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Tennessee Lady Vols dominate Tennessee Tech 76-48: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee forward Alexus Dye (2) looks to the basket while guarded by Tennessee Tech forward Mackenzie Coleman (33) in the NCAA women's basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.Kns Lady Vols Tennessee Tech
Tennessee forward Alexus Dye (2) looks to the basket while guarded by Tennessee Tech forward Mackenzie Coleman (33) in the NCAA women's basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.Kns Lady Vols Tennessee Tech /
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For the second straight game, the Tennessee Lady Vols walked away with a victory of over 20 points. Ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and still without Rae Burrell, UT beat the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 76-48 Wednesday, their first home game not against a Power Five or top 25 foe since their opener, to improve to 7-0 on the year.

Rocky Top was locked in a battle early on, only leading 18-17 at the end of the first quarter. A 9-0 run put them up by 11 in the second, and they went into halftime up 38-30. Things broke open in the third, as UT outscored TTU 18-5 to take complete control.

Led by sixth-year head coach Kim Rosamond, the Golden Eagles fell to 2-4 and will next visit the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Sunday. Kellie Harper’s team will visit the Virginia Tech Hokies that same day. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ victory.

1. Post game was unstoppable.

This is a recurring theme, but it’s usually for defense and rebounding. Don’t get me wrong, those were still elite here, as Tamari Key had 11 rebounds and four blocks, and Alexus Dye had nine rebounds. UT won the boards 32-19 and had 10 blocks on the night. Their interior defense was a huge reason TTU shot  17-of-58 from the field.

However, the offense was there too down low. Key had 11 points to complete a double-double. Dye was actually the star of the game, coming away with 20 points, all in the paint and largely thanks to many put-backs with her five offensive rebounds.

2. Three-point shooting came from the right people.

Jordan Horston finally got some help here. When the right people are hitting their three-pointers, the post-game has more room to dominate, and Horston can focus her scoring only on slashing when things break down. That’s what happened here.

Tess Darby, recruited specifically to shoot threes, hit two three-pointers in the third quarter, and Sara Puckett added one from off the bench. That helped break the game open for the Tennessee Lady Vols. Darby went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc on the night en route to 12 points. This shooting opened up the post game, which is what generated 21 assists.

3. Free throws turnovers still an issue.

At least the three-pointers are back. However, UT has to do better from the foul line. They were 3-of-7 on the night. Meanwhile, they had 16 turnovers, which isn’t bad, if they’re shooting it well enough to space the floor and the post can dominate, that shouldn’t happen.

In reality, it was just an off-night for Horston. She went 1-of-3 from the free throw line and had five turnovers but only nine points. To be fair, she had six assists while Jordan Walker had five. Brooklynn Miles had four off the bench. However, Miles also had two turnovers. This wasn’t a huge deal tonight, but it kept things close early, so it’s still something that needs to be fixed.