Twenty-three years ago, UConn and Tennessee met for the first time, and from there, the series grew into the greatest rivalry in women's college basketball history.
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From 1995 to the series' most recent game in 2007, the Huskies and Lady Vols both three-peated and combined for nine national championships.
Their meetings drew some of the game's biggest crowds, featured some of the game's greatest players and were played on the biggest stage. Four of their 22 meetings were in the NCAA championship game. UConn went 4-0 in those matchups, and also holds a 5-2 edge in NCAA tournament meetings.
A look back at the all-time series, which UConn leads 13-9. (Rankings refer to spot held by team in Associated Press Top 25 at time of game.)
Jan. 6, 2007: No. 4 Tennessee 70, No. 5 UConn 64
Candace Parker nets 30 points, including a second-half dunk, as well as 12 rebounds and six blocks. Led by Charde Houston's 23 points, UConn erases an 18-point deficit but still falls short. (Hartford, Connecticut)
Jan. 7, 2006: No. 1 Tennessee 89, No. 7 UConn 80
The Lady Vols pull away in the final minutes for their second straight win in the series after six consecutive losses to the Huskies. The crowd of 24,653 still stands as the largest home crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena. (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Jan. 8, 2005: No. 10 Tennessee 68, No. 15 UConn 67
Tennessee's Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood converts a three-point play with 15 seconds left for a 68-66 lead. The Huskies then miss two of three foul shots and the Lady Vols end a six-game skid in the series. (Hartford)
April 6, 2004: No. 6 UConn 70, No. 2 Tennessee 61
UConn becomes the second team to three-peat with Diana Taurasi -- who boasted a 21.6 PPG career average vs. the Lady Vols -- again leads the way. (New Orleans)
Feb. 5, 2004: No. 4 UConn 81, No. 1 Tennessee 67
UConn plays solid and steady and grinds out win in a physical battle. Diana Taurasi scores 18 points before fouling out in the final minute. (Knoxville)
April 8, 2003: No. 1 UConn 73, No. 4 Tennessee 68
UConn hits 10 treys and shoots 51 percent from the field. Diana Taurasi scores 28 points as the Huskies repeat as national champs. (Atlanta)
Jan. 4, 2003: No. 3 UConn 63, No. 5 Tennessee 62 OT
Diana Taurasi's 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left sends the game into overtime. UConn goes on to win its 51st consecutive game. (Hartford)
March 29, 2002: No. 1 UConn 79, No. 6 Tennessee 56
UConn posts its largest margin of victory in the series in front of the largest crowd in women's college basketball history (29,619). (San Antonio)
Jan. 5, 2002: No. 1 UConn 86, No. 2 Tennessee 72
Sophomore Diana Taurasi scores 32 points. The Lady Vols miss 45 of 72 shots from the field in front of 24,611 fans, which was a school record at the time and remains No. 2 all-time for largest Tennessee crowds. (Knoxville)
Feb. 1, 2001: No. 3 Tennessee 92, No. 2 UConn 88
Sophomore Gwen Jackson tallies 28 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in one of the top games in the rivalry. (Knoxville)
Dec. 30, 2000: No. 1 UConn 81, No. 2 Tennessee 76
All Time Wins And Points The Initials Games
The Lady Vols rally from a 17-point deficit to cut the lead to three with one minute left, but Sue Bird wins it with late free throws. (Hartford)
April 2, 2000: No. 1 UConn 71, No. 2 Tennessee 52
The Huskies take the third meeting of the season, win their second NCAA title and end the season with 36-1 record and 17-game winning streak. (Philadelphia)
Feb. 2, 2000: No. 4 Tennessee 72, No. 1 UConn 71
After the Lady Vols trailed by six points at halftime, Semeka Randall hits the game-winner with 4.4 seconds left. It ends up being the Huskies' only loss of the season. (Storrs, Connecticut)
