#19 Tennessee (3-2) at #22 Oklahoma (5-1)
Saturday, November 25th, 2023 | 12:32pm CT| 1:32pm ET
Fort Myers, FL | Suncoast Credit Union Arena
Fort Myers, FL – The No. 19/21 Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team (3-2) will take on the second in a pair of ranked teams in the Island Division of the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off.
On Saturday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, FL, the Lady Vols will face No. 22/20 Oklahoma (5-1) to close out play in the tournament.
The UT/OU game will be broadcast live by Women’s Sports Network at 12:30pm CT.
Tennessee enters following a loss to No. 21/19 Indiana (4-1) on Thursday night, 71-57.
Oklahoma, meanwhile, suffered its first loss of the season, falling to unranked Princeton (4-1) on Thursday afternoon, 77-63.
UT-OU Storylines
This will mark the seventh all-time meeting between these schools but first under Kellie Harper. UT is 5-1 vs. the Sooners.
These schools will be competing in the same conference this time next year, as Oklahoma makes the move from the Big 12 to the SEC.
Kellie Harper and Jennie Baranczyk coached against one another while they were leading programs at Missouri State (2013-19) and Drake (2012-21) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Harper’s MSU squad beat Baranczyk’s DU squad for the 2019 MVC Tournament title, 94-79, setting the Lady Bears up for an NCAA Sweet 16 run that ultimately ended with Harper being named the head coach at her alma mater.
First-year assistant and third-year Lady Vol staffer Liza Fruendt played for Kellie and Jon Harper at Missouri State and vs. Drake in MVC action from 2014-18.
Harper and Baranczyk were each standout players during their college days, with Harper (Kellie Jolly) winning three NCAA Championships, three SEC Tournament titles and two SEC regular season crowns at Tennessee, and Baranczyk (Jennie Lillis) leading Iowa to three NCAA Tournament appearances and a 2001 Big Ten championship.
Additional Broadcast Details
Kylen Mills (play-by-play) and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel (analyst) will describe the Tennessee-Oklahoma game for the Women’s Sports Network broadcast.
The contest can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
How To Watch UT vs. OU
Celebrating its first anniversary this month, the Women’s Sports Network is a free, ad-supported streaming television network and is the first and only 24/7 platform dedicated exclusively to female athletes.
Available in over 95 million homes with distribution on Amazon Freevee, Fubo, LG Channels on LG Smart TVs, Local Now, Plex, Tubi, VIZIO WatchFree+, Roku and XumoPlay, the Women’s Sports Network boasts partnerships with every major national women’s sports league in the United States, including the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), U.S. Ski and Snowboard, World Surf League (WSL), WNBA, Athletes Unlimited and many more.
Its partnership with the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off is the first such agreement between the network and any early season college basketball event. For more information about Women’s Sports Network and how to access games, please go to https://womenssports.com/.
Recapping The Indiana Game
No. 19/21 Tennessee couldn’t match a hot-handed No. 21/19 Indiana squad that knocked down 10 threes, falling 71-57 in the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off on Thursday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
Junior forwards Karoline Striplin and Sara Puckett led the Lady Vols (3-2) in scoring with 13 each on the night. Puckett added a team-high seven boards to the score sheet, and fifth-year senior Jasmine Powell was also in double figures with 12 points in her first game back from injury.
Yarden Garzon was the high scorer for the Hoosiers (4-1), pouring in a career-high 23 points. Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia were also top producers for IU, finishing with 17 and 10, respectively.
Post Game Notes vs. The Hoosiers
Karo Heating Up
Karoline Striplin tossed in 13 points against the Hoosiers, recording her second straight game with double-digit points. It marks the third time the junior forward has tallied double figures in back-to-back games in her career. As a sophomore, Striplin totaled 11 points vs. South Carolina (2/23/23) and 12 points at Kentucky (2/26/23). In 2021-22, Striplin scored 10 against ETSU (12/20/21) and 12 vs. Chattanooga (12/27/21) as a freshman.
Sara In Double Figures
With 13 points against IU, Puckett notched her fifth consecutive contest in double figures and remains one of just two Lady Vols in the past five years to open a season with five straight games scoring in double figures. She joins LVFL Rae Burrell (2020-21) in doing so.
Welcome Back, JP
After missing last Sunday’s game vs. Troy with a wrist injury, Jasmine Powell made her presence known against the Hoosiers, putting up 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a season-high two three-pointers, and six rebounds.
Lady Vol Bench Warming Up
The Tennessee women’s basketball team’s reserves have outscored their opposition 68-16 the past two games, including 38-8 vs. Troy and 30-8 vs. #21/19 Indiana.
For the season, the Tennessee Lady Vol bench is outscoring foes, 25.4 to 14.8 on average.
Injury Tally
Rickea Jackson, Tennessee’s leading scorer and rebounder, has missed the past three games (Memphis, Troy, Indiana) with a leg injury. She has not played since posting a 31-point, 17-rebound double-double vs. #18/22 Florida State.
Jasmine Powell missed the Troy game after suffering a wrist injury vs. Memphis, but she returned vs. #21/19 Indiana and contributed 12 points and six rebounds off the bench.
Avery Strickland has missed the Troy and Indiana games while being in concussion protocol.
A Look At Oklahoma
OU has four players scoring in double figures, led by Skylar Vann (13.7) and Payton Verhulst (13.2).
The team is shooting 47% and scoring 85.3 ppg.
The Sooners average 20.3 turnovers per game.
About the Head Coach
Jennie Baranczyk led OU to the 2023 Big 12 regular season title and back-to-back NCAA Tournaments.
She is a 2004 Iowa graduate.
OU’S Most Recent Game
Princeton outscored Oklahoma in the paint, 46-28, out-rebounded the Sooners, 50-37, and out-shot OU, 47.8 to 34.8 pct., to take a 77-63 victory Thursday.
A 23-7 Tigers blitz in the first quarter set the tone.
Aubrey Joens paced Oklahoma with 13 points.
Last UT-OU Contest
Kamiko Williams led four Lady Vols in double figures, as Tennessee defeated Oklahoma, 74-59, in Oklahoma City on March 31st, 2013, during the NCAA Sweet 16.
Tennessee jumped out to a 44-27 halftime lead and held on for the victory.
Next Up For UT Women’s Basketball
After the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team returns home for back-to-back games with No. 17/14 Notre Dame and No. 15/12 Ohio State on November 29th and December 3rd, respectively.
That means Tennessee is currently playing four ranked teams in succession and will have played five top 25 squads in its first eight contests of 2023-24.
