KNOXVILLE – As she watched her former and future teams play Monday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, Faith Dupree showed little emotion.
The 6-foot-3 forward is transferring to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga after this semester, but until then she’s still attending Tennessee and practicing with the fourth-ranked Lady Vols.
“People around here have been pretty good about everything, especially with Coach [Pat] Summitt letting me continue to practice and stay in shape,” said Dupree, a redshirt freshman who announced this past summer that she was transferring to UTC. “It hasn’t been awkward at all.”
The Knoxville native, dressed in blue jeans and a beige raincoat, took a seat next to some student managers when she arrived after halftime. From courtside she watched UT finish off its 103-43 demolition of a vastly overmatched Lady Mocs squad.
“She came by the locker room right after the game and I told her I needed a hug and a post player,” UTC coach Wes Moore said. “She said, ‘Well, I can deliver both.'”
As Monday’s lopsided score showed, the Lady Mocs (0-2) could badly use her help right away, and they’re trying to get it. UTC will soon be petitioning the NCAA to allow Dupree to suit up as soon as she’s done with her UT classes in December, rather than after sitting out a year.
UTC senior associate athletic director and senior woman administrator Laura Herron said she hoped to have the petition filed within a few days. Summitt has cooperated fully in the process, Herron said.
UTC will file an appeal “based on medical rationale,” Herron said, with the NCAA Division I Subcommittee for Legislative Relief, perhaps best known for its handling of the Jeremiah Masoli situation at Ole Miss.
Dupree played in two games for UT last season before a back injury sidelined her and eventually led to a medical redshirt. She said her back is now 100 percent healthy.
Dupree and UTC sophomore Kayla Christopher, from Oliver Springs, played with each other growing up and their mothers are good friends, Dupree said.
“That got me looking [at UTC],” Dupree said, “and when I went to visit, I loved it.”
Moore and UTC didn’t love what happened on the floor Monday. The 60-point loss is the most lopsided in the 30-game history of the series.
The Lady Vols opened a 19-0 lead to start the game before UTC freshman Alex Black hit a jump shot at the 14:14 mark. Freshman Meighan Simmons scored 11 of the Lady Vols’ first 22 points and finished with a game-high 26.
Tennessee forced 17 first-half turnovers and led 51-16 at the break. It was more of the same in the second as the Lady Mocs struggled at both ends of the floor.
Whitney Hood led UTC with 22 points and eight rebounds. Moore at least got some of his young players some experience as nine Lady Mocs played at least 12 minutes.
The Lady Mocs will have a few days to regroup before facing No. 18 Georgia on Friday.
Contact John Frierson at jfrierson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6268. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mocsbeat.