Jan. 8, 2000: No. Papa's pancakeriagamefort. 1 UConn 74, No. 2 Tennessee 67
Sue Bird scores a then-career-high 25 points. The Lady Vols shoot just 33.8 percent from the field and 14-for-33 at the foul line. (Knoxville)
Jan. 10, 1999: No. 2 Tennessee 92, No. 1 UConn 81
Chamique Holdsclaw and Semeka Randall each score 25 points. After the game, the teams swap spots in the Top 25. (Storrs)
Jan. 3, 1998: No. 1 Tennessee 84, No. 3 UConn 69
Tennessee's win streak reaches 21 games on the Lady Vols' way to a perfect 39-0 record and their third consecutive NCAA title. (Knoxville)
March 24, 1997: No. 10 Tennessee 91, No. 1 UConn 81
Entering the postseason with 10 losses, the third-seeded Lady Vols win this Midwest final matchup en route to the NCAA title. (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 5, 1997: No. 1 UConn 72, No. 8 Tennessee 57
The Lady Vols drop their fifth game of the season. Other regular-season losses came against Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Georgia, Arkansas, LSU, Florida and Old Dominion. (Hartford)
March 29, 1996: No. 4 Tennessee 88, No. 2 UConn 83 OT
In a battle of No. 1 seeds, the Lady Vols win this Final Four matchup and go on to win the first of three NCAA titles in a row. (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Jan. 6, 1996: No. 2 UConn 59, No. 4 Tennessee 53
The Lady Vols lose just four games during their 1996 title run, but this loss snaps their 69-game home winning streak. (Knoxville)
April 2, 1995: No. 1 UConn 70, No. 3 Tennessee 64
UConn (35-0) becomes the second women's college basketball team in NCAA history to post an undefeated season. (Minneapolis)
Jan. 16, 1995: No. 2 UConn 77, No. 1 Tennessee 66
The Huskies take the first meeting in a series that becomes women's college basketball's greatest rivalry. (Storrs)
Twenty-three years ago, UConn and Tennessee met for the first time, and from there, the series grew into the greatest rivalry in women's college basketball history.
From 1995 to the series' most recent game in 2007, the Huskies and Lady Vols both three-peated and combined for nine national championships.
Their meetings drew some of the game's biggest crowds, featured some of the game's greatest players and were played on the biggest stage. Four of their 22 meetings were in the NCAA championship game. UConn went 4-0 in those matchups, and also holds a 5-2 edge in NCAA tournament meetings.
A look back at the all-time series, which UConn leads 13-9. (Rankings refer to spot held by team in Associated Press Top 25 at time of game.)
Jan. 6, 2007: No. 4 Tennessee 70, No. 5 UConn 64
Candace Parker nets 30 points, including a second-half dunk, as well as 12 rebounds and six blocks. Led by Charde Houston's 23 points, UConn erases an 18-point deficit but still falls short. (Hartford, Connecticut)
Jan. 7, 2006: No. 1 Tennessee 89, No. 7 UConn 80
The Lady Vols pull away in the final minutes for their second straight win in the series after six consecutive losses to the Huskies. The crowd of 24,653 still stands as the largest home crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena. (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Jan. 8, 2005: No. 10 Tennessee 68, No. 15 UConn 67
Tennessee's Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood converts a three-point play with 15 seconds left for a 68-66 lead. The Huskies then miss two of three foul shots and the Lady Vols end a six-game skid in the series. (Hartford)
April 6, 2004: No. 6 UConn 70, No. 2 Tennessee 61
UConn becomes the second team to three-peat with Diana Taurasi -- who boasted a 21.6 PPG career average vs. the Lady Vols -- again leads the way. (New Orleans)
Feb. 5, 2004: No. 4 UConn 81, No. 1 Tennessee 67
