TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tennessee didn’t have a good night against Alabama Thursday.
At least it wasn’t a lost night.
The Lady Vols erased any lingering possibility of the unthinkable against the SEC’s last-place team with a scoring spurt inside the final 10 minutes. It provided sufficient breathing room for a 74-67 women’s basketball victory before a Pink Zone crowd of 3,900 at Coleman Coliseum.
The outcome didn’t provide much in the way of solace, however.
“It’s an opportunity for our basketball team to take a look at who we are,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said. “… We disrespected the game of basketball tonight.”
Alyssia Brewer, who started in place of Kelley Cain, scored a team-high 20 points for No. 5 Tennessee (24-2, 12-1 SEC). She also grabbed 10 rebounds. Shekinna Stricklen scored 14 points and Angie Bjorklund had 13
Freshman guard Celiscia Farmer made her first career start and scored a career-high 21 for Alabama (10-16, 2-11).
The Crimson Tide committed 24 turnovers, which resulted in a corresponding 27-14 Tennessee advantage in points off turnovers. That helped cover for the Lady Vols being outrebounded 45-33 and shooting 11 for 24 from the free throw line.
The Crimson Tide became just the second team to outrebound Tennessee this season (the other was No. 2 Stanford) and shot 45.9 percent from the floor, a season best by a UT opponent.
“We had a chance, if we had made some shots, to pull off something big,’’ Alabama coach Wendell Hudson said.
Tennessee came to Tuscaloosa without Cain, who stayed in Knoxville to attend classes. Alabama, on the other hand, began without its usual starting five, sending reserves Alyson Butler, Carmen McCoy, Katie Hancock, Tamara Williams and Farmer out for the opening tip.
“We were going to play who will play hard,’’ Hudson said. “That’s the group that was playing hardest in practice.”
Alabama’s new lineup played UT to standstill until the usual starters checked in with 14:14 left in the first half, establishing the rebounding dominance and shooting accuracy.
Tennessee, meanwhile, wasn’t establishing much of anything.
“I think we just came out flat,” Bjorklund said. “Two turnovers in a row (at the start). One thing led to another. It sucked the life out of us.”
A brief scoring spree enabled the Lady Vols to open 33-23 lead late in the first half but their advantage shrank to 37-31 at the break.
“This was one of those games where we were taking the fight to a team,’’ Hudson said.
Tennessee was missing Cain’s defensive presence around the rim. Alabama scored 22 of its first-half points from close range and finished with 40.
UT’s Glory Johnson was all but absent, considering the sophomore forward had zero points and one rebound at the break. She was in and out of the game until the conclusion and heard from nearly every coach on the staff before finishing with three points and five rebounds in 20 playing minutes.
Summitt was so angry that the players heard for associate head coach Holly Warlick, who took the coaching lead during several second-half timeouts.
The Lady Vols’ next game is against LSU at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday night (TV: ESPN2, 7 p.m.). The Lady Vols will be off today.
“Not that they’ve earned it,’’ Summitt said. “I have to go recruiting.”
Brewer, for one, thinks that she needs to be in the gym, cleaning up her 6 for 12 performance from the free throw line.
“We have to have that maturity,’’ she said, “and take responsibility for that (game).”
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Comments » 91
ps11824 writes:
Growing pains, baby. My pains are growing the more I watch. I don't know how Pat keeps her sanity.
r2d2 writes:
Team consistency starts with lineup consistency. Coach Summitt has been forced to play varying lineups due to inconsistent play at the point guard, small forward and power forward positions.
elbtenn#502977 writes:
Was at the game---ugly win, but a win is a win is a win..........
SoddyVol writes:
How long did the Bama bench play to start the game? Looks like they played about even with Vols starters. Not saying much for LV effort.
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Even though they won, there was no effort! Defense was horrible! They played so carefree! Even though the opponent was Alabama, I didn't expect this kind of effort. Come on ladies, pull it together! It is too late in the season for this kind of effort. Glory has hit a major slump, I hope she can get back to form. She looked all out of sorts. Kamiko looked a little better tonight.
