1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1995–96 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. These Lady Vols finished 32–4 (9–2 SEC) while playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and closed out the season on a 15-game win streak. After falling in the National championship game the prior season, the 1995–96 squad started a run of three national championships back-to-back-to-back.

1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament National champions SEC tournament champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 4
Record	32–4 (9–2 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Summitt (22nd season)
Assistant coaches	Mickie DeMoss Holly Warlick
Home arena	Thompson-Boling Arena
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →

1995–96 SEC women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Georgia	10	–	1		.909			28	–	5		.848
No. 4 Tennessee†	9	–	2		.818			32	–	4		.889
No. 12 Vanderbilt	7	–	4		.636			23	–	8		.742
No. 10 Alabama	7	–	4		.636			24	–	8		.750
No. 19 Auburn	6	–	5		.545			23	–	9		.719
No. 16 Florida	6	–	5		.545			21	–	9		.700
No. 24 Ole Miss	6	–	5		.545			18	–	11		.621
LSU	4	–	7		.364			21	–	11		.656
Mississippi State	4	–	7		.364			13	–	14		.481
Arkansas	3	–	8		.273			21	–	13		.618
South Carolina	2	–	9		.182			16	–	12		.571
Kentucky	2	–	9		.182			8	–	19		.296
† 1996 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 3 Michelle Marciniak 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Sr Americus Allentown, Pennsylvania C 4 Tiffani Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Jr   Charlotte, North Carolina G 14 Kellie Jolly 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr White County Sparta, Tennessee F/C 23 Chamique Holdsclaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Christ the King Astoria, New York	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

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Dec 16, 1995*	No. 2	at No. 9 Stanford	L 72–90	7–1	Maples Pavilion  Palo Alto, CA
Jan 2, 1996	No. 4	No. 21 Florida	W 87–67	10–1 (1–0)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Jan 6, 1996*	No. 4	No. 2 Connecticut	L 53–59	10–2	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Jan 8, 1996	No. 4	at No. 7 Georgia	L 71–77	10–3 (1–1)	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, GA
Jan 11, 1996*	No. 4	No. 15 Old Dominion	W 69–47	11–3	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Feb 22, 1996	No. 5	at LSU	W 88–75	22–4 (8–2)	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
Feb 25, 1996	No. 5	at No. 10 Vanderbilt	W 79–71	23–4 (9–2)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
SEC tournament
March 2, 1996*	(2) No. 4	vs. (7) No. 23 Ole Miss Quarterfinals	W 73–51	24–4	McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
March 3, 1996*	(2) No. 4	vs. (6) No. 18 Florida Semifinals	W 74–63	25–4	McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
March 4, 1996*	(2) No. 4	vs. (4) No. 10 Alabama Championship game	W 64–60	26–4	McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
NCAA tournament
March 16, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	(16 E) Radford First round	W 97–56	27–4	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
March 18, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	(9 E) Ohio State Second round	W 97–65	28–4	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
March 23, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	vs. (4 E) No. 20 Kansas Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 92–71	29–4	University Hall  Charlottesville, VA
March 25, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	at (3 E) No. 11 Virginia Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 52–46[2]	30–4	University Hall  Charlottesville, VA
March 29, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	vs. (1 ME) No. 2 Connecticut National Semifinal – Final Four/Rivalry	W 88–83[3] OT	31–4	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
March 31, 1996*	(1 E) No. 4	vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Georgia Championship	W 83–65[4]	32–4	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

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Rankings

Main article: 1995–96 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	6	4	3	2	2	4	5	4	4	6	4	3	6	5	5	5	4	4	Not released
Coaches	6	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	5	5	5	3	6	5	5	5	4	4	1