Game Thread: Lady Vols vs. No. 1 South Carolina; 7PM Thurs, ESPN

[I4Vols]

Very good point and too often critical posters never consider that the LVs are playing opponents. On games, when Key would have ten blocks and intimidate 10 others, no one went gee that team can't shoot layups. It was Key dominating the paint. SC uses that same formula and they have a couple of "Keys".

TK was greatly missed this season, no question about that. Changes a lot of on court dynamics.
Re: "that team can't shoot layups"
(1) I don't really enjoy seeing Powell getting stuffed all too often on layup/drives to the basket and especially at the end of a qtr doing such (like her defensively & her effort, but offensively, hmmm)
(2) I really like Kellie getting Hollingshead (this to Coach's credit) and her growth this year, but, man, she struggles to consistently put it in the basket underneath (I still say she has a tendency to take her eyes off the target). Fix that and have her learn to block out a bit, and she's a future monster down low.
(3) Horston can do almost anything, but sometimes just tries to do too much for the team she loves. Her overall contribution and commitment to the Lady Vols is pretty much unmatched. In today's transfer & pro departure world, she gets a huge Thank You

 

[Coach Jumper]

It's only half your fault, I wore the wrong shirt during the game. I accept some responsibility

No, I cost us the game,,,at the end of Q1 I moved up one row to sit with a friend of mine,,,shoulda never switched seats......My Bad

 

[lvocd]

I want to circle back around to the wonderful surprise Striplin gave us yesterday in effortlessly, CONFIDENTLY hitting three triples yesterday. It was the highlight of the whole game for me because of what it says about Karoline Striplin’s work ethic.

A while back, after another game in which Karoline had sunk a well-timed three, I remember Kellie indicating in the interview that it was no surprise and not just random lucky happening that she’d done it because she works very hard to put lots of shots up from three-point range both in practice and on her own.

It is so great to know she understands the value she can add to her game by putting forth that extra effort. I can’t imagine the words “we have to put a body on Striplin if she drifts out into three-point range” appeared South Carolina’s scouting report.

What a treat that was for me!

 

[I4Vols]

No, I cost us the game,,,at the end of Q1 I moved up one row to sit with a friend of mine,,,shoulda never switched seats......My Bad

Whoa, thx, now I'm only 33% culpable.

 

[djtee]

SC had the right strategy for Tennessee. They largely only used single coverage on Jackson and Horston, and either forced them into a difficult low percentage shot or lived with the consequences. This essentially forced those two to beat them by themselves and pretty much neutralized everyone else if they weren't getting open looks (Darby in particulary). In contrast, Tennessee gambled big time and really surrounded Boston/Cardoso, but gave their guards a ton of time and space to make jump shots, which they started hitting after the first quarter. Jackson/Horston were hitting shots/getting to the line in the 1st quarter, but their shooting percentages were way below what they've been doing the last few weeks. Once SC took the lead in the 2nd quarter and then blew it open in the 3rd, the game was over. Even when Tennessee cut it to 9 in the 4th, it seemed that SC was content to walk out with the win instead of piling on. Once Tennessee threatened, they just tightened the clamps to bring the lead back to 15 or so. It was a missed opportunity, because there won't be many games where both Boston and Cardoso aren't playing that well.

Jackson got hers, albeit less efficiently while having to deal with some pretty elite defenders and guarding Boston at the same time. Striplin was a nice surprise. Her timely triples halted the bleeding and without them, SC probably would have pushed the lead well into the 20s. Horston did a great job rebounding and some impressive blocks, but her shot selection and decision making was poor. Everyone else on the team basically was a non-factor on either end of the ball. I thought that this would be a great opportunity for statement games for Hollingshead and Puckett, but they were either quiet or non-existent.

The game started to get away from Tennessee in the 2nd with 3:14 left, Jackson to the bench after picking up her 2nd foul. In the game for Tennessee you have Powell, Darby, Horston, Jillian, Striplin. Tennessee decides to go man Horston was chasing Cooke which was good but then again Darby was stuck on Beal not a good match and Powell on Fletcher. Fletcher soars in high for an offensive rebound Beal beats Darby again for an offensive rebound and put back. Tide 26-26 i think KJH should have called a time out then Sub Darby and Powell out for Puckett and Walker. Walker i will say do get to the glass for her size and Puckett gives Tennessee a little more size to deal with Beal, Boston and Cardoso.

