NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt’s knockout punch came a few rounds too early against its in-state rival on Sunday afternoon.
After spotting the Commodores a 15-point first-half lead, Tennessee climbed back into the game by halftime and wore Vandy down in the second half for a 79-65 win.
Vanderbilt opened up the game on a tear, connecting on its first nine field goal attempts. The 100-percent shooting made Tennessee’s solid 45 percent look dismal in comparison.
At that point, down 24-10, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt asked simply for a change in her team’s defense.
“I asked them what kind of defense they wanted to run,” Summitt said. “because we weren’t playing any.”
UT’s best defense, though, might have begun with its offense.
Senior guard Brittany Jackson started her team’s comeback with a three-point shot at the 11:30 mark that immediately followed Vanderbilt’s first missed shot of the game. A little less than a minute later, she added another to her tally, cutting the Commodore lead to 24-16.
Jackson went on to hit four treys in the first half, but perhaps the biggest shot of the half came off the hands of freshman point guard Sa’de Wiley-Gatewood. With the clock winding down, Wiley-Gatewood lined up behind the right side of the arc and launched a shot that knotted the game at 37 as time expired in the first half.
While the long-range shooting might have provided the highlights, Summitt thinks it was UT’s increased prescence in the post that turned the game around.
“It was amazing how quickly we were able to cut the lead because of Brittany’s shooting,” Summitt said. “But really, Tye’sha Fluker made a big difference in this game. She is just physically strong and imposing, and now she really is demanding the basketball.”
Since Fluker had been scoring off second-chance buckets from the opening tip of the game, it was only a matter of time before Vanderbilt had to alter its defense to cover her. When the Lady ’Dores did, the outside opened up for Tennessee.
That change in aggressiveness on offense made all the difference to the Lady Vols.
“We definitely didn’t come out of the gates the way that we’d hoped,” Summitt said. “We were standing around too much. Once we got into attack mode, I felt much better about our shot selection, ball movement and player movement.”
After picking up the offensive attack in the first half, the Lady Vols added steam in the second with 58.3-percent shooting. Just 27 seconds into the second half, freshman guard Alexis Hornbuckle hit two free throws to give UT its first lead since the opening minute.
Tennessee took the lead for good with a Shyra Ely layup at the 13:31 mark of the second half. A 13-0 run beginning with just under 8 minutes remaining ran down the Commodores and put UT ahead, 72-59.
Summitt, though, said she still wishes that her team could get off to a better start in games.
“In the second half, our intensity picked up,” Summitt said. “Our defensive intensity was a very promising sign for this team. But I was disappointed that we didn’t get the leadership we needed to open the game.
“With three seniors in the starting lineup, I expect their leadership to get us off to a better start than they did today.”
In the end, the Lady Vols can thank last year’s star-studded recruiting class and the added depth it provides for the win.
“It’s great to have a deep team like we do,” junior guard Shanna Zolman said. “We’re able to wear down teams by moving people in and out of the game. You just sit on the bench and watch and cheer, or you go into the game and play as hard as you can for as long as you can. It’s great to be a part of that.”
