Game Thread: 2023 Women's NCAA Tournament...Round of 16: Lady Vols v Va. Tech...Sat @ 6:30 ESPN2

#2,151
#2,151
Woodlawn VOL said:
We should have pressed and trapped some early on to get Virginia Tech out of rythmn. We waited to get down by 18 before trying something besides a standard half court D. Had we trapped earlier at least some, I think we would have scored more than 9 in the second quarter. Harper needs to learn how to adjust faster. We have made some improvement but we need some help at all positions. We need more ball handlers and good passers and good shooters. We have to improve our overall fundamentals.
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Yes and to get us IN rhythm. It was clear after the first minute we were in shock. Have to change the game plan and wake them back up.
 
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#2,152
#2,152
I'm not understanding why it took so long to figure it out , Kellie? The third quarter is wayyyy toooo late.
Anyway , you just gave Ohio State the key to beating VT and they're really good at the press. Remember how their press turned you over?
 
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#2,153
#2,153
That was a tale of two halves. If we play the first half like the second half i believe we win the game.

Some observations:

*Our team seem shell shocked at the beginning
*They didn't give up
* i know this may be an unpopular opinion but i think Kellie put them in a position to win but she HAS TO SEE we have some deficiencies and we need to address them.
* We need leaders that can take us to the finish. Those leaders could be on the team now that Rickea has experienced that sorta stage and the others for more experience
*We miss TK and we NEED her to come back in great shape and take a step forward from her junior year.
* we need to upgrade the roster with 2-3 spots. A consistent PG, another shooter/scorer, and a post. Love the girls on the roster but we need to be better at positions when we get stuck in ruts.

I am still supporting the team and we could have a pretty decent core coming back and upgrade some spots and we could be pretty good. Oh schedule 1 or 2 cupcakes early so we can get a better flow.

I know none of us can be hurting as much as the girls and Kellie and Co.

As always Go LVs and let's get better in the gym , in the portal, and have a great 24' class!
 
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#2,157
#2,157
Majors said:
Believe in majority if not all of our losses she’s had 6 or less points.
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That was our x factor all season long. If Darby had 10+ there was almost no chance it was a loss. She got some looks tonight. She was just flustered and in way too big of a hurry.

Actually pretty uncharacteristic for her. She’s usually a low turnover, high IQ player.
 
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#2,158
#2,158
The one upside, for me personally, is I will no longer be so tied down and consumed by basketball that I can't get anything else done in my life. I'm free to resume my life. I can go outside! I can make non-basketball-related plans! I can think about something besides Lady Vols basketball!

😂🤣😂🤣
 
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#2,159
#2,159
travis929 said:
Yeah, getting aggressively physical with Jackson has been the game plan of UConn, LSU, and now Virginia Tech. They all made it really difficult for her and got away with some nasty fouls IMO. It'll be interesting to see what Jackson works on in the off-season but I imagine bulking up some could help her out in these kinds of situations.
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Jackson needs a shooting guard who can create and get to Rim that would help her tremendously.
 
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#2,163
#2,163
brieeallen said:
Actually we did yes they may have lost but they proved if the actually started the games as they should’ve they would’ve won those games as well as still be playing.
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Last I checked, the way you start games actually counts as part of the game. Woulda, coulda, shoulda....Didn't.

Harper waited way too long to try and jumpstart the team, which looked positively awful in the first two and half quartrers, which lost us the game.
 
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#2,165
#2,165
VolBall09 said:
That was our x factor all season long. If Darby had 10+ there was almost no chance it was a loss. She got some looks tonight. She was just flustered and in way too big of a hurry.

Actually pretty uncharacteristic for her. She’s usually a low turnover, high IQ player.
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She’s an off the bench player with what she gives in production. If she gets you 6, it’s ok because she’s bench. Tonight she got us two points again in a big game.
 
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#2,166
#2,166
VA_VOLFAN said:
That was a tale of two halves. If we play the first half like the second half i believe we win the game.

Some observations:

*Our team seem shell shocked at the beginning
*They didn't give up
* i know this may be an unpopular opinion but i think Kellie put them in a position to win but she HAS TO SEE we have some deficiencies and we need to address them.
* We need leaders that can take us to the finish. Those leaders could be on the team now that Rickea has experienced that sorta stage and the others for more experience
*We miss TK and we NEED her to come back in great shape and take a step forward from her junior year.
* we need to upgrade the roster with 2-3 spots. A consistent PG, another shooter/scorer, and a post. Love the girls on the roster but we need to be better at positions when we get stuck in ruts.

I am still supporting the team and we could have a pretty decent core coming back and upgrade some spots and we could be pretty good. Oh schedule 1 or 2 cupcakes early so we can get a better flow.

