Dug Deep: Lady Vols Pull Away Late TO Beat Memphis

Image Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols had done everything there was to do to start the season: break scoring records, beat a ranked team, and flat out dominate games to put the nation on notice. The one thing they had yet to do? Play a true road game.

Yes, they played a game away from the friendly confines of Food City Center. They defeated Iowa in Brooklyn to help vault them into the AP poll for the first time this year. That was not a true road game, though.

That opportunity finally arrived on Wednesday night as the team traveled west to play in-state rival Memphis at the Food City Center.

Despite adversity and the Tigers doing everything they could to hang around, when the buzzer sounded, Tennessee still had a 0 in the loss column, mainly due to an imposing second half that saw them get some breathing room.

They saw something in this game that they hadn’t seen for long stretches yet: a team that could both break the press and hassle Tennessee’s offensive attack. The quick passing and composure helped Memphis isolate 1-on-1 matchups that they won, and they provided the Lady Vols with their first look at an opponent that utilizes their own full court press.

They also saw another impressive offensive performance from an opposing scorer. Iowa’s Lucy Olsen and Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson had already taken their best shot at Caldwell’s group, and on this night, it was a trio of Tigers that were dialed in.

Veteran Tilly Boler led the way with 23 points. Dynamic Michigan State transfer guard DeeDee Hagemann dropped in 19 in her Memphis debut, and Tanyuel Welch grabbed 16 on the night. With Hagemann on the floor, Memphis looked like a completely different team than the one that started the year 2-7. Despite a valiant effort, UT was able to weather the storm and move to 9-0.

Let’s take a look at the stats from a wild night at the FedExForum.

First Quarter

Score: Lady Vols 22, Memphis 21.

FG: Lady Vols 9-23 (39%), Memphis 8-19 (42%).

3P: Lady Vols 3-12 (25%), Memphis 2-5 (40%).

Rebounds: Lady Vols 12, Memphis 13.

Turnovers: Lady Vols 3, Memphis 4.

Highlight: Tennessee buried a pair of late threes to help vault them to the lead by the end of the frame, including one on a slick pass from Talaysia Cooper to Ruby Whitehorn.

Second Quarter

Score: Lady Vols 42, Memphis 41.

FG: Lady Vols 16-43 (37%), Memphis 15-32 (47%).

3P: Lady Vols 6-18 (33%), Memphis 2-8 (25%).

Rebounds: Lady Vols 26, Memphis 21.

Turnovers: Lady Vols 9, Memphis 9.

Highlight: Jewel Spear had 9 points in the quarter, keeping Tennessee afloat on a night where the shooting was not there in the first half.

Third Quarter

Score: Lady Vols 69, Memphis 54.

FG: Lady Vols 24-63 (38%), Memphis 21-54 (39%).

3P: Lady Vols 10-29 (34%), Memphis 2-12 (17%).

Rebounds: Lady Vols 40, Memphis 37.

Turnovers: Lady Vols 12, Memphis 15.

Highlight: The defense quickly began to drain any remaining life from Memphis, forcing bad shots and turnovers and allowing Tennessee’s still-struggling offense to push the lead to 15 to end the frame.

Fourth Quarter/Final Stats

Score: Lady Vols 90, Memphis 75.

FG: Lady Vols 33-82 (40%), Memphis 27-68 (40%).

3P: Lady Vols 12-37 (32%), Memphis 4-16 (25%).

Rebounds: Lady Vols 53, Memphis 44.

Turnovers: Lady Vols 16, Memphis 17.

Highlight: After leaving the game briefly with an injury, Samara Spencer returned to the floor and drained two threes, one from the logo at midcourt.

Points off TO: 20-14 Lady Vols.

Second Chance: 23-8 Lady Vols.

Bench: 26-11 Lady Vols.

Paint: 38-32 Lady Vols.

Fast Break: 14-10 Memphis.

Blocks: 5-0 Lady Vols.

Steals: 7-7.

Assists: 18-8 Lady Vols.

Scoring:

Tennessee: Spear-18 (6 reb), Spearman-18 (12 reb), Spencer-12 (6 ast), Darby-12 (6 reb), Cooper-12 (11 reb, 6 ast), Whitehorn-10 (6 reb), Puckett-4, Boyd/Hollingshead-2.

Memphis: Tilly Boler-23 (5 reb), DeeDee Hagemann-19, Tanyuel Welch-16 (8 reb), Alasia Smith-6 (5 reb), Raven Sims-5 (5 reb), Tamya Smith-5 (8 reb).

Takeaways

This was some of the greatest adversity Tennessee has faced to this point. Florida State and Iowa each provided a challenge, but Memphis seemed to have this team’s number for much of the night.

Offensively, the cold shooting returned after the record-breaking night against NC Central. The shot selection was fine, but the shots weren’t falling, and even layups suffered greatly at times. This, combined with the frustration that UT showed when battling Memphis’ full court press, provides some concern with conference play looming.

Along with this, the box outs on rebounds (something Kim Caldwell has talked about needing to improve this year) still shows cracks. At times, it is good, and UT is able to grab boards on each end. At other times, they fail to box out their assignment, and the opposition finds second chance points. This is something else that will need to tighten up as this group enters the gauntlet that is the SEC.

The defense in the first half was perhaps the most concerning development of the night. Memphis clearly prepared well. They didn’t panic in the first two quarters. They passed well, got open, and were able to get across half court and isolate 1-on-1 matchups. From there, they used their athleticism to get downhill and find points at the rim. This will be something that future conference opponents try to replicate. It should be noted that eventually, the fatigue got to Memphis and they ran out of gas, but will SEC teams suffer the same fate? We’ll have to wait and see.

A win is a win. This group showed resiliency in the face of adversity away from home court. Regardless of the negatives, Tennessee remains undefeated and continues to take the nation by storm. Conference play is becoming more and more intriguing. How will this group (and Caldwell) handle the grind of the toughest conference in the country? If they put in efforts like this one, I believe they’ll be in a lot of their upcoming games, and may just get some really impressive wins.

Next Up

The Lady Vols travel to West Palm Beach for a pair of games. They will play Richmond and Tulsa on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The games will air on the streaming service BallerTV, which offers an event pass for both games for $20.