HARTFORD, Conn. — The Lady Vols basketball team nearly made false history on its snowy trip to Connecticut.
No. 15 Tennessee fell to No. 1 UConn (23-0) 96-66 on Feb. 1 at Peoples Bank Stadium, the second-largest loss in program history. The Lady Vols (14-5) lost by 30 points and were one point away from tying the record 31-point loss to Texas on Dec. 11, 1984.
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It was just the second time in franchise history that Tennessee was beaten by 30 points or more.
The 30-point loss was the largest margin of defeat in the long rivalry, surpassing the previous 23-point deficit.
Tennessee and UConn were tied 42-42 at halftime before the Huskies broke open the game in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Vols 29-11 to take a 71-53 lead.
UConn leads the series 18-10. Tennessee beat the Huskies last season for the first time since 2007. In Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell’s first season, the Lady Vols won 80-76 in Knoxville. When the series was renewed for the 2019-20 season, the Huskies won the first four games.
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The series will continue next season in Connecticut as part of a new two-game contract.
The Tennessee-Conn rivalry is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports. The two programs became catalysts for the growth of women’s college basketball in the late 1990s and early 2000s, selling out arenas, attracting national attention and going head-to-head with legendary Lady Vols coaches Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma.
The two programs have met seven times in the NCAA tournament, including four in the national championship game. UConn won all four national championship matchups in 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2004.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahallll; Blue Sky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium benefits: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel: Lady Vols suffer second-worst defeat in program history against UConn