 

[Coach Jumper]

The game started to get away from Tennessee in the 2nd with 3:14 left, Jackson to the bench after picking up her 2nd foul. In the game for Tennessee you have Powell, Darby, Horston, Jillian, Striplin. Tennessee decides to go man Horston was chasing Cooke which was good but then again Darby was stuck on Beal not a good match and Powell on Fletcher. Fletcher soars in high for an offensive rebound Beal beats Darby again for an offensive rebound and put back. Tide 26-26 i think KJH should have called a time out then Sub Darby and Powell out for Puckett and Walker. Walker i will say do get to the glass for her size and Puckett gives Tennessee a little more size to deal with Beal, Boston and Cardoso.

By that point it had already been a 8-0 run...you simply cannot let a top tier team run off more than 5 if you have all four of your timeouts

 

[djtee]

By that point it had already been a 8-0 run...you simply cannot let a top tier team run off more than 5 if you have all four of your timeouts
View attachment 537976

By that point it had already been a 8-0 run...you simply cannot let a top tier team run off more than 5 if you have all four of your timeouts
View attachment 537976

Just not enough size at the time to deal with what SC had on the floor to slow the run

 

[Volfaninfl2]

I want to circle back around to the wonderful surprise Striplin gave us yesterday in effortlessly, CONFIDENTLY hitting three triples yesterday. It was the highlight of the whole game for me because of what it says about Karoline Striplin’s work ethic.

A while back, after another game in which Karoline had sunk a well-timed three, I remember Kellie indicating in the interview that it was no surprise and not just random lucky happening that she’d done it because she works very hard to put lots of shots up from three-point range both in practice and on her own.

It is so great to know she understands the value she can add to her game by putting forth that extra effort. I can’t imagine the words “we have to put a body on Striplin if she drifts out into three-point range” appeared South Carolina’s scouting report.

What a treat that was for me!

Agree. We needed her, and Striplin really really stepped up yesterday. She fought under the basket against two larger players and was able to cause misses. She did that for 24 minutes, and was called for only one foul. She did big things that don’t show in the stats, like taking a charge from Cardoso. Then she stepped out and made 3 of 6 three pointers. She was not intimidated by them, she was challenged by them, and she met that challenge. Striplin was fantastic.

 

[madtownvol]

The game started to get away from Tennessee in the 2nd with 3:14 left, Jackson to the bench after picking up her 2nd foul. In the game for Tennessee you have Powell, Darby, Horston, Jillian, Striplin. Tennessee decides to go man Horston was chasing Cooke which was good but then again Darby was stuck on Beal not a good match and Powell on Fletcher. Fletcher soars in high for an offensive rebound Beal beats Darby again for an offensive rebound and put back. Tide 26-26 i think KJH should have called a time out then Sub Darby and Powell out for Puckett and Walker. Walker i will say do get to the glass for her size and Puckett gives Tennessee a little more size to deal with Beal, Boston and Cardoso.

Did not trust my memory on this one so I went to the play by play. RJ picked up her 2nd foul with 3:12 left in the quarter and Lvs held a 26 to 24 lead. However, RJ was NOT subbed until 1:32 left in the quarter (after a 30 sec TO from Kellie) and she was then replaced by Tess. At that TO break, the score was 31 to 26 in favor of SC. So, the LV's line-up during that preceding 7 to 2 SC scoring run was Jackson, Horston, Striplin, Powell, and Hollingshead. Then, for the last 92 seconds, the line-up was the same except Darby was in for Rickea. And that group cut the SC lead, which got up to 7. down to 4 at the end of the half.

I am hard pressed to see that stretch as where the game got away from the LVs. During the earlier part of the 2nd quarter, SC closed a 7 pt lead down to 2 with Jordan Walker and Puckett on the floor. The LVs were still getting out rebounded during that stretch.

Plus, in the first quarter the LVs extended their lead with Powell on the floor in place of Walker. JP entered the game with 5:13 left in the first and the lead went from 1 to 9.

Given that pattern, you can't fault Kellie for going with Powell during the 2nd quarter struggles or subbing out Puckett for Jackson (which happened with 4:34 left in the 2nd quarter).

I know this game: micro-analyze Kellie's sub patterns and, with the benefit of hindsight, proclaim that if she had only made this OBVIOUS move, then all would have been different. But, Kellie changed the game in a positive direction by going with Powell in the 1st. So, in the flow of the game, bringing Powell back on in the 2nd, made sense (and that group actually did reduce the gap).

