AUSTIN, Texas - Angie Bjorklund struck for 20 points in the first half against Texas on Sunday afternoon and didn't score thereafter.
She wasn't missed.
Tennessee's senior guard sufficed as an opening act in a 92-77 women's basketball victory before a crowd of 6,471 at the Erwin Center that featured five double-figure Lady Vols scorers, 83 Tennessee shot attempts and perhaps a few powder burns.
"If one person's not hitting shots, another person is going to step up,'' said Bjorklund, fresh off her best scoring day in nearly a month. "When we're all hitting, like (today), that's great, too.
Freshman guard Meighan Simmons backed up Bjorklund with 18 points, extending her streak of double-figure scoring games to start her collegiate career to 10. She surpassed the scoring debut of former Lady Vol Candace Parker, who was sitting behind Tennessee's bench Sunday, and tied teammate Glory Johnson. Former Lady Vol Chamique Holdsclaw holds the team record with 14 games.
Guard Kamiko Williams, who played most of her career-high 37 minutes at point guard, scored 14 points. She and Bjorklund each had a team-high four assists. Williams had no turnovers.
Johnson added 13 points for No. 8 Tennessee (9-1) and forward Shekinna Stricklen scored 10 as part of a double-double that included a game-high 11 rebounds.
"We continued to attack and push the ball,'' said Bjorklund, who moved into second place on the Lady Vols' career 3-point list (259).
Tennessee's depth took a hit when 6-foot-6 center Kelley Cain was clipped on a box-out play and crumpled to the court. Her troublesome right hip took the brunt of the contact. She was helped to the bench with 10 minutes, 18 seconds left and then assisted to the locker room afterward. Her playing status is listed as day to day in advance of Tuesday's showdown with No. 2 Baylor and 6-8 Brittney Griner.
Led by Kathleen Nash's 21 points, No. 21 Texas (5-3) convened four-double scorers. Ashleigh Fontenette scored 20, Chassidy Fussell, who's from Troy, Tenn., scored 18 and Yvonne Anderson had 11. But the Longhorns didn't have enough firepower for this Wild West-style shootout and were overwhelmed in the final eight minutes, falling behind by as many as 21 points.
"It doesn't take long against a great team like Tennessee, where a six-point lead becomes a 16-point lead,'' Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said.
Right from the start, Tennessee (9-1) seemed intent on outnumbering Texas. The Lady Vols utilized 11 players by halftime. Forward Alyssia Brewer, out since September after undergoing Achilles tendon surgery, made her season debut. Guard Lauren Avant, who has suffered through hand and ankle injuries, saw her first action since the season opener at Louisville.
Texas already was missing guard Tiffany Moore because of a suspension and forward Anne Marie Hartung was out with a viral infection.
Bjorklund, meanwhile, appeared determined to outscore the Longhorns. An 0-for-4 start was not a deterrent for a player who had been struggling since scoring a season-high 26 points against Virginia on Nov. 18.
"I missed my first couple of shots and (my teammates and coaches) continued to have confidence in me and just said, 'stop thinking, just keep shooting the ball,' '' Bjorklund said. "So that helped a lot."
While Tennessee's defense didn't slow down Texas, turnovers eventually did. The Longhorns committed 20, which led to 23 Tennessee points.
"It was tiring for us to keep turning it over and having to run back," Nash said.
The mounting fatigue took a toll on the Longhorns' rebounding, too. They were up four at halftime but ended up being outrebounded, 43-37.
The Lady Vols, on the other hand, were lively enough afterward to conduct a spirited postgame interview session. Simmons recalled her restless night before playing before family and friends from Cibolo, Texas.
"I couldn't go to sleep at all,'' she said. "I guess that was my sense of nervousness."
By morning, she had calmed down, thanks, in part, to her teammates. If they aren't encouraging Simmons, they're thinking up new nicknames for her. Along with "Speedy," the wiry Simmons is known as "Slim Jim" and "Toothpick."
They were scoring some laughs, right along with the points.
