It didn’t take long for the No. 11 Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team to make a statement in their season opener against the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Sunday.
On defense, Tennessee (1-0) pressured the Blue Hose (0-1) early and often, creating or taking advantage of 39 turnovers while six different Lady Vols scored in double figures on the offensive end en route to a 97-49 win at Thompson-Boling Arena.
“We started off a little up and down,” head coach Holly Warlick said. “But I thought we started attacking the basket and got great shots. We had to dominate the boards and we had a talk about that at halftime. I thought we came out and did just that.”
The win marked the program’s 7th straight season-opening win of the Holly Warlick era.
Taking advantage of turnovers
Earlier in the week, Warlick said she wanted to see the intensity versus Carson-Newman carry over into the game against Presbyterian. In the opening minutes of the contest, it was clear that message was well received.
“We really wanted to focus in on intensity,” Warlick said. “I thought we maintained it very well throughout the game.”
Under immense pressure from the defense, the Blue Hose committed a total of 39 turnovers in the game. More importantly, Tennessee turned those into 44 points on the other end.
“We play like that and we practice like that every week,” Warlick said. “We worked on our press and what you saw today was a reflection of our practices.”
For Presbyterian, head coach Alaura Sharp credited Tennessee’s length and athleticism as to why they struggled beating the press.
“Their length is really hard to play against,” Sharp said. “There’s just not very many places that you can go on the floor where you don’t find yourself in a trap.”
With 22 steals the Lady Vols, tied the record for 11th most in program history, which came during the 2015-16 season against ETSU.
Improvement, struggles at free throw line
Although they dominated in nearly every other category in the exhibition game, the Lady Vols struggled at the charity stripe. Tennessee was 19-of-36 in free throws, and it was an area of concern for the coaching staff heading into the regular season.
On Sunday, there was some early improvement in that area, but Tennessee struggled late in the second half, finishing 20-of-36 at the line and shooting 65-percent in the win.
For Warlick, the team is taking steps towards more consistency at the free throw line.
“We’re taking baby steps,” Warlick said. “We’re going to continue to shoot 500 at practice until we make a difference. It’s mental. We’ve got to continue to get better. We’re going to continue to get better.”
Westbrook’s career afternoon
In her freshman campaign a year ago, Evina Westbrook scored a then-career-high 18 points in a win over Auburn. The sophomore guard eclipsed that total versus Presbyterian with a 20-point showing.
“I just had to do what my team needed me to do,” Westbrook said. “ I don’t come out every game thinking I need to score this many points. It’s just whatever my team needs me to do for that specific game.”
Not to be outdone on the defensive side of the ball, Westbrook also was personally responsible for 7 of Tennessee’s 22 steals- also a career high.
“I really owe it all to my teammates, to be honest,” Westbrook said. “Without them I wouldn’t be able to get as many steals. Our pressure made it easier to get those steals. On to the next game.”
Despite missing some shot early, Warlick was impressed with Westbrook’s ability to put that behind her and continue taking shots.
“The first couple of shots didn’t go for her,” Warlick said. “She didn’t hang her head, she didn’t try to force things. We talk a lot about the ‘next play,’ and I thought that’s what she did. We attacked the basket, and it started with her.”
Up next
Tennessee will look to start 2-0 on Wednesday as they are set to host the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Bulldogs are coming off of a 70-53 season-opening loss to Charlotte on Thursday. The opening tip is slated for 7:00 p.m.
