To call No. 10 Tennessee’s schedule “challenging” would be an understatement.
Coming off of a three-game streak in which they played three top-10 teams, two of which were on the road, the Lady Vols got only one reprieve contest against Ole Miss before hitting the road again against the LSU Tigers.
“I must not have paid my SEC dues or something,” head coach Holly Warlick said on Jan. 25. “I didn’t buy the commissioner a drink at the Spring Fling or whatever.”
After starting out 15-0, the Lady Vols have lost four of their last six games, with the cold streak continuing on Sunday against LSU. Tennessee was upset 59-70 by the Tigers, marking the Lady Vols’ first loss against an unranked team this season.
“It was an effort thing,” senior Jaime Nared said. “I don’t think we were pushing back.”
The Lady Vols were the favorite to win entering Sunday’s contest, as they had better statistical averages in almost every single category than LSU and were ranked much higher than the Tigers.
However, LSU dominated the Lady Vols in almost every single statistical category, and Tennessee had one of the worst offensive performances it has fielded all year.
The Lady Vols shot just 38 percent from the field, their second lowest total of the season. To end the first half, Tennessee went 0-of-6 shooting with five turnovers and didn’t convert any field goals for a span that lasted 5:21.
The Lady Vols only had nine baskets in the entire second half, their lowest total on the year. Out of 18 3-point attempts, Tennessee only made four.
“In the third quarter they kind of attacked us offensively,” Nared said, “And we weren’t getting stops or scores.”
Tennessee was also outperformed in the paint, an area that is typically a strong point for the team. For a squad that is fourth in the nation in rebounds per game and second in the country in defensive rebounds per game, the Lady Vols had trouble keeping LSU off of the glass.
“We can’t give up 23 offensive rebounds and expect to win the game,” Warlick said. “They were gritty. They were tougher. They just outworked us.”
The Tigers were also successful on the offensive boards, pulling down 23 offensive rebounds for 20 second-chance points. Tennessee was outrebounded 44-32, its second largest negative margin of the season.
Foul trouble, as well, plagued the Lady Vols. By the third quarter alone, three starters, Rennia Davis, Nared and Mercedes Russell, had reached three total fouls. Nared only played a handful of minutes in the third quarter and did not re-emerge until the beginning of the fourth.
Freshman Evina Westbrook eventually fouled out in garbage time of the fourth quarter after posting a total of 10 points and seven assists.
Tennessee’s struggles even carried over to an area it generally prides itself on: The free throw line. Despite leading the nation in free throws attempted and placing third in the nation in free throws made, the Lady Vols only stepped up to the charity stripe 16 times on Sunday, as opposed to LSU’s count of 27.
The Lady Vols took less total free throws than they average attempts made a game (18).
Turnovers, which have plagued Tennessee the entire year, were among the problems showcased on Sunday. The Tigers were able to force 14 turnovers and scored 14 points off of them, while the Lady Vols were able to only force 11 LSU turnovers.
“It just seemed like they wanted the basketball a lot more than we did,” Russell said, “On the defensive end, they were getting after it and disrupting our offense.”
Tennessee will look to bounce back on Thursday when the Lady Vols welcome Texas A&M to Knoxville for the two teams’ second meeting this season. The Aggies defeated Tennessee 79-76 at College Station on Jan. 11.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
