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Three takeaways from Tennessee Lady Vols 88-38 win vs. Howard

By Caleb Calhoun

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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In their final game of 2019, the Tennessee Lady Vols beat the Howard Bison 88-38. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ victory.

The Tennessee Lady Vols pulled out a convincing win in their final matchup before SEC play. Kellie Harper’s team dominated the Howard Bison Sunday afternoon with an 88-38 victory to close out the decade.

After jumping out to an 11-2 lead early, Rocky Top dominated the rest of the way. Ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 24 in the Coaches Poll, UT improved to 10-2 on the season with the victory. Howard, meanwhile, fell to 8-5.

Up next for the Tennessee Lady Vols is the start of SEC play next Thursday, a home game against the Missouri Tigers. Before looking ahead to that, here are three things we learned from their blowout win at home on Sunday.

1. Jessie Rennie finally emerged.

Rae Burrell led the team with 18 points, and Rennia Davis had 16. But the star scorer was Jessie Rennie. The freshman from Australia was recruited to be a three-point specialist. Well, she hit five of seven in this game to score 16 points off the bench. This is what Kellie Harper brought her on to do, and it’s a great sign that she may be hitting her rhythm just in time for SEC play.

2. Defense and rebounding continues to dominate.

The Tennessee Lady Vols won by swarming Howard. The held them to one-of-20 shooting from the three-point line, and they forced 17 turnovers. On top of that, they out-rebounded them 59-42. This is how they will win games, and it was a big deal for them to be able to get back to who they are in their final game before the conference season begins.

3. Turnovers and missed free throws are a problem.

Kellie Harper’s team has to take better care of the little things in order to be consistent. In this game, they shot an abysmal 12-of-23 from the free throw line, and they had 15 turnovers. Despite 14 points and six assists, Jordan Horston had five turnovers. Davis added another three. Those things can’t happen going forward.