Credit Where It Is Due

[mlindsay]

I am normally hard on Holly and how she coaches, I give her huge props in the way the team looked prepared and came to play. It was a few questionable decisions down the stretch that I didn't agree with but she pulled it out so I have to give her her props! Great Job Coach Warlick!

 

[Volfan2012]

Team is definitely better than they were in November and that should be the plan. We shouldn't lose to Penn State ever but it may turn out to be a good loss if everyone is now focused on playing as a team and following the game plan.

 

[hokievol12]

I am normally hard on Holly and how she coaches, I give her huge props in the way the team looked prepared and came to play. It was a few questionable decisions down the stretch that I didn't agree with but she pulled it out so I have to give her her props! Great Job Coach Warlick!

Not ready to call it a "great job" but improvement is a fair description. The two worst free throw percentage guards were on the floor in obvious fouling situations late, dribble penetration defense still very poor...but good game plan on Epps, good minutes by Nunn, Diamond, Nared, Mercedes playing hard, more contested shots being taken by Kentucky. Still too many turnovers for my liking, but EFFORT is definitely more consistent!

 

[movinonup]

Holly owns Matthew !

 

[teacherdean]

The Ladies have improved volumes since the Baylor blowout. We have to give Holly credit for the improvement we are seeing. We still need to follow our shots and aggressively hit the boards on both ends. I am glad to see the ladies show some pride. It would have been easy for the ladies to roll over in the fetal position and give up after the Baylor debacle but they didn't, they have just gotten better.

 

[CannonVol80]

Since the Lady Vols only had 9 turnovers against a KY team known for forcing turnovers, I am left wondering what you would consider an acceptable number?

Jim

 

[CannonVol80]

Holly addressed the issue of having a relatively poor free throw shooting guard in during the final seconds, at least in regard to Jackson, during her post game show. She said the staff felt her defensive presence was worth the trade off.

Jim

 

[Benionsopinion]

Since the Lady Vols only had 9 turnovers against a KY team known for forcing turnovers, I am left wondering what you would consider an acceptable number?

Jim

I'm with you,Jim. Playing against Kentucky's karate defense,the Ladies did well. A good team effort,with Reynolds and Middleton not at their best. Defense was outstanding,especially Jackson. Improvement is evident!

 

[charlie_1]

I agree, this was a great team win...and clearly showed they are worthy of being in the top 25!

 

[alexvol]

I am normally hard on Holly and how she coaches, I give her huge props in the way the team looked prepared and came to play. It was a few questionable decisions down the stretch that I didn't agree with but she pulled it out so I have to give her her props! Great Job Coach Warlick!

Agree .She switched defenses and kept Kentucky off guard for a lot of the game and almost completely shut down their star player.I wish that they would have kept up the 3/4 court zone press that they used in 1st qtr but guess Holly was afraid that they would use too much energy with their short bench.

Team played with some poise today ,actually ran some plays,and the three ball was going in ....in the 2nd half.

 

[alexvol]

The Ladies have improved volumes since the Baylor blowout. We have to give Holly credit for the improvement we are seeing. We still need to follow our shots and aggressively hit the boards on both ends. I am glad to see the ladies show some pride. It would have been easy for the ladies to roll over in the fetal position and give up after the Baylor debacle but they didn't, they have just gotten better.

Agree on crashing the boards especially on offensive end .In their defense on the offensive end there were some awful shots taken where there was no one in position to rebound.....that by and large is my definition of a bad shot ..... a quick shot not in flow of game and no one in position to rebound.....every player on the squad was guilty of at least one horrible shot today.

 

[alexvol]

I'm with you,Jim. Playing against Kentucky's karate defense,the Ladies did well. A good team effort,with Reynolds and Middleton not at their best. Defense was outstanding,especially Jackson. Improvement is evident!

KY did not use their famous full court ,physical,hacking defense today ....probably because of their short bench.Their bench is shorter than the Lady Vols.

 

[LVJeff]

Holly addressed the issue of having a relatively poor free throw shooting guard in during the final seconds, at least in regard to Jackson, during her post game show. She said the staff felt her defensive presence was worth the trade off.

Jim

Agreed. Plus, Middleton had already had her pocket picked badly by Murray and the inbound passes were going successfully to Nared anyway. It's up to Reynolds and Jackson to improve their FT% so it won't be an issue.

 

[LVJeff]

Low turnovers, high FG%, and out rebounding the opponent is a winning formula. Keep it up LV's.

