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Undefeated Tennessee Lady Vols pull away from Vanderbilt: 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 Tennessee Lady Vols remained undefeated with a win against the Commodores. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ victory.

It was an ugly game against probably the worst team in the SEC to say the least. But the Tennessee Lady Vols still got the win on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena to keep their unbeaten streak alive for the 2017-2018 season.

Holly Warlick’s team moved to 15-0 and 3-0 in the SEC with an 86-73 win over the Commodores. However, Vanderbilt had a four-point lead with a minute left in the third quarter. Keep in mind, this team is now 4-13 and 0-3 in the conference. So they are a bad team.

But Tennessee then closed that quarter strong and had a dominant fourth quarter to pull away. At 15-0, this was Tennessee’s final breather game before their grueling four-game stretch. Up next for this team is the Texas A&M Aggies, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, South Carolina Gamecocks and Mississippi State Bulldogs.

All four teams are in the Top 25, and three are in the Top 5. So this is going to be a brutal stretch, and it made it that much more crucial for Tennessee to get this win. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ victory over Vanderbilt.

1. Tennessee continues to close out strong.

For the second straight game against a bad team, the Tennessee Lady Vols were giving fans a scare heading into the fourth quarter. They were tied against the Auburn Tigers and clinging to a three-point lead against the Vanderbilt Commodores. However, both times, they outscored their opponents by double-digits in the fourth quarter.

This isn’t new. In their best win of the year, Tennessee had its strongest quarter against the Texas Longhorns in the fourth. They came back in the fourth against the Marquette Golden Eagles to win in overtime as well. Sure, they shouldn’t struggle against a team like Vanderbilt. But being a strong fourth-quarter team is always a positive.

2. This game actually showed Tennessee’s versatility. 

Look, you don’t want to fall behind to the worst team in the SEC right before your brutal four-game stretch when people are already questioning the legitimacy of your undefeated record. However, the Tennessee Lady Vols didn’t really do anything wrong in this game. So there’s no real reason to panic.

Tennessee has been struggling this year because they’ve been a turnover machine. But they only had 14 on Sunday. All that happened was that Vanderbilt had its best shooting game of the year, going 10-of-20 from three, and Tennessee had its worst. Tennessee has been holding opponents to terrible shooting numbers with its elite defense. This was just one of those days where Vanderbilt hit everything. Meanwhile, it was an off-shooting day for the Lady Vols since they couldn’t buy a bucket outside, going 3-of-16 from beyond the arc. But they managed to win because they finally cut down on turnovers. And because of our final point…

3. The Tennessee Lady Vols took over down low.

They weren’t shooting well outside, and Vanderbilt was hitting everything. So what did Holly Warlick’s team do in response? They went down low…a lot. And they dominated in the paint all day. We’re not just talking about the 42-to-28 rebounding advantage either. They also had a 24-to-16 assist advantage despite the discrepancies in outside shooting.

The star of all this was Mercedes Russell. The veteran finally took over when her team needed her most. She scored 33 points and was 14-of-20 from the field. Meanwhile, Jaime Nared compensated for her off-night outside by going to the basket a lot to still get 15 points. And off the bench, Cheridene Green came alive with a remarkable 17 points. This was great coaching by Warlick. Tennessee couldn’t shoot outside, so they dictated things inside and still had 86 points and a 48.6 field goal percentage overall. They also took advantage at the free throw line, going 15-of-20. As a result, this proves how versatile the Tennessee Lady Vols are. And that versatility is about to seriously be tested.