Halls3 writes:
So I wonder if Summitt would say the men disrespect the game of basketball every time they play b/c it was like watching a rerun of the first half for the men last night. I mean jeeze at least the guys have an excuse for not having team chemistry. Is it just me or since the 3 amigos came back only Chism has played worth a darn?
richvol writes:
A reserve that had never started for Alabama was the best player on the floor the entire game...that's sad. Alabama just blew by our defense,if that's what you would call it,into the paint for a ridiculous amount of layups and outrebounded us by a wide margin.
Rebounding and defense is about effort and it's no wonder Pat was furious. These gals better start playing with some determination and effort or they will find themselves going home early from both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Williams played better but I still don't understand why Bass plays at all. She can bring the ball up the court but that's it. She doesn't shoot,is too small to defend and rarely has a pass that turns into an assist. I don't get it.
Glory has lost the poise that she had gained early in the season and has regressed back to last year's problems. It seems she loses her concentration in attempting layups and even freethrows now as it looks like she is trying to get rid of the ball as fast as possible and the result is she just throws it off the backboard so hard it has no chance of even coming close to going in. Last game she threw two passes without even looking where she was throwing it and they resulted in turnovers and points for the other team. Where did the discipline go that she displayed earlier in the year?
Manning looks terrific...
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Great post richvol! I don't know what has happened to Glory either, hopefully, she will find what she has lost sooner than later and Manning was terrific!
rocky_topper writes:
some of these girls who always have an excuse for poor play should be ashamed to donne the lady vols jersey! this is the most inconsistent, poor-playing team I can remember in twenty plus years!
come out flat in the tourney and see where you will end-up!!!!!
nola_vol writes:
Pat has said and done about all she can--individually and to the team as a whole. Cognitively, they understand what they aren't doing and what they need to do.
Maybe it's time (before tourny) to back off and let them sort it out for themselves. It's not naturally in Bjorkland's personality, but she remembers what Nicky Anosike did to pull that last championship team together and take ownership of their play.
After the past 2 seasons, for all us LV fans, the phrase "senior leadership" will never again be just another coaches cliche!
tnluv2play writes:
Well, I'd taken back everything I said about Glory Johnson last season but I'm putting it on the table again. She could be such a force for the Lady Vols and she got off to such a great start. I'm really disappointed in Glory's effort. No commitment once the season really gets underway and we need her talent.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
C'mon folks it was the worst team in the SEC, in Tuscaloosa on a late Thursday night, UT played the worst they've played all season and AL played the best they have played all season. It's so hard to get motivated for that. On nights like this it's just best to come out with a win. And the LV's did. Pat's angry but I don't think she is overly concerned and neither should we be.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
11 for 24.
We need to adopt the Vanderbilt men's philosophy for that part of our game. They know how to get to the line.
Maybe move the teams into an archaic end of the court set-up.
Nah, corch 'em Pat. This could be a tough NCAA tourney.
Thanks for the win, at least.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Footnote - they only had 26 of 34 in their win at Ole Mess last night.
Geezsus.
ps11824 writes:
tonyvick, [[Pat's angry but I don't think she is overly concerned and neither should we be.]]
I'm gonna have to differ with that opinion. I think Pat is sick with concern, and something drastic is about to take place in the way of getting the message across. LSU will surely get the message across too, and the LVs will not skate by Van Chancellor this time.
If the team brings that attitude onto the court with LSU, things will definitely go south.
BigRMan writes:
Don't worry about Chancellor, he's just a dumb bumpkin who couldn't win anything without Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, Janeth Arcain, Tammy Jackson, or Sheryl Swoopes. Let him give out his candy and take his lumps. Van's taken more lumps than a bad case of the mumps, or under cooked oatmeal!
xvolx writes:
This is not the same team that played the second half against Fla. Maybe they just don't have the desire to be a championship team. If they show up against LSU, Ky. or Miss. with this attitude, one of them or all of them will knock us off.
