Inaugural ACC/SEC Shootout Set for Atlanta's Philips Arena December 27

"The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is proud to offer an event of this caliber as part of our 'More Than a Game' schedule of events," said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl President. "Not only do we have four great teams battling it out on the floor, but this will be a great preview for Atlanta's hosting of the NCAA Women's Final Four in 2003."

The ACC/SEC Shootout, to be played four days prior to the 2001 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, joins an extensive list of 27 Bowl Week events.

Duke, under the direction of Gail Goestenkors - now in her 10th season, comes off an outstanding 31-4, 2000-01 campaign, finishing No. 10 in the final USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll. They are led this year by sophomore sensation Alana Beard who earned consensus National Freshman of the Year honors last season in which she started all 30 games she appeared in and became the first ACC freshman to earn first team All-ACC honors. Duke also returns two other starters, Sheana Mosch who poured in 10.7 points per game and 4.5 rebounds as well as 6-4 forward/center Iciss Tillis, 8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 40 blocks.

Tennessee, led by legendary Head Coach Pat Summitt, returns three starters from a 31-3 squad that advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished ranked No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll. Junior point guard Kara Lawson, fresh off a Gold Medal performance for Team USA at the World University Games, paces the Lady Vols with 11.4 points per game and 3.3 assists. Michelle Snow, a 6-5 senior center, averages 11.1 ppg and 6.8 boards. Junior forward Gwen Jackson is the third returning Lady Vol to average 11 points per contest (11.7 ppg).

Georgia, guided by Andy Landers in his 23rd season at UGA, could be one of the more intriguing teams in the country as they lost four starters from a squad that finished the 2000-01 campaign with a mark of 27-6 and a final ranking of 13th in he USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll. Senior forward/center Tawana (T-Mac) McDonald is the lone returning starter and averaged 10.3 ppg, 7.0 rebounds per contest and a third-best in the nation 3.1 blocks per game. UGA has eight newcomers including UCLA transfer guard Nicole Kaczmarski and 6-6 freshman Kara Brown-Braxton. Christi Thomas, a 6-5 sophomore forward/center poured in 11.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg in her freshman season.

Georgia Tech continues to improve under Agnus Berenato who is now entering her 14th season at Tech. The Yellow Jackets see nine of 10 letterwinners returning from last year's team that advanced to the WNIT for the second year in a row. Senior Regina Tate returns after receiving a medical hardship last year. She started 19 games as a junior, averaging 6.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. As a sophomore in 1998-99, Tate posted 9.9 points and 8.7 boards per game while starting all 27 contests. Berenato will have new help on the bench this season with former Auburn assistant MaChelle Joseph and former Howard assistant Jeffrey Williams joining the staff.

"This is awesome, how exciting is this in that Georgia and Georgia Tech are moving away from our campuses and playing in such a great facility as Philips Arena. That says a lot about women's basketball in general. In the South, it is perceived that football is king, we know that football is big. (Georgia Head Coach) Andy (Landers) and I have talked several times about how we can get basketball to sort of compete with football. Here we are and Atlanta is making the statement. We are the first major bowl game to have a women's basketball doubleheader playing in conjunction with the game. That excites me."

"Georgia, is Georgia they are really good. Andy is a great coach, an awesome coach. They have awesome talent. We're coming at them and we are going to go for it. I'm telling you right now we are going for it. There is going to be a day, right now it hasn't been a rivalry, we're closing in, we're on the fast track, we're headed that way."

"We have nine returning letterwinners out of 10, we only lost one player. We have the return of Regina Tate, a senior, she's our leading rebounder -- she'll be called on to step right in and get her starting spot back after sitting out last year with a medical redshirt. Niesha Butler returns as does Milli Martinez. Milli is the best off-guard rebounder in the ACC. She's a heart and soul player. We have a very competitive schedule. 15 of our games are played against teams that competed in the NCAA's last year. The challenge is out there, we're up for it. I'm very excited about our new staff in MaChelle Joseph, Kiesha Ford and Jeffrey Williams.”

"Having a conference vs. conference shootout like this isn't unusual in one sense but is in another way. We were fortunate to be involved in the first conference shootout with the Big 10 at Iowa several years ago. They are normally driven by television. Conferences have contracts with television networks and they have slots available for games. So there was a Big 10/Southeastern Conference Shootout and there have been others between other conferences. That isn't the case today. I think that underscores what has been done with this event. Television did not create this event. There wasn't an open spot to be filled by a contract. There was a thought, an idea, to create the idea of bringing the conferences and different institutions together. Then the business of bringing television in was done to make this event complete. Anyone that has ever tried to deal with television knows how difficult a task putting this together work."

"You have two programs in Georgia and Georgia Tech that do have a rivalry. Agnes (Berenato) alluded earlier that we never really had a rivalry. If you ask a Georgia person or a Georgia Tech person what would be a big event, even if they are playing mumbley peg, basketball, football, baseball, we have one of the great rivalries that will take place here on the 27th of December. We look forward to the game against Georgia Tech and it has been very good for girls basketball players across the state."

"With Tennessee, a program that has been good for so long and has accomplished more than any other program in the country with a coach that is the most recognizable figure in women's basketball, how exciting is that. You can't do any better than that. And, I say this with all sincerity, and I have said it many times prior to today, I think the bright up and coming star in women's basketball is Gail Goestenkors and the Duke women's basketball program. The strides that they have made since she took that position are incredible. They have great talent and are very well coached. There is a terrific foursome here with two great matchups in a tremendous arena.”

"It's a great honor to be here. I am not sure what else we can possibly say. We are very thankful to all that have put this together. When I was approached about playing this event and how much excitement it would generate not just for the ACC but for women's basketball as a whole, I was excited and we jumped on board right away. Atlanta is an unbelievable sports city."

"We're going to be very young this year, we only have one senior on the team who really hasn't played since her freshman year. We have two juniors, but we have some talent. I am more excited about what we can become over the course of the year. I think early on we will struggle a bit, but that's okay. Our goal is not to be the best team early but to be very, very good late."

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to play (Tennessee Head Coach) Pat (Summitt) again. It's been nice because we have all played one another at different times during our careers. We have a great amount of respect for one another. We can be very competitive with one another, but at the same time wish the best. I always watch these coaches when they are on TV and I have learned a great deal from all of these coaches.”

"We are healthy right now except for Ashley Robinson who tore her ACL in the opening demonstration of the first night of our basketball camp. I have thought long and hard about players working camps since then. Ashley has worked extremely hard in her rehab. The people who benefited more from her injury were her peers. When she went down, she has been such a leader and an inspiration, she motivated the rest of our team. They started feeling more accountability at that point in time and they have worked extremely hard. We'll have nine freshmen and sophomores. While we do have two seniors and three juniors that we are counting on heavily for leadership, we have a young, but talented team.”

"Andy (Landers) alluded to this earlier, but Gail has done an incredible job of building her program when programs were already nationally competitive. For us it is a challenge to be able to play against someone we have so much respect for."