If Tennessee’s last four games are any indication, the learning curve seems to be getting a little less steep. For Auburn, the opposite has been true.
The No. 7 Lady Vols (12-3, 2-0 SEC) head to the Plains on a four-game winning streak, including wins over No. 15 Connecticut and No. 14 Vanderbilt. Auburn (9-7, 0-3) comes into the game on a five-game losing streak, with losses to Duke, Vanderbilt and Georgia in the last two weeks.
In UT’s victory over Vanderbilt on Sunday, the Lady Vols dominated the glass by a 37-24 margin. Junior center Tye’sha Fluker played a big part in that, swiping a number of offensive boards and converting on second-chance opportunities.
Auburn coach Nell Fortner attributed most of her team’s recent problems to poor rebounding.
“We have got to be able to make some better defensive stops and not give up so many offensive rebounds,” Fortner said following her team’s 71-56 loss to Georgia on Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs held a 43-34 rebounding edge over Auburn.
The one bright spot for the Tigers against UGA came from junior center Marita Payne. The 6-foot-5 Payne picked up 10 blocks against the Bulldogs, leaving her with 76 for the season. She also broke the Auburn career blocks record with 205.
Fortner thinks at least part of her team’s problems opening up the SEC season boils down to one thing — a brutal schedule.
“I really think you have to look at our conference schedule,” Fortner said. “They didn’t do us any favors starting out the conference. You start with four other SEC teams and maybe you see a little different record for Auburn.
“This is the hand we were dealt. We try to hang in there and not lose our confidence and make your breaks sometimes. Hopefully we can do that soon.”
For Tennessee, the pieces seem to be falling together at just the right time. After losing to Duke, Texas and Rutgers before the end of December, the Lady Vol identity seems to be coming around.
“They are starting to get that consistency, that rotation, and they are just going to get better and better,” Fortner said. “The win up at UConn just gives them a tremendous amount of confidence and a belief in themselves.
“This is a team that has talent from top to bottom and it is a matter of coming together and playing well together, which I think they are doing now.”
After struggling through the opening 10 minutes of the first half against Vanderbilt, Tennessee seemingly went back to playing its familiar style of basketball to encompass a 29-point turnaround to close the game.
“We were sluggish and we let them have their way on offense and defense,” junior guard Shanna Zolman said. “We were confused defensively as to what we were playing. We were able to pull it back together, close the gap and move on from there.”
Zolman has seemingly been able to find her way back into an offensive groove. After struggling to hit even the simplest layups for over a month, Zolman scored 16 points against Arkansas and followed it up with a 20-point effort at Vanderbilt.
“It’s just a matter of relaxing and letting the game come to me,” Zolman said.
For the Lady Vols as a whole, winning might also be a simple matter.
“On this team, we don’t just leave something up to one person,” Fluker said. “We are all accountable to each other for each thing that happens in the game.
“When we play team ball, nobody can stop us.”
