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Tennessee Lady Vols fall at Missouri: 3 takeaways from close loss

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 suffered a 77-73 heartbreaker to the Mizzou TTeigers Sunday. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ loss.

They certainly looked a lot better than they did against the Alabama Crimson Tide. But the Tennessee Lady Vols still managed to lose a second straight game and their sixth of the year on Sunday in Columbia.

Robin Pingeton’s Missouri Tigers held on for a close home win over Holly Warlick’s team. It took all four quarters, but Mizzou was able to do what was necessary to get the victory.

With the loss, Tennessee falls to 21-6 on the year and 9-5 in the SEC. They are now outside of the Top 4 of the conference standings. Meanwhile, Missouri improeves to 22-5 and 10-4 in the league.

It’s highly unlikely now that Tennessee will be able to skip the first two days of the SEC Tournament. With one week of games left, here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ loss.

1. Mercedes Russell continues to struggle.

It’s hard to figure out what’s wrong with her, but the Tennessee Lady Vols senior has not been good the past two games. In this one, she got nine rebounds and 10 points. That was on 5-of-12 shooting, which is not good for an inside player. Meanwhile, Mizzou’s two starting forwards combined for 29 points in the paint, dominating her. She also got burned from a guard in the paint that nobody could stop. That leads to our next point.

2. Sophie Cunningham was invincible.

The Missouri Tigers’ guard torched the Tennessee Lady Vols for 32 points. This included going 3-of-6 from the three-point line and 9-of-14 overall. But she also managed to draw fouls when driving to the basket. The result was going 11-of-12 from the free throw line, which played a huge role in securing this victory.

3. Jaime Nared is at least back.

For the second game in a row, Jaime Nared came through huge in a loss. The Tennessee Lady Vols have needed her scoring to return. They just need the guards to be more consistent and for Mercedes Russell to get back to her dominant self. This isn’t a bad loss, but the combination of these issues is why they’re on a two-game losing streak. So they have a lot to fix going forward.