1986–87 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 1986–87 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1986–87 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers finished 28–6 and won the program's first NCAA championship. The Lady Vols started the season ranked No. 3 and played their home games at Stokely Athletic Center for the final season.

1986–87 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 7
Record	28–6 (6–3 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Summitt (13th season)
Assistant coaches	Mickie DeMoss Heidi VanDerveer Holly Warlick
Home arena	Stokely Athletic Center
Seasons ← 1985–86 1987–88 →

1986–87 SEC women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Auburn †	8	–	1		.889			31	–	2		.939
No. 6 Georgia	7	–	2		.778			27	–	5		.844
No. 8 Ole Miss	7	–	2		.778			25	–	5		.833
No. 7 Tennessee	6	–	3		.667			28	–	6		.824
LSU	6	–	3		.667			20	–	8		.714
Vanderbilt	4	–	5		.444			23	–	10		.697
Kentucky	3	–	6		.333			17	–	11		.607
Alabama	2	–	7		.222			19	–	10		.655
Mississippi State	2	–	7		.222			13	–	17		.433
Florida	0	–	9		.000			12	–	16		.429
† 1987 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1986–87 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) Jr   Alcoa, Tennessee C 11 Kathy Spinks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr   Forest Hills, Kentucky C 12 Sheila Frost 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) So   Pulaski, Tennessee F 14 Gay Townson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr   Loudon, Tennessee G 23 Shelley Sexton 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr   Lake City, Tennessee F/C 24 Carla McGhee 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr   Peoria, Illinois F 30 Bridgette Gordon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So DeLand DeLand, Florida F 32 Jennifer Tuggle 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS So   Etowah, Tennessee G 33 Tonya Edwards 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Flint Northwestern Flint, Michigan F 34 Lisa Webb 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr   Milledgeville, Georgia G/F 35 Melissa McCray 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So   Johnson City, Tennessee G 40 Sabrina Mott 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr   Brentwood, Tennessee C 44 Cheryl Littlejohn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr   Gastonia, North Carolina F/C 55 Karla Horton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr   Kershaw, South Carolina	Head coach Pat Summitt Assistant coach(es) Mickie DeMoss Heidi VanDerveer 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
Nov 29, 1986*	No. 3	vs. Providence Amana-Hawkeye Classic	W 86–70	1–0	Carver-Hawkeye Arena  Iowa City, Iowa
Nov 30, 1986*	No. 3	at No. 8 Iowa Amana-Hawkeye Classic	W 74–56[2]	2–0	Carver-Hawkeye Arena  Iowa City, Iowa
Dec 14, 1986*	No. 3	at No. 1 Texas	W 85–78	7–0	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
Dec 29, 1986*	No. 1	vs. No. 2 Texas Orange Bowl/Burger King Invitational	L 74–88	10–1	James L. Knight International Center  Miami, Florida
Feb 9, 1987*	No. 7	at No. 8 Louisiana Tech	L 60–72	17–5	Thomas Assembly Center (4,770) Ruston, Louisiana
SEC tournament
Mar 5, 1987*	(4) No. 7	vs. (5) No. 14 LSU Quarterfinals	W 64–63	23–5	Albany, Georgia
Mar 6, 1987*	(4) No. 7	vs. (1) No. 2 Auburn Semifinals	L 96–102	23–6	Albany, Georgia
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1987*	(2 ME) No. 7	(7 ME) Tennessee Tech Second round	W 95–59	24–6	Stokely Athletic Center  Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 20, 1987*	(2 ME) No. 7	(3 ME) No. 11 Virginia Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 66–58	25–6	Stokely Athletic Center  Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 22, 1987*	(2 ME) No. 7	(1 ME) No. 2 Auburn Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 77–61	26–6	Stokely Athletic Center  Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 27, 1987*	(2 ME) No. 7	vs. (1 W) No. 4 Long Beach State National Semifinal – Final Four	W 74–64[3]	27–6	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
Mar 29, 1987*	(2 ME) No. 7	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Louisiana Tech National Championship	W 67–44[4]	28–6	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

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Rankings

Main article: 1986–87 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

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

References

1. "1986-87 Tennessee Volunteers Women's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
2. "No. 3 Tennessee dumps Iowa in Amana final" (PDF). Daily Iowan. December 1, 1986. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
3. "49ers Taken Out of Offense, Tournament". The Los Angeles Times. March 28, 1987. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
4. "No. 1: Tennessee 67, Louisiana Tech 44, March 29, 1987". Commercial Appeal.
5. "1986-87 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 30, 2024.