Lady Vols basketball was without one of its top contributing forwards for its 73-56 win over Auburn on Sunday evening. Alyssa Latham, who was just reaching her stride, sat out with a shoulder injury. She was ruled as questionable on Saturday night, before being downgraded to out before the game.
After the win, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell met with the media and was asked about Latham’s status. She said it was an injury suffered in practice leading up to the game.
“She had injured her shoulder in practice before,” Caldwell said. “She was cleared to play, but chose not to. Hopefully, we can get her back soon. We definitely missed her today.”
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Latham missed time earlier this season due to personal reasons, as well, but looked like a different player in her return. She quickly found her rhythm, becoming an effective defender and scorer in Kim Caldwell’s system.
In her last time out, Latham played 30 minutes and scored nine points to go with eight rebounds, an assist and two steals.
Latham is averaging 4.5 points per game on 44.1% shooting from the field this season. She also has contributed 3.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists.
This is her second season inside the Tennessee program. Last season, Latham produced 3.9 points per game on 47.8% shooting from the field and 31.3% on 3-pointers. She also contributed 3.7 rebounds per match in 34 games played and five starts. She was on the floor for an average of 14.2 minutes per game that year.
Latham transferred in after spending her freshman season at Syracuse. With the Orange, she posted 8.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 32 appearances and 26 starts. This made her one of the most sought-after players in the portal once she entered.