They certainly didn't take Ala. serious. Strickland, Johnson and Spani are going downhill. They could blow the reg. season SEC title or lose early in SEC tourn.. Either will cost them a #1 seed. If they keep playing like this, they'll struggle to reach sweet 16. There appears to be an attitude problem with Johnson and Williams. Srickland trying to play out of position. Bass and Smallbone don't have the talent to help. Spani has an injury that is hindering her development. Bj, Brewer and Manning are bringing a good effort. Pat isn't the only one confused by this team.
volboy81 writes:
That was probably the worst game the Lady Vols have played in 8-10 years!...but they still won! That is a very poor Alabama team. We better step it up about 10 notches by Monday, or LSWho will beat us! Come on Lady Vols, lets finish strong and go unbeaten at home this year!!!!
johnlg00 writes:
Looking on the bright side, if there is one, the opposition doesn't know which LV team will show up, either. If they expect the "good" one, they may be thrown off if they get the "bad" one, and vice versa. Yeah, I know, not much to hang your hat on. Seems that a degree in psychology is a must for coaches these days, if only to give them a way to keep their own sanity!
yopatrick#231155 writes:
Perhaps leaving Cain at home sent the wrong signal to the rest of the players -- the signal that beating Bama would be easy, so why try too hard. I thought Manning put forth a good effort, but even she missed free throws. Why are they so poor at shooting free throws?
dbgray writes:
I don't understand why Cain felt she had to stay home for classwork! Big time programs have special academic tutors to work with student athletes. Cain's absence made a big difference. If she is in academic trouble however it could be serious problem for the team
RLL59 writes:
Does anyone still believe that Coach Summitt's half time lecture in the Florida game was the reason for the great 2nd half, and a key to future consistency? The players are scared and confused, and make knee jerk reactions to the latest coaching tirade. Last night they came out thinking that playing hard meant playing frantic. For a 23-2 team, no one, players nor coaches, are having any fun. With a few minutes left in a game that was essentially over, you couldn't tell from the expressions of the coaches or players which team was winning. This was a win, but the team played poorly and remains unprepared and uncertain going into the tournaments. That's a coaching problem as well as a player issue...and so far the ranting approach hasn't worked out.
Some side thoughts:
The box score showed Strickland only played 16 minutes. She was 7-12 shooting and appeared to have had a decent game. Manning played even fewer minutes, and she also seemed to have played well.???
Has this team become so dependent on Cain that they couldn't rebound nor defend near the basket without her? So much for letting an honor student skip a game to attend a class.
Brewer had overall good stats, but appeared to feel that she had to shoot the ball whenever she touched it. Kicking the ball out sometimes for the open 3 is still what loosens up the defense and wins games in women's basketball.
Doesn't anyone notice in the films that Brianna Bass defends to the side of the offensive player rather than in front of her? She's the quickest player on the team, but gets driven by on just about every play. That's a fixable problem.
Jephry writes:
Looks to me like there is a chemistry issue with this team. Glory seems very unhappy out there. Maybe the constant lineup changes are getting to the girls... Maybe the pressure NOT to make mistakes is mounting... I don't know, but I feel for them. We can sit here all day long and tell them to get their heads together, buck up, make mature decisions and all that...but we also have to remember - they are 20 year olds! I'm not sure I was making the best decisions at 20, and I didn't have to do it in front of thousands of people...
I just wish they would work together at becoming a team. Where was Strick last night in the second half other than missing layups? Now that Brewer's actually giving some effort, six other girls have nearly disappeared. With Bjorkland, Stricklen, Cain/Brewer and Johnson, we should be able to build a big lead on just about anyone. Throw in a ball handler with any skill at all and the LVs should be menacing to say the least. Where is the fire? Where is the killer instinct? Who wouldn't want to go into another team's arena and wipe the floor with them?
Anyway, I'll keep lovin' my Lady Vols...cuz that's what I do, but it doesn't mean they don't flabbergast me... Go Lady Vols!!!
kazoo writes:
You folks are comical--throwing the players under the bus after every mediocre performance. Summitt recruited these players, she is responsible for developing them and developing the team. It's her team. Glory Johnson has not developed at all--she's still an excellent athlete who doesn't know how to shoot or score. BIG problem for this team.
ps11824 writes:
johnlg, do you not empathize with Pat Summitt? She's not sleeping nights, I would venture. People who say coaches do not earn their bucks, surely cannot imagine what stress they endure. If a winning season, pressure's on to keep it up. A losing season may get me fired. If up and down, what the heck am I missing? Nothing is working. Should she, would she turn them loose, say "just go play?" What? Million$$ would not relieve that kind of stress, would it?