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Comments » 55
nadio1987 writes:
They looked good this game, we gotta keep up the firepower for Baylor, hopefully KELS will be OK, and Lyssi shake the kinks out of her game, but hopefully Baylor dont b too tough
txvolsfan2 writes:
One Big 12 team down and one to go. Very good game today Lady Vols!
ps11824 writes:
Santa, please bring us healthy post players. And Santa, could you combine that gift with some anti-turnover serum and an eye for the basket, especially on the freebies? Thanks Old Fella, and could get that here befor next Sunday? That's all for now...
CockeCountyNative writes:
What a joke
LOWCOUNTRYVOL writes:
A fun game to watch! Thanks LadyVols! GBO...
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
They held Nash down the 2nd half, just like Pat said they would have to do in order to win.Tx also shut down Angie in 2nd half. Pat wasn't too happy at halftime, but they did what they had to do to put it to TX! We ended up out-rebouding them too! WTG Lady Vols, now go do it to Baylor! Oh, and I hope Cain is alright. She made some much needed baskets in 2nd half and had a couple of blocks.
LADY VOLS...TCB....KOKO.....GBO!!!
dwa7#337691 writes:
early predict
UT 78
Baylorettes 71
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
Still a lot of indecision no offensive sets...almost too many options. Kelley didn't get a lot of timely passes.
Like I said on the other thread, we are just playing 'ok' and winning. That means we have room to get better, which isn't a bad thing.
alvol writes:
let me guess. You just saw your reflection in the mirror?
HanQ7 writes:
Legoo Lady Vols great game! Cain showed some signs of the great post she can be! I pray she is well and can go against Baylor on Tuesday. Brewer is back baby and the Vols are about to show you what they are made of! National Title Bound..... Legoooo Go!!!!
ps11824 writes:
What's up with CockeCountyNative? What is the joke anyway, cockecountynative? Do you have a comment? If you're referring to the snow storm, because that was quite a joke.
dead_vol, I take it you were not pleased with the play today? I agree they were taking too long setting and running some offensive sets. Seemed like they were not getting back down the court.
I feel bad for Kelly and Baugh and Brewer. It's just a pitiful situation to always be restricted and plagued by injury. Sure wish it didn't have to be that way. We can only imagine how good they could have been together if healthy.
Coach has to really be creative with her lineups. It's almost like she goes into a game blind, coaches on the fly, every game's a pickup game.
Today in the waning moments of the game Williams and Simmons were hotdogging it. I would have benched them and Glory for Bass, Syd and Manning. At least we got the W.
By the way, Santa, we'll need that by Tuesday. Maybe FedX
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
I CAN SEE THAT YOU ARE FOS AS USUAL!
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Great post there HanQ7! I like the way you think!
huntined#565710 writes:
Good win but Brewer just looked slow and at times lost out there today..Cain will have to have a good game with Baylor as they have someone taller then she is.. Angie shot well the first half and kept us ahead..Looked like Texas quit when they got down bad..
1volk-nowi-tall writes:
Today we saw what can happen when you have two quick guards. Angie can get open easier and have a chance to ply her trade. Some pretty good defense from Angie as well. So, naysayers, get off her back and be thankful she chose TN. A little too much dribbling the ball out front instead of running the sets by passing the ball until we get the open shot. Still need to get better at defending around the basket. We fail to switch and seldom really stop the ball. When we get these little problems solved and are better able to recognize our own open player more quickly, both around the basket and from the wing,we will be vastly improved and a real threat to beat everyone except that little sissie from Conn. Cause Mike says that no one can beat chino. Keep improving Lady Vols and let's see where we end up. Really like the depth on this team. It gives Pat so many options. You know I have always thought that men should not be allowed to coach women's basketball. Put the men in the men's game and the women in the women's game. Those are really good paying jobs and more women deserve a chance to work in that field....
Einstein writes:
A really great game by the Lady Vols. We really beat down Texas. Now let's step up our game and beat Baylor on Tuesday.
We really have a lot of options on offense. Kamiko Williams adds a lot to the team. I was glad to see her get some extended minutes on the court.
