Tennessee’s Meighan Simmons participates in shooting drills during practice at the NCAA college basketball tournament in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday. Tennessee plays Maryland in a regional semifinal Sunday.LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Just because Tennessee and Maryland haven’t played each other much in women’s basketball doesn’t mean the programs aren’t familiar with each other’s success.
In today’s Louisville Regional noon semifinal, Tennessee’s top-seeded Lady Vols will try to keep a close watch on Alyssa Thomas while the fourth-seeded Terrapins will try to keep Meighan Simmons within reach.
The matchup between the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conference players of the year adds to what could shape up as this regional’s marquee matchup. But as both teams point out, their best players are surrounded by great supporting casts.
“I think you’ll see with both teams a lot of similar tendencies,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “Both teams want to rebound hard. Both teams are very up-tempo and have a lot of depth.
“Both teams are led, I think it’s ironic, by the ACC/SEC players of the year, and both have freshman point guards leading the way.”