Go Smoky, it's your birthday.
Where's the team gone?
When they gonna play?
Go Smoky, go smoky.
Bruce and Pat's gone
On a rampage.
Can we make it
To the big stage?
Go Smoky, go smoky.
JAdams rippin' y'all
Up on the sports page
Hey, Mr Fleser
Write another letter
Tellin' GVX how we gonna git better."
Go Smoky, go smoky.
It's your birthday!
The1 writes:
Why do you assume Pat is still sane?
How does one disrespect basketball? Basketball is a game and is, therefore, not respectable.
A Team plays according to the tone the coach sets. A coach should never publicly criticize her players.
A coach is a teacher and a cheerleader/motivator. Bashing these young girls all the time does not motivate them.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Why criticize Cain for doing what she suppose to do. Get a education? She's graduating in Dec, and I know basketball is her love but the Wnba is no gimme. I'm sure she was on the edge of her chair just like u wishing she was there. So jets remember students first.
Something on my mind . Man I wish Pat would try to convince Donna Delle to tranfer. Now she's a scorer!! Would be hard to sit out a year but you know we would win two more with her in the lineup. So glad she's not with Geno. She saw right through him.
fortandrews writes:
Reference to The 1. Do you have children or had any. Ever worked with children in a school. Growing up isn't easy for a lot of people - even adults.
abnermc writes:
You would know
ps11824 writes:
abnermc, is that a question, or a statement? Of course Pat is sane. She's a mentor, a coach, a caring, compassionate human being. If you believe basketball, the game is not a respectable sport, why are you here? Do you seek out disrespectable sites? If you do, you are on the wrong site. Pat is simply telling it like it is. And yes, she gives credit where credit is due. If they play to their capabilities, Pat is the first to commend them for it. You obviously have no clue what is the difference. If the team played according to the tone of their coach, they would seldom lose. They would never disrespect their scholarship.
ladivolfan writes:
It wasn't that bad. Granted, Glory was absent, but so was Cain. What did they expect without Cain? If Pat is willing to leave Cain behind, then she should be willing to accept that they will not perform as well without her. I've seen worse. We won. That's what matters in the end.
richvol writes:
To keep perspective,24-2 and 12-1 is outstanding overall and in SEC play but Pat has admitted that this team has troubled and baffled her more than any other in her 36 years of coaching. We all see the same thing she does. There is a lot of talent on this team yet they don't play very well much of the time. They struggle to score nightly and most times even struggle to pass the ball to one another. Talent is why they are winning but there is no beauty to their game at all. The precision and smooth flow of Pat's past teams is missing.
The reason I get frustrated is because you can see the ability...almost touch it but it keeps eluding their grasp and nothing so far seems to work in fixing it. Why in the world would Glory and even Stricklen not be getting better at this point in the season? Why can't we have a point guard that can play consistently enough to run an efficient offense and where in the heck is the defense on a night we play the weakest team in the conference?
nola_vol writes:
As I understand it, this would have made 4 Thursdays in a row she would have missed classes. Some classes only meet once a week, but even presuming these are Tues/Thurs classes... that's missing 50% of the class heading into mid-term exams!
There's no way to replace missed lectures. Most profs don't allow recording classes anymore. And how's a tutor gonna provide what you missed in the lectures--which are also your best indication of what's gonna be on the exam.
It's not that Cain's in academic trouble. I heard she is a 4.0 student, on track to graduate early.
But if she's a marketing major, she's GOT to get into the best possible MBA-type program to find a job in this economy. Today's Master's degree really is yesterday's Bachelor's degree (and today's "A" is yesterdays "B-", so keeping her GPA very high really is critical to her immediate future.
