Lady Vols Basketball
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s Kelley Cain blocked five shots against Vanderbilt on Monday night but one resounded above all the others.
When the Lady Vols 6-foot-6 center swatted away Gabby Smith’s driving shot, teammate Alicia Manning collected the rejection and took off the other way for a driving layup.
Just like that, Tennessee — which had trailed the entire second half — was leading by point. Just like that, an outcome that seemed destined for the loss column had been steered toward victory lane and a 69-60 SEC women’s basketball win over the Commodores before a crowd of 6,005 at Memorial Gymnasium.
“That gave us a lot of momentum,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said of the block. “I think it was big for us. I think it motivated the entire team.”
Manning’s basket gave UT and a 52-51 lead with 5:33 left, erasing the remnants of a Vanderbilt advantage that had reached seven points in the second half. The Lady Vols then closed with a 17-point finishing kick.
“We have a confidence about ourselves this year,’’ Cain said. “If we get down, we take it one play at a time. We never hung our heads low.”
Along with blocking shots, Cain also converted 8 of 10 field-goal attempts in scoring a team-high 19 points. She led four double-figure scorers for No. 5 Tennessee (21-2, 9-1 SEC). Angie Bjorklund, Glory Johnson and Alyssia Brewer scored 10 apiece.
The Lady Vols had a 41-30 rebounding advantage and shot 53.8 percent from the field (14-for-26) in the second half.
Merideth Marsh scored 19 for Vanderbilt (17-7, 6-5). Jence Rhoads scored 15 and Lauren Lueders had 12.
Tennessee started by hitting six of its first seven shots, opening a 12-7 lead.
After the Lady Vols’ opening act, Vanderbilt took charge. A 3-pointer by Lueders, one of seven by the Commodores, ignited a comeback. They regained the lead at 18-16 when freshman Elan Brown squeezed in a driving reverse layup over UT’s Brewer.
Tennessee’s play, meanwhile, dissolved into foul trouble and more backcourt upheaval. Johnson and Brewer both missed significant first half minutes with two fouls apiece. Johnson was limited to five minutes.
Freshman Kamiko Williams continued to struggle as the starting point guard. Three other Lady Vols manned the position before the break.
Vanderbilt’s lead grew to 28-20 after Jessica Mooney stripped the ball from Williams, sending Marsh off for a driving layup and free throw.
After a timeout, the Lady Vols climbed off the deck to score the final eight points of the half. Taber Spani and Manning each swished a pair of free throws and Shekinna Stricklen converted a jumper to beat the shot clock and save a wayward possession.
Johnson returned in the second half but not for long. She picked up her third foul inside the first three minutes of the second half and sat for five more minutes. Stricklen was hit with a technical foul after jostling with Mooney on an inbounds play with 14:20 left.
The Commodores had regained the lead with Lueders’ trey to open the half. They held their advantage and expanded it to 47-40 after two Tiffany Clarke free throws with 8:41 left.
But then Tennessee had the final resounding say.
“We could’ve lost this game,’’ Summitt said. “We didn’t give up. We stepped up late in the game.”
Tennessee resumes conference play at Ole Miss Thursday night.
Oregon sends Lady Vols home from…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 58
SummittsCourt writes:
Good SEC road win against #22 ranked team that has to be getting tired of losing to UT. Last 7 minutes showed how well this team can play when the pressure is on. Last year they lost these types of games, this year they are figuring out how to win. Oh to have a healthy Vickie Baugh, Amber Gray & Faith Dupree...
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
I saw the game on 360... I found myself frustrated most of the game, and then somehow wondering how they won by 9 points. when the going gets tough, they know how to get it done.
USNVOL writes:
Nice win Lady Vols!
Anytime we beat Vandy in any kind of game,or in anything, it is a great win!
I said its great to be a.......Tennessee Vol !
huntined#565710 writes:
GREAT WIN but they scare me most of the time. Spani was not ready to play tonight. Cain had a great game but missed a bunch close to the basket. I thought this would be a tough game and it was as VANDY is a tough team and not afraid to mix it up. Got to keep it up at MISS Thur.
flatrock writes:
Please, somebody teach Brewer and Cain how to use the backboard. Please!
usnavyvolfaninva_still_getting_paid writes:
Let's make it a two-fer tomorrow!!
