Lady Vols basketball went to South Carolina on Sunday and were left in the dust. The Gamecocks won 93-50, setting a new Tennessee program record for largest margin of defeat.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
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Defense Had No Response in the First Half
The Lady Vols were hanging around early, showing the chops to make this a competitive game. While the offense was getting shots to fall, the defense left room to be desired. Instead of stringing together stops to build an advantage, Tennessee was letting South Carolina go shot for shot.
When the Lady Vols’ shots stopped dropping, that’s when the Gamecocks began to build their lead. By the end of the half, South Carolina was shooting 68% from the field and went 2-of-5 from range. This consistent pressure on the rim left Tennessee in the dust.
The only saving grace on defense was the forced turnovers. The Gamecocks gave it up 10 times, but UT only scored seven points off them in the opening half. As a result, it was a 15-point deficit the Lady Vols were going to have to make up in the second half if they wanted to win.
South Carolina Put Its Foot on UT’s Throat in the Third Quarter
With the game still theoretically in reach after halftime, South Carolina refused to take its foot off the Lady Vols’ throat. To open the third quarter, the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run to make the lead a 25-point margin.
Finally, Talaysia Cooper hit a three to snap what was a 14-0 run between the halves. That didn’t stop the bleeding for long, though. South Carolina responded with four straight points to force another Kim Caldwell timeout. Five more unanswered points made it a 9-0 run before Lauren Hurst hit a three to snap that stretch.
The Gamecocks outscored Tennessee the rest of the quarter 5-3 to make the final mark sit at 24-9.
Inexcusable, Unacceptable Loss
Women’s basketball has never been more popular than it is today. However, the Lady Vols program, which has the arguments to be the best ever under Pat Summitt, is losing to teams by 43 points on a national stage. In front of the country on ABC, Tennessee’s loss was the worst in program history.
That’s inexcusable and unacceptable, especially when you consider how the other games against top-10 teams have gone this season. Heading into the game, the Lady Vols’ three games against current top-10 teams in the AP Poll, UCLA, UConn and Louisville, they lost by an average of 25.3 points.
The standard at Tennessee is to win premier games and compete for titles. Instead, this team is struggling to stay competitive against quality opponents.
Final Stats
Up Next
Next, the Lady Vols will return home after three games away from Knoxville. On Thursday, Feb. 12, Tennessee hosts Kellie Harper’s Missouri squad. This will be Harper’s first return as a coach to Knoxville since she was fired as the Lady Vols’ head coach. She was also a multi-time national champion player under Pat Summitt.
The game against the Tigers is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. It will air on SECN+.
