Tonight’s contest between No. 3 Tennessee and 19th-ranked Georgia features two teams coming to terms with the loss of key players.
For the Bulldogs (16-6, 5-4 SEC) that loss comes in the form of junior forward Kara Braxton. On Jan. 30, Georgia announced that Braxton, who was leading the Bulldogs with 13.6 points-per-game, would be out indefinitely to handle undisclosed health problems.
Without her presence, the Bulldogs have increasingly relied on the efforts of senior center Christi Thomas. Her 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds-per-contest lead Georgia in Braxton’s absence.
Georgia has also started running a more guard-oriented offense through two talented sophomores – Sherill Baker and Alexis Kendrick.
Despite 14 points from Thomas in Sunday’s contest, the Bulldogs fell to Arkansas, 71-63.
UT, meanwhile, is still trying to find its identity without junior point guard Loree Moore. The Lady Vols (19-2, 8-0) struggled to a victory over South Carolina on Sunday after falling to Connecticut on Thursday.
South Carolina coach Susan Walvius, whose team had also been defeated by Tennessee earlier in the season, struggled to pinpoint exactly what was different about the team, but knew it revolved around the loss of Moore.
“There is a difference in their offense without Moore,” Walvius said after her team’s 72-58 loss Sunday. “I can’t really say exactly what it is. I guess I would say their offense isn’t as cohesive without her.”
Tennessee is attempting to find that union by running several different players in the point position. Thursday, the Lady Vols relied specifically on senior guard Tasha Butts to take control. In Sunday’s action, Lady Vol coach Pat Summitt ran more options at the position.
“Tasha played too much against Connecticut,” Summitt said. “She said that she’d play 40 minutes if we needed her to, but I don’t think that’s what is best for our team.
“It has to be a team effort.”
The lackadaisical effort against South Carolina is something Tennessee looks to rebound from for the remainder of the season. Part of that task lies in forgetting about the loss to the Huskies.
“We can’t look at the past,” senior center Ashley Robinson said. “We have to learn from (the loss). That’s all we can do. We have a hard schedule in one of the toughest conferences in the country.
“We can’t focus on UConn.”
