Aug. 10, 2003

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VITERBO, ITALY

On Sunday, Aug. 10, the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer basketball team traveled an hour north of the Italian capital to face the first competition of their 12-day road swing through Italy and Greece in the hamlet of Viterbo, Italy, taking on the Pesaro Basketball Club and gaining a 58-13 victory.

Tennessee placed starters Tye'sha Fluker with a dozen points and Tasha Butts with a perfect 10 in double-figure scoring en route to the victory. UT assistant coach Holly Warlick, who assumed head coaching duties while Lady Vol mentor Pat Summitt was a keen courtside observer, started Butts, LaToya Davis, Shanna Zolman, Courtney McDaniel and Fluker.

With 86-hearty fans surviving 90-degree plus heat in an unconditioned Palasport Jacopucci Gymnasium, the Lady Vols jumped out to a 10-2 lead with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter behind baskets from senior guard Davis and sophomore post Fluker. After Pesaro's first time-out, UT scored nine unanswered points to take a 19-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Tennessee started the game slightly tentative getting familiar with the wider lane, larger basketball, and backcourt rule. By the time the second quarter rolled around, five UT players aided the scoring mix before Pesaro found the range for its second bucket of the game as UT led 28-4 with three minutes remaining before the half. Junior Brittany Jackson canned a trey while sophomore Shyra Ely, who celebrated her birthday on Saturday, and senior Ashley Robinson gave Tennessee a 35-6 lead at the break.

Paced by six-points each from Butts and Fluker in the second half, the Lady Vols were operating under cruise-control en route to the 58-13 victory.

On the night, all eight Lady Vols scored. In addition to her team leading points, Fluker also produced a game-high rebounding night with six boards. Running the team from the point, Zolman scored eight points while handing out five assists and grabbing five steals in 30 minutes of action.

NOTES:

• Tennessee leaves for Athens, Greece, tomorrow and will play its next game in Athens on Tues., Aug. 12 versus the Greek National Team.
• Shyra Ely celebrated her birthday on Saturday night
• Ashley Robinson celebrates her birthday on Tuesday in Athens
• Outside of the fabulous history in Rome, the traveling contingent of players and fans have clearly enjoyed shopping and the Italian food.
• The Lady Vols had a number of American fans at their game in Pesaro. Some had military connections, while others were in Rome for a promotional sales trip from an Alabama-based company.
• Tennessee has a full schedule in Greece during its final week. The team will play four games in five days when the team reaches Athens, Greece.
• Best ancient ribbing-when the Tennessee contingent visited the Colosseum in Rome, the tour guide mentioned that there was seating for 6,000 and standing room for 2,000. Former UT AD Doug Dickey, and his wife Joann, traveling with the Tennessee group, pondered out loud how many Romans could have fit into the Colosseum with the Neyland Stadium seat inches factored in - Dickey proclaimed that another 1,000 to 1,500 could have been seated in the Colosseum, boosting the capacity to nearly 10,000 for its era.