# 2002–03 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 2002–03 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 2002–03 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team won the SEC regular season title, reached the National championship game of the NCAA tournament, and finished the season with a 33–5 record (14–0 SEC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2002* | No. 2 | No. 22 Oklahoma | W 94–68 | 1–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Nov 24, 2002* | No. 2 | vs. No. 1 Duke Jimmy V Classic | L 55–76 | 1–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| Nov 26, 2002* | No. 4 | No. 21 George Washington | W 83–61 | 2–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 4, 2002* | No. 4 | at Louisiana Tech | W 60–35 | 5–1 | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana |
| Dec 14, 2002* | No. 4 | at USC | W 71–39 | 6–1 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Dec 18, 2002* | No. 4 | No. 5 Stanford | W 71–56 | 7–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 21, 2002* | No. 4 | at No. 22 Texas | L 62–63 | 7–2 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Dec 28, 2002* | No. 5 | at No. 12 Notre Dame | W 77–61 | 8–2 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| Jan 4, 2003* | No. 4 | at No. 3 Connecticut | L 62–63 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Jan 7, 2003* | No. 5 | at Old Dominion | W 91–63 | 9–3 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Jan 12, 2003 | No. 4 | Auburn | W 81–72 | 10–3 (1–0) | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 23, 2003 | No. 3 | at No. 4 LSU | W 68–65 | 24–3 (12–0) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 27, 2003 | No. 3 | No. 17 Vanderbilt | W 91–71 | 25–3 (13–0) | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 2, 2003 | No. 3 | at Kentucky | W 84–69 | 26–3 (14–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2003* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (8) Auburn Quarterfinals | W 66–51 | 27–3 | Alltel Arena North Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Mar 8, 2003* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (4) No. 10 Mississippi State Semifinals | W 76–75 | 28–3 | Alltel Arena North Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Mar 9, 2003* | (1) No. 3 | vs. (2) No. 6 LSU Championship game | L 62–78 | 28–4 | Alltel Arena North Little Rock, Arkansas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 22, 2003* | (1 ME) No. 4 | (16 ME) Alabama State First round | W 95–43 | 29–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 24, 2003* | (1 ME) No. 4 | (8 ME) Virginia Second round | W 81–51 | 30–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 29, 2003* | (1 ME) No. 4 | (4 ME) No. 15 Penn State Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 86–58 | 31–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Mar 31, 2003* | (1 ME) No. 4 | (2 ME) No. 11 Villanova Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 73–49 | 32–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Apr 6, 2003* ESPN | (1 ME) No. 4 | vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Duke National Semifinal – Final Four | W 66–56 | 33–4 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
| Apr 8, 2003* 8:30 p.m., ESPN | (1 ME) No. 4 | vs. (1 E) No. 1 Connecticut National Championship | L 68–73 | 33–5 | Georgia Dome (28,210) Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | Not released |
| Coaches | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |