Game Thread: Kentucky at Lady Vols: Sun Jan 7, 12 p.m.; SEC Network,,,,Win 87-69

[mudcat1973]

Glad we won because it was a must win game. Not very happy about the way were not playing forty minutes. I hope the coaches aren't either. Kellie got it done getting them to play at halftime, but she has to address the poor play in the first half of the game. We were standing and not guarding anyone. They won the offensive boards 14 to 9 that is pathetic. Just when my confidence that this team could make a move they come out like they did today. Rickea and Powell 12 of our 16 turnovers. Rickea was scoring, but she made some bad decisions with her passes. The players I saw giving the best effort were Jewell,. Tess, and Tamari on defense.

Powell needs stop with the high passes.
The Vols don't have any gaints in the paint.
Nor can they afford a injury jumping for a Pass that over a player head.
Or running in the crowd to save the ball.

Overall happy with Powell play just worry about players getting hurt.

 

[creekdipper]

I always feel for players experiencing slumps. Hope that Jewel is regaining her early-season form (obviously, playing with Jackson helps).

As for Jill, she can be dominant inside when she gets that take-no-prisoners aggression she showed last year. And Sara needs to find that sweet spot between being too loose and pressing too hard...playing with urgency while still being relaxed and not rushing.

The whole team needs to come to passes better and recognize when teammates are being trapped or doubled.. Too often, they're too far away and their teammates hold the ball too long or dribble into the trap. Teams such as Ole Miss will be all over them, so it's imperative to react quickly and to know where teammates will be. Punish the over-aggressive defenses and force them to back off. But by all means, keep the ball and yourself moving.

 

[Volfan2012]

Some good advice for the team is start the game like your 15 points behind cause keep digging these 17 point holes not going to recover. Only teams like Auburn and Kentucky are recoverable. Florida is a better team that either one of them so we need to start that game like were 15 behind and have a sense of urgency for 40 minutes.

 

[glv98]

Sara has been starting well, she got a few easy buckets today but she seems to get nervous and tight when the game is stressful. She seems to be one of the players that gets tunnel vision under duress and makes some inexplicable decisions. Work to be done there....

So true and so heartbreaking watching replay and seeing her face when she came out. Sara cannot not show it. I suspect Strip felt similarly but you wouldn't see it on her face. Cora, the world's best wbb beat reporter, noticed and asked KJH about it post game. KJH gave the expected answer, they have full confidence in Sara and she'll be ok. I sure hope so, Sara can contribute alot.

 

[movinonup]

Had a long winded preacher today. When Church was over the Lady Vol’s were way down. For me it’s God, Family, Country then Lady Vol’s. Nice comeback today. Happy for a nice win today. As always go Lady Vol’s.

Add in DVR and you are good with God, Family, Country, Lady Vols ! Went to church, got home and changed clothes and made sandwich and started watching from the beginning. Stay off social media and all important people know not to text me - if something urgent you better call because I do not look at phone until I am caught up to live action !

 

[chuckiepoo]

Just a note that shouldn’t be overlooked. Official Attendance: 8,823!

 

[WinnerCircle]

In the end, the LVs won by 18 (a dominating score). We had a blow out game against a less than great opponent.

How did we fall behind? KY may not be a good team but they have some good players, Petty and Scheer, and they are a fast, athletic team and that does create some match-up problems for the LVs

KY came out and maximized those assets; they got Tennessee sped up and they made 3pt shots in 2nd quarter at a way, way, way above their average %.

But, the LVs melted that lead quickly once they started boxing out with more force and cutting down on TOs.

Nice breakdown. IMO though, Tennessee is faster and more athletic than perceived based on who is on the floor together.
Spear beat the fast and athletic players you mentioned off the dribble for Kentucky almost at will.

And moved her feet defensively to force multiple steals and charges one on one vs their guards.

Jasmine Powell did a good job beating the press, and on defense there were plays when she pressured their guards and caused them into turnovers.
That doesn’t happen without speed and athleticism.

Spear, Powell, and Wynn on the court together with Rickea or Hollingshead, and TK in the paint is not lacking skill, speed, physicality, or athleticism against any SEC team.

Karo, Tess, and Puckett have/will all contribute but when they play together it comes to down to matchups.
Also, as Karo and Tess has shown early in SEC play they can score the basketball. Defensively is where they have to play a step or two quicker which Tess did well against KY.
Sara had her moments against Auburn during the 2nd half so it’s just about being consistent.

TK is all of 6’6 or taller which means it’s not about a foot race with her and doesn’t need to be there aren’t many mobile Cs in WBB but she’s able to move and has exceptional coordination for a player with her size.

