Rocky Top Talk

Maybe it's just the state of Mississippi. Maybe it's knowing that you have far more talent than your opposition and can coast. Maybe it's the gravy. Whatever the reason, the Lady Vols went 2-for-2 in sleepwalking through games against Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

The catalysts today weren't the same women who carried the Kentucky win; instead, the combination of Glory Johnson, Vicki Baugh, and Cierra Burdick shouldered most of the load. While we've come to expect that from Glory, it doesn't normally fall to Baugh and Burdick to shoulder the load, but at least someone on the bench was awake. Baugh in particular was instrumental in the 10-2 run to close the first half, hitting the first two shots of the run. Then again, Burdick hit the last three of that run.

It bears noting that there's yet another guard we can add to the list of guards who have gone off against the Lady Vols; Valencia McFarland had a stellar shooting night, going off for 21 points (although it should be noted that it wasn't the most efficient game, since it took 21shots to get there). Aside from her, though, Ole Miss struggled from the field, needing to be bizarrely hot from beyond the arc to even keep it close; on the game, they barely made more field goals (22) than they had turnovers (16), which isn't exactly a recipe for awesome.

Game notes, such as they are, are below the jump. Your breadsticks go to Cierra Burdick, who had 10 points in only 18 minutes of action.

• Decent game for Ariel Massengale distributing the ball, with 6 assists to only 1 turnover. Add in a couple of steals and it's almost worth not noticing the shooting line (0-4) or Ole Miss hitting a bunch of threes in the first half over her.
• After a few weeks of Good Meighan, Bad Meighan emerged again, needing 13 shots to even get 9 points. Given the shooting struggles across the board, I'm inclined to give it a bit of a pass (if there was going to be any game for the Return of the Unmakeable Layup, this was probably the game), but hopefully this game doesn't get into her head.
• Shekinna Stricklen eventually had a decent offensive day (12 points, 8 shots, 2-3 from beyond the arc, sparked a 7-0 that effectively ended the game), but it took her a while to get going.
• Also sleeping through the game: my router - and, for the first 10 minutes of the game or so, ESPN3. Maybe that's an omen.