The Lady Vols last SEC loss came on Feb. 16 of last year, as they fell to Kentucky, 75-71, in Knoxville.
Since that day, Tennessee has strung together 14 consecutive SEC victories, including a hard-fought and physical one point win over the Wildcats in last year’s SEC Championship Game.
That streak will be in jeopardy Thursday night when the No. 6 Lady Vols (17-3, 7-0 SEC) travel to Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum in hopes of ending their current two-game road-losing streak against the No. 10 Wildcats (16-4, 5-2).
“They’re a solid team and it’s a tough place to play,” third-year coach Holly Warlick said. “We’ve won up there, and then the last couple times we haven’t. It’s time for us to turn things around.”
Tennessee is no stranger to tough competition, as Thursday’s contest will be the sixth against a top-10 team, and eighth against an opponent ranked in the top-25.
While the Lady Vols are, 3-2, against top-10 teams this year, they have struggled on the road, dropping games at then No. 6 Texas and then No. 6 Notre Dame.
Tennessee hasn’t beaten a top-10 opponent on the road since Jan. 28, 2008 when they defeated No. 9 Duke 67-64. Candace Parker paved the way in that contest with 17-points and 12 rebounds.
“(The coaches) mentioned it going into Notre Dame,” sophomore guard Andraya Carter said. “The fact that we haven’t beaten a top-10 team on the road, and it’s kind of a big deal. The good teams can win on the road.”
Kentucky comes into the contest having lost two of its last four games, and without one of its key players. Junior point guard Janee Thompson will miss the remainder of the season after breaking her leg on Jan. 11 in a loss at No. 1 South Carolina.
Thompson has started every game for the Wildcats, and was averaging 10.1 points to go along with just over three assists and playing more than 30 minutes per game.
“I think they miss Janee,” Warlick said. “I would too. She’s a heck of a player … I don’t think they’ve missed a beat really, except they lose her experience and just her leadership and all the intangibles that she brings.”
Even without Thompson in the lineup, the Wildcats have three players averaging double-figure scoring this season, led by senior guard Jennifer O’Neill.
The Bronx, N.Y. native is averaging just less than 15-points per game off the bench for head coach Matthew Mitchell and was instrumental in Kentucky’s win in Knoxville last season, scoring 24 points on 8 of 16 shooting.
The Wildcats pride themselves on high-pressure defense, forcing more than 23 turnovers per game, making ball security more important than usual for the Lady Vols.
“You never want to have a high number of turnovers,” Carter said. “It’s possessions lost. You want to put pressure on the defense; you want to make good decisions. Usually the games where you have high turnovers are the games that don’t go too well.”
The rivalry between these two schools has escalated over the past several years, as the two teams have battled for SEC dominance, leading to gritty and physical games. Since 2010 the two teams have met three times in the SEC Championship game with the Lady Vols winning all three.
“I think feistiness will definitely be typical,” Carter said. “They’re a prideful team and we’re a prideful team. When we’re going back and forth, and there are lead changes and emotions running high, different things are gonna happen.
“It might get a little chippy out there. It will get physical, it’s the SEC so it will be a physical game and we’re rivals. We’re gonna go at each other.”
