STARKVILLE, Miss. - Shekinna Stricklen was feeling the pain.
The Tennessee guard tumbled to the court early in the second half against Mississippi State and, in her words, "came down on something."
Apparently it was one of her ribs.
"It's still sore,'' she said afterward. "You have to put your team first and fight through the pain."
In so doing, Stricklen was able to inflict the hurt that mattered the most. She swished a clutch 3-pointer with 1:45 left to break a 56-all tie and followed up with four free throws.
Sore rib and all, the freshman guard was instrumental in Tennessee gutting out a 63-56 SEC women's basketball victory over the Lady Bulldogs before a crowd of 4,629 at Humphrey Coliseum.
"She's going to be up for (conference) freshman of the year, I'm sure,'' State coach Sharon Fanning said of Stricklen. "She's a player."
Stricklen finished with a team-high 15 points for No. 13 Tennessee (13-3, 2-1), which won its 29th consecutive game against State. Angie Bjorklund added 14 points and Alyssia Brewer scored 10.
Mississippi State (13-4, 1-2) had three double-figure scorers. Chanel Mokango and Alexis Rack each scored 15. Robin Porter had 12. Mokango, a 6-foot-5 center, had seven blocks.
The Lady Vols won this game the hard way, overcoming 33.9 percent field-goal shooting. They made just eight baskets in the second half.
They persevered without center Kelley Cain, who aggravated her surgically repaired right knee shortly before halftime. While no structural damage was reported, the 6-6 redshirt freshman was unable to return in the second half.
They withstood a head-scratching performance by forward Glory Johnson, who had eight rebounds but also shot 1-for-7 from the floor and scored just three points.
They even got by without Stricklen for four second-half minutes after her fall.
The Lady Vols, who were stung by Sunday's 74-58 loss at Vanderbilt, survived all manner of hardships. They erased a five-point deficit in the final six minutes by holding the Lady Bulldogs to one field goal and two points during that stretch.
"I think that we had to do that,'' UT coach Pat Summitt said. "It's probably who we are for awhile. Hopefully, we'll get better and be a lot more efficient but I liked their toughness, not letting their offense affect their defense.
Stricklen didn't let her offense affect her offense as well. She was 1-for-10 from the floor before swishing the game's pivotal shot, after a nice feed from Bjorklund.
"I didn't shoot too well tonight,'' said Stricklen, who was a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line. "I really concentrated on that shot. I followed all the way through. I was really happy it went in."
The Lady Vols started by getting stuck on three points for nearly six minutes as Mississippi State showed why its ranked fourth in the conference in both scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense.
All things considered, the Lady Vols were fortunate to be trailing just 10-3 after the first nine minutes. They didn't have much ground to make up. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Briana Bass and Bjorklund pulled them to within a point. Later, three consecutive baskets enabled them to build a 23-19 edge.
The Lady Vols led by four points early in the second half before Mississippi State surged ahead, forcing them to dig deep for the outcome.
"It was big win for us,'' Bjorklund said. "Toward the end we buckled down. We were going to do whatever it takes to win this game."
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Comments » 25
VOL_FREAK_91 writes:
GO VOlS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! way to get 996 pat!
Down_The_Field writes:
Good job, LVs. Hard to believe that Pat's been hear this long. What a coach!
Dang, Freak, I didn't know she was that close.
I don't want to wish 6 losses on her just to get the record against the Lexington Loosers. I guess Ole Miss it is.
miatatom writes:
Way to go ladies!
CTOWNICON writes:
GOOD SEC WIN LADIES, WAY TO BOUNCE BACK. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AN TAKE IT ONE GAME AT A TIME. ONE WIN AT A TIME. I WISH YOU GUYS COULD GET HEALTHY AN STAY HEALTHY, IM GOING TO HAVE TO PRAY HARDER. GOOD LUCK IN THE NEXT GAME.
rocky_topper writes:
They played very well....Well, most of them did. Striklen and Brewer have actually made huge gains in their game and have really grown up as players as of late. The team really misses Baugh when she isn't able to be playing. That girl hustles more than anyone on the team in my opinion!
adimatteo#261830 writes:
have some issues youre dealing with ??
there are probably other sites more suited for you to chat on
bmaples writes:
got to get my tickets for win 1,000! Great win ladies -- keep it going!
LadyVolFanForever writes:
Good headline Dan. It says it all. They showed us something tonight, the will to win and pull together.
Johnson had a terrible night on offense, Cain missed over half the game with the knee, Baugh is still out, Cait is gone......but the others stepped up. If your offense is off, make your defense better and make crisp passes to cut down on turnovers. Do whatever you can to help the team !
It was a tough and very physical game but we won and are once again headed in the right direction.
Go Lady Vols !
rockytopron writes:
Gutsy win is putting it mildly. Poor shooting to start the game 1 for 16, players getting injuried, not having Baugh or McMahon, and poor officiating as usual. This is a great win for a bunch of freshmen and sophmores. Go Lady Vols!
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
actually, the LV's are better-suited for these knockdown games than they are the shootouts....
glad they won, know it won't be easy.
KCHS63 writes:
That be because Dupree got no brain, gest lik Dupree's Generalissimo. Yuck, yuck.
johnlg00 writes:
I have had issues with AreyouKiffinme on other threads, but I saw nothing that should be objectionable to LV fans in THIS post! He may be a little loose with the language sometimes, but I surely didn't interpret this post as insulting LV fans. Maybe I missed something.
johnlg00 writes:
A win like this, with all the obstacles you mentioned, shows what being a TEAM is all about. Maybe that spell doing their own laundry is paying off(;-P)! Not to say that there won't be some backsliding at some point, but great things are ahead IF they can stay healthy. GO BABY VOLS!!!
jr2miles writes:
Good Job!! I really think this team can do somethings in the post season if they just play hard and together. When Baugh return coach should try this line-up: Baugh,Stricklen,Bjorklund,Brewer, and Fuller. On the other hand; good win ladies, and keep up the hard work.