I know none of us can be hurting as much as the girls and Kellie and Co.

As always Go LVs and let's get better in the gym , in the portal, and have a great 24' class!
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Agreed on all of this. The team seemed SO nervous and tight from the beginning. That's clear by our three best 3-point shooters going 0-9.

I think the program is still headed in the right direction. Back-to-back sweet 16's, and now you bring back a ton of players who got experience this year, and hope that the moment isn't too big for them next year.

I've said here it several times: the schedule was brutal and at first glance, with the losses and lack of ranked wins, this looks like a step back, but by most metrics this was the best Lady Vols team in almost a decade. And that's with one of the best defensive players in the history of the Lady Vols sitting on the bench with blood clots. I can't wait to have Key back next year, and see how our roster takes shape.

I'll miss Jordan Walker. You could always count on her to play harder than just about anyone on the court, and she improved each year. I'll miss Jasmine Franklin and wish we'd had her longer than just a year (and before her injury). Whatever Horston decides, I'm grateful she's been a Lady Vol. There's no doubt she's put everything she has into this program.
 
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#2,167
#2,167
RAVOL said:
Jackson needs a shooting guard who can create and get to Rim that would help her tremendously.
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Having other good players would be nice but would also require Harper to install a good TEAM offensive style as opposed to the "stand-around and hope our best player or two can do something style" that UT has been playing for 20 years.
 
#2,168
#2,168
VA_VOLFAN said:
That was a tale of two halves. If we play the first half like the second half i believe we win the game.

Some observations:

*Our team seem shell shocked at the beginning
*They didn't give up
* i know this may be an unpopular opinion but i think Kellie put them in a position to win but she HAS TO SEE we have some deficiencies and we need to address them.
* We need leaders that can take us to the finish. Those leaders could be on the team now that Rickea has experienced that sorta stage and the others for more experience
*We miss TK and we NEED her to come back in great shape and take a step forward from her junior year.
* we need to upgrade the roster with 2-3 spots. A consistent PG, another shooter/scorer, and a post. Love the girls on the roster but we need to be better at positions when we get stuck in ruts.

I am still supporting the team and we could have a pretty decent core coming back and upgrade some spots and we could be pretty good. Oh schedule 1 or 2 cupcakes early so we can get a better flow.

I know none of us can be hurting as much as the girls and Kellie and Co.

As always Go LVs and let's get better in the gym , in the portal, and have a great 24' class!
Click to expand...

Oh yea one last thing get the NIL deals up and get in the portal. If there is a difference maker get them here! This is one of the best stages and the team who revitalizes this base with huge wins will be up there with the greats! That HAS TO BE tempting to some players.
 
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#2,172
#2,172
turbovol said:
Last I checked, the way you start games actually counts as part of the game. Woulda, coulda, shoulda....Didn't.

Harper waited way too long to try and jumpstart the team, which looked positively awful in the first two and half quartrers, which lost us the game.
Click to expand...
I said we proved countless times this year that if we would’ve started these games and or finished what we started we would’ve won them. We just inconsistent and it really showed tonight.
 
#2,173
#2,173
travis929 said:
Tess, Karoline, and Sara - our 3 best 3-point shooters by percentage - went a combined 0-9. Really tough to overcome that.
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Yeah, Tess just looked like the stage was too big for her. She needed to take a deep breath and exhale. She wasn’t getting squared up like usual and was rushing shots that she didn’t need to. That was at the first part of game & if she hits at least 1 it would have made a big difference moving forward.
 
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#2,174
#2,174
VolBall09 said:
Jillian did a much better job. Sometimes it’s just the matchup and you’ve got to go with what makes sense. Her inflexibility on some of the lineup stuff this season is inexplicable. I think she spends entirely too much time worrying about. Play the best players you have as many minutes as you can.
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Yeah, the AD needs to put a stop to that rotation crap. Kellie has a set number of minutes and times when certain players go in and out no matter how the game is going. This is especially true in the first half of games.

We had options tonight. Hollingshead matched up well and could have had more minutes. Or we could have gone with the pressing lineup and played more small ball. Instead we wasted a lot of minutes on players who were never going to be able to contribute in a game like this. Puckett has been a huge minus all year so why is she getting so many minutes in a game to make the Elite Eight? Her stat line is almost always empty. And if I see her jump out of the way to give an opposing player a clear line to the basket one more time I swear...
 
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#2,175
#2,175
DarkPhoenix said:
The lack of winning,
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I could see that but there is so much talent out there. I just wonder if it’s the style of play or recruits don’t see players being developed. Again, I don’t follow women’s basketball recruiting. Thanks!
 
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