LdyVolFaninKS writes:
Great win and overall a great effort. This looked like what a Lady Vol team is supposed to look like. Not sure if Spani is quite ready to play yet, maybe she is just out of rhythm from sitting out. Bass...the only thing that sticks out about her in this game is the two turn over's she had trying to force the ball to Spani. Williams...baby steps...she'll get there. Glory would have had a much better game if Brian wasn't refing the game. He is such a d-bag. Defense was good overall and the offense was even exciting! Now, can somebody tell me what's wrong with Pat? She seems really low key!
SoddyVol writes:
Cain may be fairly strong but with refs letting defenders hang all over her, she needs more strength to put up a better shot.
ps11824 writes:
Oh, leave Pat alone. It's not easy being nearly 60. She's stressed out because her players CANNOT MAKE A BASKET. Trust me, it's aging me watching those really tall women miss those very easy shots. I'm not nearly that tall, but I'm much, much older, and I would have to try really hard to MISS those shots. The senior citizens league can shoot under-handed free throws all day long.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
While I was a bit frustrated with our offense this is the best I've felt about our will to win. I loved the way you all scrapped and fought to win this game. Keep fighting and keep winning but things could be a lot easier if someone could score consistently.
SoddyVol writes:
I thought the same thing. When the score was 51-50 Vandy and we scored, I commented that we just took the lead but the score didn't change so even though the score had been very slow to be updated up to that point, I figured it just changed fast that time. It did change with the next basket.
xvolx writes:
Williams had a problem before the season started getting into shape. She still loafs on defense, but personally I don't see anything wrong with her offense. Strickland plays too close to quick guards. Constantly beat off the dribble. Didn't take Pat but two quick threes to get out of that zone. Thought they played the man to man switch good. Someone said Cain missed a bunch of layups. She was 8 for 10. I don't see a bunch. Strickland threw an intentional elbow. She should have been called for tech.. Johnson's hard fouls are so obvious, then she acts surprised. Spani lacks footspeed on defense. Bjorkland should post up more, then they won't play her so tight outside. Good win.
ladyvolsfan writes:
Me and my sis were watching game and ?'d same thing! What do u expect from refs (2 of them anyway) who are obvious anti-Lady Vols? Let Miko develop as a PG and she will be unstoppable!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Congratulations on the win! I don't see anything wrong with Kamiko's offense either if she was not so hesitant to shoot. Where is the Kamiko that played so well at South Carolina. She passed up at least three open shots at the top of the lane that she normally takes and makes. I want her to get back to that aggressive shooter that she was. Cain was awesome, she missed two layups but she made up for it. To me,defense was average tonight until the final minutes. Those guards penetrating at will, was a bit much. Good win, as it is always tough to win at Vandy. I would like to see more improvement defending the three, and letting guards penetrate.
BigOrangeVol writes:
That idiot whistling should have been tossed from the gym! Typical obnoxious Memorial Gym crowd!!! We won the game but they made us look bad for 35 minutes. I wanted so bad to stomp then into a black and gold greasy spot.
Congrats to Pat on 1,026!
Hey Vandy skanks...55-7 in your face!!!
Well, Marsh still has teeth so that is disappointing.
From a physical standpoint their smaller team still punked us so I'm not happy about that.
They out-rebounded us on our end of the floor but we cleaned the glass on their end.
They won the three-ball battle AGAIN 44% to 29%.
Thank goodness we hit 74% from the foul line or it might have been a loss.
If the Athletic Department has any audio or video of Coach Cafego relating his "feelings" regarding Vandy then it should be played 15 minutes before kickoff / tipoff for every team that plays those pompous pretentious snotty snobs! KNS wouldn't let me write how I truly feel about that school but I can't imagine that Coach Cafego despised them any more than I do. I want 60-point wins against them in EVERY sport!!!
chaos001 writes:
I agree about the idiot who was whistling the whole game. I'm surprised someone in the gym didn't punch him out.
Speaking of getting punched out, Vandy deserved those elbows they got to the face. They ALWAYS play dirty. Last year's game that I attended in Memorial was a joke from the referees and this one was just about as bad. Vandy just can't hang physically with other teams because they're so small so they resort to undercutting, wrapping around, smacking...just about anything they can get away with.
There's no other matchup (not even with Ucan't) that makes me cuss, yell, and throw things at the TV than a Vandy game. Now I've got to deal with the boys game tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be refereed better than tonight (yeah right!).
