FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — For the longest time on Sunday, Tennessee didn’t look the part of SEC women’s basketball leader.
The Lady Vols’ image was grossly distorted by a misspent first 20 minutes against Arkansas.
An extreme mental makeover to start the second half restored their usual look. But some touch-up work was required to finish a 60-54 victory before a crowd of 2,758 at Bud Walton Arena.
“It was just the intensity and a mindset on defense,” Taber Spani said.
That’s how the senior forward explained UT’s about-face in erasing an 11-point deficit within the first 5 minutes, 2 seconds of the second half. The aggressiveness factored into the Lady Vols’ ability to preserve their lead down the stretch, too.
The Lady Vols parlayed a strategic decision to trap off ball screens into a second-half trapping siege. They traded a few layups for rushed shots and some turnovers, particularly a big steal by senior Kamiko Williams with 2:09 left.
“We respond so much better when we’re just aggressive, active and taking chances on defense,” UT coach Holly Warlick said.
The victory, coupled with losses Sunday by Kentucky and Texas A&M, clinched a share of the regular-season SEC title for No. 11 Tennessee (22-5, 13-1). The Lady Vols conclude the regular season with a home game against A&M on Thursday, followed by a game at Kentucky next Sunday.
To first escape Arkansas, they needed a game-high 18 points from Meighan Simmons. The junior guard concluded a frantic drive by knifing across the lane and rolling in shot with 2:27 left, expanding a vulnerable two-point lead to 54-50.
Spani scored 14 points. After missing an open 3-point attempt with UT up seven and then a layup, she hit a driving pull-up jumper for a 56-51 lead with 43 seconds left.
Bashaara Graves scored 11 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, part of UT’s 46-33 advantage on the boards.
The offensive highlights notwithstanding, the Lady Vols’ usual strengths betrayed them. They shot 33.9 percent from the floor, a far cry from their 47.9 percent accuracy in league play. The points were the lowest since scoring 60 against Stanford on Dec. 22.
During pre-game introductions, highlights of Arkansas’ 72-71 upset win in Knoxville last season were shown on the scoreboard video screen. The display caught the attention of several Lady Vols. But it seemed to inspire the Razorbacks (17-10, 5-9), particularly on defense.
They had a hand in 13 first-half turnovers by Tennessee.
“They put a little more pressure on Tennessee than maybe Tennessee thought they could,” Arkansas coach Tom Collen said.
Warlick reached down her bench, which was longer Sunday with the availability of center Isabelle Harrison.
At one point, no true post players were on the floor for Tennessee. Later when Harrison returned after missing six games following knee injury, she and Graves collaborated on a textbook high-low play that resulted in a conventional 3-point play.
The post-play collaboration was an exception as UT had just eight paint points at halftime.
Led by Quistelle Williams’ 15 points, Arkansas scored the final nine points of the first half and the first basket after halftime, opening a 30-19 lead.
“From then, we just said basically ‘that’s it,’ ’’ Spani said.
Judging by the statistics, the Lady Vols’ second-half defense didn’t exactly cripple Arkansas. The Razorbacks scored just two fewer points and committed six turnovers.
The greatest impact was on Tennessee, which scored 41 points while committing just three more turnovers.
“We were just passive (early), we were passive on both ends,” Warlick said. “We’re not very good at being passive. You can be patient on offense, but you can’t be passive.”
Warlick referred to the upcoming week as “a great opportunity” for UT before adding, “it’s got to be a different game for us if we want to come out and get two wins in those two games.”
Rocky Top League opening night
Old school: Archived photos of UT…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 81
BIVOLAR_BEARE writes:
Good job gals..Winning on the road isn't easy..WTGLV!
mogreer_tn#213464 writes:
This is not a focused team at times and today was a good example. They are too casual with their passing and other key areas of the game.
I was happy for the win but it didn't quite feel like a win. They will have to get better for the remaining two games if they want to win out.
Go LV
BxVol writes:
Way to come back in the 2nd half, but did they miss the wakeup call?First half 14 turnovers to 4 assists, while Arkansas had only 4 to`s to 8 assists.Our Lady Vols have said they would be more focused to start games, certainly not today.They have been able to get away with slow starts against weaker teams, but no way to play against the stronger teams they have faced and will face come tourney time.
Good to see Izzy back on the floor, and hopefully she will be able to get her game back soon.
ACWLY writes:
Another great Gut Check Road victory... only physical and mental toughness can win these kind of games, sign of good preparation and coaching. VFL
SummittsCourt writes:
Kentucky lost!!!
A against Texas A&M sews it up for the regular season!
richvol writes:
This is the worst ballhandling LadyVol team I have ever seen. They will get killed in the NCAA tourney. Massingale was bad as usual.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
Or a Aggie loss today
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
GLV let's win out and get that 2 seed.
civilianvol_formerly_marinevol writes:
It's good to come back and get a win on the road, but this was a frustrating game to watch. I lost count of the missed layups. Hope they can be a little sharper for the next two games.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
Okay...
-The SEC is NOT very good this year.