GO VOLS!!!!!
xvolx writes:
Right now, I would say tenn. is about 5th in sec. aub., vandy, fla. and lsu are better. not bad for frosh. and soph.. If the ncaa bracket was drawn today, they would prob. be a five seed. win their first game and the record of sweet 16's would be over. with a lot of hard work, they can keep record going. A sweet 16 appearance with this young team will be a great season.
ladivolfan writes:
xvolx - we all know Pat and the players wouldn't be happy with just a Sweet 16. Final Four is always the goal. They'll get there. It amazes me how much better they play when they are up against better competition. They have to come with that toughness everygame and not just against the top 15 teams.
ps11824 writes:
Looking at the stat lines, since that's about the limit of my Lady Vols viewing pleasure as of late, I'm seeing a serious need for a shot doctor. The way I look at it, we made about 2 for 17 from the floor last night in the first 10 minutes. That would be painful to watch, no? Are all these shots contested? Are we just quick shooting? I am amazed at the inability to score, since we came into the season with 4 or 5 players scoring in double-digits.
I suppose there is so much 'Pat' going on in their noggins when they throw the rock up, "like get back, find your man, get down on D, know what you are running, don't commit the stupid foul . . . gosh-darn, who can make a shot? If you don't show me something, you will do open practice in your bloomers."
volboy81 writes:
GREAT GAME!!! GREAT COMEBACK...Way to keep a cool head and gut it out! Im going to watch it again tonight! :) I hope Kelley is ok!
PureOrange writes:
There had been a few who questioned Pat having the girls wash their own uniforms. My comment was at the time that she had to get their attention first in order to teach them. It was apparent last night that she had their attention. The defense was way better than any minute of the Vandy game.
While not where they want, or will be, they are improving.
On another note, can anyone tell me if they know anything about Amber Gray. She was not listed as being there. I know she plays very little because she has had trouble practicing hard. Is she off the team, or is she planning to transfer? Just curious. I would like for her to stay and to have a mindset of hard work. Pat knows talent, and she would not have signed her if she did not have talent, but only Amber can decide whether she wants to give the effort which is required along with talent to be a Lady Vol.
Good job, Ladies. Keep it up! And way to go Pat and staff.
BigOrangeVol writes:
I've never been too complimentary of Bjork or 'bone but but of those girls stepped-up the D last night and I was impressed. I've always felt that despite her heart and determination, Syd is too slow to be at UT but last night she had one of her best games as a Lady Vol. Bjork has actually added maturity her game; she is becoming... *gasp*, consistent! So my hat is off to both of them.
Lyssi and Lex did a good job of trying to handle a depleated Post position. Kelly is still fighting the inexperience battle and losing. We need Vicki back SOON!
Manning still seems to be in Pat's doghouse. Bri should have played more minutes but she's GOT to be able to finish drives to the hole! Glory looked as though she was playing her first-ever basketball game last night.
Once Strick learns to depend on the rest of the team and quits throwing up bad shots she'll be solid. Just a 5% increase in accuracy would give her 40-45 more points this season. Thankfully she hit that trey last night but her percentage behind the arc should preclude taking many more.
With our M*A*S*H Unit team we probably are the 4th-6th best team in the SEC on the road so last night was a "quality win". At full strength we should have blown the Lady Bullies out of the gym.
Six of these last 13 games are going to be tough!!! Going to Auburn; Oklahoma; Florida; Kentucky and LSU with Duke at TBA is brutal. If the girls could pick up three or four wins it would be HUGE! I think that 22-7 is realistic at this point and anything better would just be extra gravy.
Our RPI is up to #3 and our SOS is now #1!
Tee writes:
Think Cain needs to learn to suck it up and play through the pain like some of the other players. She needs to get more aggressive and use her size. She lets small guards just take the ball out of her hands and any little bump she is crying and out of the game. She appears lazy at times.
Stricklen played a great game in 2nd half once she relaxed. When her and Bri were in together things seem to flow better.
Way to hang in there Lady Vols....
johnlg00 writes:
Well, I would like to see more out of Cain, and she surely has room for improvement, but WE surely don't know how much pain she is having. Young players, especially if they don't have a lot of experience with injuries, don't always know the difference between just being sore and being injured. Repair of knees has come a long way, but it isn't an exact science and everyone heals differently. Besides, she is a big girl; she has more stress on her knees than a smaller, lighter player would have. Also, her conditioning may be an issue if her knees keep her from going hard in practice all the time. Just a little more patience, please!
ncvol writes:
Glad the L.Vols pulled off another win on the road. I sure wish our ladies would all get healthy which will make a lot of difference in their game. So let's continue the upward direction even if the road looks bumpy. Go L.Vols!
pammyvol1000 writes:
Kelly Cain's knee has never been the same since surgery. She keeps hurting it over and over. If she was healthy from the get go.. we would see a different player. She was one of the premier players in Ga.
I would like to see more from Glory. Not sure if post is the best position for her.
Shekinna will be the best player on this team.. just wait.
xvolx writes:
sorry, I'm not an idealist but a realist. the facts are that these girls are very young and learning with no experienced players to learn from. I'll have to go with my comment. A sweet 16 appearance will be quite an accomplishment with this young a team. c. parker and crew did't go to final 4 until her soph. year.
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