1997–98 Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team
| 1997–98 SEC women's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee† | 14 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 39 | – | 0 | 1.000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 23 | – | 9 | .719 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 24 | – | 10 | .706 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 20 | – | 9 | .690 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 17 | – | 11 | .607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 19 | – | 13 | .594 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 7 | – | 7 | .500 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 13 | – | 15 | .464 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 14 | – | 15 | .483 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 4 | – | 10 | .286 | 16 | – | 11 | .593 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 13 | – | 15 | .464 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1998 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
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The 1997–98 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team, coached by Pat Summitt, is considered to be one of the greatest teams in the history of U.S. women's college basketball, going 39–0, and winning their third consecutive national championship, while playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Lady Vols started off the season ranked number one in the nation, a ranking that would not change. ESPN called it one of the top ten moments in women's sports of the 20th century. After the season, Summitt authored a book about the season, entitled "Raise the Roof".
The Lady Vols had just come off of a somewhat bittersweet season. While they had won the national championship, they had lost ten games, including two to rival Louisiana Tech. That team was the first Lady Vols team since 1991 that did not win either the SEC regular season or tournament championship.
However, the team did return several players, including All-American Chamique Holdsclaw, and had a freshman class that was being called the greatest ever, which included Tamika Catchings, Semeka Randall, Teresa Geter, and Kristen Clement. Tamika Catchings won Miss Basketball titles in two states: Illinois, her sophomore year, and Texas, her senior year. Additionally, she led her high school to a state championship and a 40–0 season her senior year. She also performed a quintuple-double in one of her games. Semeka Randall was also accomplished, named Parade's Player of the Year her senior year, a two-time Miss Basketball, as well as a two-time state tournament MVP. Kristen "Ace" Clement came out of Pennsylvania, where she had broken Wilt Chamberlain's scoring record in Philadelphia of 2,205 with 2,256 points. The record had stood for 40 years. The fourth freshman, Teresa Geter, was not as well-known, but was considered to be the best player in South Carolina, and had been named Miss Basketball, just like the others. Chamique, Tamika, and Semeka would become known as "The Meeks" as the season progressed.
After an exhibition rout of US Armed Forces, the Lady Vols opened up the season unusually, with a conference game against Mississippi. Semeka Randall did not start the game. However, four minutes into the game, the Lady Vols were only up 4–2. At this point, Randall was put into the game, and Tennessee scored fifteen straight, on a run fueled by her. Randall scored 24, and star Chamique Holdsclaw added 23. This season opener has caused a lot of anticipation, as it was expected that this would be the game where all four of Tennessee's freshman played together. However, during a November practice, Clement had injured her foot, resulting in a stress fracture. After a discussion with the team doctor, Clement agreed to sit out the Mississippi game in order to be able to play the next game, against Louisiana Tech.
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