On the Doorstep: #15 Lady Vols Drop Heartbreaker to #9 Oklahoma

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Dawson Wise

Losing sucks.

It’s a universal truth in sports. Nobody wants to lose games.

This moment was coming, though. Eventually the Lady Vols would drop one. I’d be willing to bet a lot of us had games earlier than this one circled. It could have been Iowa or Florida State or even MTSU, who is a tournament team.

I’m not sure anybody expected this team to start 13-0, but they did. They were 1 shot from 14-0, not to mention a statement victory over a top 10 opponent. It didn’t fall, though. It happens. It’s part of it. Oklahoma was expected to win and they did, 87-86.

To me, it’s how they got to that point that I’m more impressed with. For most of the afternoon, it just wasn’t your day. Oklahoma shot the lights out of the gym, Tennessee couldn’t get anything going offensively, and at one point they trailed by 19 late in the third quarter…and yet they had a shot to win the game.

The final 10 minutes of this game told us a lot about this team. They are not going to roll over as previous teams might have. The game is never going to truly be over until the final buzzer sounds. It’s something I’ve seen in select teams in several sports over the years but I’ve never seen it in a first year group. There’s something special about it.

This game will not be defined by its final play. It will be defined by both the first 30 minutes of struggle and the final 10 minutes of will and resiliency. There are things to learn, but there are also opportunities on the horizon. It is crucial to snap and clear in a league that is as much of a dogfight as this year’s SEC will be.

This team now knows a lot more about itself. They aren’t going to have a size advantage over every team they play. They won’t always shoot it well. Other teams can force turnovers and play defense too. Despite all of that going against them in this game, the style of play still proved to be draining for the Sooners and Tennessee still ended up with a chance to win. That should be the sticking point for fans.

Take a breath. Losing stings, but everyone in the SEC will lose this year. This team is ahead of schedule, and there are so many more chances for KIm Caldwell and company to burst onto the scene.

Let’s go through Sunday’s game against Oklahoma.

First Quarter

Score: Tennessee 22, Oklahoma 28.

FG: Tennessee 10-23 (43%), Oklahoma 13-22 (59%).

3P: Tennessee 2-10 (20%), Oklahoma 2-8 (25%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 8, Oklahoma 14.

Turnovers: Tennessee 4, Oklahoma 7.

Highlight: A late 5-0 run brought the lead back to single digits as Samara Spencer and Jewel Spear both made athletic plays.

Second Quarter

Score: Tennessee 39, Oklahoma 46.

FG: Tennessee 18-45 (40%), Oklahoma 19-33 (58%).

3P: Tennessee 3-19 (16%), OU 2-10 (20%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 15, Oklahoma 27.

Turnovers: Tennessee 8, Oklahoma 17.

Highlight: Jewel Spear had 9 of her 28 points in the frame, willing Tennessee to stick around and remain in the game.

Third Quarter

Score: Tennessee 59, Oklahoma 75.

FG: Tennessee 26-62 (42%), Oklahoma 30-50 (60%).

3P: Tennessee 5-26 (19%), Oklahoma 6-18 (33%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 24, Oklahoma 35.

Turnovers: Tennessee 16, Oklahoma 23.

Highlight: Ruby Whitehorn had a stretch of 7 straight points for the Lady Vols, forcing turnovers and converting them into points.

Fourth Quarter/Final Stats

Score: Tennessee 86, Oklahoma 87.

FG: Tennessee 37-81 (46%), Oklahoma 34-63 (54%).

3P: Tennessee 10-36 (28%), Oklahoma 8-26 (31%).

Rebounds: Tennessee 33, Oklahoma 42.

Turnovers: Tennessee 18, Oklahoma 31.

Highlight: Jewel Spear dropped in 11 points including 3 triples in the final 1:44 to give Tennessee a chance to win, the latest of which came with 30 seconds to go. The game winning shot attempt would bounce off the rim.

Points off TO: 30-20 Tennessee.

Second Chance: 13-12 Oklahoma.

Bench: 45-9 Oklahoma.

Paint: 48-48.

Fast Break: 41-23 Oklahoma.

Steals: 19-9 Tennessee.

Assists: 25-14 Oklahoma.

Scoring:

Tennessee: Spear-28, Spencer-16 (5 rebounds, 5 assists), Cooper-16 (7 rebounds), Whitehorn-13, Puckett-5, Spearman/Boyd-4.

Oklahoma: Payton Verhulst-16, Raegan Beers-13 (8 rebounds), Reyna Scott-11 (5 assists), Liz Scott-11 (5 rebounds), Beatrice Culliton-8, Neveah Tot-6 (8 assists), Lexy Keys-6, Kiersten Johnson-2, Skylar Vann-7 rebounds.

Takeaways

When you look at the stat sheet, this game should not have been as close as it is, and I think that’s the special part of this team.

No matter how lopsided the stats are (to a degree, of course), and how much it seems like a game may be uphill sledding, this team is never dead. They don’t just roll over. We saw that happen a number of times over the past 4 years. The deficit grew too large, the breaks went against them, and they folded under the pressure. This team? They don’t fall into that trap, and it’s a testament to the culture that the staff has already introduced.

It is also a testament to the style of play, which to me is going to be what keeps this team in games. The combination of pace and pressure proved to nearly be too much for OU. Coach Jennie Baranczyk tried to match Tennessee’s sub patterns, bringing 5 new players off the bench many times throughout the afternoon, and yet even with that, the Sooners still suffered from the same physical and mental drain that we have seen take hold of several teams already this year. For it to be that effective in year 1 of a new regime is extremely impressive.

Offensively, it was a night to forget. The three point shooting has been an issue. It’s never been this bad, but at least there was some indication that it was going to be a long-term problem. The bigger problem to me is the lack of creativity at times offensively. There were several instances throughout the game of Tennessee’s offense being stagnant. Players stopped moving, seemingly waiting on something to happen, somebody to do something. It was reminiscent of the South Carolina game for the men’s team last year where the offense felt very stale without Dalton Knecht being on. This offense is best when there is constant movement to keep the opponent off balance. It allows for open shots and the quick pace that can turn the game into a war of stamina. If they get back to that (like they did in the fourth quarter), they will win some big games.

The third quarter continues to be an issue. I’m not sure what it is at this point, and neither does Coach Caldwell. Whether it’s a lack of adrenaline, a mental issue, or something else entirely, the third frame continues to be an achilles heel for this group. As bigger games loom, it’s going to need to be figured out. I thought it was better in this game than it has been in the past, so maybe there’s some progress there.

Jewel Spear was fantastic in this game. This style fits her so well. She loves to play with speed and shoot the three. Samara Spencer continues to be a Zakai Zeigler-like player that is able to do a little of everything (along with being one of the best three-point shooters in the country). Ruby Whitehorn and Talaysia Cooper had great days as well. The stars were the stars, and this game also proved that this team can have games where certain players take over rather than spreading the wealth.

Defensively, it really wasn’t a terrible night. I thought Tennessee did some things well. Boxing out still needs work, and the transition defense was rough in this one, but I wonder how much of that was because of the poor offensive performance. They still forced turnovers and hustled all 40 minutes, and even found another gear in the fourth quarter to grab a ton of crucial steals and keep themselves in the game. It was a good night, besides OU shooting the lights out.

Overall, I know this got lengthy, but this kind of game deserves it. It was a huge measuring stick from this team. The wins are coming. They’re ahead of schedule. Keep trusting Kim and her staff.

Up Next

#16 Tennessee will host the #6 LSU Tigers (17-0, 2-0 SEC) on Thursday, January 9, at 6:30 PM EST. The game will air on SEC Network+.