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Ariel Massengale hit all six of her shots and scored a career-high 19 points for Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Still, she shared the spotlight with a fellow guard who had but two points.
No problem. All of the Lady Vols were glad to make room for Kamiko Williams, who returned less than six months after major surgery on her left knee.
On a chilly night, her appearance added a warm touch to Tennessee's 90-47 women's basketball victory over Chattanooga before an announced crowd of 11,754 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"I had kind of the jitterbugs at the beginning," Williams said. "I don't know if my team noticed, but I was bouncing off the wall. It's great to be back."
The 5-foot-11 junior, who underwent reconstructive surgery on July 22 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, had four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes
Even the one basket was an instant reminder of her athleticism. Moments after checking in with 7:05 left in the first half, Williams flashed to the basket, soared to snag an offensive rebound and scored.
"We didn't know if we were going to possibly redshirt her still or play her," UT associate head coach Holly Warlick said. "With Taber (Spani) out, it kind of pushed the issue for us.
"She really wanted to get back on the court, and I thought for the most part, other than getting winded, it was great to see her back. You see what we missed."
Williams conceded that she benefited from not having any collateral damage to go with the ACL tear. Her blithe nature might have factored into her recovery, too.
"Well, when I first hurt myself, I called my mom and I was just crying," Williams said. "I broke down. I got frustrated. She told me I've got to keep my spirits up, and I'm the type of person that I'm happy-go-lucky anyways."
No. 6 Tennessee (10-3) didn't ask too much of Williams — or anyone, for that matter. The team is in the midst of four games in eight days. A date with SEC rival Georgia is looming on Thursday.
With the busy schedule in mind, everyone other than Williams played at least 17 minutes but nobody logged more than 24.
Along with Massengale, fellow freshman Isabelle Harrison was in double figures with 13 points. Meighan Simmons and Glory Johnson had 10 apiece. With 13 rebounds, Johnson recorded her third consecutive double-double.
Former Lady Vol Faith Dupree led Chattanooga (8-4) with 17 points. The Lady Mocs never recovered from the first half, when they shot 20.7 percent from the floor (6 for 29) and went more than 12 minutes between baskets at one point.
"We had the deer-in-the-headlights look," Chattanooga coach Wes Moore said.
UT's Massengale, on the other hand, had the look of a deadeye. Four of her baskets were 3-pointers.
"Just having confidence," the freshman point guard said. "That's pretty much what it comes down to. So I think shooting is 100 percent confidence."
As if adding a guard like Williams wasn't enough satisfaction for one night, Warlick also was pondering the added dimension of Massengale's marksmanship.
"If Ariel shoots the ball the way she (did)," Warlick said, "we're a very, very good basketball team."
Dan Fleser 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 » 20
butch31 writes:
Great game...Sorry Faith Dupree, u should of stuck it out with the Lady Vols!
These freshmen are really stepping up their game. I am VERY proud of their play tonite, hopefully, they can bring it like this every night! Meighan *(no turnovers)* Simmons was awesome too. Glory, Vicki and Isabelle were beasts tonite on the glass!!! Glad to see Kamiko on the court *(4 assists too)* BUT TAKE IT EASY! Briana got minutes and looked fabulous!
This team is starting to look like a final 4 contender.
To u Lady Vol Haters...Hahahahahahahahahaha Don't get SCURRRRREEEEDDDD
wigmeister writes:
Somewhat weak opponent, but a great victory none the less. They played well tonight. Hope it continues to get better as the season goes on. Welcome back Kamiko. We missed you!
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Watched the game and it was a good tuneup. Way too many substitutions to get anyone in a flow for me. I know this game was a chance for everyone to get some minutes and practice. J would let Cierra start shooting more shoots outside . I like her shooting form and she will develop into a real shooting threat like Spani. Ariel is coming along as well as Brianna. Stricklen please don't get discouraged and get in a slump. The team needs u. She will have to play like a leader and take over games. Create shots and not play scared. I've seem teams play flawless against lesser opponents. Tonight it looked like a walkthrough. Still too many turnovers . A good test will.be Thursday. Beat GA!
orangecountyvols writes:
Vols,
Good comments. Georgia will be a bit more of a measuring stick, but the L V should prevail.
Volinflan writes:
If it's rounded off to the first digit we had 10 players playing 20 minutes. Just what was needed for a team that has to play 4 games in eight days. Great to see Kamiko back. We'll need her in the weeks to come. I saw enough from Dupree to think she could have contributed at UT.
Fun game to watch.
flatrock writes:
Kamiko will be a huge help before the season ends!
