Tennessee turned to its bench and once again found a hero in waiting.
Alicia Manning headed for the scorer's table Thursday night against South Carolina as if she was coming out of a phone booth. The junior forward scored a game-high 22 points in an 82-60 SEC women's basketball victory before a crowd of 11,849 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Alyssia Brewer, who had been a reserve, made her first start of the season and grabbed 10 rebounds, sharing game honors with teammate Shekinna Stricklen.
No. 4 Tennessee (25-2, 13-0 SEC), which clinched a tie for the conference regular-season championship, got relatively close to the usual from Stricklen, who added 12 points to her rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. Meighan Simmons scoring 17 points wasn't out of the ordinary either.
But Manning and Brewer crowding onto the marquee was something different, something more for the already voluminous Lady Vols' scouting report.
"It's hard to scout us,'' Brewer said. "You could put anyone in the game and they could give you anything."
Manning's previous season high had been 11 points against Alabama on Jan. 6. She hadn't hit a 3-pointer all season, missing all four of her attempts, before shooting 3 for 4 from long range.
Brewer, who was out until December recovering from Achilles' tendon surgery, hadn't grabbed more than four rebounds in any of her previous appearances. Nor had she logged anything like the 17 minutes she played against South Carolina.
"They have a lot of people who can step up at any time,'' said South Carolina guard Ieasia Walker.
She stepped up for South Carolina (15-11, 7-6) with team highs for points (16) and rebounds (7). But she didn't have enough help. Valerie Nainima was the only other double-figure scorer with 15 points. The Gamecocks were outrebounded, 51-30. It was the same margin as in UT's 71-56 victory in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 20
"We tried to cut that in half," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said.
The Lady Vols' mission, on the other hand, was to start better than they had in their three previous games. They were better in opening a 40-29 halftime lead. But they weren't good enough to build on an early 14-point advantage or rise above a first 20 minutes that featured 20 total fouls. Stricklen received a technical when she got tangled up with a South Carolina player during a free-throw attempt.
UT again sorted through its players in a search for the right combination. Freshman point guard Lauren Avant, whose 11 points and four steals helped save a victory at Vanderbilt on Sunday, didn't produce a comparable encore and played just 14 minutes.
Brewer scored seven early points before picking up two fouls, which limited her to six minutes before halftime. She was replaced, though, by Manning.
"I paid her five bucks to do that,'' Manning said jokingly.
Manning and Brewer logged a combined 23 minutes in the second half, when Tennessee shot 56.7 percent from the floor (17 for 30) and led by as many as 24 points. While Manning was topping off her stat line, which also included five rebounds and three steals, Brewer was adding two assists and two blocks. Her outlet pass to Simmons started a transition play that ended with the freshman guard's behind-the-back pass to Stricklen for a layup.
"Lyssi, she's getting more and more confident and playing better and better,'' UT coach Pat Summitt said. "That makes a big difference to have the size, and she battles on the boards."
She added to UT's performance and to all future scouting reports.
Tennessee baseball media day with…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 42
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Good game against a good team.
huntined#565710 writes:
Manning had a great game and it was good to see her smile as she was having fun and playing like she needs to play to help this team.
Razor784 writes:
Nice effort, but they still need to step it up heading into March. They're good enough to win the SEC, but not nearly good enough right now to win a National Championship IMO
vol98champ writes:
Lots of talent on the court tonight. Fun to watch.
volfan73120#211815 writes:
The Lady Vols are like a breath of fresh air. Keep up the good work young ladies. I really enjoy watching you play.
proud2btnvol (Inactive) writes:
Manning is one of my favorites. Attitude and Effort.
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
I sure hope Manning has found her game! I want more performances from her like this. The difference I see in her shots tonight is that she wasn't hesitant or thinking about it. She just let it rip! Manning gets into the game alot, her aggressiveness on offense will be needed. Simmons played a whole lot better tonight! She did not rush as much, and took her time. Brewer is looking better! With time, I can see her making an impact for the team during the NCAA run.
