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Three takeaways from Tennessee Lady Vols 78-51 loss at No. 1 Stanford

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 14: A general view of megaphones for the Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Georgia Dome on March 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 14: A general view of megaphones for the Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Georgia Dome on March 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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At the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal, the Tennessee Lady Vols had their worst loss this season. Here’s what we learned about the women’s basketball Volunteers.

The last time they had a road game, the No. 23/24 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols secured a signature win early in the Kellie Harper era at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Then came a six-game home stand in which they went 5-1. But after going back on the road Wednesday night, they suffered a brutal loss.

UT will face the Portland State Vikings Saturday to complete its two-game West Coast trip. Facing the No. 1 ranked team in the nation Wednesday, they still proved they are rebuilding, falling to the Stanford Cardinal 78-51. They went back and forth early, going up 12-10 halfway through the first quarter, but Stanford went on a 10-0 run to go up 20-12 heading into the second.

After going up 25-15 in the second, UT fought back and made it 25-20, that’s the closest they would get the rest of the way. Stanford was up 34-24 at halftime and simply continued to consistently extend the lead in the second half, improving to 10-0 while UT fell to 8-2. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ loss.

1. Offensive flow was wildly inconsistent.

They were mediocre from three, going five-for-19. However, Rennia Davis, the only player to reach double-figures with 14 points, skewed that by going four-of-10. Outside of that, the three-point shooting was atrocious. And UT shot 27.8 percent from the field overall. Meanwhile, they hit dry spurts, like being outscored 8-0 in the second half of the first quarter.

2. Stanford outmatched the Lady Vols’ depth.

Kellie Harper has earned a lot of praise for the way she has built up the depth of the Tennessee Lady Vols. But the Stanford Cardinal were able to match them and even surpass them on that. This is why they kept extending the lead, as they went 12-deep in the game. This team on the road was a bit to much when it came to that.

3. Point guard play still needs some work.

Atrocious shooting, as we mentioned, resulted in Rocky Top’s 51 points. They only had 12 turnovers. But without Zaay Green, the guard play can still be inconsistent. Jazmine Massengill was running the point again, and she had five turnovers. Meanwhile, she and Jordan Horston combined for one assist. So that was an issue, and it needs to improve dramatically.