Conquering Aggieland: Lady Vols Win SEC Opener vs. Texas A&M

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

It was always about SEC play.

Nonconference wins are one thing. First year head coach Kim Caldwell had already generated buzz for her 12-0 start. Whether it be for dominant offensive performances or impressive neutral site wins (Iowa back in November), the true measuring stick is how she would handle the gauntlet of this year’s Southeastern Conference.

Much like the men’s side, the SEC is the best conference in women’s basketball. The 16 teams in the conference have the 16 toughest remaining schedules in the country. Tennessee ranks 14th among those. That slate started with a road test against Texas A&M.

Despite a 7-5 record coming in, this is a talented Aggies group, led by experienced returners like Aicha Coulibaly, Lauren Ware, and Sahara Jones, along with talented freshmen like Taliyah Parker. A&M coach Joni Taylor helped lead this team to the NCAA tournament a year ago. It would be a nice stepping stone test for the Lady Vols.

It didn’t look like that at first. Tennessee struggled in the opening minutes before using a blazing hot second quarter to take a sizeable lead into the halftime break. Then, the third quarter struck again, as the Aggies clawed back into the game. In the end, UT got enough clutch shooting and defensive brilliance to hold on and capture the first conference victory of Caldwell’s career.

Missed layups, some box-out issues, and a heavy dose of the referee’s whistle provided adversity, and yet here we are, with the Lady Vols moving to 13-0 for their best start in 7 years. It is a testament to the continued resilience of this team.

So, let’s go through it. Here is a recap of the victory in the SEC opener.

First Quarter

Score: Tennessee 22, Texas A&M 15.

FG: Tennessee 9-23 (40%), Texas A&M 7-18 (39%).

3P: Tennessee 4-10 (40%), Texas A&M 0-1.

Rebounds: Tennessee 17, Texas A&M 10.

Turnovers: Tennessee 3, Texas A&M 3.

Highlight: Tess Darby notched a pair of threes to help the Lady Vols to an early lead.

Second Quarter

Score: Tennessee 48, Texas A&M 26.

FG: Tennessee 21-39 (54%), Texas A&M 11-25 (44%).

3P: Tennessee 5-13 (38%), Texas A&M 1-3 (33%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 25, Texas A&M 13.

Turnovers: Tennessee 7, Texas A&M 11.

Highlight: Talaysia Cooper dropped in 9 points in the quarter and Jewel Spear capped the half with a buzzer beating 3 to push the lead to 22 at the break.

Third Quarter

Score: Tennessee 67, Texas A&M 53.

FG: Tennessee 27-56 (48%), Texas A&M 19-37 (51%).

3P: Tennessee 9-20 (45%), Texas A&M 1-5 (20%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 32, Texas A&M 21.

Turnovers: Tennessee 17, Texas A&M 19.

Highlight: Jewel Spear and Samara Spencer used the three pointer to keep Tennessee in front despite another ugly third quarter and a ferocious A&M rally.

Fourth Quarter/Final Stats

Score: Tennessee 91, Texas A&M 78.

FG: Tennessee 34-72 (47%), Texas A&M 28-50 (56%).

3P: Tennessee 10-23 (43%), Texas A&M 2-8 (25%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 39, Texas A&M 29.

Turnovers: Tennessee 19, Texas A&M 25.

Highlight: Talaysia Cooper hit several clutch buckets, most notably a three that ended another strong Aggies run early in the quarter.

Points off Turnovers: 34-27 Tennessee.

Second Chance: 23-9 Tennessee.

Bench: 49-21 Tennessee.

Paint: 50-44 Texas A&M.

Fast Break: 16-9 Tennessee.

Blocks: 8-0 Texas A&M.

Steals: 11-6 Tennessee.

Assists: 23-16 Tennessee.

Scoring:

Tennessee: Spear-20 (5 rebounds), Cooper-16 (5 rebounds, 4 assists), Whitehorn-15, Spearman-14 (6 rebounds), Spencer-6 (8 assists, 5 rebounds), Darby/Latham/Hollingshead-6, Boyd-2.

Texas A&M: Aicha Coulibaly-20, Sahara Jones-17 (5 rebounds, 3 assists), Lauren Ware-8 (11 rebounds), Taliyah Parker-8, Jada Malone-7, Erica Moon-6, Sole Williams-2 (4 assists).

Takeaways

This is going to be the average experience in the SEC.

The conference is good from top to bottom. You can almost expect that most every game in conference play will have an edge to it and be a little bit gross in terms of offense.

This one was no different. Both teams did some things right and some things wrong, but Tennessee was able to get in front and stay in front and capture a landmark win for this coaching staff.

On the offensive end, it wasn’t always pretty. I know the numbers end up looking very good for the Lady Vols, but at times they would get caught in scoring ruts where they just needed a bucket. Whether it was the three not falling at times or bad shot selection, it got a little frustrating watching the offense try to work when points became a premium. This team has to get better on layups, free throws, and threes. It’s most of the offense, and the numbers just aren’t quite where you want them to be.

I think the cog that makes this offense really dynamic is Samara Spencer. Not only is she one of the best three point shooters in the country to start the year, but she can also play the role of facilitator and find open looks for big time scorers like Cooper, Whitehorn, Spear, and others. I think those players have been impressive in their own right, but Spencer feels like the glue that holds everything together.

What allows this team to continue to win despite periods of rough offense is the defensive pressure. It is a unique system where the full court press is employed for all 40 minutes. There is constant movement, whether that’s switching onto a different player or bringing a quick double team trap to try to force a turnover. It’s really fun to watch and allows Tennessee to turn defense into offense, another reason they’re able to win games the way they are.

That was no different in this one. UT made life difficult right from the inbound for the Aggies, who had answers for the press at times but other times buckled under the pressure. I truly think this is going to be an X-factor for this team moving forward, especially on nights where the offense can’t get in rhythm. It’s going to keep them in games and it may very well win them some games. It’s really not any one player, either. Anybody on this team can force a turnover at any point. I’ve never seen anything like it. Thursday night was another example of that.

Overall, it’s the best start for the program in 7 years and there is a buzz around this team that hasn’t been there in longer than that. Tennessee will lose games. It’s a given in a conference like the SEC. That does not mean this team is not competitive. Huge matchups await, opportunities to really put the nation on notice. On to the next.

Next Up

Tennessee hosts #9 Oklahoma at Food City Center on Sunday, January 6, at 3 PM EST. The game will air on ESPN.