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Short-handed Tennessee Lady Vols fall at South Carolina: Three takeaways

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 20, 2022; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Destanni Henderson (3) attempts to get around Tennessee Lady Vols forward Alexus Dye (2) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2022; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Destanni Henderson (3) attempts to get around Tennessee Lady Vols forward Alexus Dye (2) in the first half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports /
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Already on a four-game road losing streak entering the matchup since Keyen Green’s season-ending injury, the Tennessee Lady Vols were even further short-handed Sunday at the No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, as leading scorer Jordan Horston was out. They never really had a chance because of that, losing 67-53.

Kellie Harper’s team, which entered the game ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, kept it close in the first quarter, leading 9-6 and 11-8 and keeping it tied at 13 with less than a minute to go. However, Dawn Staley’s team then went on a 7-0 run into the second to take the lead for good and continued dominating through the third quarter.

UT falls to 21-6 and 10-4 in the SEC with a visit from the Mississippi State Bulldogs set for Thursday. South Carolina improves to 25-1 and 13-1 in the SEC with a trip to the Texas A&M Aggies set for Thursday. Here are three things we learned from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ loss.

1. Effort was clear in the paint.

Given the injuries to UT and the way South Carolina is constructed, the dominance should have been clear down low. However, largely thanks to Tamari Key, Rocky Top held its own. Key had a double-double with 10 points and an incredible 10 blocks. Alexus Dye, meanwhile, had 11 rebounds. She had an off-day scoring, going 2-of-14 from the field with six points.

Then came Rae Burrell, who scored 10 points in the paint as she led the team in scoring with 14 points. With Horston out, Jordan Walker fought hard to drive to the basket a lot, and she did have 14 points. This is why Rocky Top was only outscored 38-30 in the paint. They did everything possible offensively to keep it close.

2. Guards and backups got wrecked on the boards.

Despite that effort in the paint, Key and Dye were the only ones who put up a fight down low related to something other than scoring. The Tennessee Lady Vols got destroyed on the glass because of what everybody else did. UT was outrebounded 59-38, and it was because of 31 offensive rebounds by the Gamecocks.

That was the sole difference. Although Aliyah Boston led with seven offensive rebounds, Brea Beal getting six while playing in the backcourt was the real difference. Then Staley had depth in the post with Kamila Cardoso and Laeticis Amihere. Because of all of these players, Harper’s team had no chance, and rebounding changed everything.

3. Poor shooting put the game out of reach.

Given their injuries, the Lady Vols couldn’t afford to have a poor shooting day. They weren’t blown out solely because South Carolina also struggled from the field. However, they needed to take advantage, and they didn’t, as they went 1-of-10 from the three-point line and 10-of-17 from the free throw line.

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Sara Puckett went 0-of-3 from outside, Tess Darby didn’t attempt a three, Walker went 0-of-2, and Burrell went 1-of-4. The Tennessee Lady Vols only had 14 turnovers and played solid defense, but not being able to shoot the ball and their guards getting killed on the boards are the two avoidable things that they didn’t avoid in this game.