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Tennessee Lady Vols win SEC opener at Kentucky: 3 takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 14: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 14, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kentucky defeated Tennessee 65-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 14: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 14, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kentucky defeated Tennessee 65-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The No. 7 Tennessee Lady Vols are 13-0 after beating the Wildcats 63-49 Sunday. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ SEC opener.

Holly Warlick’s team remains red-hot, and the Tennessee Lady Vols are now 1-0 in the SEC as a result. With a collection of elite freshmen and two veterans shouldering the biggest load, this team shut down the Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena Sunday.

Freshman Evina Westbrook and senior Mercedes Russell led the team in scoring with  17 and 16 points respectively, and senior Jaime Nared had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, freshman Rennia Davis had nine points and 11 rebounds. Meme Jackson was also crucial with seven assists.

The Lady Vols used a red-hot first quarter, which they ended with a 26-7 lead, to control the game. They never trailed.

With the win, Tennessee remains undefeated. Kentucky, however, fell to 8-7 and 0-1 in the SEC, extending their losing streak to six games, three of which came against Top 25 teams and two of which came against Top 10 teams.

With a No. 83 RPI ranking, the win won’t do much to help Tennessee. However, it still jumped their strength of schedule over 20 spots to No. 71 and improved them to No. 12 in the RPI. So they’re climbing. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ win at Kentucky.

1. Defense continues to dominate.

As it does a lot, the offense came and went. But in a fashion that would make Pat Summitt proud, the Tennessee Lady Vols dominated on defense. And it wasn’t just about forcing turnovers. They only had 12 of those.

Once again, this team was just extremely good at contesting shots. Kentucky came into the game shooting over 41 percent from the field. They also shot over 36 percent from three. But on Sunday, they shot 30 percent from the field and 20 percent from three. That was the difference as Tennessee held this team to 49 points. There was another factor in that as well.

2. Rebounding made a substantial difference.

Two Tennessee Lady Vols had double figures in rebounds, and Mercedes Russell had seven rebounds as well. Simply put, this team dominated on the boards. Kentucky came into this game averaging 40 rebounds a game. On Sunday, they had 31 rebounds. Meanwhile, Tennessee had 50 rebounds.

Tennessee also won on the offensive boards with 14 offensive rebounds. Kentucky did have nine, but that’s five more second-chance opportunities Tennessee got. And they had 12 points off of those offensive rebounds. In a 14-point win, that was huge. But there was a drawback to this game.

3. Turnovers were still a major issue. 

The Tennessee Lady Vols shot pretty well from the field at 40 percent. And they were just under 30 percent from the three-point line. Add in the 14 offensive rebounds, and they should have had at least 70 points. But a concern we raised heading into SEC play was an issue again.

With so many freshmen, Holly Warlick’s team has struggled with turnovers. And on Sunday, they had 21 turnovers against a team that usually only forces 16 a game. The freshmen were the main culprits with seven coming from Westbrook and four coming from Davis and Anastasia Hayes. That’s 15 turnovers alone. If they are going to stay at this elite level, this number has to improve. Otherwise, these guys will be in serious trouble down the stretch.