Tennessee Lady Vols dominate Missouri: Three takeaways from huge bounce back win
In a much needed bounce back, the Tennessee Lady Vols put together their most impressive performance since they beat the Georgia Bulldogs on the road two and a half weeks ago to reach the top five. Coming off back to back blowout road losses, it is also their most impressive performance since losing Keyen Green for the year.
Kellie Harper’s team, ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll, defeated Robin Pingeton’s Missouri Tigers 76-62 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., Thursday. The score was tied after the first, but UT had a 9-0 run while up 23-22 in the second. Then, in the third, they took complete control with a 15-0 run to go up 50-29.
Rocky Top improves to 20-4 and 9-2 in the SEC with a visit from the Vanderbilt Commodores set for Sunday. Mizzou falls to 16-8 and 5-6 in SEC play with a visit from the Arkansas Razorbacks set for Sunday. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ victory.
1. Three-point shooting was critical.
Tess Darby emerged as a superstar shooter again. Harper put her back in the starting lineup, and she went 4-of-7 from three en route to 12 points. That was a huge help for UT when it came to pulling away in this game, as they went 8-of-20 from beyond the arc overall.
Rae Burrell had an off-shooting night, going 1-of-5 from three off the bench, but that three did help her get 11 points, as did going 4-of-4 on free throws. Jordan Walker hit her only three-point attempt. Then, after Darby, Horston was the shooting star, going 2-of-4 from three, and she becomes our next takeaway.
2. Jordan Horston was the star…except for free throws.
It’s hard to overstate Horston’s heart, and she showed up again in this one. She led the Tennessee Lady Vols in scoring with 21 points, rebounds with 13 and assists with five. In addition to her three-point shooting, she was more controlled this game with only three turnovers.
On defense, Horston had a steal as well. Her only issue was free throw shooting. UT was 12-of-21 from the stripe on the night, but Horston was an abnormally bad 3-of-9. Just three more free throws would have made the stat line look really different. However, she was great everywhere else, so she deserves an individual shoutout.
3. Tamari Key’s defense and Alexus Dye’s offense returned.
Obviously, the post game has been a major issue with Green out, but the two starters played their part in this one. With them needing to conserve their energy, Key knew she would need to save hers for defense, while Dye saved hers for offense. It worked, as Dye had 11 points and five rebounds. Key had just five points, but she had an incredible seven blocks.
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These two played their roles, but there are still concerns. The Tennessee Lady Vols have no other options in the post, and they needed help from Horston and Sara Puckett on the glass, as those two led the team in rebounding. How often they can keep this up remains a question, but at least they pulled out the convincing win here.