Lady Vols Notebook
The Lady Vols (17-5, 7-2 SEC) are down one spot to No. 23 in this week’s AP Poll after splitting last week’s games.
Tennessee beat in-state rival Vanderbilt 78-69 on Thursday night in West End. It was a good win for the Lady Vols over a solid and much-improved Commodores (12-10, 2-7 SEC) team. Rennia Davis once again led the way, scoring a game-high 22 points. Davis scored 16 of her points in the second half as she reached double figures for the 19th consecutive game.
“It was a really tough win for us to get, and I’m really proud of our team,” Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper said following the win. “We expected this one to be a battle, and I think our players can feel good about this one, going home with a win.”
Jazmine Massengill chipped in 14 points against Vandy, while Jordan Horston and Rae Burrell each scored 11 points.
Sunday wasn’t as smooth of a road trip for Kellie Harper’s bunch. The Lady Vols lost to No. 1 South Carolina 69-48 despite a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds from Davis. Even freshman Tamari Key blocked a career-high nine shots to set a new Lady Vol freshman single-game record, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the talent of the Gamecocks (21-1, 9-0 SEC).
“We knew we had a tough one today,” Harper said following the loss. “Obviously it was. Hopefully we’ll get better from it.”
The first quarter defined the afternoon. South Carolina led 21-9 at the end of the first frame, which proved to be too much for Tennessee to overcome.
“They were being aggressive defensively,” Harper said. “They weren’t allowing easy passes, and they had pretty good ball pressure. We were a little spastic.”
Week ahead
Life doesn’t get easier for the Lady Vols following their showing against South Carolina. On Thursday, they’ll welcome No. 8 Mississippi State (20-3, 8-1 SEC) to town for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on the SEC Network. Harper will meet with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview the game.
The Lady Vols enter Thursday night’s contest in third place in the SEC. With a win over the second-place Bulldogs, they’ll move into sole possession of second place.
Tennessee’s next game will be the following Thursday as UT travels to LSU (16-5, 6-3 SEC) for a rematch.
Bracketology
ESPN’s Charlie Creme currently has the Lady Vols slated to be an eight-seed in the 2020 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, playing in the Portland region of the bracket. Creme has the Lady Vols playing in Eugene to start the tournament against nine-seed Drake. Should Tennessee win, it would likely face 1-seed Oregon.
If the tournament started today, Tennessee would not host during the opening weekend as the top 16 seeds of the field host each season. The NCAA released it’s first preview of the top 16 seeds on Monday night, and the Lady Vols were not listed.
The Lady Vols are one of seven projected SEC teams to make the field.
Davis Named to Wooden Award Top 20
Rennia Davis has had an SEC Player of the Year caliber season. On Tuesday, the Lady Vols junior was named to the John R. Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List. She’s now advanced from the preseason list to the midseason list to the late season list.
The Wooden Award is given to the most outstanding player in women’s college basketball annually.
Davis is averaging a career-high 18.1 points per game and 8.3 rebounds to lead the Lady Vols. She ranks second and sixth, respectively, among SEC players in scoring and rebounding. Her 20.4 points rank second in the conference in SEC games.
The Florida native leads the team in three-pointers (27) and is second in steals (48). Davis is third in assists (48).
Lady Vols add commitment
Tennessee added it’s first known commitment from the class of 2021 on Sunday afternoon when Hartford, Alabama native Karoline Striplin committed. Striplin plays at Geneva County, where she is coached by her mother.
At 6-foot-2, Striplin ranks as the No. 53 overall player in the country according to ESPN and is the ninth-best forward.
Striplin made three unofficial visits to Tennessee in December and January. She chose the Lady Vols over Auburn and N.C. State. Florida, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, UCLA, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt were also pursing Striplin. She’s averaging a double-double during her junior season so far.
Lady Vols Mailbag
Now, let’s get to some fan questions about the Lady Vols basketball program.
“When does Kellie Jolly Harper expect the team to begin showing signs of increased ball security? Multiple games now on natl tv where our Lady Vols look painfully out/under coached.. also, is there an offensive scheme or do we purposely just run up & down the court kamikaze style?” — @NatefromATL
The Lady Vols have a talent and depth issue, not a coaching issue. Against Connecticut and South Carolina, the Lady Vols couldn’t take care of the basketball. But as crazy as it sounds, they’ve actually been better this season in totality when it comes to taking care of the basketball. Harper and her staff have run great sets throughout the season, but they don’t necessarily have the tools to execute it at a high level consistently, especially against the good teams.
Take a look at how successful the Lady Vols have been on the defensive end of the floor this season, as well as rebounding, and you’ll see the mark of a good coach.
“Why so many turnovers for the Lady Vols?” — @Jvines325
I believe it’s because they’re trying to do too much. Plus, the player who turns it over more than anyone is a true freshman. Jordan Horston is going to be a good player for the Lady Vols, but she has to do a better job of taking care of the basketball. Kellie Harper is going to get it fixed, but first she must add talent to the roster.
