LADY VOLS THE ULTIMATE CHALLENGE

Madison Capital Times

Madison, Wis.

Dec 4, 1999

Authors: Todd Finkelmeyer

The last time the Tennessee women's basketball team came to town, a skinny

freshman named Chamique Holdsclaw hit 10 of her 15 field goal attempts

and scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Lady Vols to a 72-61 victory

over Wisconsin at the UW Field House.

That was Feb. 8, 1996.

The upstart Badgers, who led Tennessee, 45-41, with less than 9 minutes

to play, got a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 11,506 for their

effort as they walked off the court.

That postseason, the Lady Vols won the first of their three straight NCAA

championships, while Holdsclaw went on to earn the reputation as the greatest

athlete to ever play the women's college game.

"We set that game up to showcase women's basketball to the people of Wisconsin,

to show them the powerhouse of women's basketball," UW coach Jane Albright

said this week.

But when the 25th-ranked Badgers (4-1) host No. 3 Tennessee (4-1) Sunday

at the Kohl Center (1:30 p.m.), Albright is hoping the fans show up for

a different reason.

"We want to showcase the Badgers on Sunday," said Albright, who began her

coaching career as a graduate assistant at Tennessee (1981- 83) for legendary

UT coach Pat Summitt. "I think we're a little further into the process

of building a good program here. We want people to buy the tickets to come

see us, not just the powerhouse of women's basketball."

While it's debatable whether the Lady Vols are currently the best team

in college women's basketball, there is no denying the fact that UT is

still the top program.

Tennessee has won six NCAA titles - all since 1987 - and has appeared in

the Final Four 11 times since 1982.

Sunday, Summitt will be going for career win No. 700 at Tennessee. Albright

(288-163 overall) won her 100th game at Wisconsin Wednesday night at UW-Green

Bay.

That said, there is a feeling that maybe the rest of the women's basketball

world is slowly - very slowly - starting to chink away at the Lady Vols'

once impenetrable armor.

Last year, heavily favored Tennessee was tripped up by Duke, 69- 63, in

an East Regional final. And this year, Holdsclaw and standout point guard

Kellie Jolly are gone.

"I think it's a more open race, on paper, than it's been in the past,"

Summitt said of a run toward a seventh NCAA title. "Certainly, Tennessee

was considered a favorite the past couple seasons. And I think with the

graduation of Holdsclaw and Jolly, that's kind of changed the national

race in a lot of people's minds."

Whether anyone can actually catch Tennessee, however, is another story.

Yet unlike when UT and Wisconsin met in 1996, Albright now has some highly

regarded recruits of her own.

In the fall of 1997, UW sophomore Tamara Moore - a national top 20 recruit

- chose UW over Tennessee, among others. Last fall, Wisconsin beat out

Tennessee for 6-foot-4 center Nina Smith, the national prep player of the

year.

"Certainly, Jane and her staff did an excellent job of recruiting Nina,"

Summitt said. "We felt Nina was a player much like a Daedra Charles, who

came here and was an All-American performer (1988-91). Just in terms of

her physical presence, (Smith) has great footwork and great hands. She's

really, without a doubt, one of the most skilled post players we had recruited.

So it was a big loss for us.

"But I think, realistically, we knew going in that there was an excellent

chance that Nina would stay closer to home to play and I just have to credit

Jane for the great job she did in recruiting Nina and convincing her that

Wisconsin was the place for her."

UW sophomore forward Jessie Stomski and junior forward LaTonya Sims also

came to Wisconsin after being recruited heavily by Southeastern Conference

programs. The SEC, of which Tennessee is a member, is widely considered

the top women's basketball conference.

Over the past couple of years, however, the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and

Pacific-10 have done a better job of keeping top athletes closer to home.

"I think with the recruiting classes in the past two years, I certainly

think Wisconsin now can really make a move upwards in the national picture,

and I would expect them to do so," Summitt said.

But no one is suggesting Wisconsin's program is on the same level as Tennessee's.

It's not even close.

But a victory Sunday over the top program in the land would be a major

step in helping Albright reach her goal of building the Badgers into one

of the elite programs in the nation.

"I think our biggest obstacle right now is getting through a mental barrier,"

said Albright, who is 0-6 lifetime vs. Summitt, including an 0-3 mark at

Wisconsin. "I truly believe I've got the right players here now. I know

I do.

"But you need some big wins so you can start to believe in yourself. And

this is a chance to beat the best program out there."