Game Thread : Lady Vols 80 v Miss State 69 - 6:30pm SECN+

[Volfan2012]

Big plusses for Miss St were that Powe averaging 10 scored 21 and Carter averaging 15 scored 21. Everyone else played their usual game for the most part. So your looking at 17 points we allowed that most everyone else has been stopping.

On our side three players scored 58 points on 24 of 53 shooting. The rest of the players scored 22 points on 9 of 23 shooting. 45 percent and 39 percent. So it was somewhat of a down night for the supporting cast, but the offensive rebounding was something awesome to see contributing 23 second chance points.

 

[xtpsrh08123]

I was there, the MS player was in her face and started it...RJ said something back...The thing I like is Rickea didn't let it affect the rest of her game and when she went to the bench, no bad looks from Coach K...MS was mouthing pretty much the whole game

The MS players were literally trying to start shhht with her all night , she gladly rose to the occasion but i knew when she would respond verbally people would run with it in a negative way. The MS players were even trying to start with Horston at the end of course it was ex lady vol Annie Hayes smh

 

[xtpsrh08123]

We have to start getting the ball into the post when our 5 has established good low-post position. Multiple times in the second half,
Hollingshead, Striplin and Franklin had great low-post position, and our wing with the ball would look at the 5, and not pass her the ball.
We have a bad habit of not getting the ball into the low post when good inside position has been established. When we did it, a couple of times
in the 4th quarter, good things happened.

I would not mind them dumping it a bit more in the post , overall i dont think our guards trust Striplins post play yet or ability to make the right pass out of the post . Shoot Hollingshead has a minimal post repertoire but outside of key we still have a lot of questions with our post players. Jas brings the effort 1000% but even she has some agility question marks. They all will be fine !

 

[volfan__18]

What rlly impressed me was the fact that Horston had 5 rebounds coming into the fourth quarter and finished with 14. 9 REBOUNDS in the fourth quarter alone. That flat out won us the game because 6 of them were offensive.

 

[VolBall09]

What rlly impressed me was the fact that Horston had 5 rebounds coming into the fourth quarter and finished with 14. 9 REBOUNDS in the fourth quarter alone. That flat out won us the game because 6 of them were offensive.

We had 17 offensive rebounds at the 7:00 minute mark of the 4th quarter. We finished the game with 25 I believe all 8 of those but one were snagged by Horston.

 

[Volfan2012]

What rlly impressed me was the fact that Horston had 5 rebounds coming into the fourth quarter and finished with 14. 9 REBOUNDS in the fourth quarter alone. That flat out won us the game because 6 of them were offensive.

She decided to get in there and play with the Miss St big girl and she was winning more than she was losing.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

i to see tess get to the free more .

She's begun to put the ball on the floor and drive past a too-close defender and pull up for the midrange jumper or take to the hole if the way is clear. A nice addition to her game and keeps defenders a little more honest.

 

[madtownvol]

It seems that Coach Harper has more or less found her core group for the tight games.

Only 9 players saw the floor (though Justine was just about to go in at the end of one quarter).

Of those 9, Striplin played 10 with most of the post minutes going to Hollingshead and Franklin. (MSU had a big post in Carter so that matchup was not great for Karo. Other games her minutes might be more).

I think she did a great job in managing the line-up.

 

[GameTime]

Secret hidden film of RJ letting the girls of MS know what she thinks of them...

 

[GameTime]

The Lady Vols bench everytime we scored....

 

[Jax_Vol]

It seems that Coach Harper has more or less found her core group for the tight games.

Only 9 players saw the floor (though Justine was just about to go in at the end of one quarter).

Of those 9, Striplin 10 with most of the post minutes going to Hollingshead and Franklin. (MSU had a big post in Carter so that matchup was not great for Karo. Other games her minutes might be more).

I think she did a great job in managing the line-up.

I concur. She seems to have sorted out a very difficult puzzle.