UConn plays solid and steady and grinds out win in a physical battle. Diana Taurasi scores 18 points before fouling out in the final minute. (Knoxville)
April 8, 2003: No. 1 UConn 73, No. 4 Tennessee 68
UConn hits 10 treys and shoots 51 percent from the field. Diana Taurasi scores 28 points as the Huskies repeat as national champs. (Atlanta)
Jan. 4, 2003: No. 3 UConn 63, No. 5 Tennessee 62 OT
Diana Taurasi's 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds left sends the game into overtime. UConn goes on to win its 51st consecutive game. (Hartford)
All Time Wins And Points The Initials Game On Sunday
March 29, 2002: No. 1 UConn 79, No. 6 Tennessee 56
UConn posts its largest margin of victory in the series in front of the largest crowd in women's college basketball history (29,619). (San Antonio)
Jan. 5, 2002: No. 1 UConn 86, No. 2 Tennessee 72
Sophomore Diana Taurasi scores 32 points. The Lady Vols miss 45 of 72 shots from the field in front of 24,611 fans, which was a school record at the time and remains No. 2 all-time for largest Tennessee crowds. (Knoxville)
Feb. 1, 2001: No. 3 Tennessee 92, No. 2 UConn 88
Sophomore Gwen Jackson tallies 28 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in one of the top games in the rivalry. (Knoxville)
Dec. 30, 2000: No. 1 UConn 81, No. 2 Tennessee 76
The Lady Vols rally from a 17-point deficit to cut the lead to three with one minute left, but Sue Bird wins it with late free throws. (Hartford)
April 2, 2000: No. 1 UConn 71, No. 2 Tennessee 52
The Huskies take the third meeting of the season, win their second NCAA title and end the season with 36-1 record and 17-game winning streak. (Philadelphia)
Feb. 2, 2000: No. 4 Tennessee 72, No. 1 UConn 71
After the Lady Vols trailed by six points at halftime, Semeka Randall hits the game-winner with 4.4 seconds left. It ends up being the Huskies' only loss of the season. (Storrs, Connecticut)
Jan. 8, 2000: No. 1 UConn 74, No. 2 Tennessee 67
Sue Bird scores a then-career-high 25 points. The Lady Vols shoot just 33.8 percent from the field and 14-for-33 at the foul line. (Knoxville)
Jan. 10, 1999: No. 2 Tennessee 92, No. 1 UConn 81
Chamique Holdsclaw and Semeka Randall each score 25 points. After the game, the teams swap spots in the Top 25. (Storrs)
Jan. 3, 1998: No. 1 Tennessee 84, No. 3 UConn 69
Tennessee's win streak reaches 21 games on the Lady Vols' way to a perfect 39-0 record and their third consecutive NCAA title. (Knoxville)
March 24, 1997: No. 10 Tennessee 91, No. 1 UConn 81
Entering the postseason with 10 losses, the third-seeded Lady Vols win this Midwest final matchup en route to the NCAA title. (Iowa City, Iowa)
Jan. 5, 1997: No. 1 UConn 72, No. 8 Tennessee 57
The Lady Vols drop their fifth game of the season. Other regular-season losses came against Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Georgia, Arkansas, LSU, Florida and Old Dominion. (Hartford)
All Time Wins And Points The Initials Game On Roblox
March 29, 1996: No. 4 Tennessee 88, No. 2 UConn 83 OT
All Time Wins And Points The Initials Game On The Internet
In a battle of No. 1 seeds, the Lady Vols win this Final Four matchup and go on to win the first of three NCAA titles in a row. (Charlotte, North Carolina)
Jan. 6, 1996: No. 2 UConn 59, No. 4 Tennessee 53
The Lady Vols lose just four games during their 1996 title run, but this loss snaps their 69-game home winning streak. (Knoxville)
April 2, 1995: No. 1 UConn 70, No. 3 Tennessee 64
UConn (35-0) becomes the second women's college basketball team in NCAA history to post an undefeated season. (Minneapolis)
Jan. 16, 1995: No. 2 UConn 77, No. 1 Tennessee 66
The Huskies take the first meeting in a series that becomes women's college basketball's greatest rivalry. (Storrs)