What the Lady Vols have accomplished since the last time they were unranked in the Associated Press Top 25:
8: NCAA tournament titles (including three straight from 1996-98) 16: Final Four appearances (three different runs of four consecutive years) and Southeastern Conference tournament championships 17: Times the Lady Vols have won the regular-season SEC title 21: Times Tennessee has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament 31: Consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (overall, it is 34 in a row)
Connecticut’s Katie Lou Samuelson (33) and teammates celebrate during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against East Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, in Greenville, N.C. Connecticut won 84-41. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)Streak stopped
Holly Warlick has had a tough time following legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt’s 38-year tenure. It hit another speed bump Monday when Tennessee fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1985. The run was impressive. Here’s a deeper look at the numbers: › 5: Times Tennessee finished the season ranked No. 1› 15: Before Monday, the number of times the Lady Vols had missed the poll› 103: Times Tennessee was ranked No. 1› 407: Times the Lady Vols were in the top 5› 506: Times Tennessee was ranked in the top 10
Tennessee’s 31-year run in the Top 25 is done.
The Lady Vols streak of 565 consecutive weeks in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll ended Monday as Tennessee fell out of the Top 25. The streak started Feb. 17, 1985.
“It’s really an amazing streak and a tribute to all of the players and coaches who’ve contributed to the Lady Vols’ rich tradition of excellence,” Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. “The results this season haven’t been what we wanted, but I assure you my staff and I are working extremely hard to ensure that our players reach their potential and, in turn, help our program attain the level of success we expect at Tennessee.”
Tennessee (16-11) had been teetering on the edge the past few weeks and finally dropped out after losing two of its three games last week. With the Lady Vols out, Connecticut now has the longest active streak. The Huskies, who remain No. 1 in the poll this week, have been ranked for 428 consecutive weeks. It would take them about seven more years to match Tennessee’s record.
“It’s very impressive,” said Tamika Catchings, who starred for the Lady Vols from 1997-2001. “That’s huge. Like anything else, streaks come to an end at some point and time. Thirty-one years, that’s amazing. To be a part of it was really awesome. Highs and lows. Unfortunately they are going through a little low right now, but it will get better.”
During that 31-year run the Lady Vols had been ranked No. 1 103 times. They were in the first five 407 weeks and top 10 506 times. Since the poll began in 1976, Tennessee had only missed a total of 15 weeks before Monday. The Lady Vols were not in the first poll then missed four weeks in 1981-82. They also had a 10-week gap in 1984-85.
With Tennessee dropping out, it’s the 10th time a team started the season in the top five and fell out of the poll. The others were South Carolina (1980-81), Louisiana-Monroe (1985-86), Old Dominion (1985-86), Louisiana Tech (1990-91), Georgia (1991-92), Auburn (1993-94), UCLA (1999-2000), Rutgers (2008-09) and North Carolina (2009-10).
While the Lady Vols fell out, the Huskies continued their run at the top. The Huskies cruised through two more easy victories. They host SMU on Wednesday, then Tulane on Saturday. This was the 200th week overall Connecticut has been No. 1 in the poll.
“I think it’s a reflection of the players we’ve had and the consistency,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. “That’s what I’m most happy with. It’s been going for a long time and you look around the country and realize how difficult it is to sustain this. It’s not as easy as people think sometimes.”
Connecticut followed by Notre Dame, South Carolina, Baylor and Ohio State.
Colorado State entered the Top 25 for the first time since 2002. The Rams have won 21 straight games. Missouri also came back into the poll while Florida fell out.
Jones no longer on team
Forward Jasmine Jones won’t play basketball for the Lady Vols anymore after missing most of the past two seasons with head injuries.
The school issued a statement saying the university’s medical staff wouldn’t clear Jones to play “due to the contact nature of basketball and the risks of further injury.” The school release said Jones is “focusing her athletics ability on non-contact and throwing events on the women’s track and field team.”
Jones, a 6-foot-2 forward from Madison, Ala., will remain with the women’s basketball team through the remainder of this season but won’t be able to play in any games. Jones graduated in December with a sociology degree.
“I came to Tennessee to win basketball games and to graduate,” Jones said in the statement. “I have sacrificed my body for the sake of winning for this program, and I have lived my dream, which was to be a Lady Volunteer basketball player. I have given my all to Tennessee over the last four years, and my athletic career will end on my terms.”
Jones made six starts and played seven games last season – averaging 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds – before taking a medical redshirt because of lingering concussion-like symptoms. Jones returned this season and started three of the first five games she played before suffering another head injury when she collided with a teammate in a Nov. 29 loss to Texas.
She hasn’t played since that collision. Jones averaged 6 points and 5.4 rebounds in the five games she played before getting hurt.
“I cannot say enough about how tough of a competitor Jasmine Jones has been for our program,” Warlick said in a statement.