I hope Kelly Cain is OK for Tuesday but I doubt it. We need more minutes from Kelly and Vicki Baugh.
allvol32 writes:
Dude - quit cutting and pasting the same inane comments into multiple threads. How many times have you been told "Get a life"? Well add one to that total...
SoddyVol writes:
I believe Mike_In_Connecticut is Geno's twin. Just too much of a jackwagon i.e. "uncool person, jerk, a hole" to not be.
ps11824 writes:
Newsflash: What better life is there than hanging out with Lady Vols fans?
Just ask mikey. mikey's obsessed with TN Lady Vols. No problem. It happens to best of us. Difference is, most of us manage it well. We know where we belong.
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
98...
I wasn't displeased; loved the effort and hustle. Just some cohesion missing.
What I'm stressing is that we can improve, and when we do, there won't be many teams who can beat us.
UConn can be had.
RoadTrip writes:
I can truthfully say for the first time since Candace left that the LV's have the potential to win it all. How they come together as one unit and play within their abilities will determine if it is to be.
volbeginningtoend writes:
Mike, good to hear that you have not changed--same old dang and dumb Yankee. You may be obnoxious, but you are consistent.
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Very pleased with the way the ladies played today. They went there ready to play, and it showed. I hope Angie's game is here to stay. She was fantastic today. She did all the things I knew she was capable of doing. I hope she continues that. Texas wasn't bad, but Tennessee had to many weapons. They shut Angie down in the second half, but the others stepped up. They played team ball, and won.
Let's take it to Baylor. A victory there is possible. If the team goes there to compete, like they did at Texas today, they can win. It won't be easy! I sure hope Kelly is ok. I feel for our post players. Glory is doing a good job holding down the fort, but I really wish the rest could get healthy enough to offer more minutes. I thought Kelly actually looked good up until the point of her injury. Then I look over at the bench and see Vicki with ice on her knees. Can those poor girls catch a break?
Lady vols should be proud of themselves tonight. They looked happy. Good job in front of the Tennessee Legend, Candace Parker! Now off to Waco for a good game!
kazoo writes:
Good things happen when you have two athletic guards and shoot nearly 50 percent. Vols will have to shoot well again against Baylor as Griner will not allow much if anything inside. Bjorklund will need to play as well as she did today. Nice game.
flatrock writes:
Give the ball to Kamiko! The girl has game. Spread the floor and watch her drive, shoot, dish. Amazing
instincts. Go, girl!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Only 12 turnovers for the game! Taking care of the ball really helps! They did a good job of that tonight.
orangecountyvols writes:
Vols,
Both the men and women have these not-so-secret admirers...........such as the troll Mike from Yankee land, SEC1, the ZZ's, and the 'one' from Nashville.
Just as soon as the Vols do anything, win a game,rarely lose a game...........whatever, just like the plague, here come the trolls.
Jack, I'll say this, you have a very enviable site because the envy-laden trolls keep GoVolsExtra in business !
We knew we loved the Vols, but didn't realize the trolls do too! Obviously...
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
guys, no offense...angie won't play that way all that much. you just can't rely on jump-shooters to get you through the tournament.
sooner or later, Kelley and the other posts need to be included in the offense.
VolNWA writes:
The REAL UT won!!
HanQ7 writes:
You are too funny.... ROTFLMAO What in the hell does her knees and back have to do with her not being in shape? And, why are you so worried about what goes on in Big Orange camp? Could it be that you and the rest of the world or low key awaiting the day that UT and UConn will play again? You dreams will come true sooner than you think, keep watching and waiting and we it happens and Big Orange Nation will soon be hanging a 9th Championship banner then all you critics of the Lady Vols can ride a slow pole straight to hell! On another note..... If my memory serves me correctly, UConn recurited Kelly out of high school right? However, she had no interest in them! Kick Rocks homie
xvolx writes:
Not a bad win. They just wore Texas down. Manning and Johnson never showed up ready to play. I liked the lineup of Simmons, Williams, Bjorkland, Strickland and Johnson. I like Simmons best at point. She shoots best off the dribble. Williams could create her shot best from the wing. Cain was ok. 8 pts. in 9 min. Baugh's still rusty. Brewer's totally out of shape, but good to see her back. Spani played good. Hard to rebound out of a zone. Wish Pat had waited until the second half to run zone. Too many 3's with fresh legs from Texas. Avant appeared to be pressing. I'm glad Pat is not jerking them just for missing a shot. Rather see a missed shot than turnover. On to Baylor. Oh and let Mikey crow. We'd crow too if we had 80+ wins in a row and 2 nat. champ. in a row. Pull for your team Mike and quit knocking ours or we might be having chicken and you might be having crow.
