Tipoff is noon at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. At stake is a spot in the regional final at 8 p.m. Monday against the winner of Saturday's second game between Purdue and Texas Tech. The regional's ultimate prize is a spot in next week's Final Four in St. Louis. The Lady Vols and Musketeers have been on parallel paths in terms of production. The Musketeers have averaged 78.5 points for their two NCAA victories and have converted 26 treys in the process.
Somebody better find some way to play some defense or risk being run over and left for defeated.
The difficulty in defending the Musketeers is they present one of the most potent 3-point attacks Tennessee has faced this season and yet their two best scorers are post players Taru Tuukkanen and Jennifer Phillips. They will have to choose who they want to guard. We'll find out what happens. With Phillips and Tuukkanen combining for about 36 points per game, the Musketeers are strong where the Lady Vols have been weak. The Lady Vols' zone defense was an effective bail-out maneuver against St. Mary's.