SAN FRANCISCO – Tennessee left its hurt and disappointment in San Francisco on Tuesday night.
The Lady Vols rebounded from their loss at Stanford on Saturday with an 89-34 women’s basketball rout of San Francisco before a crowd of 3,255 at War Memorial Gym.
Angie Bjorklund scored a game-high 19 points for No. 4 Tennessee (10-1), which built a 31-point lead by halftime. Kamiko Williams came off the bench to set a season-high with 14 points.
The Lady Vols shot 53.1 percent from the floor (34-for-64) and had 17 assists after having just four against Stanford. They also amassed a 52-32 rebounding advantage.
Every Lady Vol scored and played at least 13 minutes.
“I thought we did a good job,’’ Bjorklund said. “I thought we responded well to the loss.”
The Lady Vols used their time well in the aftermath of Saturday’s 67-52 setback. The players wrote individual critiques of their play. UT coach Pat Summitt said that she met with each player individually.
Tuesday’s game then provided the opportunity to convert the talk to action.
“I think they’re both important to see where we’re at,’’ Bjorklund said. “I think it gives us the opportunity to take what we learned and apply it.”
Williams likely benefited the most on both fronts. The freshman guard said that she opened up to Summitt in their conversation, which served as a stress relief.
“I was a little nervous,’’ Williams said. “My hands were trembling. I shed a few tears.”
She was much more composed against San Francisco, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor, grabbing eight rebounds and gathering four steals and three assists in 22 playing minutes.
“I told her it’s a matter of maturity and how long it’s going to take for her to commit to this every time she takes the floor,’’ Summitt said.
Led by Rheina Ale’s 11 points, the Dons (4-10) had their moments at the outset, leading on two separate occasions and causing Summitt to call a timeout.
That was the extent of their success. Tennessee took control and pulled away with a 24-3 scoring run. Bjorklund led the charge, scoring 16 points in just 13 playing minutes. The junior guard’s first 3-pointer moved her into third place on Tennessee’s career list for treys.
Bjorklund’s shooting exhibition was instrumental in building a 37-11 lead, which enabled the Lady Vols to play their reserves early and often. Every player broke a sweat before the halftime break. No matter who was playing, the lead kept growing, reaching 48-17 at halftime.
Not only was the opposition overmatched, but the USF crowd was unusually accommodating as well. One fan apologized to Lady Vols guard Briana Bass, who was momentarily hobbled by a sideline collision while she was chasing a loose ball.
The Lady Vols again went to their bench early in the second half in an apparent attempt to keep the lead in check against USF and its coach, former Lady Vol Tanya Haave.
But Tennessee’s reserves were having their moments, too. Three of them combined for arguably the prettiest play of the game with the passing combination of Williams to Alicia Manning to Sydney Smallbone leading to a Smallbone layup.
UT breaks for Christmas, returning to play Old Dominion on Dec. 30 in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 26
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Congrats Lady Vols!! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and come back, beat ODU, and then be ready to kick some major butt in the SEC in 2010!
LV....TCB....Keep on keeping on.......GBO!!!!!!!!
TSCinSFO writes:
I was at the game tonight in San Francisco and it was great to see all the orange in the arena. Go Lady Vols
SanFranciscoVol writes:
TSCinSFO,
Good to know there's another VOL in SF! GBO I met Pat Summit when she flew in last week. I hope I catch her on the way out. (I work at the airport)
CTOWNICON writes:
Good job ladies! Take ownership and fix the problems. Impressed with Kamiko, maybe she will keep this up. Really happy to hear the reserves also played well. Keep improving! Ladyknowsports we got ODU and Oklahoma before SEC play, so they have two butts to kick!
wayoutwill writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
richvol writes:
This team is not going to improve enough to beat UCONN this year. They are too good and too deep to be challenged this year and we are still too young.
A great accomplishment would be to get this team to the final four. Next year is our year IF we get an effective point guard to come in and Baugh is healthy.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Ladies it only get tougher from this point on. So realize who you're playing for. You are the Lady Vols, the best that's ever been. Relax, play hard, and prove it.
YankeeVol writes:
It's nice to read in the article that Sydney Smallbone got a chance to shine... seems like she has more to offer than she gets a chance to show.
halloffamebowler writes:
You really are true to your name.You should call yourself "wayoutwill the stupid idiot".Why do you call those girls hoes? Stupid,stupid,stupid.Clean up your mouth with soap and water.
johnlg00 writes:
Judging from the results this season, that makes a certain amount of sense. The thing is, with this still-young team, if they have a largely effortless romp before playing a Stanford, they might come out over-confident and get blown out even worse than they did this time. OTOH, as you suggest, they might be more relaxed and confident, and play better than did the obviously tense team that played Stanford Saturday.