The play-by-play shows that it did not make that much difference what combo Kellie had on the floor. SC was the overall better team, which should not be a shock, given that SC is the defending champ, undefeated, #1 team in the country.

Tennessee's only real chance to pull an upset was to have an out of this world shooting night and they had just that for one quarter and brief stretch in the 4th, but that was not enough.

 

[djtee]

Did not trust my memory on this one so I went to the play by play. RJ picked up her 2nd foul with 3:12 left in the quarter and Lvs held a 26 to 24 lead. However, RJ was NOT subbed until 1:32 left in the quarter (after a 30 sec TO from Kellie) and she was then replaced by Tess. At that TO break, the score was 31 to 26 in favor of SC. So, the LV's line-up during that preceding 7 to 2 SC scoring run was Jackson, Horston, Striplin, Powell, and Hollingshead. Then, for the last 92 seconds, the line-up was the same except Darby was in for Rickea. And that group cut the SC lead, which got up to 7. down to 4 at the end of the half.

I am hard pressed to see that stretch as where the game got away from the LVs. During the earlier part of the 2nd quarter, SC closed a 7 pt lead down to 2 with Jordan Walker and Puckett on the floor. The LVs were still getting out rebounded during that stretch.

Plus, in the first quarter the LVs extended their lead with Powell on the floor in place of Walker. JP entered the game with 5:13 left in the first and the lead went from 1 to 9.

Given that pattern, you can't fault Kellie for going with Powell during the 2nd quarter struggles or subbing out Puckett for Jackson (which happened with 4:34 left in the 2nd quarter).

I know this game: micro-analyze Kellie's sub patterns and, with the benefit of hindsight, proclaim that if she had only made this OBVIOUS move, then all would have been different. But, Kellie changed the game in a positive direction by going with Powell in the 1st. So, in the flow of the game, bringing Powell back on in the 2nd, made sense (and that group actually did reduce the gap).

The play-by-play shows that it did not make that much difference what combo Kellie had on the floor. SC was the overall better team, which should not be a shock, given that SC is the defending champ, undefeated, #1 team in the country.

Tennessee's only real chance to pull an upset was to have an out of this world shooting night and they had just that for one quarter and brief stretch in the 4th, but that was not enough.

I'm did not fault Kellie she is the coach she knows what's best for her team. i'm just giving my opinion in looking at the reply video Jackson did pick up her 2nd with Tennessee up 26-24 my bad.

 

[LasVegasBill23]

Has anyone rewatched yet and counted the number of layups/close-in shots we missed? I feel like the number was pretty high, and that those many misses took a heavy toll on the team's confidence. I got the feeling the team fell into the "Oh no. Here we go again" mental hole and then never could claw themselves all the way out again. Ugh.

SC had a good number of them as well i think

 

[Coach Jumper]

Just not enough size at the time to deal with what SC had on the floor to slow the run

did your soc-med get hacked

 

[JFP]

Cardosa had not committed to Syracruse in Massingales sophmore year at UT.

Geno Auriemma was born in Italy and and raised Catholic and attending a Catholic school in the United States. He thought he could change Cardosa's mind about choosing Syracuse even though it is a great Catholic school. Even then it was rumored Cardosa would not join Massingale even though they were part of a group of outstanding teammates at Hamilton. Geno personally traveled to Hamilton to try for Cardosa even though she had publically promised to go to Syracruse. Cardoza was from Brazil and "Spanish" Catholic. It was rumored she gave Geno the cold shoulder treatment.
Even at that early date it became evident UT was not going to be able to keep the outstanding Hamilton team together. UT wasn't even sending anyone to Hamilton games and had apparently given up recruiting there but did get Massengale and with her hopes Cardosa might still come.
Cardosa was from a warm climate and later decided to leave Syracuse and then choosing South Carolina. Dawn Staley attended Temple University, a multiple Christian School with a Catholic center on it's campus.
UT had it's chance for Cardosa but she really wasn't the athlete then that she is now.

 

[Amb3096]

Just not enough size at the time to deal with what SC had on the floor to slow the run

I agree with Jumper. SC got out the pick to chip away at the 10 point lead at the start of the 2nd quarter; then they pulled out the sledgehammer shortly afterwards.

