Vanderbilt caught Tennessee at an inopportune time.
Fresh off the heels of a 68-58 loss at LSU, the Lady Vols got back on a winning track Sunday afternoon, holding off the Commodores for a 72-63 win at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee (19-4, 9-1) reversed trend against Vanderbilt (17-6, 6-4) by forcing the ball into the post early and often. A Lady Vol team that had few points in the paint against the Lady Tigers on Thursday picked up the pace against the Commodores, accumulating 44 points in the paint.
Part of the offensive momentum in the post could be attributed to a lineup change.
After a disappointing performance against LSU, senior forward Shyra Ely was replaced in the starting lineup by freshman Alexis Hornbuckle. When Ely did come into the game, it was at power forward, a change from the small forward position she has been playing most of the season.
The change seemingly made a difference.
Ely, limited to six points against the Lady Tigers, contributed 18 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action against Vanderbilt.
“I thought she responded well,” UT coach Pat Summitt said. “She really stepped up her play and played very aggressive. She looked a lot more comfortable inside.
“She had the maturity and the focus that you want a senior to have.”
Ely wasn’t Tennessee’s only answer in the post against the Commodores. Junior center Tye’sha Fluker, in her second game since returning from her grandmother’s funeral, knocked down 6 of 8 shots for 14 points.
The offense inside the post was what Summitt was looking for, but the defense was not. Vanderbilt senior forward Ashley Earley pushed the Lady Vols around inside, picking up 24 points and 11 rebounds.
“Our whole interior defense has to get better,” Summitt said. “It was exposed today. I thought Earley pretty well just had her way inside.”
Earley may have dominated, but the UT players guarding her thought her performance had a lot to do with the effectiveness of her teammates.
“Her team does a really good job getting her the ball,” Fluker said. “They do a good job finding the post and feeding the post.”
Earley, combined with senior guard Abi Ramsey, who scored 17 points against the Lady Vols, were enough to keep Vanderbilt in the contest.
Summitt blamed a lot of the inconsistency on the bench play and the combinations of players on the court.
“I thought that our starters got us off to a great start in both halves,” Summitt said. “We finished out the first half pretty well and the end of the game. What happened in between had a lot to do with our substitutions.”
The substitution pattern will continue to change, Summitt said, as the players show improvement.
“We need to be, as a team, more consistent,” Summitt said. “As more and more players bring the consistency, we become a better team. We’re a team of spurts right now. We have a lot of room for improvement.”
