Feb. 26, 2012

Recap |  Box Score |  Quotes |  Photo Gallery 1  |  Photo Gallery 2 

Postgame Notes

Numbers of Interest
1: Senior Day marks the first time all five members of this senior class started together. Tennessee is now 1-0 when the seniors line up for the opening tip.

8: The win over Florida pulls head coach Pat Summitt closer to her next win plateau. Eight more wins will put her at the 1,100-win milestone.

15: UF opened scoring with a three-pointer, but UT broke into a 15-0 run from there, taking a 15-3 advantage early; all 15 points contributed by the senior class.

137: With five assists versus Florida, freshman point guard Ariel Massengale set the Tennessee freshman record for assists. She has tallied 137 assists in her rookie campaign.

18,563: With 18,563 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena for today's game, Tennessee set a new season-high mark for attendance.

To Note
The Series
• With the win Tennessee moves to 44-3 in the all-time series versus Florida dating back to the 1979-80 season. Until tonight, Tennessee had won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Gators.
• UT leads the series, 20-1, in games played in Knoxville.

Senior Day
• Today's contest marked the last contest at home in Thompson-Boling arena for the five-member senior class.
• Before the game, Tennessee honored seniors Briana Bass, Alicia Manning, Glory Johnson, Shekinna Stricklen and redshirt senior Vicki Baugh.
• Coach Summitt also recognized five Florida seniors, presenting them flowers before today's game.

For Starters
• In honor of senior day, Bass, Manning, Johnson, Stricklen and Baugh made the start for the Lady Vols.
• This is the eighth lineup combination utilized by UT this season. Tennessee is now 1-0 when the seniors line up for the opening tip.
• Senior Day marks the first time all five members of this senior class started together and only the second time the Bass and Manning made a start together.

TBA - The Place To Play
• With 18,563 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena for today's game, Tennessee set a new season-high mark for attendance. The previous season-best was set when Vanderbilt came to town (1/15) with 17,879 fans flooding TBA.
• UT is 152 fans shy of hitting the 300,000 attendance mark on the year.
• TBA is still the toughest women's basketball arena in the nation to secure a win.The Lady Vols have fashioned a 353-23 (.939) all-time record on their home court.

Wouldn't You Like to Know
Run It
• Florida opened scoring in today's game with a three-pointer, but Tennessee broke into a 15-0 run from there, taking a 15-3 advantage early.
• UT's 15 points were contributed by the senior class: Johnson (8), Manning (5) and Stricklen (2) strung it together for UT.

At the Half
• The Lady Vols led Florida at halftime, 35-25. Tennessee has led at intermission of 20 games. Tennessee has trailed at the half of six contests and has been tied in the other three contests.
• Tennessee is now 19-1 when it leads going into the locker room, with the lone loss coming to Baylor (11/27).

Massengale Hits the Mark
• With five assists versus Florida, freshman point guard Ariel Massengale set the Tennessee freshman record with 137 assists. Loree Moore held the previous record with 133 in 2001-02.

Double Time
Strong Senior Showing
• Glory Johnson led UT in scoring on senior day with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. She added a team-high 10 boards in the win, recording the 33rd double-double of her career.
• Stricklen added 15 points for UT on a 5-of-12 effort from the floor including a 3-of-5 showing from beyond the arc.
• After totaling six points in the last five games, Alicia Manning put up double figures for Tennessee today scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Meighan Makes an Impact
• Simmons came out and scored 12 points against Florida on a 5-of-9 effort from the floor after averaging 7.3 points per game over the previous three contests.

On the Horizon
Approaching 1,100 Wins
• Eight more wins will put Summitt at her next victory milestone: 1,100 wins.

Glory, Glory - Look Who's Boarding
• Johnson is currently second on the all-time rebounding list with 1,135 boards.
• She needs 161 rebounds to catch program leader Chamique Holdsclaw, who pulled down 1,295 rebounds in her Lady Vol career.

Up Next
• The Lady Vols will head to the "Music City" next week for the 2012 SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena, March 1-4.
• The Lady Vols will play as the No. 2 seed on Friday in the second game of the second round against the winner of the No. 7/10 game, which will be played on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The UT game on Friday will also tip-off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
• Tennessee heads to Nashville looking to defend its 2010 and 2011 SEC Tournament crowns.