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Three takeaways from Tennessee Lady Vols’ 68-58 victory vs. Kansas Jayhawks

By Caleb Calhoun

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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After two comeback wins in the fourth quarter against top 25 teams, the Tennessee Lady Vols had their first double-digit win since their opener and beat their second straight Power Five opponent in the process. Kellie Harper’s team defeated the Kansas Jayhawks in Las Vegas, Nev. for their first game at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout Friday.

Still without Rae Burrell, UT jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first quarter but then allowed a 12-0 run, falling behind 15-13 in the second quarter. They then responded with an 11-0 run to take the lead for good, improving to 5-0 while Kansas fell to 4-1 on the year.

Up next for the Rocky Top is a Saturday matchup at the same event in Nevada, this time against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Kansas will face the UTEP Miners, also in the same event, on Saturday. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ victory.

1. Dominance in the paint continues.

This isn’t just the forwards dominating, although they deserve a shoutout. Tamari Key had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks despite getting into foul trouble. Alexus Dye had a block and eight rebounds. Keyen Green had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench.

However, the guards were even more dominant driving into the paint. Jordan Horston had 14 points doing that, and Jordan Walker added 10. Meanwhile, Sara Puckett added eight points off the bench. A huge part of this was offensive rebounds. Puckett had four of them, Dye and Key each had three, and the team had 16 overall, helping them win the glass in general 55-38.

2. Shooting woes remained a problem with one exception.

Those second chance points from offensive rebounds helped the Tennessee Lady Vols make up for this issue, which will likely persist without Rae Burrell. UT was 4-of-18 from the three-point line and 12-of-22 from the free throw line. The sheer volume of free throws, helped by their aggression in the paint, is the only reason that was still an advantage.

On the other hand, Tess Darby was the exception, and she helped UT stay in control. Darby was always recruited to be a three-point specialist, and as a starter, she went 3-of-6 from the three-point line en route to 11 points. If she can continue that, then when Burrell gets back, Harper could have a truly complete team.

3. Half-court defense was swarming.

Forcing turnovers and scoring in transition wasn’t part of this. UT won with a defense that didn’t allow Kansas to shoot the ball. They always took contested shots, resulting in them going 20-of-65 from the field and 6-of-20 from the three-point line.

A big part of this was still the boards, as the Tennessee Lady Vols only allowed six offensive rebounds. Horston was the star here, coming away with 10 defensive rebounds en route to 11 overall for a double-double. Contesting every shot and getting every rebound helped this team overcome another inefficient shooting night.