In all four games this season, Lady Vols basketball has seemed to take a step in the wrong direction. The latest example was Tennessee squeaking out a 68-58 win over Belmont on its home floor to move to 3-1 on the year.
Here are three quick takeaways from Thursday night’s matchup.
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A Second Quarter From Hell
To end the first quarter, the Lady Vols put together a dominant stretch that featured a 9-0 run heading into the break. This placed Tennessee up 14 points and in a position to run away with it in the final three frames.
The Lady Vols didn’t give up the entire lead, but they tried their best in the second quarter. Tennessee scored just seven points in the period on 3-for-21 shooting from the field. This featured a 0-for-11 mark from range, as well.
Scoring every single point in the quarter for UT was Talaysia Cooper, who finished 3-for-7 from the field and 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. Those were the only two free throw attempts.
For Belmont, it shot 41.7% from the field and made 1-of-4 threes to score 15 points. This put it at a 32-26 score at half. In a game that could’ve seen the Lady Vols up by a significant margin, they instead left themselves plenty of work over the final 20 minutes.
The Offensive Game Plan Doesn’t Make Much Sense
All off-season, Kim Caldwell said the biggest hole on this roster was 3-point shooting. Tennessee lost Samara Spencer and Jewel Spear, and needed players to step up and fill those roles. So far, nobody really has.
Despite horrible inefficiencies from range, the Lady Vols are still largely playing five-out. The ball isn’t moving well, either. The result is contested threes from a team that isn’t very good at shooting them on paper in the first place.
On Thursday, Tennessee shot 24-of-69 from the field and 7-of-34 on 3-pointers. This included 35% shooting from the field in the first half and 2-of-19 shooting from range in that time span.
When the Lady Vols had off-ball movement or ran sets that featured players in the high post, things looked so much better. It wasn’t perfect, but it resulted in much, much better looks. Tennessee had the height and athleticism advantage, but didn’t take advantage of it close to enough.
A Dialed in Talaysia Cooper is an All-American
In the first two games of the season, Talaysia Cooper looked like she could live up to her All-American potential. However, against UT Martin, she took a step back and didn’t play as much down the stretch as a result. After the game, Kim Caldwell said the players who were giving the necessary effort were the ones who played the most.
She looked back to form against Belmont, though. Cooper finished with 22 points on 9-for-22 shooting from the field. She was responsible for each point scored in the second quarter, as well. Cooper also contributed 14 rebounds, two assists and three steals.
She still fell silent at times, but it was a much more consistent showing. When Tennessee needed her to come back alive, she looked strong again in the final moments. Even though it wasn’t scoring, she was a calm presence with the ball in her hands, made the right passes and played incredible defense.
Cooper also continues to show off her incredible motor. She played 29 minutes in the game, which she’ll need to do throughout the season.
Final Stats
Up Next
The Lady Vols will have a full game off before their next matchup. Tennessee heads to Murfreesboro to play MTSU on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN+.
