TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Senior center Ashley Robinson made certain her performance in Saturday’s first-round tournament matchup against Colgate didn’t mirror those of the SEC Tournament.
Robinson, angry with her lack of offensive production in the team’s conference tournament tilt, started out fast with eight of the team’s first 17 points to send Tennessee on its way to a 77-54 victory over the Raiders.
Her 13-point, 11-rebound and five-block production in 22 minutes left Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt impressed with the effort Robinson brought to the court.
“The player that brought the energy and attitude today was without question Ashley Robinson,” she said. “Her aggressiveness offensively to start off the game inspired a lot of other players to play the same way.
“If she plays at that level, we are a team that can go to a different level. When she’s aggressive on the offensive end, it takes a lot of pressure off the guard play.”
Robinson said it was simply a matter of having her offense catch up with her defensive production.
“I wanted to play well on the offensive end today,” Robinson said. “I usually play well defensively, so I wanted to step up on offense. That was my focus going into the game.”
Her effort on the offensive end was motivated by a lacking performance in the SEC tournament two weeks ago. Robinson scored just six points in the tournament, including only two in the loss to Georgia.
That lack of productivity didn’t go unnoticed by her teammates.
“Ashley was just focused offensively with her not being happy with her performance in the SEC Tournament,” senior guard Tasha Butts said. “She and I started watching film on Colgate and seeing what we could do against them before the rest of our team did.
“Today, she was just doing the things she is capable of doing.”
Another missing factor in the SEC tournament – effective play off the bench – also showed up in Saturday’s opener. Tennessee’s reserves combined for 36 points against Colgate, allowing leading scorer Shyra Ely to rest on the bench through all but seven minutes of the game.
In particular, the performances of Sidney Spencer and Tye’sha Fluker stood out, after Summitt directly called both out after the early SEC Tournament exit.
Fluker, providing rest for Robinson, hit 6-of-7 field goals for 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 21 minutes of play. She was also credited for four blocks against the outgunned Colgate team.
Spencer hit the boards, pulling down nine rebounds and putting up 12 points of her own in 25 minutes of action against the Raiders. Spencer’s freshman counterpart Dominique Redding provided six points and four rebounds in 11 minutes of play – her most productive performance of the season.
“Our bench played a lot better,” Summitt said. “Sid (Spencer) was big for us and Tye (Fluker) obviously provided us with some points inside. It is a tremendous advantage for us to get that play from players down on the block.”
Allowing the starters to gain rest, with only senior guard LaToya notching over 30 minutes of play, was an added benefit of the play off the bench. Their continued solid play will go a long way towards determining how far Tennessee advances, starting with tonight’s matchup at 9 p.m. against ninth-seed DePaul.
“This team was just on top of it,” Summitt said. “I think that just speaks of their focus as a team.
“They know it is the postseason.”
