KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Central Arkansas women's basketball team will face the most daunting task in its history at 1:00 pm (Central) on Sunday when the Sugar Bears square off against one of the most storied programs in women's college basketball in the 8-time national champion and 18-time Final Four participant Tennessee Lady Vols.
The 2015-16 edition of the Lady Vols opens its season ranked No. 4 in the nation, making them the highest-ranked opponent the Sugar Bears have faced since beginning Division I play in 2006. The Lady Vols, who were 30-6 a year ago, are 37-4 in in season-opening games over the past 41 seasons and are 402-28 (.935) all-time at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"I think it's a great experience for our program," Sugar Bears head coach Sandra Rushing said. "Tennessee is Tennessee. I've always loved and respected them for what they've done for women's basketball. Going to play in that atmosphere, giving my team the opportunity to see that, is going to be a great experience, and a learning, growing experience. It's definitely going to be challenging for us."
Tennessee is 86-20 (.811) under 4th-year head coach Holly Warlick – who succeeded legendary coach Pat Summitt in 2012, and this year feature a preseason All-America in Diamond DeShields who will be making her debut for the Lady Vols after transferring in from North Carolina. At UNC in 2013-14, the 6-foot-1 DeShields was the consensus national Freshman of the Year after averaging 18 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
DeShields is one of seven players on the Lady Vols roster listed at 6-1 or taller, the tallest being 6-6 redshirt sophomore Mercedes Russell. By contrast, the Sugar Bears' Raquel Logan, at 6-1, is the only player listed taller than 6-foot.
And as if the task weren't tall enough already, the game comes on a quick turnaround for the Sugar Bears, who defeated Hendrix 72-43 Friday night before leaving Conway early Saturday morning for the trip to Knoxville.
"We're going to be undersized for sure," Rushing said. "Their lineup is huge. It's going to be a tough matchup, but that's where we want to be. We need to go in and experience that. I just wish we had an extra day in between games, because you need time to prepare for Tennessee. They're the ultimate program. We're just excited to go in and have the opportunity to play them."
It marks the fourth game against a ranked opponent for the Sugar Bears, who lost all three previous meetings against No. 24 Ole Miss, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 20 Oklahoma State in 2006 and 2007. The Lady Vols, 4th in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls, are looking to extend their winning streak in home season openers to 11, having last lost an opener in Thompson-Boling to Louisiana Tech in 1999.
It will be the second time facing the Lady Vols for Rushing, who coached her Delta State team against Summitt's Lady Vols in 2009.
"I know the players are going to be a little nervous," she said. "It'll be interesting to see if I have to call a quick timeout to settle them down. I know emotions will be high, but we have to settle down, play our game, and work on things we've been working on. We're preparing for a conference championship down the road, and this game will help us."
