No Moral Victories: Lady Vols Fall to No. 6 LSU in Gut-Wrenching Fashion

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

Last time, I said losing sucks.

It really sucks when you lose in the final moments.

How about when that happens in back-to-back games?

The last two games have been nothing short of heartbreaking for the Lady Vols. A missed buzzer beater on Sunday was quickly followed by another potential game-tying shot at the horn on Thursday against Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers.

Much like the game against OU, Tennessee did not get a good start against LSU. At one point in the first half, the Tiger lead was 19. The shots wouldn’t go, the offense was stagnant again, and defensively UT couldn’t buy a stop, especially in transition.

Then the halftime break happened, and suddenly it was like the Lady Vols had figured some things out. The best third quarter of the year so far combined with another near-Herculean final frame brought Tennessee back into the game, even giving them the lead a few times. In the end, though, Kailyn Gilbert’s impossible reverse layup with under a second to go was too much to overcome as the desperation attempt at the buzzer came up short.

It was another bout of resiliency for a team that has exhibited that quality all year. Another great fight. A total takeover from Jewel Spear (25) and Talaysia Cooper (24). Nonetheless, after the game, Kim Caldwell did not express those same sentiments.

She’s not here to get the moral victories or to hear that the team is almost there. She’s here to win and this start to the season has showed her that she can do that right now, with this team and these players. As such, she is not stopping at just wanting to be in these games. It’s not enough, and that should make Lady Vols fans excited. It’s a fire not seen out of a coach since Pat Summitt walked the sidelines.

Tennessee will compete in games this year. That’s a given. The wins will come. These games will pay dividends later. There were always going to be growing pains. It’s all a part of the climb back to where this program should be.

Let’s take a look back at the tough loss on Thursday night.

First Quarter

Score: Tennessee 17, LSU 26.

FG: Tennessee 6-19 (32%), LSU 10-22 (45%).

3P: Tennessee 3-10 (30%), LSU 1-2 (50%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 9, LSU 17.

Turnovers: Tennessee 5, LSU 4.

Highlight: Talaysia Cooper and Jewel Spear combined for 11 of UT’s first 17 points, with Spear closing the quarter by converting a 4-point play.

Second Quarter

Score: Tennessee 39, LSU 46.

FG: Tennessee 15-35 (43%), LSU 19-40 (48%).

3P: Tennessee 5-18 (28%), LSU 1-4 (25%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 17, LSU 25.

Turnovers: Tennessee 9, LSU 7.

Highlight: Aneesah Morrow had 13 of her eventual 23 points in the second frame as she kept LSU in front. Tennessee had a late 8-0 run to bring the lead back to single digits at the break.

Third Quarter

Score: Tennessee 62, LSU 67.

FG: Tennessee 24-57 (42%), LSU 28-57 (49%).

3P: Tennessee 6-20 (30%), LSU 1-7 (14%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 29, LSU 35.

Turnovers: Tennessee 11, LSU 9.

Highlight: Cooper, Spear, and Ruby Whitehorn each had 6 points as the Lady Vols battled to outscore LSU in the third quarter and give themselves a chance in the final 10 minutes.

Fourth Quarter/Final Stats

Score: Tennessee 87, LSU 89.

FG: Tennessee 32-76 (42%), LSU 38-77 (49%).

3P: Tennessee 11-31 (35%), LSU 1-8 (13%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 38, LSU 46.

Turnovers: Tennessee 12, LSU 14.

Highlight: Kailyn Gilbert’s acrobatic reverse layup gave LSU the lead with under a second to go, and Zee Spearman’s last-second effort at the rim came up short as LSU survived the upset bid.

Points off TO: 13-13.

Second Chance: 24-14 LSU.

Bench: 26-15 LSU.

Paint: 60-30 LSU.

Fast Break: 34-25 LSU.

Assists: 18-10 Tennessee.

Steals: 7-6 LSU.

Scoring:

Tennessee: Spear-25, Cooper-24 (6 rebounds, 5 assists), Spencer-10 (6 rebounds), Whitehorn-10 (5 assists), Boyd-6, Spearman-6 (5 rebounds), Puckett-3, Latham-2, Hollingshead-1 (5 rebounds).

LSU: Aneesah Morrow-23 (21 rebounds), Kailyn Gilbert-22, Flau’Jae Johnson-20 (8 rebounds), Mikaylah Williams-16, Mjracle Sheppard-4, Jersey Wolfenbarger-2, Shayeann Day-Wilson-2.

Takeaways

It was another tale of two different games.

The first quarter was ugly. The same problems as Sunday came back again. The offense was stagnant, with a lack of movement and, as such, a lack of production. UT also turned it over a lot, which has been an issue against the higher quality opponents. Defensively, the transition game was where Tennessee got burned the most. LSU did not turn it over as much as Tennessee would have liked them to, and because of that they found opportunities to break the press. That often led to wide open layups that compounded over time. It got fixed to a degree later in the game, but still presented an issue.

It was a frustrating first frame, but as this team has done more than once this year, they battled back.

From the second quarter on, things got better. The shots started to fall. The Lady Vols got inside and penetrated the paint, which makes the offense a lot better. While I think you can still spread the wealth and get a lot of players on the board offensively, Jewel Spear and Talaysia Cooper have separated themselves as true takeover level players at any given moment. When you need a guaranteed bucket, 55 or 0 can give you one. On the defensive end, the transition game tightened up and Caldwell’s group got better on the glass. I thought Jillian Hollingshead had a great night outside the stat sheet. Her effort and hustle is noticeable and had an impact on this game. Zee Spearman got bullied early but settled in and muscled her way to some crucial late boards.

We also have to talk about another gutsy fourth quarter. The breaks didn’t fall the way of the Lady Vols a lot during the final frame. LSU continued to press and score in several different ways. Tennessee always had an answer, though. There was no run they couldn’t answer. No bad break they couldn’t fight back from. They even got the lead a couple of different times, despite not having an advantage in nearly any stats on the sheet when all was said and done. There is a special kind of will and resiliency on this team. It’s impressive for a first year group. Sure, they may not have the raw talent that LSU or South Carolina or Texas do, but they have a system that works and they have a ton of heart, and sometimes that’s good for as much or more than talent. Jewel Spear nearly willed her team to another win. Talaysia Cooper did her thing in the fourth once again.

In the end, though, it’s another heartbreaker. You don’t like losing, especially not like this. There are things to take and build on, that’s for sure. Kim Caldwell has a foundation and has a will to win and win immediately. The future is bright even this season. Stay the course, and enjoy the ride.

Up Next

Tennessee heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Sunday, January 12. Tipoff is at 1 PM EST on SEC Network.