As the game turned: Senior Ariel Massengale had the moment flash before her eyes.
In her last appearance playing on her home court, the Lady Vols’ guard helped stave off a late comeback attempt by Brianna Kiesel and Pittsburgh.
Massengale connected on all six of her free throw attempts in the final 37 seconds and gathered a steal to seal Tennessee’s Sweet Sixteen berth with 22 seconds remaining as Kiesel lost the dribble.
“It’s a great feeling to keep advancing,” Massengale said. “I really don’t think its hit me yet that it was my last time playing on this court, just because we are happy to still be playing in the tournament. It’s been a great four years here and I’m going to miss it. I just want to keep winning and take this team as far as it will go.”
The senior sharpshooter, who hit two threes, giving her 69 treys on the season, and teammates Cierra Burdick and Isabelle Harrison left their home court with a perfect 18-0 mark in their final seasons and with a memory they will always remember.
Massengale finished with 16 points and Burdick landed her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds after being held scoreless in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I’m confident in my seniors,” sophomore guard Jordan Reynolds said, who finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists. “Both of them stepped up and hit some really big shots that we needed. Ariel hit some big free throws down the stretch. I’m confident in them just as much as they are in me. They come out to play and they stepped up big.”
Hot topic: No team in the NCAA tournament has had an answer for the fiery play down low of Bashaara Graves.
Through her first two games in March Madness the 6-foot-2 center for the Lady Vols has used her strong and athletic frame to power her way in the post to 45 points (17-for-28 FG) and 19 rebounds.
Determined to get her team second-chance points throughout the contest, Graves finished with 10 of her team’s 21 offensive rebounds, setting a career-high.
“That’s just Bashaara,” Reynolds said. “She has stepped up big for us and she doesn’t want this season to end. She has been a beast on the boards and a beast inside. All the critics have said no one has been stepping up since Isabelle (Harrison) went down, but she’s been proving them wrong.”
The toughness displayed by the relentless junior was put on full display when she battled her way through two defenders and, while having her contact jarred out on the contact down low, hit her layup and single free-throw attempt to give the Lady Vols a 47-36 lead with 13:50 left to play.
“She is one of the toughest players in the country,” Reynolds said. “She goes to the boards so hard and it just showed today. A contact is not going to stop her.”
Tennessee, which has 39 offensive rebounds in wins against Boise State and Pittsburgh, has advanced to the program’s 33rd Sweet Sixteen appearance. With a mindset to crash four players to the offensive boards, Reynolds came up with six rebounds and was one of four Lady Vols to finish with at least two offensive rebounds.
“Our coaches have been trying to get us to get four to the boards for offense all season long,” Reynolds said. “Now we are finally doing it. It helped tonight. We got a lot of offensive boards from people, including the guards. It provides part of the difference.”
Spotlight: This Wednesday the Lady Vols will travel to Spokane, Washington, where they will take on No. 11 seed Gonzaga. For Reynolds, Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell it will be basically a homecoming trip since all three are from Oregon.
“I’m so excited,” Reynolds said. “We are looking forward to playing in our backyard almost. No matter what, we are going to go out and play hard and try and continue the road to Tampa.”
The other guys: Brianna Kiesel scored 24 of her career-high 32 points in the second half of Pittsburgh’s defeat Monday night.
The ACC’s fourth leading scorer shot 11-of-24 from the field and poured in 9-of-13 from the free throw line, as she played all 40 minutes.
Say something: Holly Warlick on tying her career high as a head coach at Tennessee with her 29th win: “I didn’t even know that. That’s awesome. I’m probably worried about the five losses more than the wins. The wins are a reflection of your staff and great players. We are going to continue to get great players and aim for championships.”
By the numbers:
92: The Lady Vols have totaled 46 rebounds in their first two wins of the NCAA Tournament
8: Tennessee hit eight of its first 10 shots
4: Defensive rebounds for Graves out of her 14 rebounds
