No. 12 Virginia Hosts No. 6 Tennessee Sunday at 4 p.m. on Hot Dog Day
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CHARLOTTESVILLE – The 12th-ranked Virginia women’s basketball team hosts No. 6 Tennessee on Sunday (Nov. 22) at 4 p.m. in John Paul Jones Arena. Originally slated to start at 2 p.m., the time change was made to avoid a conflict with the UVa men’s soccer team’s second round NCAA match that begins at 1 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium.
In an effort to set a new Virginia women’s basketball single-game attendance record, the promotion that helped set the current mark 22 years ago is back – Hot Dog Day. All fans in attendance will receive a coupon for a free Gwaltney hot dog and a 12-ounce Pepsi.
The original Hot Dog Night was Feb. 5, 1986, vs. No. 15 North Carolina in University Hall, which drew a standing room only crowd of 11,174. That mark still stands as the largest home crowd at a Virginia women’s basketball game. As of Saturday, more than 8,000 tickets have been sold for the UVa-UT match-up.
Virginia (3-0) is led by Preseason ACC Player of the Year and All-American Monica Wright (Woodbridge, Va.), who is averaging 21.7 points per game through the Cavaliers’ first three victories. Last season vs. Tennessee, Wright exploded offensively for a career-high 35 points.
Chelsea Shine (Wayne, Pa.) had a career night in the Cavaliers’ Wednesday night victory over USC Upstate, scoring 27 points and pulling down 11 boards, both career-highs for her first-ever double-double. Shine has started all three games in the post and is averaging 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
In the frontcourt with Shine, Simone Egwu (Odenton, Md.) has been a strong inside presence and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Tennessee is 2-0 after defeating Texas Tech, 91-53, on Nov. 17 and Baylor, 74-65, on Nov. 15. Shekinna Stricklen leads five Lady Vols who average in double figures for scoring at 20.5 points per game through her first two games.
Lady Vol head coach Pat Summitt is in her 36th season at Tennessee and has compiled a 1,007-193 career record.
Virginia trails the all-time series with Tennessee, 11-2, but defeated the Lady Vols at Thompson Boling Arena last season, 83-82. This is only the second meeting of the two teams in Charlottesville, Va., as Tennessee claimed the East Regional Final in 1996, 52-46, at University Hall.
Following Sunday’s game, Virginia heads to the Bahamas for two games at the Junkanoo Jam. First up is Indiana on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 2:15 p.m.