Game Thread: (4/5) Lady Vols 61 - Auburn 71

[AntiochVol81]

The 4 subs turned the momentum in the first quarter. We were playing uphill the rest of the game. Listening on radio different than watching on tv. I could momentum turn after that.

I just didn’t get why she did that and we have to get a strong post in the portal by all means pay them somehow lol

 

[KrazyVolFan]

Burrell really struggled tonight with her mobility and angles of attack.

Rae has been struggling, tonight just makes me officially concerned.

 

[Ladyvol777]

Upset Thursday in the SEC. This just breaks my heart. Tennessee just runs into a buzz saw. As always go Lady Vol's.

 

[therealitytheory]

We took it to the paint early and built a 17-7 lead. Then we proceeded to play selfish 1-on-1 dribble-drive bball.
My last rant about this tonight- but we're wasting Key. She'll be racking up 20+ ppg in the WNBA and we'll be lamenting what coulda been...

 

[chuckiepoo]

And Sarah Puckett!

Whew…

 

[JohnWardForever]

After cruising along so well. SC will kick butt. It's all been a Mirage.

 

[Dak1219]

Im, thinking this is a bump in the road. We run into Auburn in the SEC tournament, we win by 30!

 

[UT Challenger]

Im, thinking this is a bump in the road. We run into Auburn in the SEC tournament, we win by 30!

They probably won't make the tournament .get beat on the playin game

 

[ttharp]

And SC lost a game they absolutely shouldn’t have at Mizzou. It happens. I hate losing to Auburn, but it’s hardly the end of the world. Maybe it’s what they needed to regain focus instead of taking opponents lightly.

Not the same, IMO. Mizzou and SC are conference rivals. Mizzou’s arena is one of the toughest places to play (in the SEC) and when SC goes there, you can’t really pay attention to the rankings/record. I also believe Mizzou is projected to be an NCAA team. Auburn is not even close.

 

[JCP201]

I think all'em were in a funk & not ready to play on the road no matter who it was against.

I think they all (Kellie too) assumed that this would be an easy win-- starting (as many said) with the four subs at the beginning of the game when we got ahead.

 

[Volstylexx]

Arkansas (our next opponent) just dismantled LSU 90-76

 

[stlvolsfan]

Burrell really struggled tonight with her mobility and angles of attack.

Rae looked like sophomore year Rae today

 

[I4Vols]

Im, thinking this is a bump in the road. We run into Auburn in the SEC tournament, we win by 30!

If that was a bump, what is it called when we run into Boston in Columbia?

 

[Bigkat]

Ass whipping!!!

If that was a bump, what is it called when we run into Boston in Columbia?

 

[Luna2012]

If that was a bump, what is it called when we run into Boston in Columbia?

A head on collision.

 

[SGMVols]

Arkansas (our next opponent) just dismantled LSU 90-76

They could’ve easily won the first game in Fayetteville. If we don’t wake up in a hurry, we’ll be in trouble again.

 

[Darth_Vol]

I’m calling it Lady Vols 80 Auburn 56.

Pretty sad sap prediction. You must watch a lot of basketball...

 

[volmanNC]

Oh my !!!

 

[volmanNC]

NP
UT 82
AUB 55

NP? I will give you Tenn and 9 points..

 

[RAVOL]

It will definitely be attention getter to both players and coaches. Must get back to work and finally understand when we have player movement and pass the ball you score. When you dribble to much defense can turn you over. It's all good. In CHRIST Alone

 

[Voluble2]

Im, thinking this is a bump in the road. We run into Auburn in the SEC tournament, we win by 30!

Depends on how Auburn shoots, and whether Key can stay in the game.

We don't look like a good tournament team to me because we rely too much on Key, and our offense reverts to throw it to Jordy and ride her when the chips are down. We will run into good teams in the tournament who will exploit those areas along with our turnovers and inability to keep a body on a 3 pt shooter. Auburn had as many open looks as they could want tonight kicking the ball back out once we collapse for the rebound. It is the weakness of our style. At one point Jordy was singlehandedly guarding two of their guards at the 3 pt stripe and having to run between them because no one else could close or was in the correct position. We will run into a tourney team which shoots well from the outside and can exploit that weakness.

Rae is obviously not back. She has never had a good handle, but she seems very stiff in the legs to me and it exacerbates that problem. She has always had that newborn foal type of look with her legs splaying out, but she is clearly not all the way back and her chemistry with the team is not there yet. Fast guards who play good defense exploit her and she doesn't adjust her game to match the opponent and her current condition. Has to be frustrating for her, but she needs to let the game come to her.

We have a lot of strengths, but what tonight shows is that we are capable of really stinking up the joint like we did under Holly and those days are not completely behind us.

The big challenge for the team now is whether they let this loss get in their heads or whether they make it an anomaly. I figured we would drop one down the stretch in the SEC and SC would be for the championship. But now I just don't see us winning out given the nature of this loss. We will see just how resilient the team really is now.

 

[Amb3096]

Not a good game, but not the end of the world. However, this probably made their shot at a #1 a longshot. Arkansas, UConn and Florida will all be tough matchups leading up to the SC and LSU games. They need to put this behind them and just hit the reset button.

Back up post play was exposed tonight. Somehow, Jenna Staiti couldn't do it, but the smaller Auburn frontline took advantage of it. Even when Tamari was in the game, she wasn't quite her same dominant self on defense. Auburn had a lot more points in the paint while she was hovering around than I would have expected. That, along with the million turnovers, pretty much sums up the result.

 

[turbovol]

We took it to the paint early and built a 17-7 lead. Then we proceeded to play selfish 1-on-1 dribble-drive bball.
My last rant about this tonight- but we're wasting Key. She'll be racking up 20+ ppg in the WNBA and we'll be lamenting what coulda been...

I very much doubt your last statement--but it's true that Key was wasted tonight. 5 points in the first few minutes and ends with 7, with only 4 shots for the game?

 

[Chippo]

She will be great her junior and senior year. Pure scorer but I don't love her down low at this point with boxing out. Saunders needs to be a reliable defensive player next year.

She needs to be a reliable defensive player
this year.

 

[Voluble2]

She needs to be a reliable defensive player
this year.

She is just too slow. The reason the rebounds kept bouncing off her was that she wasn't quick enough to get her hands on them well enough to catch them. It looked like she was rebounding with her fists. Tough game for her. She shouldn't be put in against players any quicker than Staiti. Let Puckett or Striplin handle the more athletic posts.