FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — All manner of struggles didn’t prevent Tennessee from pulling off another winner of a closing act Thursday night.
Angie Bjorklund hit the clutch shots, Glory Johnson did the dirty work and the Lady Vols went on an 11-point scoring run. In the clutch process, a two-point deficit turned into a 76-67 SEC women’s basketball victory over Arkansas before a crowd of 3,916 at Bud Walton Arena.
“You look up at that score,’’ UT guard Angie Bjorklund said, “and you have more of a sense of urgency.”
In this case, the scoreboard read Arkansas 59, Tennessee 57. But then UT’s Shekinna Stricklen zipped a pass to Bjorklund in the right corner, near the team bench, and the sophomore guard buried a 3-pointer with 6:01 left. Two baskets and four free throws later, Tennessee’s lead was 68-59 with two minutes remaining.
A game that featured nine ties and 10 lead changes had swung UT’s way.
Bjorklund finished with a team-high 18 points for No. 10 Tennessee (15-3, 4-1 SEC). Johnson scored 15, her highest output since early December. Stricklen added 11.
The UT trio outnumbered Arkansas guard Ceira Ricketts, who had a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds for the Razorbacks (11-8, 0-4).
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was in joking mood about the large, vocal turnout from Stricklen’s hometown of Morrilton, Ark.
“I asked her if anyone was left in Morrilton,” said Summitt, who picked up her 998th career victory . “They shut down the place.’
On the other hand, Summitt was more agitated than relieved by the game’s turn of events.
“They’re driving me crazy; they’re driving me nuts,’’ she said of her team. “I like what they can do at the end. But think what they could do if they were more focused on being a 40-minute team. Maybe that’s youth.”
Whatever the case, she’s encouraging the Lady Vols to convene a team meeting and discuss the matter.
The first-half pattern was a prelude to the finish. Tennessee would open a lead and scrappy Arkansas would fight back.
The Lady Vols were literally hurt in the early going when forward Vicki Baugh, one of the first reserves off the bench, hobbled back to the sideline after her left knee took the brunt of a collision with an Arkansas player. Baugh, who has been recovering from a knee sprain, didn’t return and her status is in jeopardy for Sunday’s showdown at Auburn.
It also didn’t help that the Lady Vols’ height advantage wasn’t translating into an edge on the boards. After Arkansas’ Ashley McCray scored on a rebound basket, mild-mannered Lady Vols assistant coach Dean Lockwood was stomping mad on the bench.
UT’s biggest problem, though, was foul trouble. By halftime, point guard Briana Bass had three fouls and four other Lady Vols had two.
“It came down to we got a little lazy on the dribble drives,’’ Bjorklund said. “I don’t know how many free throws they shot (before halftime).”
The Razorbacks shot 13 and converted 12. Ricketts started 3 for 9 from the floor but was six-for-six from the line.
Arkansas converted its first four field goal attempts of the second half, turning a halftime tie into a 44-38 lead. After Ricketts banged her elbow in a loose-ball scramble and departed for more than two minutes, UT pulled even at 47.
After Bjorklund’s game-changing basket, Johnson went to work down low, earning two trips to the free throw line, where she converted three of four attempts.
“She is without a doubt one of our best athletes, if not our best,’’ Summitt said. “She was so active.”
On defense, UT used a variety of alignments to stymie Arkansas, which went nearly seven minutes without a point after Ayana Brereton’s 3-pointer provided that final two-point lead with 8:33 left.
“They didn’t panic, they just kept playing,’’ Arkansas coach Tom Collen said of UT. “Every time they got the ball back, they surged. Every time we lost another basket, we slipped.”
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Comments » 26
Down_The_Field writes:
Good job, Pat and team.
If the witch doctor's out there, will 1000 come against Ole Miss?
jimvols13 writes:
Two more! You're the best there is Pat.
allvol9 writes:
Pat is amazing....what she has done will never be repeated.
utfanatic813 writes:
I just hope we beat Auburn so win number 1000 will come at home
Timed_vol (Inactive) writes:
What is scary is that Angie seems to be the team leader...a sophomore guard.
I don't mind these ugly, tight victories at all. They are the ones that build your confidence.