 

[alexvol]

Agreed. Plus, Middleton had already had her pocket picked badly by Murray and the inbound passes were going successfully to Nared anyway. It's up to Reynolds and Jackson to improve their FT% so it won't be an issue.

Speaking of Middleton today ,she had a subpar game shooting the ball and that in turn seemed to affect other areas of her play on defense and ball handling.

 

[LVJeff]

Speaking of Middleton today ,she had a subpar game shooting the ball and that in turn seemed to affect other areas of her play on defense and ball handling.

Yes, she hasn't yet had a really good game against a quality opponent. Stanford maybe, but the LV's need Middleton to show up in these games, not just the UNCW's of the world.

 

[alexvol]

Yes, she hasn't yet had a really good game against a quality opponent. Stanford maybe, but the LV's need Middleton to show up in these games, not just the UNCW's of the world.

That seems to be her signature since her freshmen year, playing lights out against lesser competition but seems to tighten up against good teams especially if she misses her first few shots.They are going to need her to step up for rest of year if any hopes of going anywhere come tourney time.

 

[LVJeff]

The team played overall good defense. I was surprised they chose to go man all the way. I can't remember a zone sequence in the half-court by the LV's all game. They did a good job of keeping the ball out of Epp's hands but Murray caused some damage getting into the paint. Akhator picking up those two early fouls was big.

Speaking of defense, watch Diamond on defense. She consistently fought through screens and tried to go over them. Reynolds, Jackson, and Middleton on the other hand always, always went under the screen. And when they did their player got off either a clean pass or a clean shot. (Most of the time those shots didn't fall for KY). They player Diamond guarded didn't have it as easy.

I still wonder what Holly's instructions are re getting around screens. Fight through them as Diamond did and the opponent has a tougher time IMO.

 

[LVJeff]

Nunn had her best game BTW.

And how about Russell - 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, perfect from the line, and 63% FG%. If only she would turn into a beast.

Reynolds played very well in the first quarter and then tailed off. She didn't score and although it didn't hurt the team today, she didn't even look to score. I've said often enough this team will go as far as the guard play will take them. Today was good. Make it better.

 

[alexvol]

The team played overall good defense. I was surprised they chose to go man all the way. I can't remember a zone sequence in the half-court by the LV's all game. They did a good job of keeping the ball out of Epp's hands but Murray caused some damage getting into the paint. Akhator picking up those two early fouls was big.

Speaking of defense, watch Diamond on defense. She consistently fought through screens and tried to go over them. Reynolds, Jackson, and Middleton on the other hand always, always went under the screen. And when they did their player got off either a clean pass or a clean shot. (Most of the time those shots didn't fall for KY). They player Diamond guarded didn't have it as easy.

I still wonder what Holly's instructions are re getting around screens. Fight through them as Diamond did and the opponent has a tougher time IMO.

When you go look at replay ,they played 3/4 zone press in 1st qtr and that really took KY out of their offense.Was surprised when it was taken off because of it's effectiveness.

 

[Amb3096]

Surprised that they were as effective as they were in shutting Epps down for the most part. They have been unable to control her for the past few games.

Seems Holly's strategy was to make Maci Morris beat them. She took 20+ shots, and connected on a woeful percentage. Excellent job of taking away their top offensive option.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Speaking of Middleton today ,she had a subpar game shooting the ball and that in turn seemed to affect other areas of her play on defense and ball handling.

Indeed she did.
But she she also played smart and didn't try to force the game to, come to her. Her defense was needed more than her offense this game.

True indeed, she needs to have a big game in a big game.

We can work on that.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Nunn had her best game BTW.

And how about Russell - 22 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, perfect from the line, and 63% FG%. If only she would turn into a beast.

Reynolds played very well in the first quarter and then tailed off. She didn't score and although it didn't hurt the team today, she didn't even look to score. I've said often enough this team will go as far as the guard play will take them. Today was good. Make it better.

Yes Nunn played very good minutes in the second and third.

 

[Orange Maniac]

This was a good win, not a great win because I don't see Kentucky as a very good team. The biggest problem I see with this team is rebounding. The only one that boxes out consistently is Nunn. The coaches need to put more emphasis on boxing out and rebounding because they just aren't doing it enough. We should be double digits better at rebounding than Kentucky with their big sitting most of the first half.

 

[sccshortstop]

Yes Nunn played very good minutes in the second and third.

Nunn still would be much better if she could clear the floor when she jumps. This would keep her from getting tied up and lose possession so much. She tries hard but I still am not convinced her leg is completely 100%.:crazy: