Tennessee Lady Vols / Duke Lady Blue Devils Open Game Thread: Save The Ta-Tas! Edition
by David Hooper on Feb 16, 2009 6:00 PM EST
in Lady Vols Basketball
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PrintHere's a press statement from Angie Bjorklund on the game versus Duke and on Breast Cancer Awareness. This game really matters to them.
 |
February 16, 2009 |
 |
|
18-6 (7-3)
13(AP) 18(USA Today) |
20-3 (8-2)
7(AP) 10(USA Today) |
| Tennessee |
Ht.
|
Wt.
|
Yr.
|
PPG
|
RPG
|
APG
|
|
| G | 5 Angie Bjorklund |
6-0
|
-
|
So.
|
11.8
|
3.1
|
2.6
|
| F | 25 Glory Johnson |
6-3
|
-
|
Fr.
|
11.9
|
7.5
|
0.8
|
| F |
40 Shekinna Stricklen |
6-2
|
-
|
Fr.
|
14.2
|
6.0
|
3.0
|
| F/C | 44 Alexis Fuller |
6-3
|
-
|
Sr.
|
7.0
|
5.6
|
0.9
|
| F |
15 Alicia Manning |
6-1
|
-
|
Fr.
|
4.0
|
3.1
|
1.1
|
| Duke |
Ht.
|
Wt.
|
Yr.
|
PPG
|
RPG
|
APG
|
|
| F |
21 Joy Cheek |
6-1
|
-
|
Jr.
|
9.0
|
5.0
|
1.0
|
| F | 30 Carrem Gay |
6-2
|
-
|
Sr.
|
5.6
|
4.9
|
0.6
|
| C | 11 Chante Black |
6-5
|
-
|
Sr.
|
15.3
|
8.7
|
1.5
|
| G | 4 Abby Waner |
5-10
|
-
|
Sr.
|
9.7
|
3.1
|
3.6
|
| G |
5 Jasmine Thomas |
5-9
|
-
|
So.
|
9.3
|
2.7
|
2.7
|
Where to begin? First, look at the "Yr." column. Where UT starts 3 freshmen, Duke starts 3 seniors. Next, look at the center name in the Duke list - Chante Black. Black is a girl that Tennessee has had trouble against for a while. It'll be nice to have her out of the Duke lineup next year, for whatever good that'll do us tonight (which is none). Expect Alex Fuller to defend Black, and Glory Johnson to defend Joy Cheek. If Fuller can contain Black and Glory can be that same feisty defender who shut down Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, the Duke game moves to the perimeter, where the guards are averaging 10 points a night.
Don't expect any weak links in this Duke team. Experience is a plus, as we've learned, and they have it in spades. What UT has in its corner is better depth of talent. It's not that Duke doesn't get top-end recruits (they do), it's that Pat Summitt is Pat Summitt.
To me, though, the most critical element will be UT's point guard play. If Alicia Manning and Brianna Bass keep their heads up and make smart plays, Tennessee has a really good shot at this one. If we see another freshman class meltdown, it'll going to be a long night for the Big Pink.
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Ugly game so far.
11 minutes in, 17 turnovers combined. Turnovers are about equal, so this is going like you’d expect.
Down 8 at the under 8.
It looks worse than it is, since the score is 16-8. The Dooookies are stifling on D. The stats seem to bear this out, but it’s been a bit uglier than we’d like to see.
We're shooting 21%.
10 turnovers, and a totally uncalled travel by Duke lead to a bad shot, but we left the trailer wide open. Pat’s not gonna be happy.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:05 PM EST up reply actions
Upon further review:
I think we’re playing Vandy.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:07 PM EST up reply actions
Ouch, that didn't last long.
Nice answer.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:17 PM EST up reply actions
Stats, without a pretty graphic.
Duke:
FG: 41.4
3-Pt: 20
FT: 75
Rebounds: 21
Turnovers: high
Leading scorer: Jasmine Thomas (13 pts)
Foul issues: Chante Black (2), Carrern Gay (2)
Tennessee:
FG: 30.8
3-Pt: 28.6
FT: 71.4
Rebounds: 13
Turnovers: higher
Leading scorer: Briana Bass (8 pts)
Foul trouble: Shennika Strickland (3)
The good:
Bass has been fantastic. The team looked significantly more together from about the 7 minute mark to about 1 minute, cutting the deficit big-time and even tying before Duke hit a couple of late shots.
Bjorklund has yet to score; you know that won’t last.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:27 PM EST up reply actions
The bad:
Bad passes, turnovers, getting beaten to the boards. Wouldn’t want to be a fly on the wall right now.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:27 PM EST up reply actions
Two straight turnovers by Duke.
Offensive board for Tennessee, and we’re doing well.
Manning 3 cuts it to 2!
Tied again!
Tennessee’s done a good job taking the momentum from the first half and bringing it into the second half.
Now if they could only stop Duke offensive boards…
Dribbling out of a double-team on the back half of the court is a no-no.
So is a bad foul giving Duke a three-point play opportunity.
It’s still a young team.
Missed the FT
But Duke got the offensive board and put it back in. Duke by 6.
by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 8:46 PM EST up reply actions
What the Baby Vols taketh, they giveth away.
This has been pretty hideous the last few minutes, and I’m not even kidding. Missed assignments, missed free throws, stagnant offense, and now Duke is up by 10.
At the under 12:
Um, this …is getting bad in a hurry. Duke’s on a 12-0 run, so it goes without saying that they’ve taken the game over. At this point, realistically time is running out. I figure the Baby Vols might have a 7-1 run in them still, but they’ve got to win the non-run time too.
Is it impossible? No. But I’m more than a little worried.
Hmmm...
This doesn’t sound very good…seems like the good/bad spurts are in full effect again tonight. Duke seems to have our number at TBA…a rare feat indeed.
Thanks for keeping a running update on everything, well done.
We're at the under 8, Duke by 12.
They’re just about to hit the bonus. It’s not over yet, but it’s very close to being so. Tennessee’s been on a little 4-0 thing (too short to call it a run), so that’s nice, but as I was saying earlier, they need more than this.
Down by 12, 6 minutes, Duke in the bonus.
I don’t want to say that it’s three-ball time, but ….
Oh, and another offensive rebound by Duke following a missed FT.
Down 10, 4:30 to go.
This is the danger zone; honestly, at this point I think it’s over but we’ll see.
At the under 4:
Duke’s up by 10 still, Stricklen’s fouled out, and Bjorklund still has no points. Not good, I think this is over.
On the plus side, Bass has had an excellent game.
7 down, 3:15 left.
A couple of consecutive Duke fouls have helped here, but that can’t continue. Especially since both fouls were off-the-ball.
Thanks for that, and all the comments.
You are the MAN for carrying the load here. I was at the game.
by David Hooper on Feb 16, 2009 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
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