1987–88 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 1987–88 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1987–88 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers finished 31–3 and reached the program's fifth NCAA Final Four. The Lady Vols started the season ranked No. 1 and played their home games at the brand new Thompson–Boling Arena.

1987–88 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 1
Record	31–3 (8–1 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Summitt (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Mickie DeMoss Holly Warlick
Home arena	Thompson–Boling Arena

1987–88 SEC women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Auburn	9	–	0		1.000			32	–	3		.914
No. 1 Tennessee†	8	–	1		.889			31	–	3		.912
LSU	6	–	3		.667			18	–	11		.621
No. 12 Ole Miss	5	–	4		.556			24	–	7		.774
No. 17 Georgia	5	–	4		.556			21	–	10		.677
Alabama	5	–	4		.556			18	–	10		.643
Vanderbilt	4	–	5		.444			18	–	10		.643
Mississippi State	2	–	7		.222			19	–	13		.594
Florida	1	–	8		.111			9	–	18		.333
Kentucky	0	–	9		.000			14	–	15		.483
† 1988 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1987–88 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 4 Dawn Marsh 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr   Alcoa, Tennessee C 11 Kathy Spinks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr   Forest Hills, Kentucky C 12 Sheila Frost 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Jr   Pulaski, Tennessee F 14 Gay Townson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr   Loudon, Tennessee G 23 Kris Durham 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr   Dunellen, New Jersey F/C 24 Carla McGhee 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So   Peoria, Illinois F 30 Bridgette Gordon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr DeLand DeLand, Florida C 32 Daedra Charles 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Saint Martin de Porres Detroit, Michigan F 32 Jennifer Tuggle 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr   Etowah, Tennessee G 33 Tonya Edwards 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Flint Northwestern Flint, Michigan F 34 Lisa Webb 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr   Milledgeville, Georgia G/F 35 Melissa McCray 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr   Johnson City, Tennessee F 42 Pearl Moore 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr   Harriman, Tennessee	Head coach Pat Summitt Assistant coach(es) Mickie DeMoss Holly Warlick Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1987*	No. 1	vs. Indiana	W 91–52	1–0	Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 28, 1987*	No. 1	vs. No. 18 Old Dominion	W 83–52	2–0	Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 3, 1987*	No. 1	Stetson	W 102–59	3–0	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1987*	No. 1	No. 2 Texas	L 78–97	3–1	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 13, 1987*	No. 1	at UCLA	W 89–63	4–1	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, California
Dec 16, 1987*	No. 3	at Oregon State	W 91–56	5–1	Gill Coliseum  Corvallis, Oregon
Dec 19, 1987*	No. 3	Eastern Kentucky	W 115–40	6–1	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1987*	No. 3	Northern Illinois	W 103–76	7–1	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 3, 1988*	No. 3	at Illinois	W 93–59	8–1	Assembly Hall  Champaign, Illinois
Jan 5, 1988*	No. 4	Northwestern	W 78–65	9–1	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 9, 1988	No. 4	No. 2 Auburn	L 68–71	9–2 (0–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 11, 1988*	No. 4	at Georgia Tech	W 96–79	10–2	Alexander Memorial Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 14, 1988*	No. 4	Old Dominion	W 91–68	11–2	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 17, 1988	No. 4	Vanderbilt	W 104–67	12–2 (1–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 20, 1988*	No. 4	at South Carolina	W 85–80	13–2	Carolina Coliseum  Columbia, South Carolina
Jan 23, 1988	No. 4	Alabama	W 97–70	14–2 (2–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1988*	No. 4	at Memphis State	W 97–73	15–2	Memorial Fieldhouse  Memphis Tennessee
Jan 31, 1988	No. 3	at No. 13 Georgia	W 82–79	16–2 (3–1)	Tad Smith Coliseum  Athens, Georgia
Feb 3, 1988*	No. 3	at Notre Dame	W 91–71	17–2	Joyce Center  Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 6, 1988	No. 3	at Ole Miss	W 78–67	18–2 (4–1)	Tad Smith Coliseum  Oxford, Mississippi
Feb 8, 1988	No. 3	at Mississippi State	W 81–74	19–2 (5–1)	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, Mississippi
Feb 13, 1988	No. 3	LSU	W 89–82	20–2 (6–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 15, 1988*	No. 3	No. 5 Louisiana Tech	W 76–74	21–2	Thompson–Boling Arena (7,106) Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1988	No. 3	at Kentucky Rivalry	W 99–75	22–2 (7–1)	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 21, 1988	No. 3	Florida	W 108–53	23–2 (8–1)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 25, 1988*	No. 3	at North Carolina	W 88–65	24–2	Carmichael Auditorium  Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Feb 27, 1988*	No. 3	Tennessee State	W 104–51	25–2	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
SEC tournament
Mar 5, 1988	(2) No. 3	vs. (10) Kentucky Quarterfinals	W 100–66	26–2	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
Mar 6, 1988	(2) No. 3	vs. (6) No. 17 Georgia Semifinals	W 82–76	27–2	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
Mar 7, 1988	(2) No. 3	vs. (1) No. 1 Auburn Championship game	W 73–70	28–2	Albany Civic Center  Albany, Georgia
NCAA tournament
Mar 19, 1988*	(1 E) No. 1	(9 E) Wake Forest Second round	W 94–66	29–2	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 24, 1988	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (4 E) No. 14 James Madison Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 72–52	30–2	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Mar 25, 1988	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (2 E) No. 10 Virginia Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 84–76	31–2	Norfolk Scope  Norfolk, Virginia
Apr 1, 1988	(1 E) No. 1	vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Louisiana Tech National Semifinal – Final Four	L 59–68	31–3	Tacoma Dome (8,449) Tacoma, Washington
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

Rankings

Main article: 1987–88 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings