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.
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February 19, 2012
Oxford, MS (Ox Vegas, MS? Nah, that doesn't sound right) 2:00 PM EST TV: SECN / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
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19-7 (10-3 SEC) |
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12-14 (2-11 SEC) |
Just in case the snoozer of a 57-41 victory in Starkville wasn't enough of a potential mismatch, the Lady Vols continue the All-Dregs Tour of the greater Mississippi schools with a visit to scenic Oxford. Incidentally, this is the second visit in a row to the Tad Pad; through a couple of scheduling quirks, Tennessee's second game against the Lady Rebels was in Oxford last year, and this is the only match-up between these two teams.
And yes, that is one of the more interesting points of this game. Otherwise? This game is going to be a massacre. Ole Miss has had a habit of getting run off the court in the first half against average teams before their opponents have pity on them and let off the gas a bit. This bodes well for a team like Tennessee, who needs experience not letting off the gas against overmatched opponents. As much as I'd love to talk up the dangers of facing a conference opponent on the road, there's challenges and then there's this. Case in point: last year's Ole Miss team scored 87 points total against the Lady Vols in two games; the Ladies scored 86 in their home game alone. This isn't going to be much of a contest, but if you want blood, this will work.
Scoring a lot of points is tough work. After hoisting 91 on Kentucky on Monday, the Lady Vols needed some beauty rest. Fortunately, they found some against Mississippi State, who was happy to oblige a night of peaceful slumber en route to a 57-41 Tennessee victory.
The score was 22-13 at halftime, thanks to a combined 1-16 start from the field (and the made shot was the very first shot of the game, giving Tennessee the early 2-0 lead). Neither team had any rhythm throughout the entire first half, and even the combined 5 fouls reflected a somnambulatory pace to the game. Heck, even the Gametracker took the night off, which probably means the fans were lucky that ESPN3 and CSS showed up at all.
In the second half, Shekinna Stricklen rolled over long enough to hit the snooze button and curl back up for some more napping. Fortunately, that was about all the action needed to win the game, as five consecutive made shots gave Tennessee a near-20 point lead that would be insurmountable for Mississippi State. Other signs that this was not exactly the most alert campaign by either team are:
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February 16, 2012
Stark Vegas, MS 9:00 PM EST TV: CSS / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
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18-7 (9-3 SEC) |
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14-11 (4-8 SEC) |
Coming off the first truly Lady Vol-like performance in a long time, Tennessee hits the road to play a Mississippi State squad that is currently 8th in the SEC and not quite a shoe-in for the NIT. Sharon Fanning-Otis coaches perhaps the longest roster in the SEC with 15 total players, but only seven see any serious playing time. A win would make MSU's season, but they will have a tough challenge getting there.
For Tennessee, this isn't about the postseason. At all. This is about building some consistency and proving that Monday's beat down of Kentucky was more about Tennessee playing well than Kentucky playing poorly. It's really as simple as that, so let's get to the rosters.
We're not talking Final Four. We promised. Now that that's out of the way, this was the most complete Lady Vol performance since Georgia, and against a team as good as the Miami team which got run off the court by the Lady Vols in the second half. The difference between this game and that Miami game?
Miami kept it close for 20 minutes. Kentucky kept it close for 120 seconds.
If anything, this was less the 2011 Lady Vols team that's been driving us up a wall and more a throwback to one of the many squads that have banners and jerseys hanging from the rafters. Again, this was one night, and we're not talking Final Four, let alone anything after that. This game, though? This was as much fun as you'd expect.
We have Meighan Simmons and Shekinna Stricklen to thank for the enjoyment. Stricklen came out motivated and did what she's capable of - not only be the best player on the court, but act like it. Simmons hit a couple of crucial early threes to put the game out of reach at 10-2 2 minutes in - and while that sounds weird to say, Kentucky's not a good enough shooting team to come back from a 15-point deficit without forcing a bunch of turnovers. Neither of those were happening tonight.
From there, this game started to get a little lopsided. Then it got a lot lopsided. Then it got ridiculous. If the last three weeks were the buildup of pressure, this was the valve releasing. The Lady Vols played smooth, they played relaxed, and they played composed. Against a Kentucky squad that thrives on chaos, they never stood a chance.
Breadsticks could easily go to Simmons, who had 25 points on the night - on 17 shots, no less. The pieces are coming together for her; again, we've seen this with her before, but it feels different somehow; it's not a blip, but a change in approach. If this is legitimate and this keeps up, watch out.
That being said, Stricklen would rip the breadsticks out of Simmons' hands and leave them lying on the floor next to Kentucky's heart. This game was the imposition of will game we've been waiting on, with the stats to show: 8-12 from the floor, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 18 points in 25 minutes of action. More of that, please.
And yes, there's a reason I haven't talked about Glory Johnson before now. Answers and more notes below the fold.
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February 3, 2012
Knoxville, TN 7:00 PM EST TV: ESPN2 / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
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21-3 (10-1 SEC) |
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17-7 (7-3 SEC) |
The SEC regular season race is all but sewn up. Even with a loss to LSU and a loss tonight, Kentucky still needs to drop one of their last four games to bring the Lady Vols into a tie for the crown. That's not likely, to put it mildly; Kentucky's other road games are in Tuscaloosa and Starkville (combined conference records of Alabama and Mississippi State: 4-18), and while their home tilts against Vanderbilt and South Carolina are tricky, they're surmountable. (Yeah, this paragraph hurt to type. Let's move on.)
A win for the Lady Vols tonight doesn't really do anything other than sew up the #2 seed come tournament time, which doesn't count for a ton. A loss puts Tennessee in a five-team tie at 8-4 heading into the home stretch including, a two-legged domination of Georgia, and Arkansas coming to Knoxville. (That isn't counting Vandy on the road against LSU and Kentucky, and South Carolina still has to face Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky.) In other words, even with a loss it's likely that Tennessee still ends up with the #2 seed.
Oddly, the fact there's so little riding on the game should be for the Lady Vols' benefit. It's a good opportunity for the Lady Vols to get out of their own head a bit. Matter of fact, Rocky Top Talk will make you a deal: play loose tonight and beat Kentucky and we won't start up Final Four talk afterward. Does that sound fair? Good.
It's no secret that Vanderbilt hates Tennessee. What is often a big/little brother relationship has fueled the rivalry for a long time in many sports, as Tennessee holds major edges in football and women's basketball. Vanderbilt's distaste for Tennessee is often so pervasive that it seems that every waking moment is spent spitting at orange.
That obsessive hatred served Vanderbilt well. It's not often you see a team so finely tuned to an opponent. Vanderbilt had plays designed to break Tennessee's best defenses. They had defenses designed to break Tennessee's best offensive sets. They even had inbounds passes designed to exploit the holes in Tennessee's inbounds defense. It's a hard thing to do, but Vanderbilt's coaches have obviously spent many sleepless nights wondering how to break through Tennessee. It was obvious in the emotions of the game.
Tennessee wanted to win a game. Vanderbilt wanted to beat Tennessee.
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February 9, 2012
Nashville, TN 9:00 PM EST TV: CSS / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
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17-6 (8-2 SEC) |
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18-5 (6-4 SEC) |
Let the rehabilitation roadshow begin.
The Lady Vols are coming off a nice win against Auburn, but this is the game that can put the South Carolina debacle in the past. Last time against Vanderbilt, Christina Foggie lit up the scoreboard for 27 points (a career high, but you already knew that) and Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen came up with a hurt shoulder and knee, respectively. Tennessee won comfortably, 87-64, but the injuries may have played a part in the Lady Vols' collapse against Notre Dame.
Tonight, it's a familiar opponent in a familiar funhouse. Memorial Gym will provide the Lady Vols with the opportunity to prove they can play as a team when the bench is located somewhere in Uzbekistan. Will they answer the call? Will the magical floating rims present trouble? Will Vanderbilt again claim a sold-out game to prevent UT fans from buying tickets?
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