KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It was once a rivalry — UConn vs. Tennessee — that defined women’s basketball, and on Thursday night, the No. 19 Lady Vols and Kim Caldwell rekindled some of that past magic with an 80-76 upset of the No. 5 Huskies with Food City Center quaking from the rafters.
Hanging from those same rafters were the eight national championship banners won by Tennessee under the late Pat Summitt, her name inscribed on the court below and reminders of her everywhere as players, coaches and fans celebrated the first win over UConn since 2007, marking Summitt’s next-to-last national title season.
“I think she would be thrilled with the effort and the rebounding, and I’m sure she’s up in heaven with my dad and they’re probably having a cold one and celebrating,” beamed Caldwell, asked what Summitt would have thought about what was easily the most biggest win of Caldwell’s debut season at Tennessee.
Tennessee (17-5) had been close a couple of times this season in pulling off wins over ranked teams but couldn’t finish. On Thursday, the Lady Vols raced ahead in the third quarter with their frenetic pace, substituting in four and five players at a time…