My Top 5 in the SEC based on who they have played and their court performance:

1. SC 2. LSU tie Tennessee 4. Ole Miss 5. Arkansas
Next in line: Texas A&M, Georgia, Kentucky.

The best teams with the best talent are battling night in and night out. The way Tennessee has dominated the 2nd half of two SEC games has sent shockwaves through the conference. Despite the turnovers and unbalanced play, they scored more points yesterday than any SEC team.

This is why the SEC fan club and the one sportswriter that constantly discredits TN are pretty much quiet now or trying to come over to the LV side.
Amazing how all these fans from other teams talk on this VN forum but on Twitter when TN is in the spotlight winning and has the SEC pages plus other Twitter handles posting their performances and highlighting our elite players they don’t say a word lol.

As for Thursday game, Florida won’t show Tennessee anything they haven’t seen against the two SEC teams we have faced that are better than the Gators. Hopefully the crowd is as LOUD and ENERGETIC as they were in the KY game. I haven’t seen many college women games with a louder crowd this season!

It was real litty inside the Food City Center on Rocky Top!!!

 

[Volfan2012]

I think it would probably serve us well if they play Striplin and Puckett at the four going forward and only one of them starting. Jill needs to help at the five even though we know she doesn't like the position she can give us 15 to 20 and Tamari is ready to take on the rest of those minutes. Rickea can be our three with Tess playing a little there and also the two with Jewell. That could be your two three rotation. Powell and Wynn have been doing an excellent job at the point playing much better than I thought they would as a duo. These nine players are getting better and better working as a group. The slow starts are partially being caused by who is starting. The change needs to be taking either Puckett or Striplin out of a starting position. Neither can handle a big that is athletic and we have Jill and Tamari that do a better job of handling these players. I don't know if anyone noticed, but Jill was doing a great job defending Petty as well.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Nice breakdown. IMO though, Tennessee is faster and more athletic than perceived based on who is on the floor together.
Spear beat the fast and athletic players you mentioned off the dribble for Kentucky almost at will.

And moved her feet defensively to force multiple steals and charges one on one vs their guards.

Jasmine Powell did a good job beating the press, and on defense there were plays when she pressured their guards and caused them into turnovers.
That doesn’t happen without speed and athleticism.

Spear, Powell, and Wynn on the court together with Rickea or Hollingshead, and TK in the paint is not lacking skill, speed, physicality, or athleticism against any SEC team.

Karo, Tess, and Puckett have/will all contribute but when they play together it comes to down to matchups.
Also, as Karo and Tess has shown early in SEC play they can score the basketball. Defensively is where they have to play a step or two quicker which Tess did well against KY.
Sara had her moments against Auburn during the 2nd half so it’s just about being consistent.

TK is all of 6’6 or taller which means it’s not about a foot race with her and doesn’t need to be there aren’t many mobile Cs in WBB but she’s able to move and has exceptional coordination for a player with her size.

My Top 5 in the SEC based on who they have played and their court performance:

1. SC 2. LSU tie Tennessee 4. Ole Miss 5. Arkansas
Next in line: Texas A&M, Georgia, Kentucky.

The best teams with the best talent are battling night in and night out. The way Tennessee has dominated the 2nd half of two SEC games has sent shockwaves through the conference. Despite the turnovers and unbalanced play, they scored more points yesterday than any SEC team.

This is why the SEC fan club and the one sportswriter that constantly discredits TN are pretty much quiet now or trying to come over to the LV side.
Amazing how all these fans from other teams talk on this VN forum but on Twitter when TN is in the spotlight winning and has the SEC pages plus other Twitter handles posting their performances and highlighting our elite players they don’t say a word lol.

As for Thursday game, Florida won’t show Tennessee anything they haven’t seen against the two SEC teams we have faced that are better than the Gators. Hopefully the crowd is as LOUD and ENERGETIC as they were in the KY game. I haven’t seen many college women games with a louder crowd this season!

It was real litty inside the Food City Center on Rocky Top!!!

…litty … really?… and you want the forum to take you serious.

 

[Volfan2012]

Kentucky still had the most possessions in the game 80 to 72 something I wish we could correct, but we just never win offensive rebounds and turnovers so it is up to us to shoot a higher percentage which we did in this game 53.3 percent to 38 percent. Minus 8 possessions is better than we usually do and we won the possessions in the second half losing badly in the first half. Just 4 of 17 from the three so over sixty from the two.

 

[VolBall09]

Why can't they have this effort for 4 quarters?

