The Lady Vols begin their 44th straight hunt for an NCAA Championship.
Tennessee (16-13, 8-8 SEC) takes on NC State (20-10, 13-5 ACC) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Wolfpack beat the Lady Vols in their season opener, winning 80-77 in Greensboro, North Carolina, but it has been a long and challenging season for both teams.
Despite riding a seven-game losing streak into Friday’s matchup, the mood in Tennessee’s locker room is still high. After having a two-week break after a second-round loss in the SEC Tournament, the Lady Vols are focused on still having fun.
“When we are having fun, you can tell on everybody’s faces,” senior Nya Robertson said. “When somebody scores, the whole bench is up. When somebody gets a stop, the whole bench is up. We’re celebrating each other, just trying to feed off each other.”
Though the Lady Vols are feeding off each other, one figure will be as important as ever for Tennessee. Senior Janiah Barker has plenty of postseason experience, reaching the NCAA Tournament in both her sophomore and junior years. She made a Final Four run with UCLA last season while coming off the bench.
“They have been looking to me for leadership and advice,” Barker said. “I just try to use my voice as much as possible. I think of just trying to come over and show these ropes to this team, younger players, players who have never even been in this position before. Just letting them know it’s a regular game, although it’s big stakes, don’t try to put too much on it and go out there like it’s your last game.”
While Barker tells the team that it’s just another game, head coach Kim Caldwell sees it in a different light. Though her team has qualified for the postseason in all 10 of her years as a collegiate head coach, Caldwell still gets excited.
“Any time you get into March and in March Madness it’s definitely a different buzz,” Caldwell said. “A different vibe around it. There’s some excitement, there’s some juice. You had, we have a significant chunk of time where we can practice and kind of have a fresh start where you have time to put things together.”
Now with two weeks of practice under their belt and fresh legs, the Lady Vols know their expectations. Caldwell laid out exactly what she wants to see from her team.
“I would love to get back to being the hardest playing team on the floor,” Caldwell said. “That means 50/50 balls we’re getting on them, we’re taking charges, we’re diving on loose balls, we have great energy, we’re playing as a team. We’re giving high-fives. Our bench is having fun. We’re scoring a lot of points.”
Despite the adversity this season, Tennessee begins its hunt for its ninth championship at 8 p.m.
