1988–89 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

1988–89 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
1988–89 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament National champions; SEC Tournament champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	35–2 (8–1 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Summitt (15th season);
Assistant coaches	Mickie DeMoss; Holly Warlick;
Home arena	Thompson-Boling Arena
	Seasons ← 1987–88 1989–90 →

1988–89 SEC women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Auburn	9	–	0	1.000	32	–	2	.941
No. 1 Tennessee ^†	8	–	1	.889	35	–	2	.946
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	3	.667	23	–	7	.767
Vanderbilt	5	–	4	.556	21	–	8	.724
LSU	5	–	4	.556	19	–	11	.633
Ole Miss	4	–	5	.444	23	–	8	.742
Mississippi State	3	–	6	.333	12	–	16	.429
Kentucky	3	–	6	.333	12	–	16	.429
Florida	1	–	8	.111	15	–	14	.517
Alabama	1	–	8	.111	14	–	15	.483

† 1989 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1988–89 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1988–89 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers finished 35–2, ranked No. 1 in both major polls, and won their second of three national championships in a 5-year span. The Lady Vols started the season ranked No. 1 and never fell below the No. 3 ranking.

Roster

1988–89 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	11	Dena Head	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	Salem	Canton, Michigan
F/C	24	Carla McGhee	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr		Peoria, Illinois
F	30	Bridgette Gordon	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	DeLand	DeLand, Florida
C	32	Daedra Charles	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	So	Saint Martin de Porres	Detroit, Michigan
G	33	Tonya Edwards	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Flint Northwestern	Flint, Michigan

Head coach

Pat Summitt

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1988*	No. 1	vs. No. 6 Louisiana Tech Hawaii Wahine Classic	W 76–74 ^OT	3–0	(450) Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 6, 1989	No. 1	at No. 3 Auburn	L 59–67^[2]	11–1 (0–1)	Eaves Memorial Coliseum (7,150) Auburn, Alabama
Jan 31, 1989*	No. 2	at No. 11 Texas	L 67–69	18–2	Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas
SEC tournament
March 4, 1989*	(2) No. 2	vs. (10) Alabama Quarterfinals	W 89–61	28–2	Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia
March 5, 1989*	(2) No. 2	vs. (3) No. 11 Ole Miss Semifinals	W 82–60	29–2	Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia
March 6, 1989*	(2) No. 2	vs. (1) No. 1 Auburn Championship game	W 66–51	30–2	Albany Civic Center Albany, Georgia
NCAA tournament
March 18, 1989*	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (9 E) La Salle Second round	W 91–61	31–2	Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee
March 23, 1989*	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (4 E) No. 15 Virginia Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 80–47	32–2	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
March 25, 1989*	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (2 E) No. 7 Long Beach State Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 94–80	33–2	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky
March 31, 1989*	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (1 W) No. 5 Maryland National Semifinal – Final Four	W 77–65^[3]	34–2	Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington
April 2, 1989*	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Auburn National Championship	W 76–60^[4]	35–2	Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

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Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	1	Not released
Coaches	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	2	2	1	1	1

References

^ "1988-89 Tennessee Volunteers Women's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
^ "Auburn Women Defeat No. 1 Tennessee". The Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
^ "Tennessee Too Much for Maryland". The Los Angeles Times. April 1, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
^ "Tennessee Coasts to the Title". The New York Times. April 3, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
^ "1988-89 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

[1] "1988-89 Tennessee Volunteers Women's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

[ncaa-title-2] "Auburn Women Defeat No. 1 Tennessee". The Los Angeles Times. January 7, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.

[3] "Tennessee Too Much for Maryland". The Los Angeles Times. April 1, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.

[4] "Tennessee Coasts to the Title". The New York Times. April 3, 1989. Retrieved May 4, 2024.

[5] "1988-89 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

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v t e Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
Venues	Stokely Athletic Center (1974–1987) Thompson–Boling Arena (1987–present)
Rivalries	Kentucky Stanford UConn Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Smokey "Rocky Top"
People	Head coaches Retired jerseys
Seasons	1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
AIAW and NCAA national championships in bold; AIAW and NCAA Final Four appearances in italics