]

Rankings

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1996-97 Women's Basketball Roster". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "1996-97 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 1, 2024.