HARTFORD, CT – Lady Vols basketball was close to making the wrong kind of history on a snowy trip to Connecticut.
No. 15 Tennessee lost 96-66 to No. 1 UConn (23-0) at PeoplesBank Arena on Feb. 1, marking the second-largest margin of defeat in program history. The Lady Vols (14-5) lost by 30 points, only one point short of tying the record of 31 points from a loss at Texas on Dec. 11, 1984.
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It’s only the second time Tennessee has been beaten by 30 or more points in program history.
The 30-point loss was the largest margin of a loss in the longtime rivalry, beating the previous margin of 23 points.
Tennessee was tied with UConn at halftime, 42-42, before the Huskies broke open the game in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Vols 29-11 to go up 71-53.
UConn leads the series 18-10. Tennessee beat the Huskies last season for the first time since 2007. The Lady Vols won 80-76 in Knoxville during Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell’s first season. The Huskies won the first four meetings when the series was renewed in the 2019-20 season.
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The series is set to continue next season in Connecticut as part of a new two-game contract.
The Tennessee-UConn rivalry is one of the most storied in all of college sports. The two programs became catalysts for the growth of women’s college basketball in the late 1990s and early 2000s, selling out arenas and drawing the eyes of the nation with legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma went head-to-head.
The two programs have met in the NCAA tournament seven times, including four times in the national championship game. UConn won all four of the national title matchups in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2004.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: 30-point loss is second-largest margin of defeat in Lady Vols’ history
