Kevin McMillan finally got his wish after 12 years.
The UT Martin coach got a game against Lady Vols basketball on the schedule. The two teams haven’t faced off since the NCAA Tournament during the 2011-12 season, which was legendary coach Pat Summitt’s final season. McMillan said he has tried to schedule a game ever since.
Tennessee won the first matchup against UT Martin in over a decade by a score of 90-50 on Thursday at Food City Center. The Lady Vols (2-0) were led by a double-double from Ruby Whitehorn (18 points, 14 rebounds) in the win over the Skyhawks (0-2).
McMillan believes the matchup should happen consistently because Summitt graduated from UT Martin and played there before becoming a legend in the sport.
“We’ve been trying to play for 12 years – honest. And we just haven’t been able to get anybody to play,” McMillan said. “I honestly wish we would play every single year to honor Pat … I mean, who am I? I’m a nobody. I’m gonna walk out here, y’all are gonna forget my name in about a day … that’s fine.
“But for women’s basketball, I think it would be awesome if we could play every year, and we did something to honor Pat and her legacy for this sport. It’s important to me.”
Summitt graduated from UT Martin in 1974 and then took over the Lady Vols the same year. She went on to win eight NCAA titles and make 18 appearances in the Final Four. She retired with a career record of 1,098-208 and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
McMillan wanted the game on his schedule this season so much, he made a call to move a game to open up a date for the Lady Vols.
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“They were desperate for a game because somebody dropped them, and so they called us and said, ‘Hey, will y’all play?’ ” McMillan said. “So I called somebody and moved (a game) a year to get this game to happen, because I thought it was that important for Pat.”
Tennessee is 14-2 against UT Martin dating back to 1971. The Lady Vols lost the first two matchups against the Skyhawks in 1971 and 1972 and have won the last 14 matchups. The two teams faced off consistently until 1981 and didn’t play again until 1997.
They only played three times since then before Thursday, and all but one were blowout wins. The closest result was in 2012 when Tennessee won 72-49.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her atcora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: UT Martin coach wants annual matchup with Lady Vols to honor Pat Summitt
