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Tennessee Lady Vols: Three takeaways from 63-58 win vs. LSU

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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In a return to SEC play, the Tennessee Lady Vols beat the LSU Tigers 63-58. Here are three things we learned from the women’s basketball Volunteers victory.

After losing on the road to the UConn Huskies, the No. 23 Tennessee Lady Vols resumed SEC play with a solid win Sunday afternoon. UT beat the LSU Tigers and former Lady Vols head coach Nikki Fargas by a score of 63-58.

The game was close throughout the first half with Rocky Top usually holding onto a lead. They built an eight-point lead with a strong finish to the third quarter, however, and held the Tigers off late in the fourth quarter. Every time LSU made it close, the Lady Vols had a response.

With the win, Kellie Harper’s team improves to 16-4 overall and 6-1 in the SEC, and LSU falls to 14-5 and 4-3 in the SEC. Up next for UT is a road game against the Vanderbilt Commodores Thursday. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ win.

1. Rennia Davis led the way.

She’s the star of the team, and she proved it with her play in this game. Rennia Davis was the only player who hit double-figures on the day, scoring 30 points and hitting all 10 free throw attempts. Davis also was a star on the defensive end with four steals, and she added eight rebounds. Oh, she also only had one turnover despite such a high usage rate. Simply put, she dominated.

2. Aggressive defense was crucial.

LSU actually could have gotten red-hot from three, as they did hit four of nine. However, UT was so aggressive on defense that they didn’t let them get going. The Lady Vols forced 17 turnovers on the day, and they had eight steals and nine blocks in the process. That’s worthy of lots of praise, as it was an effort thing.

3. Size is still not the advantage it should be.

For the second straight game, the Tennessee Lady Vols did not play like the tallest team in school history. They do deserve credit for nine blocks we mentioned, but they also were out-rebounded 45-32, and they allowed 23 offensive rebounds while only picking up 12 themselves. LSU has more size than other teams, but UT can’t let this happen. They’ve got to get better here.