NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Only a Tennessee insider could have appreciated assistant coach Dean Lockwood's compliment for Tye'sha Fluker in the opening minutes of Friday afternoon's SEC tournament game.

"Great double bury," he yelled.

As cryptic as that might sound to anyone outside UT's locker room, it's perfectly clear to the post players Lockwood coaches.

When Lockwood was asked to define the term for a basketball layman after UT's 77-45 victory over Auburn, he didn't just explain a double bury; he demonstrated it in a corridor of Alltel Arena.

"I come around and make the first hit on you," Lockwood said. "I've got you completely behind me with my lower body on you and both my feet are in the lane. Both feet in the paint, with you sealed."

He then backed into me to emphasize the point.

"I've got you pinned, right?" he said.

I got it, Coach. But I can't say the same for Auburn, which has looked defenseless against UT's senior center twice in eight days.

Fluker made seven of nine field-goal attempts and scored 22 points against Auburn on Feb. 23. She made six of eight shots and scored 19 in UT's tournament opener.

Fluker's scoring is not just an Auburn thing. In the last four games, she has averaged 18.8 points, more than double her season average.

Her scoring starts with her positioning.

"She's doing a much better job of that," Lockwood said. "What happens a lot of times, players aren't even aware they're doing something until somebody points it out.

"For Ty, just getting her in that habit (of posting up appropriately) was big. Now, she's embracing it as something that gives her a tremendous scoring advantage.

"Great post players don't catch the ball and make great moves. They get great position early. And when the ball goes in there, they make scoring look very easy."

The baskets came easy and fast for Fluker and the rest of UT's post players. Fluker, Nicky Anosike and Candace Parker combined for four layups as the Lady Vols opened with a 13-0 run in the first four minutes.

Fluker's increased production is not all about scoring. She also has picked up her rebounding since the Lady Vols lost Alexis Hornbuckle to a season-ending injury.

"When Lex went out, I told my teammates, I would focus on stepping up my rebounding and scoring," said Fluker, who has 47 rebounds in the last five games.

Statistics don't reflect her total contribution, according to Hornbuckle.

"We needed intensity and leadership," Hornbuckle said. "And she has stepped up."

It's not a coincidence Fluker is playing her best basketball at the end of the season. It reflects her conditioning.

"She's in the best shape of her career," UT coach Pat Summitt said. "She wants to play at the next level."

Her coach believes she can do it.

"Absolutely," Summitt said. "As a pro coach, I'd love to have a player with her body."

It also helps that Fluker has learned how to position her 6-foot-5 body beneath the basket.

"I'm more conscious of making sure I'm posting up hard," she said.

That's just what Lockwood wants to hear.