IMHO, the LV's should plan on 'winning ugly' the rest of the season: tough defense, rebounding, hard fouls, and 2nd chance points.
ball3901 writes:
Why is that so scary? Other than Fuller, she (Angie) is the most experienced player on the team! Nothing wrong with being the leader as a soph when most of the team are frosh!
CTOWNICON writes:
GOOD GAME LADY VOLS I AM SO HAPPY. LETS PUT THIS VICTORY BEHIND AND GO TO AUBURN AN GET ANOTHER ONE. I AM CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL WIN IN AUBURN. PLAY HARD DEFENSE AN SHUT BONNER DOWN. WELCOME BACK GLORY GOOD JOB TAKE THAT SAME INTENSITY TO AUBURN I WANT 15 OR MORE POINTS FROM YOU IN THAT POST AN AT LEAST 6 TO 10 REBOUNDS YOU CAN DO IT. KELLY I NEED YOU TO BATTLE FOR ME TO IN THAT POST. BRIANNA WE NEED YOU ON THE FLOOR SO PLAY SMART AN LESS FOULS. GO ANGIE GO, I WANT 25 POINTS IN AUBURN. THE REST OF THE TEAM I NEED YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO ON THE OFFENSE END AN DEFENSE END SO LETS GO LADIES LETS SHOW ALL THE DOUBTERS WE AINT DONE YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ladivolfan writes:
“They’re driving me crazy; they’re driving me nuts,’’ ..........what Pat said.
mmynatt writes:
Hate to be a spoilsport and I hope like the dickens I am wrong, but this team is in trouble against Auburn. This slow start business killed them against Vandy; and methinks Auburn will lower the boom -- it doesn't help that both of our "big ladies" have bad knee injuries that don't seem to have healed and may never do so:( Just hope Vicky and Kelly don't ruin themselves for life.
This is one of Pat's best coaching jobs when you think of all the injuries this team has had to deal with.
adimatteo#261830 writes:
this is young team, lots of talent, let them develop, Im no coach or doctor, dont pretend to be; but part of me wishes we would just let the couple of girls with those bad knees sit and rest 100%, too valuable down the road, and next few years ... am I crazy
98reax writes:
ladivolfan writes:
“They’re driving me crazy; they’re driving me nuts,’’ ..........what Pat said.
Pat is talking about the CAPS LOCK on CTOWN's 'puter. Can't you fix that?
I sure wish we could avoid banging those knees. I don't suppose a big old brace would help. It just seems to me that with all the modern technology available there would be some way to protect those knees from re-injury from contact. We just really need Baugh and Cain to be on the court more minutes. We need some consistency down low. It is not the Lady Vol standard to get beaten on the boards.
[“She is without a doubt one of our best athletes, if not our best,’’ Summitt said. “She was so active.” ]
That's quite a statement from Coach. She really likes this kid. I'm looking forward to Glory showing up in a big, big way down the line. Apparently Pat is seeing that potential, so I am anxiously awaiting that day. That translates to me as being a super team somewhere down the line. If the maturation process is in harmony with the healing process we could have another championship in the very near future.
98reax writes:
We should be able to handle Auburn. Looks like the biggest threat from the Tigers might be the point guard, Boddie. If we can do a good job defending her, perhaps she will not be able to feed her shooters, especially her big girl, Bonner, who scored 24 against Bama.
Sometimes a good team will play down to their opponent's level which may have been the case last night. Looking at the stat line, I don't see anything that would indicate Auburn besting us, unless we have a very poor showing. Against Alabama the #1 ranked Tigers shot 61.8% from the floor, 54.5% treys and 62.5% from the foul line. Yes, that is better stats than we have had at times, however, we shot 70.4% from the foul line last night and Arky shot 88.9% and lost. All other stats were almost even vs. the Lady Hogs who could have easily beaten us at the foul line had Johnson, Stricklen and Bj stepped up late in the game.
As for Auburn vs. Bama, Boddie had 12 assists with only 2 turnovers. Our guards will need to have a good handle on offense and be able to contain her defensively. She did not get to the foul line, and she attempted no 3-pointers. We should be able to rule the boards and beat them on putbacks. Aside from Bonner's 5 boards, the biggest rebounder was Carrier who played only 10 minutes but grabbed 5 boards. They did have double digit scoring from all 5 starters. Nell Fortner seems to cultivate her players into consistent scorers.