Bloodrunzorange writes:
Keep you heads up Lady Vols! Play hard and listen to Pat...Go Vols!!
ps11824 writes:
longvol, you are usually right on, you over-reached on that one. johnlg, they really needed a come-back game, albeit against an outmatched opponent. I think the ladies are about where I expected them to be in December.
The new year will bring a sense of urgency, however. They have to get better on offense to survive the SEC schedule. Cain has to get better, stronger. Stricklen has to suck it up and bring some consistency. We really, really need Baugh to be well and able to compete; if not, Brewer needs to get busy and bring it strong game in, game out, keep her mouthpiece in her mouth and her head on straight.
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
This game, although against a poor opponent, will serve as a great confidence booster for the team! I had to giggle a little when I heard Mickey make the call, "Williams to Manning to Smallbone for a layup!" Never thought I would hear that, but sure hope I hear it A LOT in the future!! Hope they all have a great time with their families over Christmas break and come back ready to kick some basketball butt!!
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Here's a great headline I want to share with all you Lady Vols fans:
"NEWARK, Del. -- Freshman sensation Elena Delle Donne tied Delaware's school record with 39 points to help the Blue Hens beat Buffalo 85-72 on Tuesday night."
Looks like she's feeling quite at home in Delaware!! Hey Geno, you lose some and you lose some!!
huntined#565710 writes:
She just needs to transfer to TENN. Now that would get GENO'S blood boiling!!!
johnlg00 writes:
Glad to see that she is having some success. She seemed to be rather seriously bummed out when she left UConn. Maybe she just wasn't ready for a real high-pressure environment like that. She may not have made a smooth transition at UT, either. Wasn't she a small-town girl originally? Of course, it is more a matter of personality than background in terms of ability to adjust.
johnlg00 writes:
I would love it, but it isn't likely to happen. BTW, Kelsey Bone is tearing it up at USCjr. I would like to know the full story as to why she didn't come to UT.
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
She is from right around there where she is now going to school. The article I read said she was burned out and totally home-sick. It also said that the reason she was so homesick was because she has a severely disabled sibling that she just couldn't be away from. Says a lot about her character I think. I'm sure Geno had no idea how to make her feel at home in UCAN'T land...I'm sure he showed no compassion and just kept pushing until she left. That's my theory anyway. We all know he has absolutely NO people skills!
BigRMan writes:
Someone get Will some bleach for that mouth!
johnlg00 writes:
Thanks! Now that I am reminded, I think I read the same article. As you all know, I'm not much of a Geno fan, and he doesn't seem to ooze the milk of human kindness, but I have to admit that he seems to know how to motivate his players, even if he isn't to everyone's taste.
martinvol34 writes:
Why do you always come on this site and add negativity? Why?
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
I agree that Baugh would be a GREAT asset to the team this year. However, I don't believe that she is going to be able to play any time soon, if any this year. We just need to hope that she does get healthy and will play next year!!!!!!!
LV....TCB...Keep on keeping on.....GBO!!!!!!!!!!!
The_Truth_and_nothing_but_the_Truth writes:
Hey Pat, Geno is sending you two Christmas gifts, one is some crow. You know, when you indicated that Stanford might be the best basketball team in the country right now. So eat well.
The second gift is a copy of the UCONN/Stanford game that you can use as a training tape for your practices.
Merry Christmas to all!
The_Truth_and_nothing_but_the_Truth writes:
Hello Friends:
For all of you fill in the blanks the player in question and every member of her family has indicated on many occasions Geno and UCONN could not have treated her better. Her father indicated any young woman would be lucky to play at UCONN and for Geno. (Thanks for asking)
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Hate to say it out loud, but Stanford flat out got out coached in the second half. It was amazing to watch how a change in the UCONN defense completely changed Stanford's entire offensive set. Geno made Tara look stupid on this one.
mad_poly_uct writes:
Perhaps you never read what Elena's Dad, Ernie had to say about how G.A. and Uconn handled that situation. I know that if one of my daughters were treated like s**t by a coach, I'd be the first to rake him or her over the coals in the media. You're dead on about the situation with her sister though. I think that had a great deal with her choice to stay very close to home and attend Delaware. Have a wonderful Christmas!!
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.