 

[Amb3096]

Geno Auriemma was born in Italy and and raised Catholic and attending a Catholic school in the United States. He thought he could change Cardosa's mind about choosing Syracuse even though it is a great Catholic school. Even then it was rumored Cardosa would not join Massingale even though they were part of a group of outstanding teammates at Hamilton. Geno personally traveled to Hamilton to try for Cardosa even though she had publically promised to go to Syracruse. Cardoza was from Brazil and "Spanish" Catholic. It was rumored she gave Geno the cold shoulder treatment.
Even at that early date it became evident UT was not going to be able to keep the outstanding Hamilton team together. UT wasn't even sending anyone to Hamilton games and had apparently given up recruiting there but did get Massengale and with her hopes Cardosa might still come.
Cardosa was from a warm climate and later decided to leave Syracuse and then choosing South Carolina. Dawn Staley attended Temple University, a multiple Christian School with a Catholic center on it's campus.
UT had it's chance for Cardosa but she really wasn't the athlete then that she is now.

Cardoso was top 5 in her class. Scouts were high on her upside, even if her game as a HS senior lacked polish. She was ACC DPOY as a freshman. She committed to Syracuse in Nov 2019. Massengill didn't transfer from Tennessee until April 2020.

So the issue is that Tennessee stopped going to Hamilton Heights, which is strange considering there were like 6 outstanding nationally rated recruits playing there at the same time. No idea if the players in subsequent classes were as good though.

 

[Amb3096]

Did not trust my memory on this one so I went to the play by play. RJ picked up her 2nd foul with 3:12 left in the quarter and Lvs held a 26 to 24 lead. However, RJ was NOT subbed until 1:32 left in the quarter (after a 30 sec TO from Kellie) and she was then replaced by Tess. At that TO break, the score was 31 to 26 in favor of SC. So, the LV's line-up during that preceding 7 to 2 SC scoring run was Jackson, Horston, Striplin, Powell, and Hollingshead. Then, for the last 92 seconds, the line-up was the same except Darby was in for Rickea. And that group cut the SC lead, which got up to 7. down to 4 at the end of the half.

I am hard pressed to see that stretch as where the game got away from the LVs. During the earlier part of the 2nd quarter, SC closed a 7 pt lead down to 2 with Jordan Walker and Puckett on the floor. The LVs were still getting out rebounded during that stretch.

Plus, in the first quarter the LVs extended their lead with Powell on the floor in place of Walker. JP entered the game with 5:13 left in the first and the lead went from 1 to 9.

Given that pattern, you can't fault Kellie for going with Powell during the 2nd quarter struggles or subbing out Puckett for Jackson (which happened with 4:34 left in the 2nd quarter).

I know this game: micro-analyze Kellie's sub patterns and, with the benefit of hindsight, proclaim that if she had only made this OBVIOUS move, then all would have been different. But, Kellie changed the game in a positive direction by going with Powell in the 1st. So, in the flow of the game, bringing Powell back on in the 2nd, made sense (and that group actually did reduce the gap).

The play-by-play shows that it did not make that much difference what combo Kellie had on the floor. SC was the overall better team, which should not be a shock, given that SC is the defending champ, undefeated, #1 team in the country.

Tennessee's only real chance to pull an upset was to have an out of this world shooting night and they had just that for one quarter and brief stretch in the 4th, but that was not enough.

The bolded part is the key point that I made in another post. Ultimately, the game was in SC's hand depending on how well they played. When they are firing on all cylinders, they aren't going to be beaten. But they gave Tennessee some hope in the first quarter with their slow start. Kellie couldn't reproduce successful substituions in the 2nd/3rd quarter because by then SC was a completely different team for those 20 minutes.

 

[Golfteacher]

We can blame whoever we want for the loss but number one we missed too many easy layups, I don't blame her but Horston tried to do too much, we were not jumping for rebounds but staying nailed to the floor, USC hit threes they usually do not, Darby did not score as she is capable of, USC’s bench is much stronger than the Lady Vols, and USC is a much better coached team with superior talent. Even with all of that the Lady’s, like LSU, succumbed to a better team who is the odds on favorite to win the SEC and the NCAA Championship. Maybe it is coaching, or our team is not as talented as we once believed, or a little bit of both. When seem to play good in spurts against ranked team but cannot sustain such for a complete game. I still believe that this team has the talent and ability to beat most teams ranked in the top 25.

