By Tyson Belton
KNOXVILLE, Tenn – No. 16 Tennessee outscored the No. 6 LSU in the second half but still
couldn’t pull out the victory in Knoxville Thursday night, losing 89-87, as LSU handed the Lady Vols their second straight loss.
The last time these two teams met was February 25, 2024, when LSU defeated the Lady Vols 75-60. The difference in this game is that the Lady Vols were able to close the scoring gap to make this game come right down to the wire.
In the first half LSU dominated with fast break baskets, just getting the rebound and passing up the floor for easy layups, as the Lady Vols struggled to get back and play defense and dug themselves a big hole to be trailing by as much as 18 points in the second quarter.
Aneesah Morrow finished the game with 23 points and 21 total rebounds and a win, as she dominated the offensive glass in the first quarter to get easy follow-up layups. LSU happens to be an inside-out team that doesn’t take a lot of three-point shots as they shot a total of 1⁄8 from behind the arc. They continued to pound the ball inside with dribble drives and attacking the offensive glass.
“If we take care of the ball and throw it over the top, you’re gonna get those layups,” stated LSU head coach Kim Mulkey when asked about how LSU was able to capitalize on so many fast break opportunities.
A very one-dimensional offensive performance from the Lady Vols especially in the first half. Not really putting any pressure on the LSU defense when it comes to fast breaks, quickly off opponent scores, and out-of-bounds plays but nevertheless, that’s how the Lady Vols perform.
A very even and competitive game all around, but LSU just happened to have more energy, effort, and grit than the Lady Vols tonight. The little things of the game is what LSU did right and took full advantage of the Lady Vols’s absence.
“Same story, not boxing out, not putting four quarters together, foul shots, the same thing. When you think about it, it’s a really hard pill to swallow.” Lady Vols head coach Kim Caldwell’s opening statement after another down-to-the-wire loss.
Just like the previous game, the Lady Vols had to fight back from being down double-digit points in the first half. Against good teams, those comeback wins are going to be harder to come by.
The Lady Vols are just steps away from pulling all the strings together and becoming a more mature team that can close out games. Still filled with star players who can put points on the board like Jewel Spear who finished with 25 points and Talaysia Cooper who finished the game with 24 points.
The Lady Vols managed to win the scoring battle in the second half and just kept chipping away at the lead as the team started to fix their small mental mistakes. The Lady Vols started to find the open shooters, attack open lanes, and knock down more free throws all in the second half.
“We’re three points away from being a top five team in the country. And I don’t think that’s a positive, I think that’s a negative.” stated coach Caldwell.
LSU hands the Lady Vols their second straight loss, and also their second loss in SEC play. The Lady Vols’ record falls to 13-2 and 1-2 in SEC play. The Lady Vols look to bounce back as they travel to Fayetteville and continue their SEC play to take on Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas on Sunday at 1p.m. ET on the SEC Network.