KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Southeastern and Big 12 Conferences have announced the 2020 match-ups for their Women’s Basketball Challenge, and Tennessee is set to play at West Virginia this season.
The day and time for the contest between the Lady Vols and Mountaineers will be announced at a later date.
UT will take a 6-0 series lead into the meeting at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, most recently defeating West Virginia, 67-49, on Nov. 21, 2007, at the Civic Center in Charleston. That tilt was a homecoming game for Lady Vol guard Alexis Hornbuckle, who is a graduate of South Charleston High School.
Tennessee had one other trip to Morgantown on Jan. 4, 1986, winning by a 74-58 count, and played a third game in the Mountain State on Nov. 19, 1983, as the Lady Vols defeated WVU, 52-47, in Parkersburg during a homecoming contest for Mary Ostrowski.
This season’s match-up will allow sophomore center Emily Saunders of Mullens, W. Va., to return to her home state. Her Tennessee squad will bring back three starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s 21-10 squad that finished tied for third in the SEC with a 10-6 mark. WVU, meanwhile, will return four starters from a team that went 17-12 overall and 7-11 in league play.
Ten teams from the SEC participate, while every team from the Big 12 takes part in the Challenge each season. The format features five home games on campus sites for each conference per year.
The inaugural challenge was held in 2014 with the first 10-game slate in 2016. The SEC edged the Big 12, 6-4, that year, with the conferences splitting the challenge, 5-5, in 2017 and 2018. The Big 12 took home the trophy last season.
2020 SEC/Big 12 Women’s Basketball Challenge Match-Ups
South Carolina @ Iowa State
Kentucky @ Kansas State
Alabama @ Oklahoma State
Texas A&M @ Texas
Tennessee @ West Virginia
Baylor @ Arkansas
Kansas @ Ole Miss
Oklahoma @ Georgia
TCU @ Missouri
Texas Tech @ Vanderbilt
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