Halls3 writes:
Actually missing lectures is very easily replaced if you are an athlete. The University of Tennessee will pay students to take notes for athletes who have practice, games, etc. I've done it before b/c the pay is pretty good. I believe her GPA may actually be struggling b/c athletes get special priviledges around class at UT. It's just the way it is, fair or not.
ruatnvol#582059 writes:
Excuses..excuses..can't we play two back to back games? Ladies..shame on you for your lack of effort and playing ONLY when your backs are against the wall.Where is your Lady VOL pride?? Play like that and you'll be home again first round tournament time. I had to turn the TV off last night..that was Bama, the last place team in the SEC, and you barely win a game you should have won by at least 20 points! Guess it's time to take you butts out of that nice locker room until you show heart,and play up to your potential.If some of you can't play better than this,,then maybe you need to play for a JR. college program and take a school bus to away games.YOU ARE given everything at UT and you are showing a lack of respect for YOURSELVES,the program and for those of us that support this program. This is not growing pains..this is a total lack of pride/effort and NOT playing with a desire to win....or at least compete. YOU have the talent,the BEST coaching staff, best facilities and the skill level but YOU have decided to ONLY play when forced to . Shame on you ladies for not living up to your potential!
UCONN, winning +65 straight and coach Geno make me ill but those ladies play very hard with passion and this team of Lady Vols again shows very little passion or effort for the game.
johnlg00 writes:
Interesting thoughts. Too much to go into in detail. The only thing I can maybe help you out with is the part about Bass' defensive stance. I don't know that this is the case in this situation, but coaches often tell a defender to shade the offensive player to one side to take away her strong hand and channel her into other defenders. The intent is not necessarily to prevent a player from penetrating but to dictate WHERE she penetrates. Sometimes you just want to surround a penetrator, make her pick up her dribble, and force a pass that may be intercepted. Maybe it IS just a mistake and that may be part of the reason why Bass doesn't get major minutes. On the other hand, if it's not a mistake, that may be why she does it while she is in there, and her relative lack of playing time may be due to the other shortcomings some have pointed out.
johnlg00 writes:
You didn't think I was criticizing, did you? I do sympathize with Pat. Every team and every player has a distinct personality. It is perhaps harder than ever for a coach to relate to players who perhaps overvalue their own feelings and find it hard to take on a group identity. If it were THAT easy, there would be more one 8-time national champ in women's basketball. If it were that easy for Pat, she would have 15-20 national titles. But it's really, really hard to win even ONE national championship! On the evidence so far, this will likely not be one of them, but who knows? It's not over yet. It may not be that much fun for the players, for Pat, or for us right now, but not everything worth doing in life is necessarily fun while you're doing it!
rclarkfork#639958 writes:
24-2 12-1 and ranked number 5 with one of the toughest schedules in the country. That should tell you something but I'm sure it won't.
ahouseho#651452 writes:
My view on the ladies is very simple. Some people look at the game and do not see it. All of our opinions are varied and most make good points, however we are just preaching to the choir. For whatever it's worth my take and suggestions:
1. We need leadership on the floor, someone all the players respect. Maybe Pat knows who that could be.
2. The players sometimes are trying too hard or not at all. When you have two players on defense standing in front of the goal on a fast break and neither make an effort to stop the drive to the bucket , now that is a problem.
3. I believe the girls are afraid they are going to make a mistake and get blasted from the sidelines.
4. Other teams have found that they can drive around any player on the court. You got to bend the knees , keep the feet moving ,and stay in front of the player.
5. It looks like some of the players just do not come to play with enthusiasm . Maybe some stay up late as it appeared when they were on the west coast. I would have a five minute full half court scrimmage before the game and coach decides who is ready to play.
6.It's hard for me to understand why the all american players cannot live up to their previous honors.
6. They need to focus on the process that gets them to the level of play that they want to achieve. If you keep making the same mistakes over and over, you get the same results.
johnlg00 writes:
The bit about respecting or disrespecting the game of basketball is part of the philosophy of such coaches as Bob Knight, John Wooden, and Coach K at Duke. Briefly, it is the idea that there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything on a basketball court. The game itself imposes most of those standards. The best teams and the best players try as much as possible to live up to those standards regardless of opponents, personal feelings, or even wins and losses. It is a difficult standard to live up to, but the process of pursuing it purposefully often yields other rewards along the way.
