Game Thread: SEC Tournament Second Round. #18/14 Lady Vols (9 seed) vs. Vandy (8 seed). Thurs., March 6, 11 am ET, SECN

[Orange.]

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Site: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC

Media:
TV: SECN
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Audio-stream: UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Ch. 81).
Live stats: StatBroadcast Mobile Stats

Represent!

The Lady Vols
Tennessee (22-8) — coming off an impressive win — advances to play 8-seed Vanderbilt on Thursday. The Lady Vols improved to 41-5 all-time in SEC Tournament opening games.

After a slow first quarter, the LVs poured it on, overwhelming Texas A&M in the first game of the 2025 SEC Tournament, 77-37. The LVs’ 40-point margin of victory was the fifth largest in SEC Tournament history.

Talaysia Cooper — bouncing back from a worrisome ankle sprain in the final regular season game — tallied 19 points and 8 rebounds, leading Tennessee. Cooper had a plus-minus score of +39 in 23 minutes played.

Jewel Spear added 11 points and three 3-pointers. Zee Spearman also scored 11 points, and Samara Spencer finished with 10 for the LVs. The LV’s scrappy defense created 32 Texas A&M turnovers.

Tennessee closed the third quarter on a 17-0 run to go ahead 60-28 on a long 3-pointer by Spear. A 14-2 run to start the fourth made it 74-30.

The LVs are looking for revenge against Vandy. Tennessee dropped a 71-70 contest against the Drawers on Jan. 19 when Mikayla Blakes tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer.

More importantly, Thursday’s matchup is the only thing standing between the LVs and a rematch with highly-touted South Carolina in Round 3.


Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes was named as the 2024-25 SEC Freshman of the Year, voted on by the league’s coaches on Tuesday. Additionally, the coaches voted Blakes to the All-SEC first team and All-SEC freshman team.

Sophomore Khamil Pierre improved her scoring average by 11.9 points per game from her freshman season. The 6'2" forward registered 20-plus points in 16 games this season and collected three or more steals in 17 contests.

The Commodores enter the SEC Tournament leading the SEC in steals per game at 12.8 and force the third-most turnovers this season at 21.4. Vanderbilt’s 12.8 steals per game ranks eighth in the nation.

Vandy heads into the game with a 21-9 overall record. The Dores went 8-8 in SEC play, tied with Tennessee in the standings. VU has won two-straight, scoring 90-plus points in wins over Texas A&M (91-58) and at Missouri (100-59).

Vanderbilt is 49-38 all-time at the SEC Tournament, 1-3 under head coach Shea Ralph.


Tournament bracket

 

[glv98]

Simple. We have to shoot better. Just have to hope tomorrow is a decent day on the shooting pendulum

 

[knoxvol52]

Gotta hit the boards hard, lost only game vs Vanderbilt due to missing a blocking out assignment...

 

[TNRazor]

Vandy really only has two scoring threats, slow them down and we win easily

 

[Voltopia]

Now I may be talking out of my rear end here, but it seems to me that Tennessee's best chance tomorrow probably starts with - checks notes - not having the first quarter scoring equivalent of a rotting four day old dead skunk carcass smeared over a highway.

And I mean like, really spread out. Enough that you can't even visually identify it. But. You know. You can smell it. Because you've smelled that 15% shooting before and boy do you know the smell long before you see it on the road. The first few shots are hurried or missed gimmies, some stuff flung up there, the shots keep missing or drawing iron, and next thing you know it's 2-12 on the box score halfway through the first. Bleah.

To be clear, I don't think they're bad or that somehow the team can't win or be competitive, I just think starting off not in a hole would be a nice change of pace. Hoping for a fiery start tomorrow. Want to see them reach that South Carolina game and put their big game pants back on.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Now I may be talking out of my rear end here, but it seems to me that Tennessee's best chance tomorrow probably starts with - checks notes - not having the first quarter scoring equivalent of a rotting four day old dead skunk carcass smeared over a highway.

And I mean like, really spread out. Enough that you can't even visually identify it. But. You know. You can smell it. Because you've smelled that 15% shooting before and boy do you know the smell long before you see it on the road. The first few shots are hurried or missed gimmies, some stuff flung up there, the shots keep missing or drawing iron, and next thing you know it's 2-12 on the box score halfway through the first. Bleah.

To be clear, I don't think they're bad or that somehow the team can't win or be competitive, I just think starting off not in a hole would be a nice change of pace. Hoping for a fiery start tomorrow. Want to see them reach that South Carolina game and put their big game pants back on.

 

[lvocd]

I'm liking that we have the 11 a.m. game again tomorrow since today's game went so well. Maybe this team is a group of morning people. The players usually prefer to play early so they don't have to endure the excruciating loooooong wait to play the evening games. I know *I'm* glad I won't have to wait all day.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I'm liking that we have the 11 a.m. game again tomorrow since today's game went so well. Maybe this team is a group of morning people. The players usually prefer to play early so they don't have to endure the excruciating loooooong wait to play the evening games. I know *I'm* glad I won't have to wait all day.

Weren’t they doubling up on fridays with an early morning workout last fall?