Tennessee women make remarkable basketball history in blowout win

Associated Press No. 19 Tennessee (8-0), was 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) from long range. Senior guard Samara Spencer, in her first season at Tennessee after transferring from Arkansas, led the Lady Volunteers with a career-high nine threes. 

Spencer entered Saturday shooting 43.3 percent on 4.3 three-point attempts per game.

The nine made threes were also a program and SEC record.

Teammate Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee's leading scoring this season at 20.1 points per game, added 21 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.

The Lady Vols' bludgeoning of NC Central continued their impressive offensive start to the season.

Tennessee entered Saturday averaging 92.6 points per game, the third-most in the country.

Head coach Kim Caldwell became the first Tennessee women's basketball coach to begin her career 8-0.

Some might scoff at Tennessee setting the record against lowly NC Central (0-12), which was outscored 37-0 in the second quarter earlier this season against No. 4 LSU (11-0).

But Tennessee isn't the first team in basketball history to play an overmatched and overwhelmed opponent. Yet it was the first to hit 30 threes.

Its shooting display is a sign of the game's evolution, where three-pointers are valued at a premium.

That's been the case for Tennessee under Caldwell. It entered Saturday first in Division I in three-point attempts per game (36.9).

While it will face much stiffer competition in the SEC, its historic win should still be a confidence booster.

The Lady Vols ranked 249th in three-point percentage (28.7 percent) before Saturday's game.

"Day in and day out, we work on our three-point shooting," Spencer said after her career-best game. "It's just gonna be better when we can finally play good competition in the SEC."

The way Tennessee played on Saturday, it certainly looks ready for a difficult road ahead.