RLL59 writes:
John, I agree with your explanation for shading a player toward one side or the other. It's the same purpose as the overguarding strategy that Coach Summitt favors. However, the Lady Vols, this year at least, just do not help out on the drives..or they're too late. With Cain in there, it can still be effective, but Brewer doesn't have the defensive timing or quickness with her hands that Cain has.
It just seems that, with the quickness Bass has, she should be a more effective defender against the dribble.
johnlg00 writes:
I too have been a note-taker for athletes and you are right about all the other types of academic support athletes get. That said, sometimes there really IS no substitute for hearing a lecture in person. Besides, she may need to talk to the professor in person to get guidance for a paper or project or any number of other reasons. As has been pointed out elsewhere, Kelly is NOT in any kind of academic difficulty, quite the opposite in fact. Given how much people gripe about athletes not caring enough about academics, how can we carp about a player caring TOO MUCH? Not only are mid-terms coming up before long, but the athletes may well wind up missing lots MORE class time as the tourney action heats up.
OrangeCrush writes:
Here's an odd stat line, when was the last time the LV shot a better FG percentage of 46.2% vs a 45.8% from the free throw line?
Bet it has been quite a while...
ps11824 writes:
No, johnlg, it is not your nature to freely criticize. I addressed you because of your experience as a coach. I look to you for solid commentary without interjecting desultory remarks. I realize you can relate on some level to what a frustrated coach may be going through. I appreciate that you understand there is more to these athletes than what we see on the court.
bogey74 writes:
Record is nice - but talent level is way down. Offensive scheme is difficult to watch. It was hard to watch - even when Candace Parker was here. Candace was the only reason it was successful.
Pat keeps harping about effort, defense, rebounding, commitment, etc. Face it, the schemes and talent are not what they used to be.
SummittsCourt writes:
I decided not to waste my time reading all of the negative or critical comments by all of you Head coaches or division 1 basketball players on here because obviously you know more than the rest of us.
All I have to say is in Pat I trust and this is a final four team and they will get there. All of you critics give up your right to celebrate because of your lack of faith when they get there. I realize the team is not beating every opponent by 30 and they have not played well in a lot of games, but this is not the playoffs and this is when you get those things worked out. the fact that the lady vols are 24-2 & 12-1 in the SEC isn't good enough for you please take your watered down fanship somewhere else. My opinion, support the team and Let Pat coach 'em up her way. She knows what she is doing.
Relax, they won last night!
d_ray writes:
Pat Summit needs to grow a heart. All she does is criticize and complain. You do that often enough and players will feel as bad as the coach tells them how bad they are. Pat has lost her winning ways. I am losing respect for her. I coach. I coach in a positive way. I have taken unskilled players to playoff contention. I do it by compliments and hard work. When an average player is told...over and over again....that they are terrific..they are the best....they improve. I have seen coaches like Pat put down great players in practice and a game. These great players become average. Pat...let up. Be more positive. Show some love. You used to be a great coach. You can be again. But, you have to change your style from being a mean, rude, person....to a positive outlook coach. You only have two losses. Every coach in the nation would love to be in your position. Instead, you put your players down. Remember...Pat...these kids are in college. They have books to read, tests to take, a long life ahead of them. Sports for most of them is just a way to pay for the expensive college costs. Remind yourself as to when you were in school. School is intensive. School is stressful. When you add more stress on them...after they win the frickin game...you hurt them. They look up to you. You are a God among coaches. Don't disappoint them. Believe in them. Don't keep putting them down.
kazoo writes:
Summitt should be hosed down sometimes before she makes her postgame remarks. "Disrespected the game of basketball?" Good grief. Summitt has become the Bob Knight of women's basketball--and I don't mean that in a good way.
YankeeVol writes:
Let's try to remember that these kids are in college. The point is to get an education, not tutored well enough to scrape by...
feathersax writes:
This team lacks heart, consistency & intensity. Too many mental lapses. Talent level is down too, mainly because there's no Mickey DeMoss to scour the country for the sort of players CPS has been blessed with over the years. These girls just don't listen to Pat.
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