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
There is nothing wrong with Pat except she is trying to get the best out of all of her young, very talented players. She works out every possible angle she can to figure out what will really get these girls to their potential. Its on her mind 24/7. She has chilled out throughout these years and it started after she had her son, Tyler. If you will think back from the early years until now, you will see the changes that she has made in he coaching approach and excitement. She can still get after them when she needs to and she does. There is nothing wrong with her, I promise. She loves the girls, she loves coaching, and she loves UT!
volfan73120#211815 writes:
Whoever runs the ESPN clock shown on TV messes up from time to time. He is very slow in putting scores up sometimes, and occasionally he gives points to the wrong team. On the 51-50 score, I thought we were 3 points behind. We scored and then they took the clock off TV for 30 seconds , and when it came back on it was still 51-50. I have seen this happen in other ESPN games.
richvol writes:
It sure seemed to me that Cain missed about 10 layups...I'm not so sure about that box score.
How Pat can justify playing Bass more than Kamiko is beyond me. The only thing Bass can do is dribble the ball up the court. She can't score or get the ball inside to the post. Kamiko has the ability to breakdown a defense and with more playing time would be a great playmaker with excellent passing ability. She does need to improve a great deal on defense as she looks like she is giving half effort.
I don't understand how we can look so incompetent on offense. It has to be the coaching because we have not been any good on offense for years. It should have been easy to score inside all night but we struggle to even get it there in spite of an enormous size advantage. Too much dribbling and poor passing. Even the TV analysts were commenting on how bad we are on offense.
nola_vol writes:
We continue to be weak passing the ball into the post effectively--or even safely! That's been a problem for previous LV teams, too.
I suggest Pat bring in the Quarterbacks Coach (or maybe a famous ex-Vol QB) to break down video on where to put the pass according to where the defenders are.
It looks to me that the post players are usually setting up correctly to receive the pass. But our perimeter girls (even when they are taller than their defender) just seem to have no confidence when or how to pull the trigger on that pass to the post.
My wife says Kara Lawson even mentioned it during halftime.
rockytopron writes:
Why don't you teach them, after all I'm sure you have vast coaching experience.
They basically won the game for the Lady Vols and yet you still complain...unbelievable.
rockytopron writes:
another one who just doesn't get it. I'm sure each one of the Lady Vol players would school you if you were to play one on one with them. I'm sure men never miss dunks or close shots either.
rockytopron writes:
Actually that score was correct, even after our comeback we were still behind 51-50. What happened is that the score board operator gave us 2 points we didn't earn and when we scored to actually make it 51-50 he left it alone. Normally they take the score off the screen and put it back as it should be.
rockytopron writes:
Check the box score before you post next time. Kelley Cain was 8 for 10 shooting the ball. You need to really be ashamed of yourself for making a post like that before you even look at the box score. Hopefully lesson learned by you.
Kamiko doesn't hustle, not hustling gets you pulled everytime. Pat has no tolerance for "Me" play, Brianna at least hustles.
We look incompetent on offense because we do not have a true point guard which will be solved next season has Pat has 2 coming in.
xvolx writes:
There was a messup on the score. The score was 51-50. Johnson got fouled. She made one FT and was given two points. She missed the second, which Manning rebounded and scored on a layup. She was given three points. So when Angie scored a two on the next possession, they didn't post it so the score would be right. Math major score keeper. not.
Fall_Creek_Vols writes:
This kind of comment really burns my behind. My guess is you probably couldn't hit the floor with your hat, much less a basket with a ball...especially when being guarded by some much younger, much more athletic and better basketball players than you could EVER hope to be.
I'd love to see you scrimmage against the ladies. I'd be willing to bet the farm that they'd kick your behind all over the floor.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Anytime you win over Free Throw Shooting U, the University of Faking Fouled, it is great.
Way to go, LVs.
RLL59 writes:
Good analysis. The Lady Vols did switch well on defense, but Vandy continuously took advantage of the mismatches that resulted by driving against a post player to the basket. And yes, Strickland, like just about everyone on the team overplays quicker opponents. It seems to be Coach Summit's philosophy to overguard to force the offense, and expect help to compensate. In both cases, other Lady Vols need to help out...and do it better than they did last night.
Vandy was collapsing on the post players. I know Coach Summitt doesn't like passing the ball out once it's near the basket, but even with the height advantage, it's still good to hit the wide open 3 shooter once in a while to open up the defense. That would have gotten Bjorklund on track much sooner. We need her to score earlier in the game to open up everyone else.