In the high post when Glory catches the ball, or Brewer, I wish they would take that shot. Brewer has a nice jumper from right there, and Glory used to hit her shot from right there. Both hit one tonight! Glory will usually take off with the ball and travel from that spot. I think if she shoots from right there she will be more successful. She needs to get into Pratt and start practicing that shot because she is left open right there most of the time. She needs to make the defense pay for leaving her open by making that shot instead of trying to create and getting called for the walk, unless she has a wide open lane to the basket.
I still need the rest of the players to get more aggressive. I still think Stricklen is waiting too long to assert herself on the offensive end of the game. I want her to start out aggressive and looking for her shots.
eefor10c writes:
Coach Pink?, "I still need the rest...." Didn't know you were on the staff.
huntined#565710 writes:
Was there something wrong with my sound or is the LADY VOL fans LOUDER then the mens games??
BleedsOrangeinMO writes:
I agree with you PINK. Pat may need to use the same "trick" with Strick as she did with Johnson; that being, sit her down (don't let her start) and make her sit until she is so workup while sitting that she just can't sit still any longer. Pat should tell her something along the line of "here's what we need from you in this game . . . " and then turn her loose. With GJ and Strick both providing double doubles every game
it will be difficult for us to lose. However, seems like we still came out a little flat tonight (I did not get to listen to the game until there were two minutes left) but looking at the scoring and other stats at half time; still seems we need to learn to "jump the other team from the start" and then put on more steam!!!! We've got the deep bench to do it.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Nice game . I heard the game and had to watch the Ky/Ga game instead. Our ladies have a fight on our hands Mon. We will win with our depth once again but lets not look past the dawgs. They play just five players but they can score. All were in double figures against Ky . I believe we will be too much for them. Its nice to see that we have players off the bench that can put up 22. Way to go Manning!!! Man its like we can put two teams together with this team and let one team play one half and the other the second. I think we would be successful with both. Id try it against Ol Miss if i was a coach . Of course im not but would be interesting. Oh what the heck here goes..
first team
Avant
Angie
Johnson
Strick
Baugh
Second
Simmons
Manning
Brewer
Spani
Williams
You cant go wrong with that team . Put them out there against Ol Miss . Make like the team scores the most gets a day off regular practice. lol
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Pat knows what motivates Strick and Johnson. She knows if she sat Strick like she does Johnson she would lose her mentally for the year. You can't motivate all players the same and thank goodness Pat knows that. Go Ladies yall good!
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
I had to miss the game. I noticed that Baugh's name was not listed in the box score. Is she hurt again? Somebody fill me in. Thanks!
TennVol01 writes:
You can always depend on the Lady Vols. Awesome...
ps11824 writes:
what did strick do to draw a tech?
TennVol01 writes:
The Lady Vols is the cement of UT Basketball. The men try, but they struggle.
1volk-nowi-tall writes:
Strickland's technical was the result of the officials allowing her to be mugged, literally held as the SC girl wrapped her arms around her, then Strickland threw her off and was called for a foul. The SC girl standing on the lane, closest to the bakset, on Strickland's side turned to Strickland and guarded her with arms wrapped around her as we shot foul shots during much of the first half and never made the slightest attempt to rebound in case we missed the free throw, instead holding on to Strickland to prevent her having any chance of moving much less rebounding a miss. If you could have seen this you would have said that you had never seen this type of alignment by someone on the side of the lane before. Too bad the officials didn't recognize this for what it was. I'm really not that smart but it was so very clear to see and so unusual to see that anyone should have caught on to what was happening. Let me correct myself, I really am that smart and that aware of what goes on on the court from an officiating prespective. Only spent 40 years doing that job.
flatrock writes:
GAME BALL: A. Manning (great effort as usual-and
great smile!);
THE TICKET: S. Stricklen (best player in SEC);
MOBILE!: A. Brewer (she knows how to use the backboard!);
FOCUS: T.Spani (I do not think she is focusing on the rim);
SOLID: M. Simmons (She's not the program-changer that Pat apparently believes she is,
but she is really good when she keeps her brain
ahead of her feet!);
HURRY BACK: A. Bjorklund (LVs will see plenty
of zones down the stretch);
WHAT REWARD? K. Williams and L. Avant were rewarded for their recent game-saving performances with reduced PT (not sure why
any current PGs or future PGs bother- Pat
only has eyes for M. Simmons and the rest
of them should get comfortable on the pine).
