12d ago basketball Edit

REPORT: Date set for Lady Vols road matchup with Memphis, LVFL Alex Simmons

Tennessee guard Jewel Spear (0) runs past Memphis guard Raven Sims (23) during a NCAA basketball game against the Memphis Tigers at the Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. (Angelina Alcantar / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

Born in Knoxville, Tenn. and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Covering football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and recruiting for VolReport.

The Lady Vols' out-of-conference schedule is coming into clearer view.

Tennessee will travel to face Memphis at FedExForum on Dec. 18, reported by the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

The arena holds 18,400 and will host women's basketball for the first time since Feb. 7, 2015. It currently is the home arena for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies and the Tigers' men's basketball team.

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This comes a season after the Lady Vols hosted Memphis in Knoxville on Nov. 13, 2023. Tennessee held on to win in overtime, 84-74.

This will also mark the second time former Tennessee star Alex Simmons will coach the Tigers against her former school. She won a pair of national championships with the program in 2007 and 2008 alongside Candace Parker.

The 2023-24 season was her first with Memphis. She finished 13-17 and 9-9 in AAC play.

It will also be an early road test for Kim Caldwell in her first season leading the Lady Vols. She is taking over the program following Kellie Harper's five-year tenure.

Caldwell comes from Marshall and retains the majority of the roster including Jewel Spear, Destinee Wells, Talaysia Cooper, Jillian Hollingshead and Sara Puckett among others.

She also brings in transfers Ruby Whitehorn, Alyssa Latham, Lazaria Spearman and Samara Spencer.

Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell and Tamari Key are moving on from the team with Karoline Striplin the only departure to the transfer portal.

Overall, Tennessee is 27-1 in the series with the Tigers. The current win-streak is 20-straight in the favor of the Lady Vols. The lone loss for Tennessee came in February on 1979.

On the road, the Lady Vols are 9-1 in the series.

Tennessee will also face Florida State in Knoxville during its out-of-conference schedule. It is apart of the SEC/ACC Challenge after the Lady Vols lost in a trip to Tallahassee last season in a match that was not apart of the event.

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