Super finish! Experience and talent showed up at crunch time.
Jlee writes:
I noticed the missed score too. It was 50 to 49 UT when Bjorkland hit a jumper which should have made it 52 to 49. Vandy called a timeout and I kept waiting to see them add the points, but they never did. I had to rewind the Tivo to make sure I wasn't crazy. It was unbelievable, I've never seen that before. Great win though 71-60!
ladivolfan writes:
1. Williams will get there, she just needs opportunity to work into the position.
2. Manning should start after her last few performances
3. Bass came into this game for several reasons - Vandy is short, Bass is fast and was fresh and Pat was still trying to figure out who was going to shine at the point in the game
4. Bass would do better if given more opportunity and not yanked out after 1 or 3 errors
5. Was Bjorklund even at the game the first half?
6. What the heck was the Strickland's T for? Trying to get into position?
7. I hate 9:00 games. I don't wind down until 1am.
huntined#565710 writes:
Don't know what game you watched but we missed more then 2 shots under the basket at one time we missed 3 in a row. Now they won the game but I didn't see anyone hit 80%
ps11824 writes:
Fall_Creek_Vols writes:
in response to 98reax:
Oh, leave Pat alone. It's not easy being nearly 60. She's stressed out because her players CANNOT MAKE A BASKET. ...
This kind of comment really burns my behind. My guess is you probably couldn't hit the floor with your hat, much less a basket with a ball...especially when being guarded by some much younger, much more athletic and better basketball players than you could EVER hope to be.
I'd love to see you scrimmage against the ladies. I'd be willing to bet the farm that they'd kick your behind all over the floor]]
You're so right, Fall Creek Vol, I couldn't throw it in the ocean. That was a typical frustration comment. I work nights and it is very rare that I get to watch a game in real time. I just wanted to see the Lady Vols come out and kick some Vandy butt from the tip-off to the final horn. Instead, I saw missed easy shots and turnovers. I switched channels and watched CSI. I think it was a game changer.
Sorry bout your burned backside. When you recover we could play a game of HORSE.
huntined#565710 writes:
I also read the box score and had a laugh at that 8-10 they must have put some of those shots on Stricklen 2-9 like I said we won the game but misses a lot of easy baskets.
ps11824 writes:
By the way, FallCreek, unless you are an old codger, you never saw me play ball. I'm bettin' you didn't go to my school or play in my division, so you would not have seen me, and if you DID, you could not possibly remember, so....now what was I sayin'? Oh yes, do not take my euphemistical candor personally. I'm just another fanatic having fun while I.......oops, nodded off again
johnlg00 writes:
According to the stats, Cain missed TWO out of 10. There were a few others who had point-blank misses, too, but, as that rebounding margin showed, they kept getting more opportunities. The one who impressed me the most tonight in crunch time was Glory. She battled on both boards and stuck some big free throws. Not too surprising Spani had a tough night; she has missed a lot of practice and game time. I agree completely with other posters who said that the LVs would have lost a game like this last year. Good job, ladies!
johnlg00 writes:
The post passing can't be all THAT bad; the post players have been on a scoring spree the last few games. Sure, they get lots of those from offensive rebounds and the perimeter players don't put every entry pass on target, but, all things considered, all aspects of post play are better this year than last.
phhome writes:
I thought that Strickland had as much right to that spot as mooney, look again, money got up on strickland, and they had been jockeying fo position all night, the refs could have let it go like they let most of the fouls Vandy should've received go last night. The the male ref made most of the calls against the ladyvols last night, if they would make calls when they were constantly fouling Cain and pushing Brewer and Johnson in the back the tech may have never happened.
johnlg00 writes:
Vandy had a quickness advantage at nearly every position and we know they can shoot the three. You can sell out to defend against either the penetration OR the three, but it is hard to do both if the opposing players are quicker. In general, because Cain, Brewer, and Johnson are such good shot blockers, the perimeter players should play up on the 3-pt shooters and let the bigs take care of the dribble drive.
johnlg00 writes:
You're right; "we" missed more than two, but you said KELLEY missed more than two. Also, attempted tip-ins don't count as attempted shots unless they go in. At times, the ball was being batted around so much under the basket that not all of those stabs could be counted as shot attempts.
johnlg00 writes:
True that. I just don't think teams work on feeding the post as much as they did when I was playing in HS, for example. One rarely sees the feed leading the post player toward the basket or the open area. The bounce pass to the post is not used enough. The perimeter players don't seem to recognize in time when the post player is open and in a position to score. The men's game is if anything even worse at this.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Good Win. Lets take OleMiss to the woodshed and be physical under the basket. Gotta play tight against Bianca Thomas but I think we can hold our own against there bigs.
