It’s one game at a time for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
Selection Monday came and went leaving the Lady Vols (24-7) as an unexpected No. 2 seed and in one of the most challenging regions the Women’s NCAA Tournament has to offer. First-year head coach Holly Warlick’s name came up more than once during the televised event, honoring her role on the team as she stepped into head coach emeritus Pat Summitt’s role with great success. Warlick said hearing her name on ESPN was both strange and exciting but was more proud of the way the team was able to come together through the season.
“(I am) proud of the No. 2 seed. I didn’t know we would get a No. 2 seed, so glad for that and just kind of nice to know who you’re playing and ready to get going,” Warlick said. “… At the beginning of the year, you lose your first game to UTC and that was a challenge for us. To start there and end up where we are now is a great tribute to these young ladies and how hard they worked all year.”
Senior guard Taber Spani said the team could not be more excited, but that the excitement is short-lived. The senior said the team has already begun to focus its attention on the upcoming game against No. 15 seed Oral Roberts.
“You never know with these kinds of things where you’re gonna go and what it’s gonna look like,” Spani said. “We’re just excited about the opportunity that we got and we’re really all focusing our entire efforts on getting ready for Saturday.”
But the big story of the night isn’t the Lady Vols’ seeding, it’s what teams they have to go through to make the Final Four, namely No. 1 seed Baylor. Warlick said this is no time for the team to think ahead.
“You cannot just think, ‘Oh, we’re gonna play Baylor,'” she said. “We have to take care of teams here …
“We’ve got big games ahead of us before we can even think about the Baylor matchup.”
Spani lacks no confidence.
“Everyone knows and respects Baylor and we all know they’re a great team, but we also believe in who we are and what we can do,” Spani said. “They call it ‘March Madness’ for a reason. You never know what’s gonna happen.”
Spani said she thinks the team’s challenges throughout the season will help it now as it faces further difficulties.
“We lost a lot of seniors and we’ve had multiple injuries throughout the year … I think that has prepared us,” Spani said. “We’re a fighting group and we’ve dealt with a lot of adversity, and so we know how to handle it. We’ve gone through challenges and so we’re really prepared for this one.”
Like Warlick, senior Kamiko Williams said she’s just proud of her team and what it has gone through to this point.
“We’re a young team so to get a No. 2 seed when everybody doubted us is awesome feeling,” Williams said. “We’ve got some tough games ahead, but we’re just gonna focus on Oral Roberts.”
Warlick recently mentioned the team’s never-ending confidence in its ability to win. Williams said there is no other response.
“You have to (stay positive),” Williams said. “If you doubt yourself you’re gonna go out there and lose or screw up or something like that. You’ve always got to be optimistic and believe in your team.”
For seniors like Spani and Williams, each game could potentially be their last.
“In 40 minutes it could be over. I don’t want it to end soon,” she said.
Warlick said she, too, has confidence in the team’s ability to rise to the challenge, whether that challenge brings Baylor or not. She’s just content with the team’s performance this season and what it has shown it is capable of.
“I think this whole team has surprised a lot of people so nothing really phases us,” Warlick said. “We’re excited to be in the tournament and where we are.”
The Lady Vols will host first and second round games of the 2013 Women’s NCAA Tournament on March 23 and 25 at Thompson-Boling Arena. The team will face Oral Roberts at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
