Tennessee Lady Vols five most painful losses of 2019-2020 season

1. No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies

Tennessee loses 73-71

Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020

Of all the heartbreaking losses, this was the circled one that proved costliest. During the Tennessee Lady Vols five-game stretch run, the Texas A&M Aggies were circled. Here was a winnable game at home against a top 25 team.

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As the only team to fit that criteria, Texas A&M was always UT’s best chance. They were the fourth game in that five-game stretch. Rocky Top jumped out to a three-point lead at the end of the first, but they trailed by six at halftime and entering the fourth quarter. It remained close all the way through the end.

However, a series of miscues cost them late. Down by six with the ball and just under two minutes to go, both Texas A&M post players had four fouls. But instead of attacking them, Rae Burrell tried a quick three and missed. Then, on their third and second to last defensive possessions, down by five and three respectively, they allowed 20 seconds to run off the shot clock before fouling.

Both of those things resulted in them running out of time at the end of the game and losing 73-71. It was disastrous, largely because nobody could stop Chennedy Carter, who had 37 points. Rennia Davis and Rae Burrell were the only players in this one to hit double-figures, scoring 18 and 19 points respectively.

What killed the Tennessee Lady Vols was missing 10 of 16 free throws while Texas A&M made 28 of 33. If they just hit five more free throws, they win the game. That was the story of their season, finding ways to lose to quality teams, but this one hurt the most.