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Tennessee Lady Vols win shocker at No. 16 Notre Dame: Five 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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Kellie Harper got an early signature victory with the Tennessee Lady Vols. The women’s basketball Volunteers upset the Fighting Irish 74-63 on the road.

Less than a week after barely holding off the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in their season-opener, the Tennessee Lady Vols dominated the team that had just been to back to back national title games in their house. It was a huge win for Kellie Harper’s first team.

UT moved to 3-0 with a 74-63 victory over the Irish, who fell to 2-1 despite coming in ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 14 in the Coaches Poll. They won two of their three games on the road, including that close win over the ETSU Bucs. This victory came just hours after the news broke that Zaay Green would miss the rest of the season due to injury.

That didn’t phase Harper’s kids. At one point, Rocky Top had an 18-point lead, and they controlled the game from start to finish, jumping out to a 17-7 lead in the first quarter. Here are five things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols shocking win on the road.

1. Size made the difference.

The Tennessee Lady Vols finally have a size advantage with Lou Brown, Kamera Harris and Jaiden McCoy, three true fours, able to switch off there and help the fives. UT outrebounded the Irish 55-28 and had 12 blocks. Tamari Key added 11 points and five rebounds, Harris had six points and four rebounds, and Kasiyahna Kushkituah had seven points and four rebounds.

2. Rennia Davis balled out.

By using their size advantage, Rennia Davis was able to be the true wing player she needs to be. And she was a superstar in this game. Davis dropped 33 points and had 10 rebounds, and she was five-of-nine from the three-point line. No Evina Westbrook? No problem. In this game, Davis picked up the slack and dominated.

3. This team is already overcoming adversity.

We already mentioned the news of the season-ending injury to Zaay Green. That was just to open things up, and it’s a concern for this team going forward. But Jazmine Massengill had to step in at point guard in the process and got nine assists, and true freshman Jordan Horston stepped up with more scoring, dropping 12 points. The injury did not phase Kellie Harper’s team at all.

4. Depth held off any comeback. 

Green’s injury also shows the depth this team has. Harper still went 10-deep in this game, and she was able to make sure the Tennessee Lady Vols held off any comeback from the Irish. They provided a scare by fighting back in the fourth, as a Muffet McGraw team would always do, but UT still held on in the end because they never got tired. That’s a big plus going forward.

5. Turnovers look like an early issue.

Green’s injury contributed to this issue. But the Lady Vols have to improve when it comes to taking care of the basketball. They had 28 turnovers on the night. Horston deserves credit for how she played, but she was a major culprit with eight turnovers, although she did have four steals. Simply put, this team still looked young. So it has things to work on.