Vanderbilt coach expects to see same old Lady Vols on Sunday

Things might be a little different this season, but nothing has changed.

That’s the way Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Melanie Balcomb sees Sunday’s game at Tennessee, which will conclude the regular season for both teams.

“I think they’re still Tennessee,” Balcomb said. “As long as they’re wearing the orange and they have all those trophies; they’re bigger, stronger and more athletic than everybody. You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game – no doubt about it.”

The 19th-ranked Commodores (21-7, 10-3) won the season’s first meeting 74-58 at Memorial Gymnasium, which was their first over UT in 15 tries since Balcomb became head coach and just their sixth all-time.

Vanderbilt has won twice in a row just once, but not in the same season. It eked out a 77-74 victory in the 2001 SEC tournament followed by a 76-59 romp at Memorial Gymnasium in the first matchup of the 2002 conference regular season.

“I think that they’re upset that we beat them the first time around,” VU senior Jennifer Risper said. “So I could see how they would definitely want this to be a revenge game for them.”

Although they are one game back of Auburn, the Commodores still have the chance to win their first SEC regular-season championship. UT, conversely, is fifth and facing the possibility of playing on the first day of next weekend’s SEC tournament.

For their part, the No. 18 Lady Vols (19-9, 8-5) have nine losses, which is one fewer than in the previous four regular seasons combined. They never have lost 10 prior to the start of tournament play under coach Pat Summitt.

“I feel like we've been on the receiving side of everyone this year, thinking that this is the year that you're going to beat Tennessee,” Summitt said. “… I think the other people in the league have clearly, with their veteran teams, stepped up and I'm sure that they feel like they have a chance to compete now at the top of the league.”

Still, the Lady Vols are one of three teams (Vanderbilt and Auburn are the others) that are unbeaten at home in SEC play.

Also, Vanderbilt is winless all-time (0-23) at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“They’ll have the fans, they’ll have everything they always have, which is their history,” Balcomb said. “That’s not going away.”