KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After three straight home games to open the 2018-19 season, No. 11/12 Tennessee plays its first contest outside the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols (3-0) meet Clemson (2-2) at 3 p.m. on Thursday (Thanksgiving day) in the opening game of the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam at Resorts World Bimini in Bailey Town, Bimini, Bahamas. The tournament will be played at the Gateway Christian Academy gymnasium.
Tennessee is coming off a 96-31 home victory over Florida A&M on Sunday afternoon in Knoxville. UT has produced a +46.7 scoring margin (88.7-42.0) and +18.7 rebounding margin (51.0-32.3) in its first three games after also defeating Presbyterian (97-49) and UNC Asheville (73-46) in its initial two contests of the year.
Clemson, meanwhile, enters on the heels of a 76-56 loss to Alabama on Monday night in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers previously beat Wofford (85-77) and Lipscomb (68-26) and lost at No. 10/11 South Carolina, 69-57. UT is their third SEC foe of the season.
UT is making its second appearance in the Junkanoo Jam, winning the 2013 Lucaya Division crown in Freeport, while Clemson is making its debut.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Tom James (play-by-play) and Ray Giacoletti (analyst) will describe the action for the Junkanoo Jam online broadcasts on FloHoops.
- Mickey Dearstone is handling the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 20th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
- Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
- PLEASE NOTE: If Tennessee advances to Saturday’s winner’s bracket game, the contest will feature an online broadcast only, due to the football radio broadcast of the Vols vs. Vanderbilt. If UT drops its opener in the Junkanoo Jam, the Lady Vols will be on the radio for Friday’s game as usual.
JUNKANOO JAM FORMAT
- The Women’s Junkanoo Jam, hosted annually over Thanksgiving, will feature Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, Florida State, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, UAB and West Virginia.
- This year’s field is split into two divisions of four teams, the Junkanoo and Bimini Divisions, and each division will crown a champion.
- The Lady Vols are in the Junkanoo Division with Clemson, Oklahoma and UAB.
- The victor of the Tennessee-Clemson game will meet the winner of the Oklahoma-UAB contest on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the Junkanoo Division championship.
- The losers of the two first-round games will play on Friday at 7:45 p.m. for third place.
- OU (NCAA First Rd.) and UAB (WNIT Second Rd.) are coming off 2018 postseason appearances.
LADY VOL NOTABLES
- SMOTHERING DEFENSE: Using a high-pressure defense, Tennessee is holding foes to 42.0 ppg., 28% on FGs and 27% on 3FGs while forcing 30.3 turnovers per game.
- COUNT OF 10: UT forced four backcourt violations all last season. They already have prevented foes from crossing the timeline six times in 2018-19 (4 vs. Presbyterian).
- RATTLING THE RATTLERS: UT limited Florida A&M to 18.9% on FGs (11-59), 6th lowest % ever by a UT opp.), five 4Q pts. (t3rd fewest in qtr.) and 31 points (6th fewest allowed).
- ABOUT LAST WEEK: Tennessee outscored its two foes 84.5 to 38.5 last week, grabbed 30 steals and forced 52 turnovers. Opponents shot 26% on FGs, 20% on 3FGs and 44% on FTs. UT also had a 52.5-30.0 edge on the boards. UT outscored its foes 55-18 in the first quarter and 40-17 in the fourth.
- HOT SHOTS: UT had six of 10 active players shoot better than 50 percent on FGs last week.
UT’S LAST GAME
- No. 12/12-ranked Tennessee came out hot and never let up in a 96-31 win over Florida A&M on Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
- The Lady Vols began a season 3-0 for the sixth year in a row. The Rattlers fell to 0-3 with the loss.
- Sophomore guard/forward Rennia Davis notched her 10th career double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down a team-high of 11 rebounds on the day. Three other Lady Vols also finished with double-digit scoring, led by senior guard/forward Meme Jacksonwith 19 points. Jackson also had a career-high six steals with her previous-best being four against Central Arkansas on Nov. 30, 2017.
- Freshman guard/forward Rae Burrell had another double-figure performance for UT with 14, while sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah scored 13.
- The Lady Vols came out on fire, opening up the first quarter with a 20-0 scoring run led by Meme Jackson, who scored nine during that spree. UT led 34-10 after the first 10 minutes.
UT-CLEMSON SERIES NOTES
- Thursday’s match-up between Tennessee and Clemson will be the 13th meeting between these schools.
- The last time UT and CU met, back on Nov. 24, 2000, a No. 2/2 Lady Vols squad rolled to an 86-58 victory in UT’s opening round game at the Maui Invitational.
- Gwen Jackson (17), Semeka Randall (16) and Tamika Catchings (14) paced UT in scoring in that Maui Invitational contest, UT’s second game of the year.
- UT has won the last four games in the series and is 4-0 in neutral site tilts vs. the Tigers.
- Holly Warlick was 7-0 vs. Clemson as a player and 3-0 as an assistant at Tennessee, but she is facing the Tigers for the first time as a head coach.
- UT has scored 80+ points in nine of 12 previous meetings with the Tigers.
- Clemson is a member of the ACC, and UT is 109-28 all-time vs. the current members of the league.
ABOUT CLEMSON
- Former Florida head coach Amanda Butler has taken the reins of the Clemson program. She spent 10 seasons in Gainesville and two previous years at Charlotte.
- The Tigers return seven letterwinners and two starters while welcoming five newcomers.
- Three of the top leading scorers from 2017-18 return: Kobi Thornton, 11.1 ppg., Danielle Edwards, 9.2 ppg. and Aliyah Collier, 8.1 ppg.
- Clemson played No. 10/11 South Carolina to within 12 points, 69-57, in Columbia on Nov. 15.
- Florida transfer Simone Westbrook has provided a boost to the team, averaging 11.8 ppg.
- Clemson was 11-19 overall and 1-15 in ACC play a year ago, losing its final 11 games.
- The Tigers averaged only 50.5 points per game and shot .341 from the field, .214 from three-point land and .658 at the charity stripe.
THE TIGERS’ LAST GAME
- Alabama drained 10 of 19 three-pointers, including 6-of-11 marksmanship in the first half, en route to a 76-56 home victory over Clemson on Monday night.
- The Crimson Tide took a 17-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes before outscoring the Tigers 24-12 in each of the next two quarters to put the game away.
- Clemson struggled to get in a flow offensively, shooting only 33.3 percent from the field, 12.5 percent on threes and 50 percent at the free throw line.
- Tylar Bennett (15) and Kobi Thornton (14) hit double figures in points, while Aliyah Collier pulled down 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
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