 

[LUVMESUMVOL]

We can blame whoever we want for the loss but number one we missed too many easy layups, I don't blame her but Horston tried to do too much, we were not jumping for rebounds but staying nailed to the floor, USC hit threes they usually do not, Darby did not score as she is capable of, USC’s bench is much stronger than the Lady Vols, and USC is a much better coached team with superior talent. Even with all of that the Lady’s, like LSU, succumbed to a better team who is the odds on favorite to win the SEC and the NCAA Championship. Maybe it is coaching, or our team is not as talented as we once believed, or a little bit of both. When seem to play good in spurts against ranked team but cannot sustain such for a complete game. I still believe that this team has the talent and ability to beat most teams ranked in the top 25.

Darby isn’t scoring when someone is in her face all game long.she never has

 

[gule]

free Justine

 

[madtownvol]

We can blame whoever we want for the loss but number one we missed too many easy layups, I don't blame her but Horston tried to do too much, we were not jumping for rebounds but staying nailed to the floor, USC hit threes they usually do not, Darby did not score as she is capable of, USC’s bench is much stronger than the Lady Vols, and USC is a much better coached team with superior talent. Even with all of that the Lady’s, like LSU, succumbed to a better team who is the odds on favorite to win the SEC and the NCAA Championship. Maybe it is coaching, or our team is not as talented as we once believed, or a little bit of both. When seem to play good in spurts against ranked team but cannot sustain such for a complete game. I still believe that this team has the talent and ability to beat most teams ranked in the top 25.

I think the key thing in your statement is stronger bench and better talent than the LVs. When you look at the two teams, I am not seeing one where X and O coaching is the differentiator. SC's offensive schemes look whole lot like what the LVs run. As I believe PHS once said, you can't coach height. The LVs actually did a decent job on Boston (holding her to 11 pts) but got killed on the boards (which is usually the LVs modus operandi). The LVs TO's were close to a season low. So, on many coaching dimensions, things looked pretty good. But 2nd chance points; making the LVs miss at the rim; and SC hitting some timely 3 sealed our doom.

SC is a mirror image of the great LV teams and they are what Kellie seems to be aspiring to. But, she really does not have the right kind of players for this system (and Key's absence magnifies that problem). Since it is clear that Kellie ain't changing her system, she has got to find the right kind of players. I don't think it is an objective talent shortfall so as much not having the right kind of talent.

 

[Coach Jumper]

Free Justine!

 

[Amb3096]

Darby isn’t scoring when someone is in her face all game long.she never has

I agree. They weren’t cheating off her and SC plays excellent perimeter defense. They benefit from having enough size and speed that Jackson/Horston can’t consistently score on them with ease while being guarded with a single defender. So Tess was trying to create, and Cooke or Beal can guard her futile attempts while drinking coffee and checking their social media feeds.

 

[WVU05UT09]

If you're referring to HS recruits, her sophomores are the class of Miles, Puckett, Striplin, and Wynn. Puckett and Striplin are contributors as sophomores, and the other two will be in the future. Her freshman recruits aren't ready to play yet. So, are you referring to the earlier NSD, when she recruited her first class after the firing of Holly? Just curious as to which NSD you are referring?

My comment is not a slight at Kelli whatsoever. It has nothing to do with Tennessee and everything to do with South Carolina.

When Zia Cook, Aaliyah Boston, Victoria Saxton, Brea Beal is your senior class, Jesus Christ could be the opposing head coach and its not going to matter.

Make sense?

 

[gule]

Does Jesus call his Time outs?

 

[madtownvol]

I agree. They weren’t cheating off her and SC plays excellent perimeter defense. They benefit from having enough size and speed that Jackson/Horston can’t consistently score on them with ease while being guarded with a single defender. So Tess was trying to create, and Cooke or Beal can guard her futile attempts while drinking coffee and checking their social media feeds.

It was a bad night for Tess no question. She actually missed two open 3's that could have been momentum changers. She just missed open shots. SC defense had zilch to do with it. There also was one play where she made a ball fake, beat her defender and created a wide open shot at the FT line (but sadly she air-balled it).

But, as the season has gone on, Tess has been scoring more from mid range and getting to the rim, Her game is improving and she is clearly working on being more than a spot-up shooter. She still has a ways to go but lets not forget that she was coming off of a fantastic 17 pt (5 for 6 from 3) game against Auburn.

The LVs don't win that game without her. So, let's not disparage her unfairly.