All for Tennessee
Fansided

Top 10 All Time Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Teams

By Caleb Calhoun

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
Mar 5, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers fans cheer during the first quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the women
Mar 5, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers fans cheer during the first quarter against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the women /

3. 1988-1989 Tennessee Lady Vols (35-2, SEC Tournament Championship, National Championship)

Pat Summitt’s second national championship team was the best team she had ever coached by far until her three-peat run. Once again led by Sheila Frost, Bridgette Gordon, and Tonya Edwards, this team was looking to avenge a Final Four loss to the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters the year before.

And as they were on a mission, they went on a regular season tear that may have been unprecedented at the time.

The Lady Vols started the year 11-0, but they suffered a tough loss on the road against the Auburn Tigers in their SEC regular season opener. That loss would end up costing them the SEC regular season championship.

But they continued to dominate with the exception of one hiccup on the road against the Texas Longhorns, which they lost 69-67. These were two tough games that kept them from going undefeated, even though they were good enough to go undefeated, but unlike any of Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies teams that have accomplished that, Summitt’s Lady Vols always played the top competition.

That makes it hard to do such a thing.

Still, when the postseason arrived and games counted more, Summitt’s team turned up the heat.

Tennessee blew out the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC Tournament, and in the title game they got revenge on Auburn with a dominating 66-51 victory.

Then came the NCAA Tournament, and the Lady Vols never let anybody even threaten them. They beat La Salle and Virginia by at least 30 each, then they took care of Long Beach State by 14. In the Final Four, they faced a tough Maryland squad but won by 12.

And in the second title game the two would meet in just that year, the Lady Vols once again avenged Auburn in the national title game, winning by 16. This team went eight straight postseason games never allowing anybody to come within 12 points of them.

That was incredibly remarkable and makes this one of the greatest teams Summitt ever coached.

Next: #2: 2007-2008 Tennessee Lady Vols

Home/Vols Basketball