The No. 6 Tennessee women’s basketball team (17-1) is on game three of a brutal four game stretch. Thursday night, they entered South Bend, Indiana, to take on the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-2) on the heels of a 16-point win over the No. 10 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Lady Vols fought hard but ultimately gave away a sizeable advantage and lost the battle, falling to Notre Dame 84-70.
Tennessee did not score for the first minute and a half of the contest, and Notre Dame was first to draw blood. However, it did not take long for the Lady Vols to find their stride, and once they gained some traction, they hit the ground running.
Tennessee closed out the first quarter shooting 68 percent from the field, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arch, to open up a comfortable 27-10 lead.
The second quarter began with much of the same for the Lady Vols. They didn’t miss a basket for almost two minutes to start the quarter and opened up a 37-14 lead, everything seeming to go their way.
However, like sprinters at the end of a race, the Lady Vols appeared to get winded later on. Notre Dame went on a 13-2 run to end the half, holding Tennessee scoreless for the last five and a half minutes to close the second quarter. Still, entering the second half, the Lady Vols maintained a 12 point, 39-27 lead.
That second half was an entirely different story, though.
After stumbling, Tennessee seemed not to be able to find its footing once more. While the Lady Vols got ice cold, Notre Dame started to heat up.
Throughout the entire third quarter, Notre Dame chipped away at Tennessee’s lead and stuck with them, allowing them to make major scoreboard changes later.
The fourth quarter was the turning point.
The Fighting Irish went on an 18-5 run to take their first lead since the first quarter, 68-65. It seemed as if the Lady Vols could not find an answer to the surging Irish.
The Lady Vols only scored 10 points to Notre Dame’s 34, wiping away any considerable leads Tennessee had held.
Tennessee struggled managing the game and gave up the ball frequently. The Fighting Irish were able to score 28 points off of 28 Lady Vols turnovers, including 15 in the second half alone.
However, offense wasn’t the main problem for Tennessee; the biggest issue was in answering and fighting back after being tested. All five starters reached double digits, with junior guard Meme Jackson leading the way by scoring 18 off of 8-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arch.
Freshman forward Rennia Davis found her rhythm after sliding off the radar the past few contests, scoring 12 points in 27 minutes of playing time.
Tennessee returns home after three straight road contests on Sunday to take on No. 3 Mississippi State, the runners-up in last year’s national championship, for the annual “We Back Pat” game. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN 2.
