Lady Vols Basketball
DULUTH, Ga. — A trophy was presented and photos were taken. Everyone in Gwinnett Arena could see that Tennessee was the SEC regular-season champions.
After all the pregame pomp, the Lady Vols still were adamant about offering another reminder.
“I think we needed to make a statement early that this is why we won the regular season,’’ UT forward Alicia Manning said. “We needed to come out and play like that.’’
The Lady Vols’ SEC tournament opener served their purpose. A forceful first half set the tone for a 76-51 women’s basketball victory over Ole Miss on this afternoon as UT began working toward another trophy.
Four players scored in double figures for No. 4 Tennessee (28-2), led by Alyssia Brewer’s 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor. Save for a second-half outbreak of turnovers, the tournament’s top seed dominated virtually all of the meaningful statistics in advancing to a semifinal game at 3:30 Saturday against Friday night’s Vanderbilt-LSU winner.
“I think we’re realizing this is the time we have to do everything to win,’’ Brewer said. “We’re going for a championship. To do that, we have to work as a team. Last year, we still didn’t understand what all this was and now we know.”
Having played No. 9 seed Ole Miss (17-14) last Sunday and twice overall in the past month, the Lady Vols knew their opponent well. The scouting report didn’t change as much as they did.
“I think they understood by looking statistically at the last two games (against Ole Miss) that we really needed to be a great defensive team this afternoon, a lot better,’’ UT coach Pat Summitt said.
The Lady Vols were at their best against Ole Miss senior guard Bianca Thomas. The SEC’s leading scorer torched them for 34 points last Sunday. Five days later, she scored the game’s first basket, a 3-pointer, and had eight points in the first 8:05 as the Rebels lurked within two points, 17-15.
And then she disappeared.
Thomas’ next points were two free throws with 7:45 left in the game. By that time, UT’s two-point lead had ballooned to 29 at 66-37. While Thomas finished with a team-high 15 points, she shot 5 for 16 from the floor. Her 1-for-6 shooting on 3 pointers reflected Ole Miss’ 2-for-19 misfiring from behind the arc.
Several Lady Vols took turns guarding Thomas. Assistant coach Dean Lockwood made special mention of Angie Bjorklund.
The junior guard noted the irrefutable evidence of her effort.
“I even got an off-the-ball foul,’’ she said. “I mean, I must’ve been really aggressive.’’
Bjorklund’s teammates followed her lead in chasing Thomas all around the court.
“The way they set screens for that kid, you also have to skinny up (to Thomas),’’ Lockwood said. “It’s like going through a wire fence. You have to knife through there.”
Tennessee’s lead grew as large as 32 points (72-40) in the second half, allowing the work to be spread around. Alicia Manning, who had 14 points and career-high 14 rebounds, played the most minutes with 29.
The only concerns were an exchange of flailing arms by UT center Kelley Cain and Ole Miss’ Nikki Byrd with 10:08 left. The game officials checked a replay monitor for several minutes before calling a foul on Cain and a technical on Byrd.
“The bigger the production the more you worry,’’ Lockwood said. “How long were they at the monitor?”
Lockwood was mindful of another tussle Wednesday night that resulted in a two-game suspension for Baylor’s Brittney Griner after she punched a Texas Tech player.
“We’ve got a climate right now that’s very sensitive to that,’’ he said.
The other worry was 14 second-half turnovers. They were partly the result of the game’s one-sided nature and some unusual lineup combinations.
“We acted like the clock wasn’t on our side,’’ Cain said. “We were just rushing everything. I have no idea why.’’
Especially since the Lady Vols had made it clear by then that they were better than that.
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Comments » 53
volbanker writes:
A great first half! Keep on rolling, ladies!
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Go Girls! We are so proud of you!
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Took a long lunchbreak to see my lady Vols play. Very nice crowd of orange. Explosive first half. Cooled down in the second. Lyssi is our offensive player down Low. Cain looked tired. Great defense but Old Miss was beat. Manning is a winner. If only could play to her potential and not push so hard. Go game. Back to work. GBO
Cldvols1 writes:
Way to go Lady Vols!!!
jakethevolguy writes:
I had predicted the LVs to win 80 to 58. Didn't miss by much. lol Keep it goin Lady Vols!!