I think we need to go ahead and put the correct 5 on the floor.

Right now it looks like our best lineup on both ends is Powell, Spear, Darby, Jackson, Key.

Wynn, Puckett, Hollingshed and Striplin will make a really nice complement off the bench. They need to understand their roles a bit better though.

Wynn is getting it, she’s stepped up with the injury to Wells and is proving she can contribute consistently. Love her court vision and aggressiveness. Her shot looks so much better, she really put in some work and it’s paying off.

Striplin is excellent against a similar or undersized post, but she struggles against more athletic/bigger competition. The speed of the game has increased in SEC play and she is a little behind the pace at the moment. I actually think she should focus more on stretching the floor when she’s in the game, start by testing a couple long balls. She is 40% from deep and that opens up the paint immediately if she starts hitting threes from the 5.

Hollingshed needs to be a beast on the boards and keep up the defensive effort in the paint when she is in the game. As TK re-emerges it is so obvious how much we have missed her rim protecting. Hollingshed has the length and athleticism to alter more shots than she is. Offensively I’d like to see her take that 10’-12’ jumper more and post then RE-post. She tends to post once and if she doesn’t get the ball she stands around. She needs to keep working for position, this is beneficial to her offensively and wears out our opponent.

Puckett needs to get out of her own head. If ever there was a case for a sports psychologist she is it, I do hope she’s working with someone. She defeats herself the moment she makes a mistake. Really needs to relax, let the game come to her and stop forcing things. Staff need to put her in better position for success on defense. Her teammates are going to have to stay with their player sometimes when she is in the game. We tend to switch a lot in our man and teams take advantage of Puckett and Darby switching onto small, quick guards. Puckett should play more when TK is in and we go to that zone.

 

[WinnerCircle]

…litty … really?… and you want the forum to take you serious.

The fact that’s all you took from the post is exactly why you and the minority on this board are pretty much irrelevant.

Not a day since I saw your first post have I taken you serious.

The people in the stands and watching on tv understand exactly what I meant and the description fit.

Tennessee is back.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

I think we need to go ahead and put the correct 5 on the floor.

Right now it looks like our best lineup on both ends is Powell, Spear, Darby, Puckett, Key.

Wynn, Puckett, Hollingshed and Striplin will make a really nice complement off the bench. They need to understand their roles a bit better though.

Wynn is getting it, she’s stepped up with the injury to Wells and is proving she can contribute consistently. Love her court vision and aggressiveness. Her shot looks so much better, she really put in some work and it’s paying off.

Striplin is excellent against a similar or undersized post, but she struggles against more athletic/bigger competition. The speed of the game has increased in SEC play and she is a little behind the pace at the moment. I actually think she should focus more on stretching the floor when she’s in the game, start by testing a couple long balls. She is 40% from deep and that opens up the paint immediately if she starts hitting threes from the 5.

Hollingshed needs to be a beast on the boards and keep up the defensive effort in the paint when she is in the game. As TK re-emerges it is so obvious how much we have missed her rim protecting. Hollingshed has the length and athleticism to alter more shots than she is. Offensively I’d like to see her take that 10’-12’ jumper more and post then RE-post. She tends to post once and if she doesn’t get the ball she stands around. She needs to keep working for position, this is beneficial to her offensively and wears out our opponent.

Puckett needs to get out of her own head. If ever there was a case for a sports psychologist she is it, I do hope she’s working with someone. She defeats herself the moment she makes a mistake. Really needs to relax, let the game come to her and stop forcing things. Staff need to put her in better position for success on defense. Her teammates are going to have to stay with their player sometimes when she is in the game. We tend to switch a lot in our man and teams take advantage of Puckett and Darby switching onto small, quick guards. Puckett should play more when TK is in and we go to that zone.

Guessing you didn’t mean to leave Rickea out of the starting 5.

 

[Volfan2012]

Just looking at those combos in production yesterday. Striplin and Puckett went for 12 points and 6 rebounds as a duo in 28 minutes. Jill and Tamari went for 4 points and 10 rebounds on just five shot attempts in 34 minutes. The big number here is seven blocks and that doesn't count at all the shot altering effect. The trio of Jackson, Spear, and Darby went for 57 points and 15 rebounds in 89 minutes. Another key here is Tess three steals. Powell and Wynn 15 points and 9 assists in 48 minutes. This would be more than acceptable every game. If you can't win scoring in the 80's just not playing very good defense.

Turnovers Jackson and Powell had 7 and 5 for a total of 12. Rest of the team 4 turnovers.

 

[VolBall09]

Guessing you didn’t mean to leave Rickea out of the starting 5.

