All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee Lady Vols lose 79-73 at WVU: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

MORGANTOWN, WV - JANUARY 28: A general view of WVU Coliseum during the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 28, 2013 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - JANUARY 28: A general view of WVU Coliseum during the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 28, 2013 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Here’s what we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ loss to West Virginia.

A 7-0 run by the West Virginia Mountaineers in overtime cost the Tennessee Lady Vols, as they lost 79-73 to the West Virginia Mountaineers in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. WVU got a layup from Kirsten Deans at the end of regulation and then came up with a defensive stop after she missed a potential go-ahead free throw to send the game to an extra period.

UT and WVU had a back and forth first half, with Kellie Harper’s team trailing 35-32 at the end of the second quarter. They fell behind by six entering the fourth quarter but then went on a 10-0 run late in the game to take a 66-61 lead in the final minute. However, a three by Madisen Smith and then a defensive stop set up the game-tying layup.

With the loss, the Tennessee Lady Vols fall to 2-1 on the year and will return to Rocky Top to face the Furman Paladins this Thursday. West Virginia, meanwhile, improves to 4-0 on the year. Here are three takeaways from the game.

Outside shooting was too poor to overcome West Virginia’s zone.

For much of the game, the West Virginia Mountaineers settled into a 2-3 zone and dared the Tennessee Lady Vols to beat them from the outside. They couldn’t do it. UT shot 2-of-19 from the three-point line.

Marta Suárez, who was recruited specifically for her ability to shoot from the outside, was 0-for-4 from the outside. Rennia Davis was 0-for-5, and Jordan Walker was 0-for-2. If this team is going to have the inside-out versatility it needs, that all has to improve.

Turnovers remain an issue.

Yes, UT had another 20-turnover performance. With an experienced guard like Jordan Walker running the show, this shouldn’t be the case. However, Walker had four turnovers, and Jordan Horston had another four off the bench.

In fact, the Lady Vols were as bad at taking care of the ball on the inside as they were on the outside. Tamari Key also had four turnovers off the bench. When you get another three from Davis and Suarez each, it’s safe to say you had a bad day.

Length should be a bigger advantage in the future.

Part of this was due to WVU’s zone defense, but UT did win the rebounding battle by a lot, 56-33. More impressively, they had 24 offensive rebounds alone. Lots of their scoring came from the inside as well.

Rae Burrell still led the way in scoring with 18 points because of what she did under the basket. Keyen Green had 12 points and nine rebounds. Key had eight rebounds. Jordan Horston scored 13 points from the inside and had five rebounds. The Tennessee Lady Vols can dominate in the paint, but Harper needs to make better use of the size advantage they have.