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Tennessee Lady Vols top UNC Greensboro 66-40: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee's Kasiyahna Kushkituah (11) is guarded by UNC Greensboro's Chatori Tyler (21) during the NCAA women’s basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena on Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, December 20, 2020.Ut Ladyvols Uncg
Tennessee's Kasiyahna Kushkituah (11) is guarded by UNC Greensboro's Chatori Tyler (21) during the NCAA women’s basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena on Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, December 20, 2020.Ut Ladyvols Uncg /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols dominated the UNCG Spartans. Here’s what we learned from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ win.

Momentum from Thursdays win carried over into Sunday against a surprise opponent. The Tennessee Lady Vols jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead and never trailed in a blowout win over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

UT added the Spartans to its schedule on Friday to replace the Jackson State Tigers, who canceled today’s game due to COVID-related issues. This was a quick turnaround for UNCG, who had just played on Friday.

With the win, Rocky Top improves to 5-1 on the year and will next take the court on Monday, Dec. 28 against the Lipscomb Bisons. UNCG falls to 1-7 on the year. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ victory.

1. Defense remained dominant.

This continues to be the story for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. Kellie Harper’s team only had one player score double figures while 11 saw action. However, their defense dominated all day.

UT held UNCG to 27.8 percent shooting from the field and 26.7 percent from the three-point line. They had seven steals and forced 16 turnovers, which is why the Spartans were held to just 40 points on the afternoon.

2. Inside play was key.

Part of the reason the defense was so dominant was the inside play. Tamari Key, who started her second game, had a block and two steals. Center Kasiyahna Kushkituah was the one player who scored double figures, coming away with 13 points. Meanwhile, Rennia Davis had two blocks. Key, Marta Suárez and Tess Darby all had blocks as well.

In terms of rebounding, the Tennessee Lady Vols dominated the boards 47-30. They also had an incredible 18 offensive rebounds. With Key, Kushkituah and Emily Saunders all seeing action and the height of Davis and Rae Burrell, UNCG didn’t stand a chance inside. Suárez Davis led the way with seven and six boards respectively.

3. Offensive mistakes were at a minimum.

Shooting could have been better, as UT only went 40.9 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from the free throw line. However, Harper’s team made sure to do all the little things right on offense to make up for a not great shooting day.

Next. Five takeaways from Vols' 34-13 loss to Aggies. dark

UT only had 10 turnovers in the game and 23 assists. Jordan Horston led the way with five assists in her second start, but Jessie Rennie also had five off the bench. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Lady Vols went 7-of-10 from the free throw line. So they played great defense, dominated the boards, didn’t turn the ball over, were unselfish and hit their free throws. That’s how they won.