There’s an old mantra in the world of sports that applies almost universally: The best offense is a good defense. The Tennessee women’s basketball team’s season opening 97-49 win over the Presbyterian Blue Hose is evidence of the truth in this old saying.
“We really wanted to focus on intensity,” head coach Holly Warlick said. “I thought we maintained it very well the whole game.”
In the first quarter alone, they had five steals, with all but one leading to immediate points.
Presbyterian turned the ball over 21 times in the first half. 22 of the Lady Vols’ 46 first half points were due to mistakes made by the Blue Hose.
Meanwhile, Tennessee turned the ball over just seven times in the first two periods of play. Scoring-wise, Presbyterian was held to just 33.3-percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, and all but two of their players finished in the minus.
The Lady Vols had four blocks in the first half, from four different members of the squad.
“This is a team that loves to be physical all over the court,” Warlick said. “I love the aggressive play, I love the blocks. It gets our young ladies emotional, gets them fired up.”
Things didn’t get better for the Blue Hose in the last two quarters of play.
They made just three buckets in the third quarter, scoring 11 points as Tennessee gradually increased their 17-point halftime lead.
The Blue Hose would be held to just 31.4-percent shooting for the whole game. They would turn the ball over a total of 39 times, allowing the Lady Vols 44 points off of those turnovers. Tennessee finished with a whopping 22 steals and nine blocks.
Forward Rennia Davis was out with an apparent lower leg injury, wearing a walking boot and remaining on the bench for the entire contest. In her stead, freshman guard Zaay Green earned a start.
Z. Green had 28 points in Tennessee’s exhibition win against Carson-Newman last Monday. It seems as if that positive momentum she established carried over into the season opener, as she provided valuable minutes in the absence of Davis, a pre-season All-SEC team member.
“I was mostly just excited,” Z. Green said. “I mean, to just play. I wasn’t thinking about starting, I was thinking about just playing.”
She was one of three Lady Vols that finished in double, finishing with 13 points. She was near perfect from three-point range, finishing three-for-four from behind the arc.
The Texas native also left her mark on the defensive side of the ball, recording five steals and a block, leading all freshman players in the former.
Elsewhere, Evina Westbrook had perhaps the best game in her career. She led the Lady Vols in almost every statistical category, and dropped a career high 20 points, the first time reaching 20 points in her time at Tennessee.
She was also unquestionably the leader on defense, flying around the court, and snatching the ball from the Blue Hose seven times to lead both teams in steals. Westbrook tied for the lead in assists for the game with Presbyterian’s Kacie Hall; both had five.
Six of the nine Lady Vols that saw playing time finished in double-digit scoring, including two of the freshmen.
“All the freshmen did extraordinary,” Westbrook said. “I think they’re just playing with energy, and we’re all really proud of them. They’ve been doing great in practice, so it’s been transitioning pretty well.”
Tennessee will return to the Summitt on Wednesday for their next contest against the University of North Carolina-Asheville. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m., with the game being broadcast on SEC Network+.
