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Tennessee Lady Vols dominate TSU 73-43: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Tennessee Volunteers fans reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during overtime of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Tennessee Volunteers fans reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during overtime of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols moved to 4-0 by beating the Tennessee State Lady Tigers. Here’s what we learned from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ victory.

Coming off a huge win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Tennessee Lady Vols had a bit of a hangover in the first quarter against TSU. But they kicked things into high gear after that and dominated the rest of the way.

Kellie Harper’s team remained undefeated with a 73-43 victory over the Lady Tigers to kick off a six-game home stand. As the win moved them to 4-0, TSU fell to 1-1 on the year. Up next for Rocky Top is a home game against the Stetson Hatters next Tuesday.

UT is almost certainly going to be in the top 25 of both polls when that game happens. They have now looked superb in three straight victories and keep getting better. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ Thursday win.

1. Defense and rebounding continues to dominate.

Pat Summitt would be proud. This is something that was not consistent in previous years, and Kellie Harper’s team is doing a great job on this front. They only forced 12 turnovers, but they held TSU to 20.5 percent shooting from the field and out-rebounded them 60-38. That’s how they were able to hold them to 43 points.

2. Going deep into the rotation is paying off.

Once again, Kellie Harper went 10 deep. The Tennessee Lady Vols had nine players see over 15 minutes of action and a 10th see nine minutes of action while nobody saw over 26 minutes. Eight players had six points or more, and three had double-figures. Rennia Davis had a double-double, but Rae Burrell, her backup, led the team in scoring with 14 points. This is a big advantage.

3. Perimeter offense is still not consistent.

Honestly, this is a bit more understandable with Zaay Green now out for the year. Jordan Horston still has to develop. But the perimeter offense still has to improve. UT shot five-of-19 from three, where freshman Jessie Rennie continues to struggle, and they had 19 turnovers in this one. That has to improve as their schedule gets tougher. Otherwise, they’ll be in trouble going forward.