We will need to match up well with the Tigers, and I'm sure that Pat will have a game plan to tame those Tigers for win #999. My goodness, what an awesome sound!
fortandrews writes:
Unless the Ladies can recover from all of the injuries it doesn't look good for them to make the "sweet 16". Pat has done one "h--l of a job with this team, but youth takes time to develop and this is not their year. Just hang in there and surprise us and remember January 3, 2009. Learn each time you get on the court , Pat will lead you to the "promise land".
98reax writes:
Mike, we never play for anything other than the top spot, and you know it. Albeit, we (those fans who are wiling to be patient and realistic) would gladly take a runner-up handshake this season. Look out next year, you old husky lover. : )
sgtvols writes:
Hey mike, got great idea. start a web site for conn. surely a couple of youse guys can drive a computer. by the by, at UT men coach men. Women coach women
98reax writes:
Oh Mike, you are setting yourself up for the big oops. You musn't get so high and haughty. Things happen. Need I remind you that a lesser talented team took your buddy, Geno out last season? For no other apparent reason than overconfidence on the part of Mr A, did your team take an early exit, unless, of course, he feared the Orange.
Volunatic writes:
Great win. Pat Summitt RULES.
On an unrelated note, I don't suppose the Lady Vols will be recruiting any of the Dallas Academy players any time soon.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...
BigOrangeVol writes:
"I love it when you people get your hopes up, because they will only be flatened."
Spoken from four straight years of personal UCan't experience huh?
BTW, flattened has two t's Mr. Illiterate!
Let's recap shall we:
2005 - Stanford puts UConn out with a 17-point spanking in the Sweet 16 and sends them back to Storrs with their tails between their legs.
2006 - Duke crushes UConn's heart with a 2-point OT win in the Elite 8. Guido cries and blames someone else, probably Pat.
2007 - LSU humiliates UConn in the Elite 8 with a 23-point thrashing in the worst ever beat-down UConn has had in the NCAA Tournament second only to the 28-point total embarrassment and domination Vandy put on them in 1992.
2008 - Stanford whips UConn again to send the 'cons home early with a 9-point loss in the Final Four. Auri-enema gets his fourth attitude adjustment in a row. It takes him six months to get the Cardinal boot removed from his rear so he can extricate his head and breath.
2009 - I'm sure UConn will find a way to choke and gag on it again this year too; it's your TRADITION!
Doesn't seem like all those gaudy regular season records against Catholic high school teams, Big East Championships, Number 1 rankings, Number 1 tourney seeds, Number 1 recruiting classes, Number 1 recruits and Number 1 jerk for a coach has helped the program out that much recently does it? Oh, and by the way, if you hadn't noticed, the Lady Vols just repeated back-to-back National Championships again with their SEVENTH and EIGHTH!
Again, as I have pointed out to you before...when you aren't the lead dog the view always remains the same. Enjoy and get use to the same perspective you've been living with since the beginning because it's not going to change!!!
Thanks for stopping by! Your jealousy and insecurity is really quite satisfying to us.
Now go away or I will taunt you a second time.
BigOrangeVol writes:
...and your male smurf-coach, after running up the score in his typical immature and unsportsman-like manner, just mouthed-off to an opposing female SU player and ended up getting PUNKED by a girl for the whole world to see!!!