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
I'm the head coach! Don't you forget it!
CP3isGR8 writes:
Did anyone notice the flop by Newton after a made basket by UT? She intentionally ran into Glory & then fell like she had been punched. She sat on the court looking for a call against Glory which never came. I don't think that Pat would ever coach-up her kids to do this. I guess Coach Staley thinks it's OK to be an arse, when you have beaten a team for 30 years!
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
Second half of last nights game confused me (you can watch game on espn3.com).
Neither Williams nor Avant played to really matter. Is CPS running a 30-10 time split?? Whatever it was, Strick and Simmons looked tired and sort of just 'out there' to me, whereas in the first half the team looked a bit more energetic.
That would be the question I would have: why non back court subbing in the second half??
I don't agree much with Fleser's take on Avant's game. She just played her role, got the ball into the offense for others.
And, yeah, I see why some of you get upset with Simmons, Strick, and Glory on the offensive end. "Smart" doesn't always apply. Brewer?? Future coach right there, folks. Smart, poised player.
bigdisbig writes:
Men't team needs to bench Melvin Goins and replace him with Manning.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
I shake my head at how much talent is on this team. I truely believe that everyone of these girls would be starters at some D1 school. I can only imagine how good we would be if we had a starting lineup that average 30+ mins on the floor together. I think we would be scary good. And to insert someone off the bench with no dropoff. Wow. And you think we have talent now wait till next year. Year after next. We will dominate the SEC the next couple years and compete with Baylor for the next two until Griner graduates and then it will be Rockytop forever!
martinvol34 writes:
Never satisfied.
richvol writes:
Great game by Manning...my favorite player. Kamiko should have had more minutes as she was very effective early. Pat took her out and she didn't see the floor again until 2:40 left in the game. Simmons is best kept under control and plays very well at the two. Beginning to see the Brewer that was so good at the end of last season prior to her injury. Baugh needs minutes to get her in shape...I would play her instead of Cain.
ps11824 writes:
Brewer and Manning stepping up and contributing as they did sounds like music to my ears. I missed another game. Let's put it on the record that I dislike cable TV channel broadcasts. Can we not make a deal with sports south? Are the conference Tournament games going to be on CSS? If so, I shall be so aggitated.
I did see an exciting, hard-fought girls prep district final that would scare the likes of GJ and Stricklin as far as 'tangling up' defenders and scraping up varnish off the court. These kids were fighting like they were in a cage. The fans were close to breaking out a rumble too. It was hostile. The opposing team started knocking down 3s in the 4th quarter like they were ducks on a pond. The home team would take the ball out and sling it to the opposite end of the court, while a streak of lightening would race it down and cram it down the nearest pie hole. It was more fun than watching pee-wee T-ball. The game ended with a girl being slammed into a chair on the sideline. I'm not sure she has a face this morning. Her classmates will be scared at the sight of her today.
But the home team won. All is good.
I think the officials had to be escorted to safety after the game, and transported home in an armored car. NOT REALLY.
BBhoops writes:
How far do you think the lady vols will make it the NCAA tournament?
1st and 2nd round, Sweet 16, Elite 8 or Final Four????
kazoo writes:
Totally surprising offensive outburst from Manning, who this year has seemed almost scared to shoot the ball. Happy for her. This team needs people who can shoot and score--and if she can do that, all the better, but of course there is hardly anyone on this team who is dependably solid game in and game out. Total unpredictability defines this group.
ps11824 writes:
I too am concerned about Cain's lack of productivity. I wonder why she's looking so weary as of late. Perhaps not keeping up her conditioning is taking a toll on her frail knees. She carries a lot of weight, and without the muscle strength to support it, like running in mud. It is sad when you think of the times Kelly has been a key player, to see her stats as of late. And why no Baugh? They irritate me when they fail to tell us what we want to know. I'm going to step up to my soapbox now and jerk the writers around for not doing the proper investigative reporting that one might see, say, on the men's team.