SummittsCourt writes:
yeah, you got bragging rights now, but when it all blows up in your collective faces, make sure you come back here for some humble pie. But, since you are an incredilbe but-hole I don't expect you will.
richvol writes:
I hate to admit it but Mike is right about Cain and I have given up on her ever losing enough weight and getting into basketball shape to play 30 minutes. She does the best she can but the reason her back and knees are breaking down is due to all that extra weight. She needs to lose at least 40 pounds and I am disappointed that Pat and Jenny Moshack haven't convinced her to do it. Cain could be a dominate all-american if she was lean and in shape. She has skills.
Williams looks good at the point and is a great passer. She and Simmons can really create problems for the defense with their creativity and athleticism. Simmons needs to bring the ball up the court at least half the time though due to her tremendous ability to get to the rim so quickly. You eliminate a lot of opportunities for that though if you take the ball out of her hands. Pat will figure it out.
Glory at the post low post is very effective against tall opponents with her toughness and leaping ability.
I would not let Griner dominate the game against us at Baylor...put one in front of her and one behind and make the other players beat us if they can.
ps11824 writes:
richvol writes: Glory at the post low post is very effective against tall opponents with her toughness and leaping ability.
I would not let Griner dominate the game against us at Baylor...put one in front of her and one behind and make the other players beat us if they can.]]
Those two who guard her will foul out if we use that approach. The players guarding her should be expendable (could we put Brian Williams & Toby Harris out there?) Baugh, Spani. Not Glory, she would be first to foul out. If certain stripes work the game, we are in jeopardy already.
johnlg00 writes:
Same old stuff from the same old putz. Your shtick is tired, dude.
johnlg00 writes:
Agree with most, but Texas didn't quit, they just ran out of gas. They only went seven deep and even with little production from the LV posts, they were still able to run Texas into the ground with depth.
johnlg00 writes:
I think some people are being too hard on Kelly Cain. Yeah, she is too heavy and out of shape and she has bad wheels. The thing is, those factors are all linked. If you have bad legs, you can't work out hard enough for long enough to get the weight off and condition the legs. And so on. There is only so much anyone can do for a player her size and with her joints. Maybe water aerobics or something like that might help. Goodness knows, I'm no sports-medicine expert. The ones the LVs DO have are the best in the business. None of us have the credentials to challenge their approach, whatever they are doing with her, and most of us should have the class not to be so critical of Kelly herself. Too much to expect from Mike_the_Con, but LV fans should know better.
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
Anyone dissing kelley is not real astute. She has always been big. She's 6'6", and is not a 'nimble' player, so she needs the weight to hold her position. Otherwise, the short chunkers just move her out.
Get her the damn ball, she will score.
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
98 is correct; I much doubt Griner will score 60 points on us, and I certainly hope we can score more than 60 on them.
Single Griner, using Brewer, Cain, and Baugh. Spani next, then Strick.
On offense, screen the hell out of her, or make sure there is a defender between you and her. Also, get the ball to Kelley and attack.
UConn put Samarie Walker on her. Samarie is big, strong, and athletic. We don't have anyone like her. Spani might be closest in body type, but can't jump.
Anyway, we need to shut down the rest of Baylor and make Griner beat us.
ps11824 writes:
johnlg, you are right on the money. The poster calling Kelly heavy and slow doesn't even attempt to sugar coat. Kelly's doing all she can do and she's playing in pain. I doubt any of us have ever been so dedicated. If, if, if we had all our bigs healthy, we would be mighty. The greatest of optimists would not see this happening this season. We will press on with what we do have.
