Triple-doubles aren’t uncommon. However, they usually come in the form of points, rebounds and assists. On Sunday, however, Tamari Key had a triple double in points, rebounds and blocked shots to lead the Tennessee Lady Vols to a 79-65 win over the Florida Gators.
Florida jumped out to a seven-point lead early and led 21-19 at the end of the first, but Kellie Harper’s team went on an 8-0 run early in the second to take control of the game and lead 38-31 at halftime. A red-hot end to the third and start to the fourth allowed Florida to cut it to one, but UT then went on a 10-0 run to take control of the game for good.
With the win, Rocky Top improves to 12-3 and 6-1 in the SEC. Florida falls to 9-8 and 2-7 in the SEC. Up next for the Tennessee Lady Vols is a three-game road trip, all against top 25 teams, starting with a Thursday night matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Florida has a week off before visiting the LSU Tigers. Here are three things we learned from this game.
1. Tamari Key led a historically dominant interior performance.
It’s been clear for a while that UT’s biggest advantage has been its length. Harper decided to double down on that in this game by starting both centers, Key and Kasiyahna Kushkituah. Key had a triple double in the process, coming away with 23 points, 10 rebounds and an amazing 10 blocks. She actually had six offensive rebounds, a huge deal.
In fact, Rocky Top outrebounded the Gators 57-42. Kushkituah showed her value as well with eight points, 12 rebounds, and a block. The team had 14 blocks overall, as Rennia Davis had two also. Simply put, while Key was the star, everybody was overwhelming down low, and that’s how this team pulled away.
2. Defensive effort was collective.
Obviously, the blocked shots were a huge part of the Tennessee Lady Vols’ success defensively. However, the performance was elite all the way around and deserves a shoutout. UT held Florida to 25-of-80 shooting from the field, or 31.3 percent, and 8-of-30 from the three-point line, or 26.7 percent, down from their 41.8 percent and 30.2 percent season averages respectively.
Florida only had 11 turnovers on the day, so this is how they were held to just 65 points despite averaging over 73 on the year. UT came away with seven steals as well. Rae Burrell led the way on that front with two.
2. Unselfish play, free throw shooting offset three-point shooting.
It was just one of those days where Rocky Top struggled from the three-point line, going 2-of-13, or 15.4 percent from beyond the arc. How did they overcome that? Well, they were incredibly unselfish. This team came away with 17 assists to 13 turnovers. Kushkituah was a big help under the basket with four assists. Jordan Horston had an off-day but still had four assists.
This unselfish play was why Burrell was able to score 21 points despite going 0-for-2 from the three-point line. It’s also why Davis had 14 points despite going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Oh, and Davis also had four assists. Jordan Walker, the only player to hit threes, going 2-of-4, had nine points and three assists. As a team, the Tennessee Lady Vols hit 11 of 14 free throws.