BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After a dominant 77-44 win over Lipscomb last Sunday, No. 21 Indiana is in Fort Myers for thanksgiving weekend for two games in the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off. Indiana's first opponent of the weekend is No. 19 Tennessee.
Against Lipscomb, Indiana Sara Scalia and Mackenzie Holmes scored 24 and 23 points respectively, the only Hoosiers in double-figures. It was the defense that propelled Indiana to victory. Indiana held Lipscomb to 30.9% shooting from the floor and forced the Bisons into 16 turnovers.
On Monday, guard Sara Scalia was named Big Ten Player of the Week for her efforts in two Hoosier victories over Murray State and Lipscomb.
The Hoosiers (3-1, 0-0 in Big Ten play) and the Volunteers (3-1, 0-0 in SEC play) meet for the fourth time in the history of the two programs on Thursday at 6pm ET.
Here's everything you need to know about Indiana's first opponent in the Elevance Health Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off, the Tennessee Volunteers.
Opponent Profile
Head Coach: Kellie Harper (5th season at Tennessee, 20th season overall)
Career Record: 91-40 (.695) at Tennessee, 376-248 (603) overall
Kellie Harper has already made a big impact in her relatively short time as the head coach of her alma mater. At the helm of Tennessee, Harper has led the Volunteers to Sweet Sixteen appearances in back-to-back seasons.
During her time at Tennessee, Harper has led Tennessee to four consecutive third-place finishes in the SEC and has coached three WNBA first-round picks.
As a player with the Volunteers, Harper won three national championships from 1996-1998. The 1998 Tennessee team went 39-0 on its way to its third straight national title. In 2009, Harper was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame.
Prior to taking over the head coaching role at Tennessee, Harper was a head coach at Missouri State, NC State and Western Carolina.
Harper is one of just four head coaches to lead four different Division I programs to the NCAA Tournament, having done so at Western Carolina, NC State, Missouri State and now Tennessee.
Last Season
A year ago, Tennessee went 25-12 and 13-3 in SEC play. The Volunteers finished third in the conference during the regular season and fell in the SEC Championship game to eventual final four participant South Carolina.
The Volunteers struggled away from home. Tennessee went a combined 9-8 on the road and at neutral sites.
One of Tennessee's four losses at home came against Indiana. In an early-season non-conference matchup against the Hoosiers came out on top of the Volunteers 79-67. In that game, Tennessee shot 39% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times. Rickea Jackson led the Volunteers in scoring with 17 points. The Hoosiers were paced in the scoring department by 16 points from both Sara Scalia and Mackenzie Holmes.
Last season, Tennessee was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen by Virginia Tech. A No. 4 seed, the Volunteers won their first two games of the tournament by an average of 46 points.
Across 37 games last season, Tennessee averaged 77.1 points per game. That ranked third in the SEC, only behind LSU and South Carolina -- both of whom made the final four a season ago. The Volunteers averaged 15.8 assists per game -- which ranked second in the SEC -- on 28.6 made field goals a game.
This Season
The Volunteers enter Thursday's contest with Indiana winners of two straight games. Tennessee's three wins this season having come against Florida A&M, Memphis and Troy. The Volunteers won those games by an average margin of victory of 22 points.
The lone Tennessee loss this season came in Tallahassee. That was a 92-91 loss against Florida State. In that game, both teams shot 50% or better from behind the 3-point line. The Volunteers went 10-20 (50%) from distance, while the Seminoles shot 13-22 (59.1%) from downtown.
As a team this season, Tennessee ranks top 10 in the country in points per game. The Volunteers average 92 points per game through the first four games of the season. It's the highest points per game average for the Volunteers at this point in a season since the 2002-2003 season and just the fourth time in the history of the program a team has averaged 92 points per game or better through its opening four games.
Another strength of this year's Tennessee team is in the rebounding department. Through four games, the Volunteers are averaging 53.3 rebounds per game. That ranks No. 5 in the country. Specifically on the offensive glass, Tennessee is in the top 10 in the country in grabbing offensive boards. The Volunteers have dominated their opponents on the glass this season, out-rebounding opponents by an average of 21.2 rebounds a game to start the season.
Dominating on the glass is not new for Kellie Harper-led Tennessee teams. During Harper's tenure with the volunteers, Tennessee has produced three of the top six rebounding seasons in the history of the program.
The Volunteers are led by fifth-year Senior Rickea Jackson. The 6-foot-2 forward is averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds per game this season, albeit in just two games. Jackson missed both of Tennessee's last two games against Memphis and Troy due to injuries. Jackson is questionable for Thursday's game against Indiana.
Storylines To Monitor
Can Indiana handle the size of Tennessee?
In Indiana's 32-point loss to Stanford earlier this season, the Hoosiers had a lot of trouble dealing with the size of the Cardinal's front court players. Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, who stand 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3 respectively, combined for 40 points and 28 rebounds while shooting a combined 15-23 from the field.
In that game, Mackenzie Holmes put together by far her worst performance of the season. The preseason All-American eight points, four fouls and three turnovers and got just three of her 12 shots to fall from the field.
Tennessee poses a similar challenge for Indiana on Thursday.
The Volunteers have five players that stand 6-foot-2 or taller, including the team's top two leading scorers in Rickea Jackson and Sara Puckett. Off the bench, Tennessee has even more size. Jillian Hollingshead stands 6-foot-5 and Tamari Key is even taller at 6-foot-6.
Indiana, more specifically Mackenzie Holmes, will have to find a way to handle the size of Tennessee's front court. If not, Indiana may find themselves in a similar position that they found themselves in against Stanford.
Familiar faces on both sides
When Indiana and Tennessee meet on Thursday, it will be a meeting between lots of familiar faces.
First off, Indiana's Chloe Moore-McNeil is a Greenfield, Tennessee native. Moore-McNeil played at Greenfield High School and won a Class A State Championship with the Yellowjackets. Moore-McNeil was also on the Greenfield High School team that was 34-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state in 2020 before the season ended prematurely due to COVID-19. Teammates with Moore-McNeil on those teams were Tennessee's Tess and Edie Darby.
Another connection is between two former teammates at Minnesota. Indiana's Sara Scalia and Tennessee's Jasmine Powell, were teammates with the Gophers for three seasons. From 2020-2022, Scalia and Powell were Minnesota's top two leading scorers.
The third connection between the two teams is through Indiana's staff. Director of Player Development, Brian Schomaeker. Schomaeker played 118 games for Tennessee from 2008-2012. Schomaeker started at the point guard position on the legendary Pat Summitt's final team.
The Hoosiers' newest assistant coach, Amber Smith, was also a graduate assistant with Tennessee during the 2014 season.
Quick Hitters
Who?: No. 21 Indiana (3-1, 0-0 in Big Ten play) vs. No. 19 Tennessee (3-1, 0-0 in SEC play)
Series History: Tennessee leads, 2-1
Last meeting: 79-67 Indiana win on 11/14/22
When?: Thursday, November 23, 6:00 p.m. ET
Where?: Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida
TV: FOX: Lisa Byington (Play-by-Play) and Sarah Kustok (Analyst)
Radio: B97 FM: Austin Render (Play-by-Play)
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