As for the Baylor Bears, their bench looks to be pretty short too. Looks like they go 8 players deep. I think we could use the same 'wear-em-down' approach as we did against Texas. I noticed Griner played 40 minutes against ND, which is their closest contest thusfar besides UConn. Their forward, Pope, played 37 minutes and Jones, a guard, played 37 minutes.
The Bears had 20 turnovers in that game which ended in a Baylor 11-point win. ND turned it over 22 times. Skyler Diggins scored 21 points and Griner was high scorer for Baylor with 21 points. Hayden and Griner had some turnover problems in that game with 9 between them, which led to the Irish grabbing 26 points off turnovers and 46 points in the paint.
Baylor guard, Simms, who may be our Meigan Simmons' assignment committed 4 turnovers. I think we can beat this team if we take care of the ball, play smart defense and hit our freethrows. For that matter, we could beat anybody.
madrigal writes:
Nah, just a troll.
abnermc writes:
Probably not one single Tn. fan has read your post.lol
ps11824 writes:
what makes a troll tic? Lonely? Here, I just blew you an orange kiss. Born ignorant? There's a wealth of knowledge online, but you'll need to leave gvx to find anything substantial. Are you a little bitty person? Hey cheer up, it's Christmas. Everyone loves an elf, and it pays well at the mall. Clothing will be at a great discount in a few days. Perhaps you could use some of mikey's hand-me-down conn-huskie britches. mikey has lots of conn memorabilia to hand out, always sharing with us, although found no takers thus far.
Just can't beat the spirit of Christmas.
HanQ7 writes:
Agree 100%; how the hell is she over weight? She is the right size to be 6'6" if she didn't have her size she'd be like Dawanna Bonner (former Auburn player) meat and bones. If the guards would hit the post when they are open, then the post game would be a hell of alot better than it is. Now, Ty'Sha Fluker was out of shape and never reached her potential although she was a fairly decent defensive player. And what about Tiffany Johnson, she was just a big as Kelly and she dominated the paint!
Jephry writes:
Mike_In_Connecticut is the Fred Phelps of these great boards. He protests when our girls do well, and he protests when our girls do badly. I honestly have learned to just skip over his posts. If there was a roadsign out there pointing to the coolest thing ever, and it was signed by Mike In Connecticut...I'd miss it because I have ingrained myself to ignore him. LOL
Way to go girls, GREAT win...I can't wait to head to Waco tomorrow and watch you take on the Lady Bears. Should be a fun game!
ps11824 writes:
Yes, and how about Dana Johnson? She would kick your butsky, call you smiley and be under the opposite basket before you knew you were on the floor.
I bet these folks sitting in front of their itty bitty keyboards calling Kelley overweight and slow are either on their last twinkie and unable to get to the Pilot or they have a crush on an underweight post player.
Did you see Pat's look yesterday when deedarling refused to give her the timeout she was clearly calling for? The other 2 stripes saw it and left it to deedarling and she overruled, charging Glory with a turnover.
I hope Bj is so on against Baylor. I hope all the sharpshooters are ON. We need big Mo going into the Cardinal game. Those gals are big and smart ballers.
And what the hey is point guard college?
BBhoops writes:
I just hope CPS has a plan against Baylor tomorrow. God knows Kim Mulkey out smarted her the last times these two teams met.
bowman58#262482 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
bowman58#262482 writes:
Let me re-phrase this and see if this goes through. Mike, exactly how do they teach you to spell 'definitely' where you come from? You use it a lot and haven't spelled it correctly yet.
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
very good post.
I disagree in a couple of areas:
-Samarie is inexperienced in COLLEGE; she's played a billion college-level players in AAU and at camps. I knew she was an excellent pick up for Geno.
-Griner is really fairly agile. Keep in mind she's pretty skinny, with long legs, playing the post. A male of her size would probably be a wing to four type player. That's the point about Kelley's weight; she needs it to hold position (I watched Appel throw her around like a rag doll a year or two ago).
Still, the rest of your post is spot on.
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