Peaking at the Right Time: Lady Vols Week in Review 2/20-2/26
Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics
By Dawson Wise
The most important month of the college basketball season looms, and the Lady Vols are quietly moving up the ranks.
Many, including myself, wondered how this team would handle the gauntlet of SEC play, especially with the loaded early schedule that included trips to Texas and LSU and home matchups with the Tigers, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and UConn.
Sure, Tennessee didn’t win every single one of those games, that’s true. They were in each one at some point, though. They continued to compete, and as much as Kim Caldwell doesn’t like moral victories, it should be pointed out that this team was within 1-2 possessions in most of those big time games. Some of them even saw UT get a shot for the tie or win, and one even resulted in a trajectory-altering win for the program back on February 6 against the Huskies.
The questions then shifted to the late season, though. Would the earlier grind cause the team to run out of gas down the stretch? Could they still pull together a successful campaign and at least make the tournament? Was there a possibility of home games to start March Madness?
We’re starting to get those answers now. The Lady Vols have yet to run out of gas, in fact I think it’s quite the opposite. Successful campaign? Only if you count 21 wins with 2 regular season games still to play. Home games in the tourney? As of today, yes, according to ESPN’s Charlie Creme.
Not only does it feel like this team survived the grind, it seems as if they’re continuing to get better. Over the past 4 (and really 7) games, Tennessee is playing its best basketball of the season. That stretch includes a 4 game win streak along with key wins over UConn (now ranked #1 in the NET and Barttorvik rankings), Ole Miss (ranked #13 in the NET and #12 in the Barttorvik) and Alabama (ranked #17 in NET, #18 in Barttorvik).
The offense has reinvented itself from a three-first, run-and-gun offense to an inside-out, half-court style offense that can still turn up the pace and run in transition when needed (Tennessee still has a top-3 tempo ranking nationally). It’s been truly incredible to watch the change in real time. The inside presence has grown immensely over the past month and the shooting has gotten more efficient because of it.
Defensively, this team continues to put together strong matchups. Ranked 29th in the nation in defensive efficiency, the Lady Vols are top 10 in stats like forced turnover rate, three-point percentage allowed, and multiple rebounding categories. It has always been the pressure and havoc that makes this defense tough to face, and this team has shored up the small issues that were present early in the year, like allowing the long, “home run” pass to an open player and allowing wide open threes.
The stars have also continued to shine. Jewel Spear has averaged over 20 points per game in the 4 game win streak. Talaysia Cooper finally found her rhythm again in the win against Florida. Zee Spearman has amped up her presence in the paint on both ends since the beginning of conference play. Ruby Whitehorn continues to be an X-factor level scorer that can get a bucket at almost any time. Samara Spencer has shot over 40% from three and continues to be an expert facilitator in this new half-court offense that UT has been running. It’s the recipe to a tournament run — multiple stars that can all get the job done in any scenario in-game. Championship teams have multiple options.
That’s the territory we’re approaching with this Lady Vols team. I firmly believe this team is a sneaky contender once the tournament rolls around. If they continue to play this way, they are on track to beat a team or two they “shouldn’t.” First and second round home games, while still unpredictable, give this team a good chance of making the second weekend and from there, with the way they’re currently playing, who knows how far this team could go? Enjoy the ride, folks.
Let’s go through this week’s wins over Alabama and Florida.
Alabama, 2/20
The Tide actually got off to a really good start in this one, leading 10-4 early on red-hot shooting. Following a Tennessee timeout, Talaysia Cooper and Alyssa Latham brought the gap back to 10-8. A Latham three tied the score at 13. Alabama then rattled off 7 straight points to lead 20-13, but the Lady Vols fought back to trail by just 5 at the end of 1, 22-17.
Ruby Whitehorn’s jumper and Jewel Spear’s three quickly tied the game at 22, forcing a Bama timeout. Then came back-and-forth runs. 7-0 from Alabama to make it 29-22. 10-0 from Tennessee, powered by a Samara Spencer three, a Kaniya Boyd layup, 3 free throws from Spear, and a Latham layup to lead, 32-29. Another 8-0 burst from the Tide to go ahead, 37-32, before UT again went on a 10-0 run to end the half, including a pair of Tess Darby threes, 2 more Spear free throws and a Zee Spearman layup. Tennessee led at the break, 42-37.
The third quarter was almost all Lady Vols. Darby hit another 3 to push the lead to 8. Alabama would cut it to 5 before another extended Tennessee scoring run, this time 11-0, to build a commanding 58-42 lead. Bama would have one major counterpunch in the third, claiming a 7-0 run to bring the lead back to 9, but Tennessee again responded, with a Cooper layup and a Spear three-point play capping off the frame.
Alabama just would not go away. They cut the lead to 12, just for UT to push it back to 15. They cut the lead again to 11, 70-59, at the early media timeout just before the 7 minute mark and then 70-61 just after it. Spear hit 5 straight free throws and again the lead was 14. Another 7 straight Tide points made the lead 75-67 with 5:12 to go and then an 8-2 run brought them within 4, 79-75, with 3:15 left on the clock. A free throw from Spencer, a Boyd layup, and a Spear putback would ice the game, though, with the final score being 84-75 in favor of the Lady Vols.
