Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: Upsets Upgrade Pre-Conference Season

 By Mike Siroky

 

It was transition week for the best conference of women’s basketball, the Southeastern.

 

Two of the three lowest of the five ranked teams in the Associated Press poll remain undefeated.

The top three all lost once. South Carolina lost to a team ranked lower than itself, then won two, including the upset of the season so far.

 

 SC was the other half of SEC teams playing in holiday tournaments which required three games in three days for the only time this season. SC edged defending national champ Baylor.

 

Mississippi State lost to Stanford, a team ranked ahead of them and destined to be No. 1.

 

Texas A&M fell to No 12 Florida State, a team ranked below them.

 

Arkansas moved up two spots after a 2-0 holiday tournament, despite winning against unranked teams in unconvincing style. 

 

LSU moved in at 6-1, as No. 25 to give the SEC a dominating seven teams overall in this week’s poll.

SC’s Aliyah Boston picked up both her third weekly SEC freshman award, as well as her first national freshman honor from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

 

The undefeated teams left are 7-0, focused on the preconference 10. 

 

As always, any SEC team but one which has ever won 20 is in the elimination games. The better teams can always find 10 in league play.

 

No. 6 SOUTH CAROLINA (7-1)

 

The thing about random draws in a holiday tournament is sometimes there are two ranked matchups.

 

The first for the Gamecocks at a Virgin Islands tournament was No 17 Indiana of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers were fresh off a 24-point win, giving Florida its first loss. 

 

It is their highest ranking ever.

 

IU was led by sophomore guard Grace Berger, 17.5 points per game. Three others also average double figures.

 

 All five starters get at least five rebounds per game, leading to a 10-rebound average per game.

 

For the first time this season, SC played a rough-and-tumble undefeated team similar to itself. IU fundamentally outplayed SC, 71-57.

 

Three Gamecocks finished in double figures, led by Kiki Herbert Harrigan’s 13 and eight rebounds. Super freshman Aliyah Boston, the SEC rookie of the week, was benched with foul trouble most of the second half and still scored 10 in 14 minutes.

 

IU senior point guard Ali Patberg outplayed SC senior point guard Tyasha Harris, fouling her out in the fourth, with 4:58 left. SC scored three points after that.

 

The Gamecocks hit first with a 7-3 run to open the game, but the Hoosiers started hitting from outside and crashing the glass. 

 

The two teams battled back and forth through much of the first half. 

 

Boston had to sit down with her second foul with 4:31 left in the half. Indiana was ahead by seven at intermission.

 

South Carolina bounced back in the third. 

 

With the defense locked in, the Gamecocks outrebounded Indiana 20-6 in the period, scoring 12 of their 34 points in the paint in the quarter. 

 

Herbert Harrigan and Brea Beal accounted for 11 of the ‘first 13 points in the quarter, including Beal’s transition layup to go up 44-42 with 4:17 left.

 

 A 7-0 run, fueled by holding Indiana to one shot on each offensive possession, gave the Gamecocks a 51-47 advantage heading into the final period. 

 

Back-to-back turnovers opened the fourth quarter and the first five possessions included another one as South Carolina’s offense and rebounding deserted them. 

 

Indiana went up 53-51 just over two minutes into the quarter, but Cooke answered with a traditional three-point play to go back up 54-53. 

 

SC did not help itself by hitting 2-of-12 free throws in the third.

 

Indiana reclaimed the lead by driving to the rim. With the Gamecocks trailing 57-54 with 4:58 to play, Harris fouled out and Boston likewise a minute later. Harris had a total of five fouls for the season coming in.

 

IU closed out the game with defense.  

 

SC’s six points in the fourth are the second-fewest in program history. The 71 points allowed are the most by an opponent this season.

 

Associate head coach Lisa Boyer said, “We had to try and settle down. We have to do a better job of getting on the defense. We had to deal with things we aren’t used to dealing with. 

 

“You go to these tournaments for a reason, put yourself in situations where you are challenged and try to learn from it.”

“We knew they were going to come out an make a run,” Indiana coach Teri Moren said. “They’re too good a team and Staley is too good a coach that we were going to get their best coming out in the second half.”

 

“We got ourselves in some foul trouble and were not able to play people who we needed to play,” said SC coach Dawn Staley.

 

Senior IU forward Brenna Wise had 4-of-5 3s after hitting two in all the previous games. 

 

Her 16 doubled her senior season average. SC hit 2-of-18 3s.

 

The Big Ten defended its honor in this one. The SEC is 2-4 vs. the Big Ten so far.

 

Next up was Pac 12 member Washington State. 

 

Feeling no hangover from the previous night, SC broke away to a 13-2 start by hitting 60 percent from the field. 

 

Six players scored. It was 25-9 after one. 

 

Staley was using the bench generously. 

 

Reserve guard Destanni Henderson led with eight points.

 

The Cougars spun out a 7-0 run in the second to cut the lead to 32-20. 

 

But they also had 10 turnovers, which kept them from catching up. 

 

They hit three straight 3s as part of a 10-2 run. The lead was seven, a 12-point drop in one quarter. 

 

SC was outscored 19-7 in the close of the quarter but led at the half, 37-32. 

 

Free throws were precious, SC had eight attempts and Washington State two. 

 

The Cougars were 5-of-8 on 3s. SC hit its only attempt.

 

Hometown hero Aliyah Boston was up to 14 points with eight rebounds when they pushed the lead up to 15. 

 

SC was 6-of-14 from the line, as bad as they were the night before. 

 

It was just imprecise. 

 

They held on to a 10-point lead despite being 1-of-7 from the floor.

 

Herbert Harrigan scored six straight and SC led 57-41. It ended 68-53. 

 

If the Cougars had a complaint it is that SC was awarded 12 more free throw attempts in a muscle game.