-The LV's ARE over-achieving.
I watched the first half (replay should be on espn3.com); it was not Arky's D, it was UT over-passing.
Folks, it's a long, long season. The LV's know 'hell week' is coming up for them. They looked a little lethargic, like school/basketball/winter/traveling was all a big drag.
Not a great game, but earning the win was big. This was a day they could have folded up and gone home.
If you're honest, you have to give credit to this team for sticking together.
Know what it reminds me of?? Pat's early-career teams, those that didn't have tons of talent. There is more heart than talent for this bunch; therefore, to me, a lot of fun.
jt45 writes:
They pulled off another win in spite of a rather poor first half. Turnovers are a real big issue for this bunch and have been since game one, but they are still very good in most areas. The officials in this game were kind of letting alot of hacking go on under the basket. Some of the instant replays were very telling, nevertheless they pulled out the win, so now its time to recoup,regroup and welcome those texas girls to TBA for some REAL sec LVs basketball.
TheStupidPolice writes:
STUPID! Overachieving? More heart than talent?
cdtnladyvols931#663910 writes:
Defene and rebounds Lady Vols...take care of the ball. Good win try to stay no.one in the conference. You girls can play better than you played today,
jt45 writes:
With both UK and Texas A&M losing today the LVs are in a good position to clinch the regular season title. I think they can win out if they play like they are capable of.But only need one more win to clinch the title.
orangecountyvols writes:
Vols,
Ok, it was not a classic performance, but they managed to ward off Arkansas after the Lady Hogs made a pretty interesting final 5 or 10 minutes.
Now, what makes this less than stellar performance significant is what happened to the Aggies and Wildcats. A word of thanks to LSU and the distant cousins from Nashville for their upsets.
Williams for the Vols..........where was she for the majority of the game?
Anyway, a little space now with Tennessee separating itself from the others.......for now.
Spani and Graves were clutch at the end.
We'll take it.
Volinflan writes:
I'm not sure how this works but it looks to me that Tennessee is sitting at 13-1, GA, Ky, and A&M are all sitting at 11-3. I don't think so, but it's possible that Tenn could lose the next two games. Should that happen, will Tennessee not wind up in third place for the regular season? I looked at the schedule and each of the other 3 teams can win out without having to play each other again. That being the case TN would have have lost to KY and A&M thus putting them ahead of TN in the standings. Since TN beat Ga they would be in fourth. Like I said, I don't know how this works but I'm not yet celebrating another Regular Season Championship until we win another game. Please correct me if my thinking is off.
voloffaith writes:
Would be a 4 way tie for starters as you laid it out. Cattettes and Aggieetttes both ahead of us due to head to head competition. Kittenettes get first by virtue of beating A & M twice in regular season. So we would ,as you accurately stated, be third and have no bye in first round(I think?)
tonyvick#213307 writes:
Williams don't disappear on this team. You can still be the best player on the court, if you want to be. I have learned to not worry about what happens with these ladies until the end of the game. You ladies seem to do whatever it takes to win. Thanks.
chaos001 writes:
Now now...saying stuff like this will upset SummittsCourt. Let's not let the truth overwhelm our feelings! :P
She seriously sucks at times. Carter will definitely help us out next year.
voloffaith writes:
Did Coach Warlick state as to why Kamiko's minutes were down today? Illness...injury...Didn't listen or watch as was surprised only two minutes. I'll hang up now and listen......almost lol
SummittsCourt writes:
The Lady Vols are set up to take the regular season title. win one of two and they win it all. Neither will be easy, but here's hoping for a sweep.
Let's go Lady Vols!
volfan2002 writes:
We have a share of the SEC title in the bag. We need to win it outright at home against Texas A&M.
Theo writes:
Textbook trap game. Great to come away with the victory. Looks like A&M and UK both fell into their trap games. I have to say I felt better when I saw they had Vandy and LSU left. Vandy can always beat anybody at any given time and LSU seems to really be coming on at the end of the season. I don't want to see them in the SEC tourney.
While I agree this team has lots of heart I think they are also very talented. BG will be one of two or three kids up for Rookie POY. Burdick was the top forward coming out. Massengale the #3? PG. JJ has barely scratched the surface of what she can do. Losing Carter really hurt this year but the healthy group has the talent to compete with any team with the possible exception of B. Grinner. You can't teach 6'8".
volfan2002 writes:
The SEC title would be shared in your scenario with Tennessee, Kentucky, and A&M sharing the title. The seeds is only for the tournament.and the actual finish for the title would be recorded as a three way time. Were gonna beat A&M so that want even be considered.
strops writes:
If we are the #3 seed we would play our first game in the SEC tournament at 8:30 on Friday, March 8 according to the SEC website. The #1 seed will play at 12 noon on Friday and the second seed will play at 6 pm on Friday.
The weird thing about the bracket is that the first game will be played on Wednesday, March 6 between the #12 and #13 seed. Apparently the team that finishes last will be left out of the tournament.
