Lady Vols Basketball
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands — In a Caribbean setting, Alicia Manning played the part of a pirate Thursday night.
The Tennessee forward was plundering the passing lanes. She victimized Missouri for five steals in the Lady Vols’ 82-44 victory in their opening game of the Paradise Jam at the Sports & Fitness Center.
“It’s not that hard,’’ Manning said. “You just make (the pass) look like it’s open and then you go get it.”
Despite resembling a swashbuckler, Manning actually was reprising a role she created for herself last season, stuffing her stat line with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists to go with the steals. It was her most effective game of the season, one that UT coach Pat Summitt described as “a break-out game for her.”
“It feels good to play to my strengths,’’ Manning said, “which is basically using my defense to set up my offense.”
Manning and her teammates shared the scoring, the minutes, and the spotlight in overwhelming Missouri, which was led by Raeshara Brown’s game-high 18 points.
All 10 Lady Vols who played scored points. Freshman Meighan Simmons led with 14 but Manning and two others hit for double figures. Kamiko Williams and Taber Spani each scored 10 points.
Spani’s 28 minutes amounted to the longest work shift. No starter topped Simmons’ 26 minutes.
“We really have to share the minutes,’’ said Summitt, recounting her pregame message to the team. “So when you come off the bench, you better be ready to play and I thought we had that.”
UT paced itself without compromising its preferred pace, scoring 24 fast-break points.
“Oh, we keep our foot on the gas and we keep going,’’ Simmons said. “Especially when we have a lead. We always want to keep the momentum going.”
Forward Vicki Baugh did not play, missing in her fourth consecutive game. But Summitt said the 6-foot-4 post player, who has been slowed by mobility issues, will be ready for Georgia Tech (3-3) at 8 tonight.
Baugh was available for Missouri but Summitt wanted to save her, mindful of the difficult games looming against both Tech and No. 13 Georgetown (4-0) on Saturday.
“I wanted her fresh for (tonight) because the next two games are going to be really challenging,’’ Summitt said.
Center Kelley Cain’s eight points, all in the first half, led Tennessee’s first scoring surge against Missouri (1-2). The first major breakthrough, however, was orchestrated by Williams and featured just the second 3-pointer of her career.
“I ain’t going to be like Angie (Bjorklund),’’ said Williams, referring to her senior teammate who is stalking the school career record for treys. “But every once and awhile, I will pull one.”
Shortly after Williams’ rare trey, reserve Briana Bass upstaged her and everyone else with the play of the game.
The speedy 5-2 guard hit the afterburner to chase down a lead pass intended for Missouri forward Christine Flores.
As she was going out of bounds, Bass saved the ball blindly back over her head to Manning, who eventually converted a conventional 3-point play at the other end.
The UT bench, along with a contingent of Lady Vols fans in attendance, erupted.
“We want Brie to get her confidence level up; she has it,’’ Manning said. “Using her speed to make hustle plays like that can really change the game around.”
Dan Fleser covers UT Lady Vols basketball. He may be reached at 865-342-6288. Follow him at http://twitter.com/fleserKNS and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/fleser/
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Comments » 10
dwa7#337691 writes:
early predict:
Lady Vols 80
G Tech 68
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
I will let Pink give the overall summary since she does it so well. Kamiko is playing so much better this year. Think Simmons play has a lot to do with it. Manning had her best game so far. Good win for the Lady Vols. Lets beat Georgia Tech tomorrow.
LADY VOLS......TCB.....KOKO.....GBO!
wigmeister writes:
They keep looking better!
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Followed the game on the blog. Seems like the type of win we should get all season where everyone will relentlessly contribute. Go Ladies. Tech is a pretty good team.
HanQ7 writes:
LV played great! Great win....I watched the game, and im watching the G'town/GT game now.... these teams have been pressing each other the entire game! LV will have a couple of battles, but I know they wil prevail since the starter were well rested after todays game! Legooo LV '11 N'tal Champs!!!!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
I enjoyed the game! All of the ladies played a pretty good game. They seem like they went to the Islands ready to play. Simmons seemed really relaxed tonight. She played within the offense. Ball movement was pretty good. Shot selection was good. Defense was good.
The bench players held their own! Once Manning settled down and used that talent she has, she started to score. She had a few pretty up and under moves. I knew she had something tucked away somewhere. Manning must have had about three to four steals. I know Bass has got to be a pest to the other teams. Her on the ball pressure defense is awesome to me. She never gives up. The play mentioned in the article is a prime example of her hustle. I was excited to see Smallbone get some playing time. She has gotten better to me. She still has a deadly three!
I notice Angie is being smothered, so this type of effort from the team will be needed every game. Angie still did a good job on defense. They looked good tonight. The starters got a lot of rest. That is a good thing since they have to play three back to back. One down and two to go! Bring it home lady vols!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Checking that game out as well! Both teams like to press. They are pretty quick teams. But their play is kind of sloppy. As long as the lady vols clamp down on defense and run their offense, they will win. Gotta go, game back on!
richvol writes:
Manning is a complete player. She rebounds,gets loose balls and scores in many different ways. To me she is the best all around player on the team. Simmons may challenge for that title but I think that those two should always be on the floor.
DroopyDrawers writes:
What channel was it on? I have Dish!
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
I watch it online at b2tv.com for $4.99! It is not aired on tv!
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