Lady Vols Exhibition vs. Union

they used Manning, Spani, Stricklen, Johnson, and Bjorklund. Stricklen was the point and Johnson the center-ish.

Gotta say, though, I like Simmons’ energy. She’s diving in for rebounds with the rest of ’em.

Man, she fights in the interior.

Bass running the point.

They keep missing threes. Now 24-18, finally made one. But they have to develop their interior game more than this.

LVs forced a turnover and got a couple fast break points, then Spani stonewalled the inbounder.

Bass running the show without support from Stricklen

During that previous timeout, Summitt’s foot evidently found its mark as the gals are playing much better, especially on defense.

First time in a year and a half.

Much better than the 21-18 gap. Still raw.

But we’re going to love having Baugh back, if the early going is any indication.

The player quit working at halftime, so I’m stuck without any view of the game.

Have to have a word with cstv and closing scripts, but hey.

Yeesh.

Tennessee’s failing is their 27% 3-PT shooting (6-22). They’ll need to be ready for cold three-point nights and have a better interior attack.

A nice turnover (Avant) / fast break layup (Simmons), then a double-team (Avant/Bjorklund, I think) on the inbound forces a timeout by Union.

That kid has a motor.

This, on its surface, is good.

That is a good thing to see.

They’re spending a lot of time in the interior on both offense and defense, and they’re doing well.

Simmons is awesome on the fast break.

The biggest reason for the ‘close’ score was three-pointers. UT was 7-25 and Union was 9-19.

Upsides:
Cain = Beast. But you knew that.
Baugh = Beast. Cain is no longer alone.
Simmons = Beast. Gal can play.
Avant = on her way. I didn’t get to see a whole lot of her, but she’s very decisive and plays with commitment.
Johnson had more energy than usual. I think she may feed off Avant and Simmons.

Downsides:
Bass = 12 minutes, 1 shot attempt, 0 makes, 1 assist. Otherwise silent on the floor.
Bjorklund 1-7 from three.
Williams = serving her one-game suspension. But she faces a stiff challenge from Simmons for playing time.

One thing that appears likely to me is that Cain and Baugh will be on opposite shifts. Baugh handled the interior beautifully, appearing quick and confident in her actions. It’s going to be great having her back.

The big question is how Johnson and Brewer split. I’m totally guessing, but I’d lean toward Johnson playing with Cain and Brewer with Baugh. Cain’s still more of a beast in the interior, so Johnson’s outside game could be more effective as a compliment. Brewer should be a nice compliment to Baugh as a two-post or a post-center combo.

After that, you’ll probably see Manning and Stricklen split often, but I can’t make an argument for them either way. It’ll depend mostly on the point guard rotation, which Stricklen will often be a part of.

The starting lineup is likely Cain-Johnson-Spani-Stricklen-Bjorklund, just like old times. When Avant/Bass runs the point, you’ll probably see Manning as the compliment. You may also see a lot of Avant-Simmons lineups, especially against smaller teams. It’s really early to tell much about those two, but I did like the way they played.

There’s still question about Spani, albeit a very good one. She looked so sharp in exhibition that she’s bound to be playing a lot of minutes. It’ll be interesting to see where she fits into the lineup. She may end up being the most reliable player on the team, even though nothing she does draws attention to herself.

…man, this looks like it’ll be a fun year.

Their starting point guard, Kelli Griffin, has left the team.

http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=83583