 

[NoBackBoard]

I do believe MSU will be receiving a bye at conference tournament. They are a top-4 SEC type team imo.

We shall see...

I know SC, LSU and hopefully the Lady Vols will be there. That leaves one spot. MSST already lost to Ole Miss and haven’t played Arkansas yet. I don’t see top 4 but we shall see.

 

[Fatoldman]

I concur. She seems to have sorted out a very difficult puzzle.

Yes this is the group to go with. Certain games a few minutes may go elsewhere. Tamari and Marta being out also has made it much easier to whittle down the rotation. It seems like unfortunate events often do this. Now hoping there are no more health issues, etc. It seems l

 

[djtee]

I know SC, LSU and hopefully the Lady Vols will be there. That leaves one spot. MSST already lost to Ole Miss and haven’t played Arkansas yet. I don’t see top 4 but we shall see.

I don`t see State getting the 4th spot, Left Ole Miss, TN, Mizzu, Ark, LSU, Looks like Mizzu has the best shot to end up in the 3 or 4 spot.

 

[madtownvol]

Yes this is the group to go with. Certain games a few minutes may go elsewhere. Tamari and Marta being out also has made it much easier to whittle down the rotation. It seems like unfortunate events often do this. Now hoping there are no more health issues, etc. It seems l

That is why teams need depth. Something is going to happen someone during a season. Puckett and Marta have similar games so as long as Sara stays healthy, the team can absorb that loss. TK's absence is more challenging. A lot rides on Jillian Hollingshead continuing to get better as the season rolls on.

 

[madtownvol]

#2 got subbed out too. Both RJ and #2 went out at 5:16 2Q.

I'm cool with taking RJ out for a minute after that. You have to assess where her head is at and make sure she knows that MSU is going to be going at her the rest of the game to try to get that second T. If the body language is good, you put her back in.

I'm a huge RJ fan but she's not completely innocent. From the time she first came in she was needling MSU players. Brush by bumping them in dead balls. Lining up for a FT she whipped her $700 hair in one of their faces. I love it, that edge. The refs couldn't T her up for those things because they *could be* accidental, but the confrontation with #2, even though it was entirely #2's fault, gave them an excuse.

I agree. A good coach needs to read her players and Kellie did. Let RJ have a moment to compose herself rather than getting caught up in an emotional situation (and potentially getting ejected) was 100% the right move.

As for the effing reffing, a better official would have stepped in and given both players a warning-- enough of that or else!--and de-escalated the situation. Unfortunately, we did not have good refs working the game.

 

[37620VOL]

I agree. A good coach needs to read her players and Kellie did. Let RJ have a moment to compose herself rather than getting caught up in an emotional situation (and potentially getting ejected) was 100% the right move.

As for the effing reffing, a better official would have stepped in and given both players a warning-- enough of that or else!--and de-escalated the situation. Unfortunately, we did not have good refs working the game.

Lol "effing reffing". I think warning both players and both coaches would have been sufficient. Nothing really flagrant happened.

 

[madtownvol]

I think we're getting alot better at ball movement though. Assists are way up. It's hard to find a balance when you have two superstar one on one players. If Jordy's shots don't fall in the 4th (which honestly they sometimes don't) then we're complaining about hero ball. But they did and we're celebrating one of the great "put the team on my back" LV performances ever. And who doesn't love seeing RJ go spinning and twirling one on one?

Of course the answer is find a sweet combination. Good movement and spacing makes the one on one alot easier, as does finding an open 3 pt shooter who can drain.

Exactly, when you have TWO players who can beat people one-on-one, you use it. When people talk about ball movement, I think they have in mind a situation where a team makes 5 passes around the perimeter with no dribbling and someone swishes a 3!! Those plays are pretty and memorable because they don't happen that often. A lot of basketball is having a better player that beats a defender. The team is doing a really good job in finding Tess on the perimeter and when she does her job (like last night), teams have to come out and guard her, which opens driving lanes for our 1-2 punch.

