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Tennessee Lady Vols pass first big test of season at Oklahoma State

By Caleb Calhoun

STILLWATER, OK - NOVEMBER 19: A view of the OSU Spirit Rider outside Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State University November 19, 2011 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK - NOVEMBER 19: A view of the OSU Spirit Rider outside Gallagher-Iba Arena at Oklahoma State University November 19, 2011 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols got their first big win of 2018-2019. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers victory over the Cowgirls.

After two ugly wins in the Junkanoo Jam against the Clemson Tigers and UAB Blazers, there was legitimate reason to be concerned about this year’s Tennessee Lady Vols team. They put many of those concerns to rest with a big 76-63 road win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls Sunday.

Tennessee trailed Oklahoma State 43-40 at halftime, but they used a huge third quarter to take control of the game, outscoring the Cowgirls 21-6. And they maintained control throughout the rest of the game.

The Cowgirls were an NCAA Tournament team last year and started this season 6-0, so a win in Stillwater is huge. That it came after an overtime win over UAB and the need for a big run to beat Clemson, who was 11-19 last year and has a new head coach, only made the win bigger. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ win.

1. Evina Westbrook is back.

After a rough stretch in The Bahamas in which she had only 23 points and eight assists through two games but 11 turnovers, Evina Westbrook was red-hot for the Tennessee Lady Vols in this game. The sophomore delivered the victory and showed her development by scoring 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting, and this time she limited her turnovers to two. Westbrook is going to be the key for this team going forward the rest of the way, so her play was huge on Saturday.

2. Play in the interior was surprisingly dominant. 

After losing Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared, there was plenty of reason for concern over how Holly Warlick could handle the front-court this year. Well, she’s moved Rennia Davis into that role, and in this game Davis had 15 points. But the real play was the defense. Oklahoma State runs three forwards and plays inside, but the Tennessee Lady Vols won the rebounding battle 45-28, and they also held Vivian Grey to 5-of-17 shooting. Cheridene Green may not do a lot of scoring at center, but she does everything else, and it showed in this game.

3. Chemistry is developing quickly. 

After falling behind at halftime, this team had reason to panic. But they maintained their composure through ugly outings in The Bahamas and did so again in this game with a beautiful third quarter against a great team. Despite the losses of Nared and Russell, the return of all the freshmen stars from last year along with a mix of veterans is helping the other young players come along, and it’s developing great team chemistry. That’s what December’s all about, and it’s just in time too with the Texas Longhorns and Stanford Cardinal both on the schedule this month.