2. 2007-2008 Tennessee Lady Vols (36-2, SEC Tournament Championship, National Championship)
This one brings back fresh but nostalgic memories for Lady Vols fans because it was the last time the program was on top of the world.
Following the end to their national title drought in the 2006-2007 season, Summitt’s team returned pretty much everybody except for Sidney Spencer, and all-everything Candace Parker was only expected to get better. Did she ever!
With a team of all veteran seniors in Parker (although only in her third year playing), Shannon Bobbitt, Alexis Hornbuckle, and Nicky Anosike, talks of an undefeated season were in the works. But again, unlike Geno Auriemma, Summitt actually scheduled tough out of conference while her team played in a much tougher conference. That made going undefeated much harder.
And sure enough, after an 11-0 start, the Lady Vols suffered a heartbreaking 73-69 overtime loss to the eventual Final Four Stanford Cardinal on the road.
But it didn’t matter.
Tennessee entered the SEC season on a tear dominating everybody. Still, with their tough schedule, they got caught napping against the LSU Tigers and blew one at home 78-62, arguably the oddest loss in Summitt’s career given how great this team was.
But the resiliency of the Lady Vols with everybody questioning whether or not they were as good as hyped came through.
Similar to the 1988-1989 Lady Vols, this team got revenge on the SEC team that beat them by knocking them out twice. Tennessee got back at LSU in the SEC Tournament Championship with a 61-55 win.
Then came the NCAA Tournament. After dominating Oral Roberts and Purdue, the Lady Vols had to squeak out a tough, one-point victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But this team was very mentally tough, and they had no problem closing out close games.
Then came the Elite Eight, and they took apart the Texas A&M Aggies. But the real story was the two Final Four games.
The Lady Vols got revenge on both teams that beat them during the season. They first took out the LSU Tigers off of a last-second layup to win 47-46, beating them in two postseason games that year after losing in the regular season. Then, in the national title game, they got back at the Stanford Cardinal.
Summitt’s team won 64-48 to easily capture her eighth and final national title. It’s a tossup between the 1988-1989 team and this one in terms of who is better. But this team played stiffer competition and has had amazing professional success, so it gets the edge.
Next: #1: 1997-1998 Tennessee Lady Vols