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Tennessee Lady Vols hold off Auburn 64-61 in SEC Tournament: 3 takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 21: Tennessee Volunteers fans hold up a cardboard photo of women's basketball coach Pat Summitt during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 21, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeated Connecticut 60-57. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee women’s basketball Volunteers held off the Auburn Tigers Thursday in the SEC tournament. Here are three takeaways from their victory.

It was a heck of a lot closer than anybody expected. But the Tennessee Lady Vols have made everything dramatic all year. Why stop in the SEC Tournament?

All-SEC Freshman Rennia Davis hit a three-pointer with half a second left to give Holly Warlick’s team a 64-61 victory Thursday night over Auburn. It was never pretty, though.

After trailing the Tigers at halftime and then senior Jaime Nared going down with a hip injury, Tennessee looked like it would drop the ball in its first SEC Tournament game. Leading 61-59, Evina Westbrook turned the ball over on an in-bounds play to allow Auburn to tie it up.

But Davis bailed them out with a late three. The Lady Vols improved to 24-6 and now advance to the quarterfinals to face the South Carolina Gamecocks Friday night. Auburn’s season, meanwhile, comes to an end with a 14-15 record. Here are three takeaways from Tennessee’s victory.

1. Mental toughness has to count for something.

Look, the Tennessee Lady Vols should have dominated this SEC Tournament game. We know that. And there’s no excused to be trailing at halftime. But when you All-SEC senior goes down with an injury and you’re locked in a dogfight with a bad team, the incentive could be to give up. After all, you’re in the NCAA Tournament anyway. But this team didn’t. And for that, they deserve some respect. Amidst everything we mentioned that went against them, much of which was self-inflicted, they still found a way to win. With a team run by freshmen, that matters.

2. Turnovers were an issue again.

Scoring was not a problem for the Lady Vols guards. Davis had 16 points, Meme Jackson had 10, and Anastasia Hayes had seven off the bench. The team shot 44 percent overall and 36 percent from three. But they were horrible at taking care of the basketball with 24 turnovers. That has been an off-and-on issue all year with this team, and it came back on in this game. We mentioned Westbrook’s late turnover that allowed the tie. Truth is, that was an issue all game. Holly Warlick’s team has to clear that up eventually.

3. GIVE THE BALL TO MERCEDES RUSSELL!!!!!!!!

Mercedes Russell had a solid stat line with 12 points and 15 rebounds. But those 12 points came on a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line and then going one of two from the field. How is she not touching the ball more? Again, this has been a major indictment against Warlick and the Lady Vols guards all year, and now it’s carried over to the SEC Tournament. It just makes no sense! Russell is dominant in the post, can draw fouls, and can shoot free throws. She should be touching it way more. Lack of common sense, like turnovers, almost cost this team again.