Shucks, they tell us what the recruits like to eat for breakfast, what they can bench and what they have in their ears. Why the dickens can't they tell us why Baugh, who is a KEY figure in this game is NOT getting PT...? There's plenty of things Lady Vols fans want to know about our team in addition to the boxscore, OK, Fleser? What is it you do with your day, anyway? Drink coffee and watch Dan Patrick?
I suppose if it's not interesting to you, what the hey... If you were assigned to cover the monthly meeting of the Land Waste Committee, you'd give us more than the time and date even though you don't give a tinkle about dirt, wouldn't you? You might even tell us whether krispy creme or dunkin dough was available with your coffee. Inquiring minds want to know, Dan.
Come on. It's nearly March. Give us a read!
ps11824 writes:
BBhoops writes:
How far do you think the lady vols
will make it the NCAA tournament?
1st and 2nd round, Sweet 16,
Elite 8 or Final Four???? ]]]]]]]]
That's the $64million question. If you look at Creme's Bracketology on the Women's ESPN site, IF you put any stock into his knowing any more about it than we do, we could easily not advance from our region. I preface that calling to mind the Georgetown debacle, and the slow starts of which we have a propensity.
Starving fish have a hunger for gobbling up slow swimmers. Without knowing what team we will draw, because there's several worthy 4, 5 and 6-seeds, I'd say teams like Georgetown, who've made very little splashes in the big pond would smell blood in the water if the Lady Vols piddle around too long as they have now for 4 or 5 games.
Stuff happens when one is backed against the wall. Players get tight and simply cannot score the points they might need to pull them out of a hole. IMHO, our team cannot repeat the same old song, next verse kind of mentality in post season play. They will need to have 'An Awakening' and come into this NCAA season with confidence, determination and the HEART of a champion to stay in this dance.
johnlg00 writes:
GREAT to see Manning and Brewer going off in this game! If the LVs can get just ONE from among Brewer, Cain, and Baugh performing consistently at the low post, they will be a handful for anybody else around. BTW, the LVs' shot at a #1 seed got stronger last night when Maryland waxed Duke. I don't see much chance of them overtaking Baylor, Stanford, or UConn, but they should be solid as the 4th #1.
That is, I just happened to think, unless Texas A&M beats Baylor, in which case the Aggies could jump over the LVs while Baylor doesn't fall out of the top four. Unfortunately, the SEC's general weakness this season doesn't give the LVs much chance to improve their SOS or RPI, no matter what margins they put up against their remaining league opponents. Still much to be decided yet in the regular season, but I think the LVs are positioning themselves, personnel-wise, for a good post-season run.
RLL59 writes:
It's certainly possible that Texas A&M could take the last top seed if they beat Baylor in thier conference tournament. Hopefully, provided that the Lady Vols win their remaining games and conference tournament, their record this year and their history would keep them at the top. Even in that situation though, it's likely A&M would be the top #2 seed and in the Lady Vol bracket. Tough road ahead in any case.
I don't envy Coach Summitt's problem of having to find playing time for so many good players. Unfortunately, the situation has resulted in almost no continuity or cohesion among a set group of 6-7 players...a situation that most teams have more easily resolved much earlier in the season. If someone goes down because of injury in the next few weeks at UConn, they'll wish they had more players. But as the situation stands now, the six young women that play most of their games know every move each other is going to make and the scores show it. I'm afraid that struggling every game against very inferior teams is not a recipe for winning a tournament where one loss means you go home. Hope I'm wrong.
ps11824 writes:
PINK, take a look at this Dayton Regional predicted (as of today) by Charlie Creme of espn.com
1 TENNESSEE
16 SOUTHERN
8 St. John's
9 Duquesne
5 GREEN BAY
12 Texas
4 Florida State
13 TOLEDO
6 Penn State
11 Boston College
3 Notre Dame
14 ST. FRANCIS (PA.)
7 Georgia
10 Arizona State
2 Texas A&M
15 ORAL ROBERTS
St John's, Green Bay, Florida State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M loom large, to mention a few potential blocks on the road to the Quad Squad.
