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Three takeaways from Tennessee Lady Vols’ fourth straight road loss

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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Clearly playing on the road is a problem for the Tennessee Lady Vols with Keyen Green out. Kellie Harper’s team had its two-game winning streak snapped Thursday in a 74-64 loss at the Alabama Crimson Tide, their fourth straight loss on the road. UT, ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, kept it close in the first quarter.

However, Alabama dominated after that, going on an 11-0 run in the second, taking an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter and extending that lead to 20 at one point. Rocky Top’s only lead ever was 11-8 in the first. Jordan Horston then got hurt late in the fourth quarter, drawing even bigger concerns going forward.

Rocky Top falls to 21-5 overall and 10-3 in SEC play with a trip to the top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks set for Sunday. Alabama improves to 13-11 and 4-9 in the SEC with a trip to the Texas A&M Aggies set for Sunday. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ loss.

1. Perimeter defense was inexcusable.

Given UT’s injuries, the Lady Vols are already limited in the advantage they try to build in the post. However, in order to have any chance at building that, the perimeter defense has to be solid so Tamari Key and Alexus Dye aren’t overworked all game. That didn’t happen here. Horston and Jordan Walker did each have two steals, but there needed to be way more aggression.

Alabama only had 12 turnovers and shot 10-of-25 from three. Brittany Davis led the way, going 4-of-8 from three en route to 23 points. Megan Abrams, Hannah Barber and Khyla Wade-Warren all had two threes, and Abrams led everybody in scoring with 27 points. Foul trouble for Walker and Rae Burrell made this worse.

2. Poor shooting all around increased the disparity.

One aspect of this is excusable because it happens. The other aspect isn’t. In terms of shooting from the field, the Tennessee Lady Vols just had an off-night, going 23-of-59 and 3-of12 from the three-point line. Horston and Burrell had 12 and 13 points respectively, but they combined to go 10-of-31 from the field.

Beyond poor three-point shooting, though, UT was 15-of-26 from the free throw line. Walker was 3-of-6 from the stripe, and Key was 6-of-11. With Alabama shooting 14-of-16 from the free throw line, you can see how this became a blowout.

3. Alabama fought harder in the paint.

Yes, Rocky Top won the paint. Key had 20 points and 13 rebounds, UT had 18 offensive rebounds, and they won the rebounding edge 40-31. However, they have to dominate the paint to win, particularly given Alabama’s style, and the Tide hung tough with them. It could be the fatigue Key and Dye are facing, but they had too many issues.

Alabama had one more block than the Tennessee Lady Vols, winning that race 3-2. With Key, UT should dominate there. Also, Key had four turnovers in the paint. Jamya Mingo-Young had 10 rebounds and was huge in forcing those turnovers, as she had six steals, causing tons of trouble down low. With Green out, this remains a problem, and it came out once again Thursday.