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Tennessee Lady Vols win 64-58 at Virginia Tech: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 14: A general view of megaphones for the Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Georgia Dome on March 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 14: A general view of megaphones for the Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the quarterfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Georgia Dome on March 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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For the fourth time this season, the Tennessee Lady Vols came from behind in the fourth quarter. This time, it was for their first win over a Power Five team on the road for UT, ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll, to remain perfect on the year.

Trailing 55-48 with six minutes to go in the game, Kellie Harper’s team went on a 12-0 run to take control late and pull away for a 64-58 victory. They led 27-25 at halftime but allowed VT to go on a strong third quarter run, keeping the game close until the end. With the

With the win, UT improves to 8-0 on the year and will host the Georgia State Panthers in a week. Virginia Tech falls to 7-2 and will next visit the Liberty Flames on Tuesday. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ win.

1. Unlikely guards stepped up scoring.

Rae Burrell still being out would seem to imply that Jordan Horston has to shoulder all the scoring load, and if she’s off, Alexus Dye needs to shoulder it. Neither did that on Sunday, though. Instead, two surprise guards emerged while Horston had one of her off-days.

Jordan Walker stepped up from the three-point line, hitting all four attempts beyond the arc and going 6-of-10 from the field en route to 17 points. However, freshman Sara Puckett had a breakout game off the bench. Puckett had 15 points, including six straight to put UT ahead for good 56-66 in the fourth quarter.

2. Tamari Key was dominant under the basket.

Virginia Tech’s game is centered around the post with Elizabeth Kitley, who is averaging 20 points on the year. She had four points in this game. Tamari Key shut her down all game, coming away with five blocks. Key also had seven offensive rebounds.

Those resulted in lots of put-backs, which resulted in her having a double-double, as they helped her finish with 11 points and 12 total rebounds. The Tennessee Lady Vols only struggled because Aisha Sheppard had the game of her life, hitting seven three-pointers for VT en route to 30 points. However, Key’s dominance helped offset that.

3. Free throws and turnovers remain a problem.

At some point, this will cost UT a game. They went 5-of-11 from the free throw line. Key was 1-of-3, and Dye was 0-for-2, which kept her from scoring 10 points, as she did have eight on the day. Even Walker, who was so hot from three, missed one of two free throw attempts.

Beyond free throws, turnovers were an issue too. The Tennessee Lady Vols had 17 on the day. Key, Dye and Keyen Green all had three. What saved them was eight steals, as Key, Horston and Brooklynn Miles all had two each.