How to Watch, Listen: Lady Vols-Texas A&M
The No. 7/8Tennessee Lady Vols (13-1, 2-0 SEC) enter their 15th game of the season on a four-game win streak after losing to the 2021 National Champions in Stanford on December 18. The Lady Vols are undefeated in SEC play, having knocked off Alabama by 18 points in Thompson-Boling Arena and defeating Arkansas in a gritty, comeback road win on Sunday.
On Thursday night, Tennessee will host No. 25 Texas A&M, as the Aggies are the fourth ranked opponent the Lady Vols will have faced so far this season. Recently, Kellie Harper got star senior forward Rae Burrell back on the floor against the Razorbacks after she had to miss time due to a knee injury she sustained in the first half against Southern Illinois in the first game of the season.
With Burrell's health getting closer to 100% and Horston likely at 100% after dealing with an illness the last couple of weeks, the Lady Vols may be the healthiest they have been all season when they host the Aggies.
For more information on how to watch, listen and stream the Lady Vols third SEC game of the season and first home SEC game of 2022, see below.
How to Watch
-Courtney Lyle (play-by-play), Carolyn Peck (analyst) and Steffi Sorensen (reporter) will be on the call for the SEC Network broadcast.
-All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
How to Listen
-Lady Vol Network radio stations and by audio stream, with Mickey Dearstone behind the microphone. Now calling the action for his 23rd season, Dearstone is joined by studio host Bobby Rader.
-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.
-For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on Vol Network Affiliates.
-Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
Lady Vols Last Game
-No. 7/9 Tennessee picked up a hard-fought win on the road on Sunday, taking down the Arkansas Razorbacks, 70-63, at Bud Walton Arena.
-Tennessee (13-1, 2-0 SEC) had five players in double figures, with junior Tamari Key leading the team with 17 and graduate Alexus Dye recording a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate Jordan Walker finished with 13, junior Jordan Horston had 12 and graduate Keyen Green rounded out the scoring with 11.
-Amber Ramirez was the leading scorer for Arkansas (10-4, 0-1 SEC) with 26, while Makayla Daniels had 11.
-The Lady Vols won their fourth straight game and posted their best record through 14 contests since opening 15-0 in 2017-18. The Razorbacks dropped their second straight game.
UT-TAMU SERIES NOTES
-Tennessee holds an 8-7 all-time record vs. Texas A&M, dating back to Dec. 19, 1997.
-UT is 3-2 in Knoxville, 1-4 in College Station and 4-1 at neutral sites vs. the Aggies.
-The Big Orange women are 6-7 vs. hall-of-fame coach Gary Blair and A&M since the Aggies joined the Southeastern Conference.
-The Lady Vols will be looking to halt a three-game series losing streak, in which A&M was the higher ranked team on all three occasions. UT is above the Aggies in the polls this year.
-Kellie Harper is 0-3 vs. Texas A&M and Gary Blair. Her 2015-16 Missouri St. team fell, 74-65, in College Station on March 19, 2016, in the NCAA First Round. UT suffered a two-point home loss (73-71) on Feb. 16, 2020, and lost, 80-70, on the road on Feb. 14, 2021.
-A&M is 2-0 in overtime games vs. UT, with both of those taking place in College Station.
-In the initial meeting between these teams in Knoxville, on Feb. 28, 2013, Tennessee defeated A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give UT an SEC regular-season championship on the Lady Vols' home court. Tennessee had been picked to finish as low as fifth in the league and returned no starters.
-Tennessee made its first-ever women's basketball appearance in College Station on Jan. 26, 2014, and the (then) #11/12 Lady Vols picked up a key victory over the (then) #17/15 Aggies, 76-55. A&M was the SEC leader at the time of that defeat.
-UT's first two contests vs. Texas A&M came in tournaments, including one regular-season event in 1997-98 and one postseason event during the 2007-08 campaign.
-In the first meeting, the #1/1 Lady Vols rolled to a 105-81 victory over the Aggies at the Northern Lights Invitational in Alaska in game two of a three-game stay.
-The famed "Three Meeks" dazzled #8/9 A&M on Dec. 19, 1997, as Chamique Holdsclaw tallied 29, Semeka Randall tossed in 23 and Tamika Catchings added a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds for #1/1 UT in the high-scoring affair.
-Kellie (Jolly) Harper was UT's point guard in that game, and she was the Lady Vols' fourth player in double figures with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers.
-In 2008, Candace Parker scored 26 points and Alexis Hornbuckle chipped in 14, as the Lady Vols defeated Texas A&M, 53-45, in the Oklahoma City Regional Final to advance to the Final Four in Tampa.
-After both of those tourney wins over the Aggies, the Lady Vols would advance to, and win, the NCAA Final Four in 1998 and 2008. Incidentally, UT also beat Arkansas in the 1998 NCAA Final Four semifinal when Gary Blair was then coach of the Razorbacks.
Aggies Info
-Texas A&M is led in points per game by the dynamic guard trio of Kayla Wells (17.1), Jordan Nixon (13.9) and Destiny Pitts (11.4).
-The Aggies have hit 17, 30 and 30 three-pointers this year to pace the nation's No. 1 team in three-point field goal percentage (42.1). Qadashah Hoppie has fired in 18 treys of her own to add to A&M's season total of 101. UT has 57 by comparison.
-Gary Blair is in his 19th year at Texas A&M and 37th season overall as a head coach, owning records of 440-173 in College Station and 848-336 combining stops at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and A&M.
-Blair has led his teams to 27 NCAA appearances, two NCAA Final Fours and one NCAA title (2011). His 1998 Arkansas team met UT in the Final Four.
Last Time Out for A&M
-Alexis Morris scored a career-high 30 points and No. 19 LSU defeated No. 23 Texas A&M 75-66 on Sunday in Baton Rouge.
-Morris was 9-of-16 shooting with four 3-pointers. Khayla Pointer hit four threes and scored 17 points, while Jailin Cherry added 10.
-Destiny Pitts tossed in 18 points with four 3-pointers and had 11 rebounds for the Aggies (10-3), the defending SEC regular-season champs. Qadashah Hoppie added 16 points and Kayla Wells 13.
-The Aggies came in leading the nation at 43.5% from the 3-point line but made only 10-of-31 against LSU and shot 33% overall.
Lady Vols-Aggies Last Meeting
-No. 16/19 Tennessee pulled within one late in the fourth but couldn't overcome a No. 6/5 Texas A&M team that shot 63 percent from the floor in the final quarter and also hit 17 of 22 free throws in that period, falling 80-70 in Reed Arena on Feb. 14, 2021.
-Senior Rennia Davis led UT (12-5, 6-3 SEC) with 25 points. Sophomore Tamari Key turned in her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Rae Burrell added 18 points, while Kasiyahna Kushkituah had 10 boards and eight points.
-Destiny Pitts was the high scorer for Texas A&M (19-1, 10-1 SEC) with 18 points, and Jordan Nixon was close behind with 15. Aaliyah Wilson and Kayla Wells turned in 13 points apiece, and Ciera Johnson added 10.
The game will take place in Thompson-Bolign Arena at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 6 as the Lady Vols look to get their third straight SEC win and their first home SEC win of 2022.
Head coach Kellie Harper's entire Wednesday media availability before the SEC showdown is at the top of of the article.
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