Vols7Twins writes:
Best 1st half of basketball I've seen in years
GO LADY VOLS
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Sry..was talking about Glory. Girl can jump out of the gym
orangecountyvols writes:
First half was all business after Ole Miss hit the 3 to start the game. Hard to keep up the intensity with the 25 point lead at the half, and playing reserves but still great hope for the future tournament games.
NeylandWest writes:
Nice job, ladies!
shopsports#273141 writes:
YOU LOOKED GREAT!! Congrats!!GBO
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
That first half was awesome! Brewer has been so impressive. Manning has been a hidden jewel! I am so happy that she has started to take her shots! Good game! Kelly keep your head in the game! Don't be tricked into loosing your cool! Second string players a bit sloppy! Settle down when you are in. Overall good game and keep it up.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Wow. That's a dominant win. 14 rebounds for Manning is pretty darn impressive. This team is starting to peak at the right time of the year. Let's hope the men get on the same path.
Volunatic writes:
Way to go, Lady Vols! Keep up the good work!
AllVolAllDay writes:
Easy for you to say that because they were not playing UCANT, we'll see who's better if they meet on the hardwood! BTW, nice try but I would come with something a little stronger than who we were playing, we didn't have a choice, it was a conference tourney game genius!
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Brillant first half ladies! The goal was to stop the treys Ole Miss had poured in their last 3 games. That goal was met as they went 2-19. Next brilliant move was to shut down Thomas and when they put Angie on her man to man, she helped accomplish that goal also.
Congrats to Manning with another double double! Brewer is just getting better and better and was awesome today! Glory again with great hustle and rebounding...and yes she had 4 TO's and Manning had 6 TO's. I think Brewer was about the only player without a TO today. Angie had a great game with her defense and offense. See game stats.
Pat will not be happy with this win either, due to the turnovers and lack of focus in the 2nd half. All she wants is 40 minutes of consistency out of everyone. The team is getting there. Be patient as they WILL WIN the SEC tourney!
Great things will come to this team in the Big Dance. Pat has found what she is looking for and the girls proved that in the first half at least!
LV.....TCB.......KOKO.......GBO!!!!!!!!!!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
All you have to do is take a look at the lady vols schedule and then you won't have to hear about it, you can see how tough it is. Then you can take a look at Uconn's schedule and see how weak it is and cry from shame! What you saw from the lady vols today scared you. The real reason you are here is out of fear. You know it's coming! Get ready!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
Congrats Lady Vols!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
your off your rocker!
vol4gzus writes:
"Haven't heard that arguement in a couple of years." Open your ears they might be a little russty. Just because someone doesn't play ESP...ooops I mean UCon is does not make their schedule weak. Stanford,Oklahoma the usual SEC teams that are top 15 twice each with some other top 25 non-conference games refutes your already weak attempt at a stab on Coach Summitt. Oh one brief question, has Coach A graduated every player he has coached who didn't transfer? Also echoing previous blogger to get your facts straight before you launch an attack. Ie we are playing in a tourney where the opponents are chosen 4u.....
Enjoy your bounty for now as Maya will be gone after next year and the playing court will be more horizontal...see ya later I hope on the hardwood.
Go Lady Vols keep focus and dig in
Also to the individual in i believe the second post who thot that Manning is playing too hard..I say that is because she is an intense player and that is her game especially on D and when it comes to rebounding.
Anyone else notice the male commentator trying to brand Cain with elbow throwing etc? Kelly was plainly getting herself untangled when Byrd did her slap on the head.
Gumby#1381110 writes:
You don't need top 20 players when you can coach like PS
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Seen Bria Hartley play, your number 14 she is not that good to me. Michala Johnson, your so called replacement for Tina Charles already has two bad knees,she just had surgery on one, and already had surgery on the other one. Next year Geno is the one that is done. We have what we need coming in next year. Our Meighan Simmons just had a 31 point game performance at her last game of the season. She will only add to the firepower! BE YE READY! It's coming!
