NCAAW: Tennessee Lady Vols set basketball-wide record with 30 3s

Notre Dame earned the win of the week on Thursday, dusting UConn at home to confirm their full recovery from their late November two-game skid. Here are the other notable moments from the week in women’s college hoops:

A record-breaking day for T3nn3ss33

Rocky Top Tenne-three, indeed!

On Saturday, the Lady Vols set a basketball record with 30 made 3-pointers. That’s not only the most in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history, but the record for NCAA Division I men’s basketball history, WNBA history and NBA history. NBA games, of course, are 48 minutes compared to 40 minutes, and even the 3-slinging Boston Celtics, who are firing up over 51 3-pointers per game, have topped out at 29 made triples, highlighting how insane Tennessee’s deep shooting was on Saturday.

Tennessee shot 63 3s, with their 30 makes giving them an excellent 47.6 percent conversion rate. All those triples helped the Lady Vols ring up a SEC-record 139 points in the 139-59 romp over NC Central.

The milestones are a testament to the offensive transformation implemented by new head coach Kim Caldwell. Yet, the record-breaking 3-point effort even impressed her, as Caldwell said after the game, “It does surprise me. We shot enough of ’em, we should have broke it, but yeah, it was surprising to hear that it was a record.”

Tennessee’s torrent of triples was led by senior guard Samara Spencer, who drilled nine from downtown, a new school record. Sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper and grad forward Tess Darby both made five 3s, while six more Lady Vols made at least one 3-pointer. Spencer finished with a career-high 33 points, as well as 10 assists. Cooper totaled 21 points, seven assists and six boards.

Caldwell’s strategic imprint was also evident on the other end of the floor, as the Lady Vols forced 44 turnovers. And while it will be much more difficult to execute a nearly-perfect 3-flinging, fast-paced, high-pressure and hyper-aggressive game once SEC play begins, the undefeated Lady Vols’ dedication to their distinct style of play suggests they could still cause serious problems for high-pedigree conference opponents. LSU (Jan. 9) and South Carolina (Jan. 27), as well as historic non-conference rival UConn (Feb. 6), will not be looking forward to their trips to Rocky Top.

Getting (Georgia) Technical

Despite Tennessee’s record-breaking rout, Georgia Tech might have claim to the weekend’s most impressive win. The still-undefeated Yellow Jackets took down North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 82-76.

Like the Lady Vols, the Jackets illustrated the power of fast-paced, shooting-focused basketball. While Tennessee leads the nation with more than 40 3-point attempts per game, Georgia Tech is in the top 15, with more than 28 3s per game, a mark that leads the ACC. Tech also scores around 82 points per game, a number that puts them in the top 25.

All that offensive firepower was on display in the first half against North Carolina, when Tech dropped 50 points in the first 20 minutes. That’s more than UNC, a defensive-first outfit, gives up on average in full games. The second quarter showed off the Jackets’ supercharged potential, when they went 5-for-10 from behind the arc. Junior guard Kara Dunn made four of those 3-balls. Midway through the third period, the Jackets stretched their advantage to 23 points, the largest deficit that the Tar Heels, who have played UConn, have faced this season.

From that point forward, the laws of gravity that tend to govern high-level basketball began to muddy the Tech machine, as UNC tightened up their defense and stalled Tech’s scoring. After halftime, the Heels held the visitors to just five 3-point attempts and no makes, allowing them to cut the margin to as few as six points in the game’s waning minutes.

Nevertheless, North Carolina’s face-saving finish doesn’t diminish the significance of Tech’s stellar first half, a performance that suggests that, similar to the Lady Vols, the Jackets, with their embrace of a shoot-first offensive style, are one of the nation’s more dangerous—and entertaining—teams.

Tech also has a top-tier talent in freshman guard and super sixth player Dani Carnegie, who finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists, with her team outscoring the Tar Heels by 21 points in her 26 minutes. Junior guard Tonie Morgan shook off an injury scare to lead the team with 23 points, while Dunn contributed 13 points.

‘Tis the season for stats

The Lady Vols and Yellow Jackets are not the only players who authored prolific performances over the past week. Here are some other notable efforts:

Coppin State edged George Washington 64-61 in overtime on Tuesday, with junior forward Laila Lawrence doing the heavy lifting for the Eagles. She turned in a 21-point and 11-rebound double-double. She’s also the reigning HBCU National Player of the Week.

Senior forward Kiki Iriafen shot almost 64 percent from the field and over 90 percent from the line as she scored 24 points and grabbed 12 boards in USC’s win over Fresno State on Tuesday, 89-40. Combined with sophomore star JuJu Watkins’ 21 points, the Trojan duo outscored the visiting Bulldogs by themselves.

Serah Williams might be one of women’s college basketball’s most underrated stars. The Wisconsin junior is a walking double-double, averaging over 19 points and 12 rebounds per game. On Wednesday, she had her finest effort of the season, scoring a career-high 36 points and hauling in 14 rebounds to help the Badgers prevail in double overtime over Butler, 71-64.

Behind the dynamic duo of grad guard Diamond Johnson and senior forward Kierra Wheeler, Norfolk State dominated Shaw on Thursday, 90-57. Both finished with double-doubles, with Johnson registering 22 points and 10 assists and Wheeler tallying 22 points and 17 rebounds. Wheeler also had an overwhelming nine “stocks” (steals+blocks) for the Spartans.

On Friday night, Cal got the authoritative rivalry win over Stanford, 83-63, behind a season-best performance from sophomore guard Lulu Laditan-Twidale. The Aussie finished with 20 points, seven boards and four assists. She also made six of the team’s program-record 18 3-pointers.

Can Khamil Pierre be stopped? The Vandy sophomore forward leads the nation in made field goals (99), win shares (3.6) and player efficiency rating (49.6). She strengthened those numbers with a program-record 42-point performance, delivered in Vanderbilt’s 106-40 domination of Evansville on Saturday, the team’s largest margin of victory since 2006-07. Pierre also corralled 18 rebounds, while swiping eight steals.

Grad forward Yvonne Ejim powered Gonzaga past Eastern Washington, 79-50, on Saturday, posting 28 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

DOUBLE DIGIT QUEEN

Yvonne Ejim (@_vonnyyy_) had a MONSTER performance today with a game-high 28 points on 11-16 FGs in @ZagWBB win

The Naismith Women’s College Watch List player has recorded double digit points for 53 STRAIGHT GAMES @jerseymikes |… pic.twitter.com/ObWYENDd4n

— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) December 15, 2024

NC State seems to be shaking off their slightly-disappointing start to the season. One reason why? Zam Jones. The freshman guard and sixth player helped the Wolfpack run away from Louisville on Sunday afternoon, 72-42. Going 7-for-8 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from 3, Jones scored a season-high 18 points.

There was no let down for Notre Dame on Sunday. Hannah Hidalgo made sure of it. The sophomore guard unleashed another superb scoring performance with 27 points. Of course, that’s not all Hidalgo did, as she finished with six steals, four assists and four boards. The Irish routed Eastern Michigan, 118-49.

Speaking of a super scoring guard, Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer, popped off for yet another 30-piece. The Florida State junior guard had 32 points, seven assists and four steals as the Seminoles smoked Drexel, 101-51.