If you can remember the song “Wham!” by Careless Whisper being the No. 1 song in the United States on Feb. 17, 1985, you may remember the last time the Lady Vols went from unranked to ranked in The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.
However, when Monday’s poll was released, the Lady Vols had dropped out of the top 25, plunging 31 years and 565 consecutive weeks of ranked success down the drain.
After losing against No. 3 South Carolina last Monday, the team rebounded to defeat Ole Miss on Thursday. Sunday’s loss to 9-18 LSU, though, proved to be the final nail in the Lady Vols’ coffin.
Tennessee becomes only the 10th team in women’s basketball history to fall out of the top 25 after starting the season in the top five. That hasn’t happened since the 2009-10 North Carolina Tar Heels dropped out of the top 25 after starting fifth.
The Connecticut Huskies now hold the longest active ranked streak in women’s basketball of 428 weeks. However, it will still take over seven years before the Huskies have a chance of breaking the Lady Vols streak.
Tennessee (16-11, 7-7 SEC) has a road match against Alabama on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The team will conclude the regular season Sunday against Georgia at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Lady Vols currently sit at ninth place in the conference standings. There are five 8-6 teams clinging to a tie for fourth place. The absolute lowest Tennessee can finish in the conference standings is 10th.
A career ending: Jasmine Jones’ basketball career has officially come to an end. Jones collided head-on with another player in the Texas game earlier this season and remained motionless on the court for a few minutes before finally being helped off.
The University of Tennessee’s Athletics Medical Staff issued a statement on Monday that Jones is no longer cleared to participate in women’s basketball “due to the contact nature of basketball and the risks of further injury.”
Jones will finish the season as an inactive member of the Lady Vols team and will spend the rest of the spring semester on the track and field team.
“I have fulfilled my obligation to Coach (Pat) Summitt, Holly (Warlick) and Dean (Lockwood),” Jones said. “I came to Tennessee to win basketball games and to graduate. I have sacrificed my body for the sake of winning for this program, and I have lived my dream, which was to be a Lady Volunteer basketball player.
“I have given my all to Tennessee over the past four years, and my athletic career will end on my terms.”