SoddyVol writes:
Pat gets her players without ESPN recruiting for her.
nadio1987 writes:
She's NOT in on any of the TOP 20 cus she ALREADY have them on her team dumb a**.. all she need are some good point guards and they coming in next year, other than that, the players on the team are SOPHMORES mostly, including a redshirt freshman on the bench and TWO redshirt Sophmores on the bench, and after next year, she got commitment from the NUMBER 2 top recruit in the 2012 class.. so just worry about what UCONN is doing.. u just need some ATTENTION and in FEAR that TENN is getting better when the time is RIGHT to get better.. WHO DAT
Gumby#1381110 writes:
Just think Russ, ole' Geno at UCONN only has about 350 more wins to go to catch Pat. With all those top 20 recruits he gets he should have already caught her. PS is THE best college BB coach of all time, men or women, deal with it!
VolunteerLifer writes:
If true, its because there is no where to put any more recruits for a couple of more years. Summitt is loaded with great sophomores and freshmen now, with another terric class coming in next season. She has no seniors on this team and only one junior of significance. So there's no room at the inn for new recruits. She is loaded with young talent at every position, and the future belongs to her. If this team doesn't win the NC this year, they will win it the next two or three years in a row.
RLL59 writes:
Coach Summitt should be happy with this game. As you say, it certainly was brilliant basketball, the best half the Lady Vols have played this year, im my opinion. She has found the best starting five, and she was able to rest them as a group for quite a bit of the second half. They still ended up playing even with MS in the second half despite playing reserves much of the time. If the reserves were as consistent and as good as the starters, they wouldn't be subs. Expectations have to be less as far as results are concerned.
RLL59 writes:
I posted this late on an earlier stream, so many probably didn't see it. The facts are that both TN and UConn played a tough schedule this year.
"Oklahoma is rated as having the toughest schedule in Division 1 by all three RPI ranking sites I could find that specifically show schedule as a category.
RPI Ratings has UConn number 2 and TN number 3.
Realtime RPI has UConn number 2 and TN number 8.
Sagarin has UConn number 7 and TN number 3.
UConn is 10-0 against the Top 25. They do play some weak teams, but this year at least, they are also playing the better teams. TN is 7-2...still very good."
orangecountyvols writes:
Whomever this "Russ" kid is..........don't you have anything to do today?
Gumby#1381110 writes:
I had the same thought, I just didn't post it!
Gumby#1381110 writes:
UCONN womens coach (Geno) has always come across to me as shady! CPS is the poster child for integrity! How could anyone even compare the two.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Agreed. Manning's emergence is the best story of the last 10 games or so, a great sign for the team going forward. Taber Spani also looked good. I hope those extended minutes don't come back to bite her in that chronically sore toe. We could really use her energy and toughness the rest of the way.
lewhs93#205993 writes:
With Angie on the ESPN Girl and our Bigs on Tina this game could be interesting.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
For all the trolls on the board. One things for sure. As long as PS is there the lady Vols will continue to win 25+ a season. Nobody even Geno cant stay around that long. We will always be tops in recuiting. Check out www.hoopgurlz.com and see who's making headlines. And oh yeah watch for Kiah Stokes to be a Vol. Eight titles. Will have possibly three more soon. Remember the season is not over. While other teams get one bluechip we get two or three. So the Vols will continue to hang banners, put young ladies in the wnba,graduate, and be inducted in the women's bball hall of fame in Knoxville.
GBO
CrankE writes:
A 25 point win to start off the SEC tournament. That's one way to make Pat happy.
BeRealistic writes:
I have never seen so many ignorant Vol fans. This was suppose to be comments about todays game, which was an impressive win. Hell, ignore these uconn posts & they will realize you are more intelligent, I hope.
jdcdjc writes:
Best first half of BB I have seen this year.
Nuff said. If they play this way through the SEC and the NCAA, Uconn will be in for a fight.
gladiator06 writes:
I agree both Brewer and Manning had great games, but Spani has not yet grown on me. Even without the turf toe, I haven't seen much from her. Yeah she can hit the three, but that's only if there is no one within 6 - 9ft of her. Spani has too many games where she plays greater than 20 minutes and scores two points. i could understand an occasional game of not producing, all players have those, but this is the case for her game after game. I think it's more everybody hoping she will be more than what she is and it's just not going to happen. i believe she was overrated coming out of high school and hoopgurlz had her ranked higher than anyone else. i'm not knocking her or the homeschool basketball league, but i have to admit that there really isn't any elite competition in the home school league and her game is an indication of that.