Vols68 writes:
Ariel,Simmons,Miko,A (healthy) Taber and Strick.. We just need to get our post game going (Vicki Baugh) We will be tough to beat in March! A breakout game is peaking for Burdick, sometimes she can be TOO unselfish. When you have skills like she does you have to use that to your advantage! Izzy is continuing to be a work in progress, she's tough! We just need Manning to keep doing what she's doing..
oldster writes:
Glad to see Kamiko playing again. She could add a needed dimension to the team. More than that, however, I am glad for her sake. The ladies need Taber to heal and for Vicki Baugh to stay out of foul trouble and to get more minutes. Glad Simmons had no turnovers, but how many assists and wonder what her shooting percentage was? I suspect that she had no turnovers because she was not asked to handle the ball much and I remain skeptical about her despite the number of points she scores becauase of the tremendous number of shots it almost always seems to take in order for her to score those points.
Vols68 writes:
We also have to applaud her for her tremendous defense! It's much, much, much better than it was last season! WHen Meighan is open she is going to launch, when she has a good look at the basket she is going to launch, we're just gonna have to live and die with some of her shots. She's definately a key player when the game is on the line
jt45 writes:
Right on schedule I see, you never let up on that girl I believe you would be bashing simmons if she hit the winning shot for the championship.
Good game for the bench to get some playing time and Im glad to see Kamiko back on the floor.
xvolx writes:
If Dupree doesn't go to Chatt., we don't get Simmons. Good trade off for Lady Vols.
ps11824 writes:
Simmons hit 4 of 14 from the floor, 2 of 6 threes and 0 freethrows. Strick hit 2 of 7, no threes or freethrows. She had 5 boards and 3 assists which is not that impressive on paper. I did not see the game nor listen to the broadcast, but where was Shekinna? I see the bench scoring was right there with the starting 5. Nice to see Williams is healthy and cleared to play.
Anxious to see how they play Georgia. That matchup is always tough. We need to score in the 90s and we will definitely need Harrison and Baugh to stop the Dawgs under the basket...we know Glory will fight like she always does. If Massengale can step up again in the scoring stat without the turnovers, we will have a fine game.
Jephry writes:
98, everything Strick shot was short. She needs to rest her legs. She's not bending her knees and jumping into her shot right now. Simmons was lights out in the first half and couldn't put it in the bucket in the second. She rushed a bit after the halftime buzzer, in my opinion.
Everyone played a LOT of minutes last night, which is probably good for this team. I mentioned on the blog that a good blowout every now and then is good for the soul. =)
Now, it's time to focus on Georgia and beat them HARD. Go Lady Vols!!!
BxVol writes:
Great to have Kamiko back on the court.I always liked her mid-range and close to the basket game.
flatrock writes:
This lighter, quicker team fits Kamiko's game much better than last year's team. She and Ariel can push the ball and not have to wait on the bigs anymore.
SummittsCourt writes:
It amazes me that even in a 43 point drubbing there are still people not happy enough and can't help but point out all of the faults and what went wrong.
butch31 writes:
She may have taken the night off for the Georgia game. Sometime u can't score every point ur on the court. Georgia is tomorrow *(U KNOW)* lol!
I hate this game, we never ever play well the 1st round with this team.
The lady vols are playing great basketball, they bring it against these teams, and just need to work on consistency. I totally see them in final 4, and beating Notre Dame on their home floor.
voloffaith writes:
Last two comments have no foundation right now. Taber on the floor allows Shekkina better looks and balances the floor for us. Inside post play ,other than Ms. Johnson,won't cut it against quality opposition. Freshladies are developing and that is encouraging. Guard play is going to be ,as always,key to get anywhere near the dance. Kentucky and notre dame will show how much our guard play has progressed. In the meantime beat the lady pups.....
oldster writes:
Bashing? Is it bashing to point out that she shoots, game in and game out, between 25% and 30% and still gets to put up either the most or second most shots on the team? If so, then reality must be difficult for you.
ps11824 writes:
SummittsCourt writes:
It amazes me that even in a 43 point drubbing there are still people not happy enough and can't help but point out all of the faults and what went wrong. ]]]
I think I'm just too anxious for that 'Wow Game' to be content with poor shooting and way too many unforced turnovers. We played one game where we kept the turnovers to single digits. I think it's possible to repeat that level of play. We certainly have the athleticism. We all know these kids are 'high IQ' academically; I see no good reason for the mental breakdowns in the game. They eat, sleep & breathe basketball. Unforced turnovers are unacceptable.
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