Even though the Lady Vols haven’t had seven losses through their first 19 games since the 1984-85 season, head coach Holly Warlick’s possessed a calm demeanor when she talked to reporters after Wednesday’s practice.
“We’ve gotta come out of the huddle ready to play and, for whatever reason, we’ve been in a little lull,” Warlick said. “I think (the players) recognize it. We’ve been really bad the second and third quarters, but we did really good in the second quarter against Kentucky. We’ve just got to clean that other quarter up.”
The Lady Vols (12-7, 3-3 SEC) are coming off a rocky 64-63 loss to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats on Monday. Tennessee outscored the Wildcats in the first, second and fourth quarter, but Kentucky’s 21-9 scoring outburst in the third sealed the deal for the Wildcats late as freshman Te’a Cooper struggled to get off a final buzzer-beating shot in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
The loss, coupled with two other losses from the unranked Florida Gators and the 9-11 Arkansas Razorbacks, have left the Lady Vols tied for seventh in the SEC standings with Vanderbilt — a location that the coaching staff and fans alike aren’t too happy with.
Now the Lady Vols have No. 13 Mississippi State on their radar – a team that the Lady Vols are currently 16-0 against in Starksville and 35-0 against all-time.
Warlick said that her team understands what’s at stake against the Bulldogs on Thursday (TV: SEC Network, 9 p.m. ET)
“It’s out there. We bring it up, and I’m sure it’s a motivation for both teams,” the fourth-year coach said. “You can’t hide from it. You just put it out there. If it’s going to motivate us, that’s great.
“It just comes down to this group at this time on this night. We gotta play. We gotta play whatever the record is, and we’ve just gotta get the job done.”
The Bulldogs are enjoying one of the best seasons in their history. Victoria Vivians, who averaged 14.9 points per game last year, has increased her total to 17.7 this year, which is good enough to lead the SEC. Vivians’ shooting has propelled the Bulldogs to 75.6 points per game, which is third in the conference.
However, Mississippi State’s (17-4, 4-3 SEC) rebounding is what really drives the team. The Bulldogs have pulled in 807 rebounds this year, including 362 offensive rebounds. Both lead the SEC.
“They’re not so much pressing, but they’re denying. They have great ball pressure,” Warlick said. “They want to disrupt. They want to be able to score off their defense, and they do a great job. They play hard. They play extremely hard.”
Injury Report: Diamond DeShields, who tweaked her ankle a bit in Tuesday’s team practice, will be “ready to play” against the Bulldogs, according to Holly Warlick.
Jasmine Jones, who is suffering from a head injury she sustained earlier in the year, is still out indefinitely.
“We’re just concerned with Jasmine’s health, and we’re not going to push the issue,” Warlick said. “(The medical staff) aren’t ready for her to be back out on the court yet.”
Warlick continued to say that Jones hasn’t yet been ruled out for the remainder of the season and that she will check back with the medical staff in a couple of weeks for an update.