LadyVolsFan71 writes:
You are correct. Ole Miss is not eligible for post season play. So the SEC only has 13 teams playing in the tournament.
Volinflan writes:
Then, there you have it. The Lady Vols could not do worse than a regular season title. Hey and I agree with you, we are going to put a "whuppin" on A&M. As far as seeding goes: I don't want to play South Carolina, I don't want to play LSU, I don't want to play Vandy again, I don't want to play Auburn again, etc., etc., etc., The one team we do want to play is Missouri. It's pay back time.
Volinflan writes:
How would they do it if there were 14 teams? Is Ole Miss not eligible for transgressions?
LadyVolsFan71 writes:
Not sure what Ole Miss did or did not do. Self-imposed postseason ban. Seed # 11 gets an automatic to the Thursday opening round. # 12 and # 13 play on Wednesday to move on to Thursday.
Mama_Also_Calls_Me_Precious writes:
Ole miss is banned from post season play and that's why there are only 13 seeds for the tournament
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
Hi Theo.
My view on 'talent'.
Simmons and Graves are the real deal. Harrison, Brudick and Massengale are decent but not all-star material.
What you love, though, is how they respond to Holly.
maxvolfan#217855 writes:
We should come out Thursday ready to thrash those Aggiettes . They had nothing !
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
Well, you've certainly over-achieved, at any rate.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
A&M is up in the air...but I think the LV's will be hungrier for a win than UK.
Maybe a split the next 2 games.
voloffaith writes:
They will be up to the task as they are well coached. The key is shutting down Bone as most have figured out lately. Guard play is like ours. They are good ,but Bone is the key.
SoddyVol writes:
Does a tiebreaker for regular season champion exist? If so and all the 13-2 teams win out, then The Vols would have to win at least one of their last two games to Guarantee the Championship. There are circumstances where Ga could still win it since they beat Ky.
johnlg00 writes:
Well, maybe, but it was a better win than either A&M or UK got under similar circumstances, i.e., substantial favorites playing on the road. The LVs stumbled at times, but they didn't fall.
SoddyVol writes:
Meant 11-2 teams (If they win out they would be 13-2)
johnlg00 writes:
It's pretty clear to me that their heart has saved them in some games where their talent let them down. This is just a better team than the last few LV teams, precisely because they have figured out how to win even when they aren't playing their best. One thing I have noticed about this team is that I never get the feeling that they don't care enough; except for Glory Johnson, I got that feeling all too often with the last few LV teams.
johnlg00 writes:
It looked to me like Kamiko came down awkwardly on somebody's foot one time and might have rolled an ankle. She seemed a step slow for a couple of possessions after that, so I guess the staff just decided to shut her down.
aidensgrandpa#442215 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
johnlg00 writes:
Works for me. Winning solves all problems. My head spins when I try to contemplate all those tie-breaker scenarios. Just win, baby!
vol98champ writes:
Focus! You hit the nail on the head. We can beat all but 5 or 6 teams the way we are playing, but without focus on lazy passes we have no chance against the elite.
johnlg00 writes:
No quite sure what you mean. Harrison was leading the league in blocked shots before she was hurt. Burdick is only going to keep getting better and she's not too shabby now. You may have a point with Massengale. I agree that the team seems to respond very well to Holly. I really like this team.
johnlg00 writes:
Izzy looked about as rusty as I was afraid she would be, but with A&M and Kelsey Bone looming, I'm glad she at least got her feet wet today. Spani shot the ball pretty well, but she had a stretch in the middle of the second half where she just seemed to space out or something. She got beat a couple of times on defense, missed a couple of easy shots, and had a couple of turnovers, all right in a row. She was pretty good before and after that, though. Overall, not an artistic success for most of the game, but just enough grit to get the job done. Get it together and win out, gals! Still a lot of ball to be played this year.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
@john
In my view, those 3 are role players. Simmons and Graves would get minutes on any team in America, including UConn and Baylor.
JMO, though.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
Hi Soddy;
I'd think that whatever tie-breakers they use for tournament seeding would determine the Regular Season champion....but I bet not.
I'd bet if it's a tie, it's a tie.
That's a pretty good question you've asked that I hope someone clears up.
johnlg00 writes:
You might have a point. However, I think just about any team in America would LOVE to have Burdick and Harrison, whether or not they are stars. JMO, but I see them as much more than just interchangeable parts.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
@john
That's a good thought.
the beauty of it is that nearly all good teams are built with various pieces.
Look at UConn, Baylor, ND....they've got 2-3 "stars", then everyone else has a job to do. Those other kids are damn good players, they just don't have jobs that earn them accolades.
You and I both know how important setting screens, moving the ball, and boxing out are to success. All those 'stats' that don't really get counted. Boards and points and assists are wonderful, but so is getting your job done to get your team a win.
I guess that's how I really should have couched my post to begin with.
emailnodata (Inactive) writes:
Hey everyone, go look at this site for your own curiosity; I have linked to "men", but you can flip pretty easily. Look at the 'bracketology' sections.
http://realtimerpi.com/ncaab/Men.html
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