Right now, I think the LVs biggest problem is that our PGs (Powell more than Walker) get the ball stuck in their hands. The best LV teams knew who buttered their bread. It was get the ball to Candace or (Catchings or Holdsclaw) and run the offense through them. In half court sets, when Powell/Walker are dribbing around, just find Rickea or Jordan and they will shoot, drive or dish. Powell did score some nice drives last night but I feel the odds are still better with RJ or JH.

 

[Raebo]

RJ is no wall flower. She has moxy (like a lot of posters). There is nothing wrong with that IMO as long as she keeps it from getting out of control. It probably pumps her up to play harder.

 

[alexvol]

I disagree. Going toe to toe against Kellie isn't exactly a high benchmark for coaching excellence. As flawed as Hayes is, she is still a tremendous basketball talent and it's clear Purcell has no idea how to use her...

I did not compare any coaches vs another.All I said was that Miss State was well coached and I stand by that statement .

 

[37620VOL]

I disagree. Going toe to toe against Kellie isn't exactly a high benchmark for coaching excellence. As flawed as Hayes is, she is still a tremendous basketball talent and it's clear Purcell has no idea how to use her...

Hayes is no better than Miles.

 

[DeerPark12]

SOS. Another SEC game not being Carried by ESPN'S SEC channel. ESPN screws some SEC fans almost every day. Time to do something about their greed and taking advantage of our fans.

What do you suggest? SEC Network carried two games last night. Unless someone is willing to tank their crowd by starting at 5 or 5:30, that’s as many as they can carry in one night. They did carry three on opening night, but being a holiday week made the 5 pm start a little more realistic. Some Thursday nights, they also have a game on ESPN/ESPN2 and ESPNU, but Thursday is also a gameday for women’s hoops in the ACC, Big 12 and Pac 12, so matchups from those conferences are battling for those slots as well.

It’s a little easier on the weekends because they can put Sunday games at noon/2/4 and also uses a Monday night slot to get more games on TV. There’s just more inventory than there are slots.

 

[Orange Maniac]

Why don't they use all those alternate channels that are always blank?

 

[madtownvol]

What do you suggest? SEC Network carried two games last night. Unless someone is willing to tank their crowd by starting at 5 or 5:30, that’s as many as they can carry in one night. They did carry three on opening night, but being a holiday week made the 5 pm start a little more realistic. Some Thursday nights, they also have a game on ESPN/ESPN2 and ESPNU, but Thursday is also a gameday for women’s hoops in the ACC, Big 12 and Pac 12, so matchups from those conferences are battling for those slots as well.

It’s a little easier on the weekends because they can put Sunday games at noon/2/4 and also uses a Monday night slot to get more games on TV. There’s just more inventory than there are slots.

I am guessing the original poster must not have access to the internet because SEC+ games are streamed live and replays are almost immediately available on WatchESPN.

 

[glv98]

As for the effing reffing, a better official would have stepped in and given both players a warning-- enough of that or else!--and de-escalated the situation. Unfortunately, we did not have good refs working the game.

Miss State player #11 had just been warned not 5 mins earlier for escalating the situation.

RJ is no wall flower. She has moxy (like a lot of posters). There is nothing wrong with that IMO as long as she keeps it from getting out of control. It probably pumps her up to play harder.

Yep if RJ can do the standard player needling and keep it low key that's fine. I was sitting 20 rows from the floor and looking exactly for that back and forth from RJ and didn't see it. Of course that may speak more to my state of consciousness lol. She actually said in the post game she found the heightened competitive level fun. I'm still not looking forward to the Starkville visit though. It will be a real challenge for her composure. It's clear at least a couple of their players have a big ole grudge.

When people talk about ball movement, I think they have in mind a situation where a team makes 5 passes around the perimeter with no dribbling and someone swishes a 3!!

Or a quick cut to the basket and dime drop pass. As I said earlier, I think we're doing much better in this area but still have to find a balance between productive movement and passing and using our legit one on one threats. I'm sure that will be ongoing all season.