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Tennessee Lady Vols handle Lipscomb 77-52: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 28, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols guard Destiny Salary (2) looks to pass the ball against the Lipscomb Lady Bisons during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols guard Destiny Salary (2) looks to pass the ball against the Lipscomb Lady Bisons during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols dominated. Here’s what we learned from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ victory.

In their final non-conference game before the beginning of SEC play, the Tennessee Lady Vols came away with another dominating win Monday night. Kellie Harper’s team won its first game after Christmas, blowing out the Lipscomb Bisons 77-52 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Rocky Top never trailed in this game, taking control in the first quarter with runs of 8-0 and 12-1 to go up 26-11 early on. In the process, they moved to 6-1 on the year and increased their winning streak to four games while Lipscomb fell to 3-3.

Up next for the Tennessee Lady Vols is a trip to the Texas A&M Aggies on New Year’s Eve Thursday. Lipscomb, meanwhile, will visit the Liberty Flames one day later. Here are three takeaways from UT’s win in Knoxville, Tenn. Monday.

1. Rennia Davis adds another double-double.

She had a slow start, but Rennia Davis has been leading the way for Rocky Top recently. On Monday, she continued her hot streak, which comes at the perfect time ahead of SEC play, by leading the team with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Davis shot 6-of-10 from the field, 1-of-2 from the three-point line and made all six free throw attempts. She also had three offensive rebounds. Rae Burrell also continued her offensive success with 10 points, but Davis is beginning to take back over as the clear star.

2. Defense, length and rebounding continue to tell the story.

UT shot only 3-of-17 from the three-point line. However, Kellie Harper relied on her team’s length and aggressive defense, making the late Pat Summitt proud. Rocky Top outrebounded Lipscomb 47-29 and had 15 offensive rebounds. The Tennessee Lady Vols also forced 22 turnovers with 11 steals and seven blocks and held Lipscomb to 30 percent shooting from the field.

While Davis led the way in rebounding, Tamari Key’s presence on the inside was a big deal, as she had nine points and four rebounds in another start. Kasiyahna Kushkituah had the same stat line off the bench. Marta Suárez, Destiny Salary and Jordan Walker all had six rebounds as well. Jordan Horston had three blocks, and Salary had an impressive four steals. Walker had two.

3. Turnovers are a bit concerning.

Along with defense and rebounding, UT did a few other little things right, including shooting 18-of-23 from the free throw line and Horston and Walker coming away with four assists each. However, they had one major snag, and it was turnovers.

As a team, the Tennessee Lady Vols had 18 turnovers. Key and Suárez each had three, and Burrell, Horston and Salary all had two. Ahead of SEC play, this is not an issue they want to have. Harper needs to fix that problem quickly.