Typo I fixed

 

[Volfan2012]

The best lineup will change with every game, but yesterday the best lineup was Tamari, Rickea, Jewell, Jasmine, and Tess. Have to give a little credit to Coach Kellie in that she has been good at figuring out who we need on the floor against any particular opponents five on the floor.

 

[37620VOL]

I agree with 2012. The Big 3 are Jackson, Powell, and Spear. You feed them all the minutes you can. You have to play the matchups with the rest of them

Against athletic bigs Key and JH have to get the most minutes, but against craftier less athletic bigs, you can give SP and KS more minutes. When Tess is in the game, I would switch to zone defense, she has really good anticipation in zone defense. In zone, I would consider her an above-average defender, but her man-to-man is below average. There's a lot of levers you can pull in supporting the Big 3. I'm even starting to come around on Wynn, she just really, really needs to accept her limitations on offense and not try to do too much. Just run the offense, no turnovers, and help on the boards.

 

[madtownvol]

The fact that’s all you took from the post is exactly why you and the minority on this board are pretty much irrelevant.

Not a day since I saw your first post have I taken you serious.

The people in the stands and watching on tv understand exactly what I meant and the description fit.

Tennessee is back.

Why so bombastic? I really don't get this attitude..

 

[Majors]

The fact that’s all you took from the post is exactly why you and the minority on this board are pretty much irrelevant.

Not a day since I saw your first post have I taken you serious.

The people in the stands and watching on tv understand exactly what I meant and the description fit.

Tennessee is back.

I’m sorry, back to what? 3rd in the SEC? And you owe chuckiepoo an apology. He is probably 80% of your likes, not because he agrees but half credit for your time.

 

[Majors]

Why so bombastic? I really don't get this attitude..

co-sign

 

[madtownvol]

Guessing you didn’t mean to leave Rickea out of the starting 5.

Tough crowd- 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 TO and boom you're no longer a starter!!

That obvious mistake aside, Key is not up for starting right now because her minutes are still being managed. She seems like a a player to save for clutch defensive time!

Again, it does not matter all that much who starts, though finding a line-up that can get off to a quicker start would be nice.

But, Kellie's core 8 get the lion's share of minutes with variance based on game by game matchups and how the game is going. Jewel did not see many minutes against Auburn and she was a linchpin against KY.

Who gets the first five or six minutes of game is not that consequential.

 

[brittannica]

Tough crowd- 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 TO and boom you're no longer a starter!!

That obvious mistake aside, Key is not up for starting right now because her minutes are still being managed. She seems like a a player to save for clutch defensive time!

Again, it does not matter all that much who starts, though finding a line-up that can get off to a quicker start would be nice.

But, Kellie's core 8 get the lion's share of minutes with variance based on game by game matchups and how the game is going. Jewel did not see many minutes against Auburn and she was a linchpin against KY.

Who gets the first five or six minutes of game is not that consequential.

That’s been my assumption as well RE: Key. If she can only play 20-25 high quality minutes, we probably would rather have those in the third and fourth quarter. She’s improving exponentially, but I do really respect Kellie’s patience with Key’s return and recovery.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Kentucky still had the most possessions in the game 80 to 72 something I wish we could correct, but we just never win offensive rebounds and turnovers so it is up to us to shoot a higher percentage which we did in this game 53.3 percent to 38 percent. Minus 8 possessions is better than we usually do and we won the possessions in the second half losing badly in the first half. Just 4 of 17 from the three so over sixty from the two.

Possessions, like O-Boards is a misleading stat

If I have 80 possessions and 20 offensive rebounds,,,it simply means I missed 20 shots on offense,
so 20 of the 80 of my possessions are the same possession with a missed shot

we had 72 possessions with 9 OR,,,72-9=63
they had 80 possessions with 16 OR,,,80-16=64

 

[Volfan2012]

Possessions, like O-Boards is a misleading stat

If I have 80 possessions and 20 offensive rebounds,,,it simply means I missed 20 shots on offense,
so 20 of the 80 of my possessions are the same possession with a missed shot

Ergo 70 possessions with 10 O-boards is a better stat

Yes but if you have 10 more possessions and shoot the same percentage from the field you win the game. You have to shoot a higher percentage with less possessions. 80 possessions shooting 50 percent is 40 makes for 80 points 70 possessions with 35 makes is 70 points. If I have 70 possessions I have to shoot close to 60 percent to win.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Yes but if you have 10 more possessions and shoot the same percentage from the field you win the game. You have to shoot a higher percentage with less possessions.

obviously we did