2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Southeast Conference
Record	22–11 (9–5 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Summitt;
Assistant coaches	Holly Warlick; Dean Lockwood; Daedra Charles-Furlow;
Home arena	Thompson-Boling Arena
	Seasons ← 2007–08 2009–10 →

2008–09 SEC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 8 Auburn	12	–	2	.857	30	–	4	.882
No. 14 Vanderbilt^†	10	–	4	.714	26	–	9	.743
LSU	10	–	4	.714	19	–	11	.633
No. 22 Florida	9	–	5	.643	24	–	8	.750
No. 18 Tennessee	9	–	5	.643	22	–	11	.667
Mississippi State	8	–	6	.571	23	–	10	.697
Georgia	7	–	7	.500	18	–	14	.563
Arkansas	6	–	8	.429	18	–	14	.563
Ole Miss	5	–	9	.357	18	–	15	.545
Kentucky	5	–	9	.357	16	–	16	.500
South Carolina	2	–	12	.143	10	–	18	.357
Alabama	1	–	13	.071	13	–	17	.433

† 2009 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2008–09 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee. The team was coached by Pat Summitt and the team played their home games at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols were a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Offseason

Signees

Six signees committed to the Lady Vols and will comprise the Lady Vol basketball class of 2012. Joining the back-to-back NCAA Champion Lady Vols will be Briana Bass (5–2, PG, North Central H.S., Indianapolis, Ind.), Alyssia Brewer (6–3, F, Sapulpa H.S., Sapulpa, Okla.), Amber Gray (6–1, F, Lakota West H.S., West Chester, Ohio), Glory Johnson (6–3, F/C, The Webb School, Knoxville, Tenn.), Alicia Manning (6–1, G/F, Etowah H.S., Woodstock, Ga.) and Shekinna Stricklen (6–2, G/F, Morrilton H.S., Morrilton, Ark.).^[1]

Regular season

On February 5, 2009, Pat Summitt won her 1,000 basketball game.^[2]
The team had a rebuilding season, due to the departure of the first pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, Candace Parker. They finished the season at 22–11 and entered the NCAA tournament with the lowest seeding in the program's history at #5.

NCAA basketball tournament

Berkeley Regional
- Ball State 71, Tennessee 55^[3]

In the opening round of the tournament they played a 26–8 Ball State Cardinals team that was making their NCAA tourney debut. Ball State would go on to win the game 71–55 making history. The Lady Volunteers had never lost in the first two rounds of the tournament, going 42–0 through the years. Tennessee also became the first defending champ to lose its opening game in the women's tourney.^[4]

Awards and honors

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named Tennessee freshman cager Shekinna Stricklen its national Freshman of the Year on Wednesday. Stricklen becomes the first Lady Vol to earn the prestigious honor from the USBWA.^[5]

Team players drafted into the WNBA

No one from the Lady Volunteers was selected in the 2009 WNBA draft.

References

^ "Class of 2012 is most highly touted in nation University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
^ "UT to Host 'Pat Summitt's 'Day of 1,000 Stories' May 3rd University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
^ "Women's 2009 Final Four Official Site". Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
^ "Lady Vols Fall in NCAA Opener to Ball State, 71-55 University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
^ "Shekinna Stricklen Named USBWA Freshman of the Year University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

[1] "Class of 2012 is most highly touted in nation University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

[2] "UT to Host 'Pat Summitt's 'Day of 1,000 Stories' May 3rd University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

[3] "Women's 2009 Final Four Official Site". Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

[4] "Lady Vols Fall in NCAA Opener to Ball State, 71-55 University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

[5] "Shekinna Stricklen Named USBWA Freshman of the Year University of Tennessee Athletics". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2009.

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[5]

v t e Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
Venues	Stokely Athletic Center (1974–1987) Thompson–Boling Arena (1987–present)
Rivalries	Kentucky Stanford UConn Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Smokey "Rocky Top"
People	Head coaches Retired jerseys
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
AIAW and NCAA national championships in bold; AIAW and NCAA Final Four appearances in italics