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
Gotta remember...
we don't have any one 'five' rotation that is solid....but we have a ton of pieces.
Someone alluded to it..CPS's challenge is to have each girl ready to help.
See, I thought last night was pretty ugly at times. Wipe off Manning's points, and you see some toher girl's struggling. Manning giving you offense is rate and not consistent.
Can't place any more merit on this game than on VU or UK...
I was not surprised to NOT see Baugh..seems to be a once per week deal right now. I just was surprised not to see Strick sit, especially after the T, and Simmons.
Wish we had more Pat's insight on the second half.
ps11824 writes:
... and Penn St. ranked #25 Coaches' Poll/23 AP
#5 ranked A&M, #7 Duke, #8 ND, #12 Fla. St./15 AP; #14 Green Bay/#17 AP; #22 St John's/unranked AP; #25 Penn St./#23 AP that is a TOUGH Region, Mr. Creme
voloffaith writes:
DON"T FORGET to go to the Lowe's senior award site and vote foe Angie B. She currently leads the Army gaurd by abour 5% points. That young lady has the armed forces voting for her and she is not falling back from or lady Vol. We need Big Orange Army to build lead as later coaches and other fill in the rest of the voting. Seeing Maya Moore makeup the difference through the other means of voting. Voting up to Final four as I vaguely recall. Someone refresh me/others on that one. Now beat them lady woofs from athens!!
CoachFulmerFan writes:
I was at the game and it seemed to me, and about everyone else in the arena, that the officiating was poor, again. The white woman ref was particularly bad. She stood out to me as the one who made the most bad calls. Some of these refs need to go back and be retrained, seriously. When it comes tourny time, we certainly don't need incompetent refs out there that might cost us a shot at another NC. I wish CPS was allowed to verbally criticize the officials. They have been really bad this year on a bunch of games.
Some people have mentioned how tight lipped the Lady Vol coaches are about the injury situation. On the call in show, after the game, Coach Summitt was asked about Angie and she really sounded hesitant about giving any information other than to say that she will more than likely play Monday against Georgia. I wonder why the coaches are so tight lipped about the injury situation and why some players like Baugh are not getting that much playing time? Maybe there is some kind of privacy concern there I guess.
PINK_CHAMPAGNE writes:
Agreed 98! Really tough! Three top ten teams in Tennessee's bracket! Im not surprised! Last years bracket was just as tough! Baylor was the Sweet 16 meeting! Im glad this is just a prediction!
freestyle writes:
Pink and 98reax, I don't understand Charlie's bracket prediction. Why is Tenn./Stanford on the same side and Baylor/UCONN on the other. I thought out of the top four ranked teams, #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3. Can either one of you explain Charlie's theory?
BBhoops writes:
After reviewing O'Charlie's bracket and the comments on the website, Tenn. is the weakest team out of the top 4. They have been picked to be the first ones to fall of the wagon during tournament time because of inconsistent playing and poor performances in the past. In other words, will the lady vols be able to dig themselves out of a hole against ranked teams such as Texas A/M, Duke,Xaiver, and Norte Dame?
Why is UCONN/BAYLOR are on the same side of the bracket? Good question..UCONN won the NC the last two years. It's time to see another team win it all so let's put Baylor on the same of the bracket and hope these two will meet.
Stanford made it to the final four, but lost to UCONN. Why not make it easier for them this year and hope they will prevail. The Cardinal/Bears have been picked to battle for the NC this year.
Tenn: People don't want to see them win another championship. They know the lady vols are not at their strongest point right now. Look at the teams in their regional. Duke, Xavier, Texas A/M are there for intimidation. Will CPS have her team ready???????
Not the facts, just my opinion.
UTVOLSRROCKN writes:
I dont know the answer to all those questions, but I will agree with Pink, I'm glad it's only a prediction. Will just have to anxiously await the real brackets. GLV!
dead_vol_foul (Inactive) writes:
BB...
we can match up well with anyone except Baylor....no one matches with them.
matching up, of course, doesn't mean 'winning'.
great post, though, kid.
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