Making history

Tennessee St. falls in first game with female coach

Teresa Phillips is the first female to coach a Division I men's college basketball team. AP

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Teresa Phillips proved that a woman can coach a men's college basketball team.

Getting a victory, however, might require more effort than she or the Tennessee State players can muster.

Phillips made history Thursday night by becoming the first woman to coach a men's Division I team, but her presence couldn't stop the Tigers from losing for the 17th straight time, 71-56 at Austin Peay.

Afterward, Phillips promptly announced she would not coach the team again. She's returning to her day job as the school's athletic director, and interim coach Hosea Lewis will resume his duties after serving a one-game suspension for a benches-clearing brawl against Eastern Kentucky on Monday night.

"I have to hang up my whistle already. I'm officially retired," Phillips said.

In the spotlight Click the image to launch the clip Tennessee State A.D. Teresa Phillips says the school has gotten a lot of unwanted attention for her decision to coach a game. Start Video Plus Visit Video Plus for all the latest video and audio.

She's not going away completely. Assistant coach Chris Graves and several of the players asked her to keep helping at practice following the team's best performance of the conference season.

"I'll do it in that role, because they are two coaches short. That is the only reason," she said.

Maybe it was her tips during the one-hour bus ride from Nashville, or just the excitement of all the cameras and national media attention, but Tennessee State (2-21, 0-12 Ohio Valley Conference) looked much better than its record indicated. Nine days earlier, the Tigers lost on their home court to Austin Peay by 25 points.

Tennessee State never led in that one, but with Phillips alternately sitting on the bench or standing to yell instructions, the Tigers actually led four times in this milestone game. Roshaun Bowens' baseline drive put them up 22-21 with 6:18 left before halftime.

But the Governors scored 17 unanswered points to take a 38-22 halftime lead, denying Phillips the chance for a truly groundbreaking victory.

Austin Peay coach Dave Loos said the Tigers played with much more energy and enthusiasm than in their last meeting.

"I thought they had a good game plan," he said. "They confused us with the zone. We stayed on the perimeter, and it was only because of our defense that we were able to separate a little bit."

Just about everybody in the Dunn Center wore red and cheered for Austin Peay. Phillips had her own group of supporters behind the bench: her husband, Michael, along with a handful of Tennessee State's football coaches.

The only real criticism came as the Tigers took the court for their pregame shootaround. A fan yelled at them, "You play like a woman!" but Phillips wasn't around to hear the taunt. She was in the locker room, letting Graves handle the warmups out on the court.

As if the Tigers hadn't endured enough misery this season.

Nolan Richardson III -- the son of the former Arkansas coach -- quit last month after admitting he brought a gun to an argument with Lewis, who then was his assistant.

Phillips made Lewis the interim coach, but he couldn't coach Thursday night because of the suspension by the conference. That left Graves, in just his second full season, as the Tigers' only assistant.

So the 44-year-old Phillips decided it was time to take charge as coach. The butterflies didn't come until she boarded the bus, but she showed little sign of nerves -- even as television cameras shadowed her first steps onto the court before the 8:05 p.m. tipoff.

Phillips coached women's teams for 19 years and was head coach at Fisk and Tennessee State, compiling a record of 212-189. But she hadn't roamed the sideline for the last three years, since she joined Tennessee State's administration.

On Thursday night, she spent the first few minutes sitting on the bench, occasionally shouting encouragement. She grew more animated every minute and was standing at the end, trying to help with a little body language.

"I almost burst a vessel up in my head a couple times, but it was fun trying to work with them throughout the 40 minutes of the game." she said.

The historic night wouldn't have been possible without the fight that broke out in the second half of Tennessee State's 89-72 loss at Eastern Kentucky on Monday night. Nineteen players from both sides were ejected, along with Lewis and two key Tennessee State players -- Josh Cooperwood and Cedric Bryson.

Before Thursday night's tipoff, the Tigers said it didn't matter who coached them. They want a victory, but now they'll have to wait until Feb. 22, when they host Tennessee Tech, for another chance.

 

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