Now I know a lot of you probably don't follow Womens College Basketball very closely, and honestly neither do I, but this early Tennessee first round tournament loss is pretty huge if you ask me. The loss is historical in a sense that the Vols have made 28 consectutive NCAA tournament appearances; coming away with NCAA championships the last 2 seasons. The Lady Vols have never lost in the first round, and also have never NOT made it to the Sweet 16 in the history of the Woman's Tournament. They were 51-0 agaist teams seeded lower than 4, and it's the first time in NCAA Tournament history that the defending champion was bounced in the First Round the following year.
Ball State, a 12 seed, and a first timer in the Big Dance put a drumming on The Lady Vols beating them by the score of 71-55. They were more aggressive, and were able to make the big play when it counted. The Vols seemed lacksadaisical in the second half, and the 5 seed couldn't manage to rack up a come back late in the game.
Pat Summit seemed a bit devastated by the loss. The team is still very young, and looks poised to make a run not only next season, but seasons to come. If I were Pat Summit I wouldn't quite reach for the panic button, but the loss does raise some eyebrows and proves that other teams are no longer afraid to face the Lady Vols no matter what the stipulations surrounding the game are.
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