After scoring 25 points in last year’s upset win over the Lady Vols, LSU’s Danielle Ballard seemed to be primed to pick up where she left off.
The junior guard was coming off outings of 24 and 25 points respectively after sitting out the first 14 games of the season due to suspension, and appeared ready to spoil the fourth annual “We Back Pat” game in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Andraya Carter, however, had other ideas. No. 5 ranked Tennessee’s best defensive player was able to keep Ballard in check for most of the night, limiting her to four first half points and helping lead the Lady Vols to a 75-58 victory over the Lady Tigers.
“When she caught the ball we wanted to make things hard on her,” Carter said. “They have good players, and she’s one of their best players so we didn’t want her to get hot.”
Ballard finished the night with 15 points, but several of them came well after the game had already been decided in the second half, and she finished with a game-high five turnovers on the night.
Carter’s impact on the game was not only limited to defense, however, as the sophomore guard scored 13 points on five of six shooting, including three of three from behind the 3-point line. Many of her shots seemed to come when the Lady Vols (16-3, 6-0) needed a spark.
Less than a minute into the second half, LSU (10-9, 4-3) had cut the Tennessee lead to six, when Carter knocked down a 3-pointer. She followed that up by assisting an Isabelle Harrison layup on the next possession before recording a steal and feeding Harrison again, who was fouled and hit both free throws at the line.
“I thought she took great shots,” head coach Holly Warlick said. “She was five-for-six and I thought she had a solid game. … I’ve not told any of these guys not to shoot. I thought she just took great looks.”
Just three days after shooting four of 15 from the field, and missing several easy layups, All-SEC forward Harrison had a memorable night.
The junior scored 25 points, one short of tying her career high, on nine of 11 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds. While it was up to her to score, the majority of her points were made possible by great passing from her teammates, as the Lady Vols finished with 18 assists on 25 made field goals.
“We work (interior passing) a lot in practice,” Harrison said. “The past couple games those passes have been there too, I just wasn’t holding up my end of the deal, so I’m glad they kept on putting it in there and trusting in me to finish.”
This was the fourth annual “We Back Pat” game honoring former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, and the first one that saw both teams coached by former Lady Vol players. LSU coach Nikki Caldwell played under Pat Summitt from 1990 to 1994, and returned to coach under her from 2002 to 2008.
Despite the fact that it ended in a loss, being able to participate in this game was still a special experience for the former Lady Vol.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here today without (Summitt),” Caldwell said. “It’s always great to be able to come back home and see a lot of familiar faces, but anytime I come back to Knoxville she’s the one face that I definitely have to see.”