Tennessee improved to 20-6 with the win and 7-6 in SEC play. Jewel Spear led the team in scoring with 20 (including 11-11 from the free throw line). Talaysia Cooper added 16 and Zee Spearman contributed 13, respectively. Tennessee was only the 2nd school to break 80 points against the Tide, with the other being now #1 Texas.
Alabama dropped to 21-6 and 8-5 in conference. All 5 starters were in double figures. Sarah Ashlee Barker led the way with 22. Zaay Green (a former Lady Vol) had 16. Essence Cody and Aaliyah Nye each dropped in 13, and Karly Weathers had 11.
It was another efficient offensive night for Tennessee. They’ve been doing a good job not reverting to old habits and looking inside first for their offense. The stars once again stole the show, led by Jewel Spear who is quickly becoming this team’s X-factor to postseason success. The clutch shooting returned as well with Tess Darby, Sara Puckett, Spear, Latham, and Whitehorn all getting involved. Defensively, this team excels at forcing turnovers, but saw the matchup defense slack at times, especially early. There were too many open looks allowed for a good shooting team and the switches broke down at times in half court defense. The press worked its magic, though, and allowed for the extended scoring runs that UT is able to generate. It led to an impressive win over a good opponent.
Florida, 2/23
Again, the opponent had the better start, with the Gators jumping out to leads of 2-0 and 4-2, but the visitors responded with an 8-0 run to lead 10-4 with 6:46 left in the opening frame. Florida answered with a 6-0 run of its own to even the game at 10 at the media timeout. The fouls began to pile up for Tennessee, however, with an 8-2 mark in the first quarter resulting in a major free throw discrepancy on the stat sheet. The Gators used this to their advantage, adding 6 free throws to grab a 16-12 lead after 1.
Florida pushed the lead to 6 to open the second but Sara Puckett capped an 8-2 run to tie the game at 20. The teams exchanged baskets, with Zee Spearman’s turnaround jumper cutting the Gator lead to 27-26, but the hosts poured it on after that, with a 10-0 run pushing the lead to 11. A Whitehorn jumper late in the quarter brought the Lady Vols within 9 at the halftime break.
Tennessee came out of the locker room a different team. A Hollingshead layup, Spear and-one, and Spearman 3 highlighted an 11-4 Lady Vol run that cut the deficit to 41-39. A Spencer three, Cooper jumper, Spear three-point play, and Cooper layup continued the strong third quarter, with another 10-4 burst giving Tennessee a 49-45 lead at the media break. Another extended UT run, this time 11-6, would build the lead to 60-51 in the closing moments of the quarter. UF cut the gap to 5 before a pair of Cooper free throws made the lead 65-57 headed into the fourth.
An immediate Cooper three pushed the lead to 11 before Florida cut the lead to 5 at 68-63, forcing a UT timeout with 7:13 remaining. Twice, the Gators got as close as within 4, at the 5:16 and 4:16 marks, but a Whitehorn bucket pushed the lead back to 82-73 with just over 90 seconds left in the game. Another Gator three and a pair of free throws got the hosts within 4 again with 56 seconds to go, but a Spearman and-one and a Spencer free throw put the game away for another hard-fought Lady Vols win.
Tennessee moved to 21-6 and 8-6 in SEC play with the win, just 2 games back of Kentucky for 4th place and 1 game back of Ole Miss, Alabama, and Oklahoma for the 5-7 spots. Talaysia Cooper led the team in scoring with 18 (15 in the second half), while Zee Spearman had 16, Samara Spencer had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Ruby Whitehorn and Jewel Spear both added 10.
Florida fell to 14-14 and 5-9 in conference play. Ra Shaya Kyle led the way with 19. Laila Reynolds and Liv McGill each had 17 a piece, and Jeriah Warren added 10 in the loss.
The story of this game was resilience. It’s been a storyline for this team most of the year. Everything was stacked against this team. Early foul trouble, poor shooting, playing on the road, and another bad start…and again this team responded. The second half was similar to the Alabama game. Dominant, controlling basketball on both ends. Tennessee forced turnovers and locked down on the defensive end and that translated to more freedom and opportunities offensively, which they started to execute on after halftime. There’s something about this team where they refuse to ever quit. It doesn’t matter the circumstances or the score. Until the buzzer sounds, this team will continue to scratch and claw. It’s a trait that will be huge come tournament time. The Lady Vols again went 2-0 and have won 4 straight headed into the highest stakes game of conference play in terms of postseason implications. We’ll see if this same resilient group shows up once again.
Up Next
The Lady Vols travel to Lexington to take on #14 Kentucky (21-5, 10-4 SEC) at Memorial Coliseum, tonight, February 27 at 7 PM EST. The game will be aired on SEC Network, with audio broadcasts on the various Lady Vol Network affiliates across the state.
After that, Tennessee will return home for the regular season finale against the Georgia Bulldogs (10-18, 2-12 SEC) on Sunday, March 2. That game will also be aired on SEC Network, with a tip time of Noon EST.
