John Adams: SEC title was a foregone conclusion for Lady Vols

Pat Summitt comments following Lady Vols win against Georgia, 77-44

The SEC standings rarely have been so misleading.

According to them, Monday night's match-up at Thompson-Boling Arena was No. 1 vs. No. 2. But Tennessee vs. Georgia looked more like No. 1 vs. No. 12.

It was another reminder that on any given night, Tennessee can make any team in the league look like the worst of the lot.

Second-place Georgia didn't look any better than last-place Mississippi State, which lost on the same floor by 26 points last month. The Lady Vols upped their advantage past that just four minutes into the second half.

They were on their way to a 77-44 victory, which clinched the regular-season conference championship. But that was little more than a formality for a team that has outscored SEC opponents by an average of 23.6 points per game.

The start was more significant than the finish.

At times in conference play, the Lady Vols have muddled around long enough to keep inferior competition within striking distance.

This time, they struck swiftly. And Georgia never recovered.

"There was a sense of urgency going down 6-0 right off the bat," Georgia guard Jasmine James said. "Maybe too much of a sense of urgency."

When Georgia hurried shots against UT's zone defense, the lead quickly grew beyond its reach. As the Lady Bulldogs faded away, UT didn't lose interest, as it has in other mismatches.

The crowd maintained its edge as well, When Georgia cut UT's 37-point lead to 34 with a 3-pointer, a concerned fan shouted, "Come on, Lady Vols, play defense."

The crowd was tougher than the competition.

The outcome was apparent so early that the return of Angie Bjorklund, UT's deluxe 3-point shooter, was an afterthought. The Lady Vols have never needed her less.

Bjorklund, who missed the previous six games with a foot injury, made one 3-pointer in nine minutes but spent most of the evening cheering on her teammates.

This was Tennessee's most impressive performance since it routed Florida by 43 points in mid-January. But the game also continued a recent trend.

In each of the last three games, a different player has come off the bench to play a prominent role.

Backup point guard Lauren Avant was the star of UT's come-from-behind victory against Vanderbilt nine days ago.

Then, forward Alicia Manning scored a career-high 22 points in last Thursday's victory over South Carolina.

Pat Summitt on Lady Vols forward Vicki Baugh

It was forward Vicki Baugh's turn against Georgia.

Baugh, whose play has been limited because of chronic knee problems, had her most productive game of the season. She played a season-high 16 minutes, hit all four of her field-goal attempts, scored nine points, had seven rebounds, and blocked three shots.

"Man, my confidence is way high," she said. "Not even thinking about my knee."

You could tell.

Twice in the first half, she executed nifty moves against a post defender to score inside. In the second half, she drove the length of the floor for a basket.

Those three blocked shots provided further evidence of her mobility.

"Our bench has really stepped up," point guard Meighan Simmons said. "With all the different lineups, we've all started to build a chemistry. Tonight, we really worked together."

And worked over the Lady Bulldogs in the process.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com. Follow him at http//:twitter.com/johnadamskns.