VolCrazy1491 writes:
You are correct they didn't count one of our shots. BTW it was shot by Bjorkland.
cdtnladyvols931#663910 writes:
Yes you are so right, they did not count one of their shots. But nothing surprises me anymore when TN plays at the way the officials let the teams do them. The technical that was called should have been on Mooney not Strickland or a double technical. They need to get new clock operators along with new officials. Everytime TN plays Vandy or GA it is usually the same old officials that was there last night. I record every game TN plays and I am going to watch it again very closely. I wonder if Micky Deerstone caught that on the radio broadcast. GO LADY VOLS!! LETS MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW TONIGHT! LADY VOLS AND VOLS HAS TO PLAY THE TEAMS AND THE OFFICIALS
ps11824 writes:
The post has to be working hard too, to get open. johnlg, what have you observed regarding that? Are the big girls getting in position to take the pass?
ahouseho#651452 writes:
I am not sure if I want to get into the disagreements on the issues posted here because we are just preaching to the choir .
I saw the Virginia game earlier this year in Charlottesville in person and would have liked to have e-mailed Pat . The same problems still exist. I only want to offer constructive criticism .
The taller vols with the arm reach are probably a foot taller than most of the defense. Many times in close, they bring the ball down after a catch and the little people take it away and that is still happening. As for the double post play there is no screening to get open. The passing in should be high for the same reasons.
you can not play the fast guards up close . we keep standing flat footed and get beat on the dribble. we should have scored 50 points last night down low. You have to go up strong and use the body on lay ups.
They need to protect the ball. Each steal is a lost opportunity to score.
Foul shooting is simple: Elbow parallel to the floor, rhythm, timing, and follow through.
They need to go out and have fun like Chism did the other night. I think they are uptight,because they are afraid of making a mistake.If you keep playing the same way every game you get the same results. They need to focus on the things that will get them to the level of success they want to achieve.
I hope I have not offended anyone, i would like them to play up to their potential .
Enough said
VolunteerLifer writes:
Me, too. I thought we scored a 2 point basket at 51-50 Vandy and I noticed it wasn't posted. I began to wonder if what I thought I had seen was a mirage or something. Since a number of us noticd this, there must have been something going on. Does anyone have any explanation?
tennboy78 writes:
The Vandy kids all seem to know how to bump into one of our players and make it look like they were KO'd by Mike Tyson. The refs just felt obligated to call fouls because of the acting skills rather than the (non)substance. Once is bad, but the number of incidents, including the one that prompted the "technical foul" on Stric indicates a slimy attitude towards sportsmanship, and desperation....
KCHS63 writes:
Sometimes it's hard to tell what people are actually watching....
Cain uses the backboard ALL the time and Brewer doesn't need to. What's the problem?
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
KCH....I saw what you did. Cain and Brewer have really been playing some ball lately. Everyone just needs to look back and see all the points in the paint that we have had the past several games. The only issue that I can see is that the Bigs, should never put the ball on the floor to dribble before they shoot, or even lower it below their breasts. Just put the ball in the basket, whether it be off the board or a pivet shot and this will come in time. Glory is all over the boards every game, the girl has major "hops". In the last 5min, they turned it on and did what they had to do to win this game!
We are 22-2! I can understand that every one has a right to their opinion and I have given plenty myself but sometimes I wonder.....what do people expect???? We have a very young team that has vastly improved since last year and it is obvious that Pat is trying everything she can to get these girls to the level of their potential. Again, we are 22-2! Even though there have been plenty of games that we could have played better, they have found a way, somehow,to come out with a victory. Congrats Lady Vols!
LV.......TCB......KOKO......GBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
johnlg00 writes:
I think they are. The posts and the perimeter players aren't always on the same page about that, though. Sometimes I have seen post players in good position waving for the ball when the guards aren't in position to throw it to them. Other times the guards throw it in there when the post players aren't even looking at them or when there are a couple of defenders in between. It has to be a point of emphasis and practiced constantly for it to be the area of strength it should be for this team. Still, as I said, the post game has been WAY more effective most of this season than it was last year.
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