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
Dang, missed most of this game, caught parts of it on radio because of work. A noon game for a fan like me is rough.
AtLeastMyTeamHasPerfectSeasons writes:
Texas Tech, Virginia, MTSU (don't laugh they are always ranked), UCLA, Rutgers, Louisville, Stanford, ODU, Oklahoma and then the SEC. How can you say they don't play a tuff schedule? Because UCONN isn't on it?
lilpearlluvr writes:
Cain is a mauler! Glad she is on our team ... she not only throws elbows, but she is great at getting all the calls to go her way! She is such a smart player and manages to work the referees while she's at it! Go Lady Vols!!! I love how she smiles and laughs every time she gets called for a foul. What attitude!
BigOrangeBill writes:
I get so tired of reading the knocks on the KNS in this forum. They have some really GOOD writers! All sports writers constantly are chasing stories. Sometimes they're there enmass, other times you really have to SCROUNGE for a story. It's like writing a book EVERY DAY. So come on guys, let's cut them some slack.
On the Lady Vols, I am sensing this bunch really peaking at precisely the right time. I think the games we lost this year..if played again...we would win. Only cloud is the games our ladies seem to take off from time to time. But Pat always seems able to yank them back into reality. I've researched our new recruits and some of you nay-sayers...please be aware, we've got some great shooters coming in next year. One last thing, I think Pat is coaching the players up better this year than in a long time. Maybe we're on our way back up. Sure wish MM had come HERE instead of UConn. We'd be there right now!!
The_Truth_and_nothing_but_the_Truth writes:
Glad you asked the question!
Every single UCONN Woman's Basketball Player that has stuck with the program all four years has graduated! Diana Taurasi told the coach she wasn't coming back to finish up a couple of piddly credits and Geno told Diana he would take down everything that has her name on it and would also never put anything up in the future with her name on it unless she finished up. Diana was there in September.
The_Truth_and_nothing_but_the_Truth writes:
Went over this a couple of posts ago. One of your objective Lady Vol posters showed UCONN plays a tougher schedule that LV's. Also in the 69 win stretch I believe (I could be wrong here) they beat 25 rated teams by double figures.
The_Truth_and_nothing_but_the_Truth writes:
Yes, take a look at Hoopgulz and see who is coming in for UCONN. Take a look at the number they are rated in their position. Numbers speak for themselves about the recruiting.
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
Uh....troll, you just responded to a troll. He didn't ask that question...now go away!
abnermc writes:
Was she sober? Did someone have to drive her? Just curious.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Oh, well, that's an opinion. A player usually doesn't get picked for the junior international teams Spani was on because of her good looks or whatever. Also, as with a certain sub on the men's team, not all of Spani's contributions show up readily on the stat sheet. Because she has been in and out of the lineup and practice with her chronic toe condition, Spani's development has been uneven. I didn't say she was a star yet, just that she has contributed to a somewhat unexpected extent, given her youth and physical situation.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Teams recruit to their needs. Some teams have more needs in some classes than in others. UConn only recruited one or two players a class or two ago because they didn't need more and didn't have scholarships for them. That is the situation UT is in this year. With not one senior on the squad and a class of about seven sophomores, they didn't and don't have an immediate need for large numbers of recruits in this class. I think Pat has identified the players she thinks she needs for the next year or two and has either gotten commitments from them or is in a strong position to do so. Numbers and ratings of recruits do speak for themselves, but they don't tell the whole story BY themselves.
mlynn1 writes:
John, always enjoy reading your posts. It's good to read someone's comments that actually knows the sport of basketball.
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
You got that right John! Pat saw a "star" in Spani or she would have not recruited her...just like she did with Manning and look what she is doing now! I expect the same of Spani in time, because Pat will eventually get the best out of her that shes got..as well as the other members of the team. It may take more time with others, but eventually they will all get there or continue to sit until their time does arrive!
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