That is soooooooooooooooo hilarious!!! :-)
Hey Geno, in the future try and remember to pick on someone your own size (Elves, Dwarfs, Hobbits...ect.) so you don't get slapped down. You look like a yapping little Chihuahua taking on a Rottweiler. You should feel lucky Nicole Michael didn't haul off and knock you out. For that matter, you're lucky that Chris Dailey didn't b*tch-slap you for shoving her two years ago. That Napoleonic Complex is going to be the ruination of you yet!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I've gotta say, that was just about the most pitiful display from a coach above the junior-high level that I have ever seen. Not only did UConn pound Syracuse by more than 50, I understand he was still playing starters at the end. If that was not deliberate humiliation, I don't know what is. If there was ANYONE playing for UConn who was not a manager, ball-girl, cheerleader, or walk-on after the margin reached, oh I don't know, FORTY, that was just a sheer, back-of-the-hand slap in the face to Syracuse. Did Geno think 50 would give them any extra votes for #1? Did he think the NCAA selection committee might give him a higher seed for the tourney? After that, he should not have been surprised at ANYTHING a teen-age girl could say to him. For him to have gone back at her IN ANY WAY was just too bush for words. I have always tended to give Geno grudging respect for the success of the Huskie program, and tended to downplay all the...the...[I am at a loss for words to describe his general demeanor]...whatever...attributed to him, but I can't begin to IMAGINE what defense he COULD POSSIBLY have for that incident. I'm sure Mike could enlighten me. For once, I would like to hear from him on this board.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Oh, BTW, I'll take all the ugly wins the Lady Vols can come up with, given their youth, inexperience, and injuries. I would like to see them "play purty" while winning, but more ugly victories and no more injuries will suit me just fine. GO BABY VOLS!!! GO PAT!!! Thank heaven for you!!!
tenn32rebel writes:
Usually, I don't feed the trolls, but in Mike's case, I'll make an exception.
Do UCAN'T fans have such a short memory?? You sound like a great candidate for ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)!!!
Stanford pounded your dog butt into the hardwood and sent you yelping back to Storrs!!!
Geno will get one of your fine starters HURT by running up the score on some team. One of the other players will just take out a lady dog because she is so frustrated at Geno!!! He is the one that will be to blame!
It was a miracle that one of the 'Cuse girls didn't wipe out a UCAN'T player! However, give them credit. They were going after the punk who gave the orders!!!
Next time, it will be against one of his players. Put that in your dogpipe and smoke on it for a while.
"rebel"
GO BABY LADY VOLS---OUR FUTURE CHAMPIONS!!!
bmaples writes:
Mike from UConn -- yes, your team will probably win it all this year, and based on what I saw against UNC, they will deserve it. And based on what I've seen of the Baby Vols (affectionately named), I'll be very happy if we keep the "every Sweet 16 since the tourney started" streak alive.
That said -- graciousness in victory seems to me to be in short supply in Storrs. If your team is as good as you claim they are (and they do look awfully good), then let their play do the talking. As it is, your last post looks as if you slipped into a psychotic break, especially with the all-caps ranting at the end.
I don't like classless winners, whether they wear orange, blue, red, or white. Show some class. Here's how it's done --
Good luck to the U-Conn ladies team. May the best team win, and show class doing it.
mad_poly_uct writes:
Nice post. I will side with Mike on one point however. I was also at the game last Sat. I will attest to the fact that that was some of the worst sportsmanship displayed by Syracuse. Their on court behavior was a slap in the face, and disrespecful to the game itself. I've never seen so many flying elbows, fists, and knees in all the games I've attended, both men & women. I personally don't like the perception, or fact, that a team is running up the score, but I had little problem with that sort of method Uconn used to retaliate against the garbage way Syracuse handled themselves from the tip off. Physical play is one thing. What I was witnessing was way beyond hard nose physical play. Now I may not share Mike's optimism over how the season will play out(been a Cubs fan for too long), but this sure is a fun team to watch. Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on about nothin' that has to do with the Ark. game! I do think Tn will beat Auburn(will that be the 1,000?), and judging by how I see Tn is finishing off games, I'd make plans for St. Louis, if I were you:)
xvolx writes:
come on now 98. rememeber u-conn beat stanford for nat. champ. last year.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Not sure which "John" you are referring to, but even in the midst of my admittedly intemperate tirade, I said, "I have always given Geno grudging respect for the success of the UConn program." I don't know of any Lady Vol fan who seriously thinks they OUGHT to beat UConn THIS year, only that the LV's would not back down without a struggle. No question the Huskies are the best team in the country this year. However, as history has repeatedly proven, the best team doesn't always win. That's why the games are, you know, actually PLAYED instead of being contested by comparing statistics. I don't know why Pat canceled the series with UConn and I generally wish she hadn't. However, for most of the country at least, she has built up enough respect for her integrity in her 33 years of coaching to entitle her to respect for her opinion on such issues.
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