 

Nonetheless, Herbert Harrigan led with 20. Nobody doubled. Boston scored 14.

 

State coach Kamie Ethridge was the national player of the year while at Texas, playing for hall-of-fame coach Jody Conradt and edging Cheryl Miller for that senior honor. 

 

She also was an assistant at Vanderbilt on her coaching trail. So she has seen and coached against great programs.

 

“(South Carolina) has athletic players with length and that put us in tough positions,” she said. “We struggled moving the ball against that type of length. (In the second quarter), I thought we figured it out.

 

 “We got loose on a couple of 3’s and we just couldn’t find it in the second half.

 

“We’re trying to keep our chin up, because we know we’re playing against top-five teams down here.

 

Maybe Indiana will sneak up into the top-10 after this week, as good as they are playing.

 

“We have the expectation to compete with (top teams), but also understanding where we are with the growth of our program. 

“The fact we put some strong quarters together against that kind of competition gives us some encouragement if we can find some consistency and depth. 

 

“We knew what we were signing up for before we got down here, and I think we’re going to be incredibly seasoned when Pac-12 play comes, and I think (games against top-five teams) will help us in the long run.”

 

Finally, in three games in three days for the only time this season, came defending champ and second-ranked Baylor, a formidable foe being led by former Tennessee and – last season -- SC point guard Te’a Cooper.

 

But it was fun at the end.

 

Baylor took tiny leads before Boston’s first basket, a tip in with six minutes left, cut it to one. 

 

What kept SC in it were a trio of 3s. Three free throws were the difference in the 22-19 SC lead at the end of one.

 

Reserve Laeticia Amihere snuck in for a layup and the lead was five.

 

Herbert Harrigan, Harris and Boston all made layups to put the lead at 33-21, the biggest deficit Baylor had to contend with all season.

 

South Carolina was hitting 57 percent from the floor, Baylor 37 percent. SC already had five blocks, two by Boston who was also 4-of-6 from the floor.

 

The usually over-cocky Baylor coach, Kim Mulkey, was very upset.

 

Yet Baylor cut it to six at the half.

In the end, Boston had a career-high 20 points and 13 rebounds and South Carolina dominated the end game in the 74-59 win.

 

Harris also scored 20 and Herbert Harrigan 13.

 

The Bears trailed 59-57 on Cooper’s 3 with 5:57 left, but Herbert Harrigan and Boston each scored six points in South Carolina’s 15-2 run to end the game.

 

“This time of year, you are still learning about your team,” Staley said. “Could we take a punch in the gut and still come back? 

 

“Our kids are resilient. We coulda packed it in. We lost to Indiana.

 

“We went back to practice. We put ourselves into a position to win this championship. We have a seasoned point guard. 

 

“I told her to look around, you’re still the best point guard on the floor.

 

“You have got to facilitate. I told her and Kiki, who has been in the Final Four? Only you. You lead and they will follow. Kiki has shouldered this team.

 

“We were able to dictate where the shot would come from and who we wanted to take it.

“ It was expected who would shoot. Everything was gonna be downhill. We just tightened up the game plan.”

 

The balance of losing to a team ranked lower with the upset of No. 2 left SC one spot down in the poll.

 

Three of the four games before the SEC starts are at home.

 

No. 10 MISSISSIPPI STATE (8-1)

 

Two off-campus wins started with coach Vic Schaefer’s 200th victory in the program, faster than league hall-of-famers Pat Head, Joe Ciampi, Jim Foster and Van Chancellor, at Marquette.

 

The strength of really good teams is the multiplicity of weapons.

 

State had a Jordan Danberry sighting as the fifth-year senior led to a 74-68 win at Marquette. 

 

The 28th-best scorer in the league was nine above her average, one of four starters in double figures with 20. She hit 8-of-10 at the line.

 

Jessika Carter had 21 rebounds, 12 of them defensive, and scored 14. The rest of the team was outrebounded 38-10. 

 

State had 14 steals. Marquette hit 10 3s, State four. State made 20-of-23 at the line. They drew 2,326.

 

Every quarter was contested until the Bulldogs won the fourth by four.

 

Down the stretch, State refused to fold. 

 

Danberry claimed a rebound and was fouled with 15 seconds left and a three-point lead. Marquette would not score again.

 

“You know, we found a way,” said Schaefer. “Going 20-out-of-23 from the free-throw line is what you have to do on the road if you’re going to win. 

 

“Just a tremendous effort. We turned them over 28 times. That is what we want to do. 

 

“We want to pressure, and we want to press. I had a lot of kids play a lot of minutes tonight. 

 

“Our bench was good. I thought Rickea’s last substitution in really made a difference. She made some big shots for us and finished at the rim like we needed her to.

 

“For me, it is a tremendous win. It is hard to win on the read, especially against good teams. 

 

“Marquette is certainly every bit of a really good team. I thought the crowd was great. This was a great experience for us. Giving God the glory for a great road win.”

 

“I am so humbled and honored,” said Schaefer of the 200th.

 

“Giving God the glory for blessing me with so many great players and my tremendous staff. It wouldn’t happen without those two entities for sure. 

 

“I have so many great players at Mississippi State that have helped me get there.

 

“It is really hard for me to believe to be honest with you. It takes so many people to make something like that happen. 

 

“I have had so many great players. 

 

“Of course, Johnnie Harris has been by my side for all of them and Maryann Baker. They’ve been there through it all. 

 

“Dionnah Jackson-Durrett and Elena Lovato have been there through a lot of them. I’m just so appreciative of them and the players. 

 

“I am giving God the glory. Without Him, it wouldn’t be possible.”

 

The holiday tournament at the University of Vancouver, Canada, started with a matchup vs. San Francisco. 

 

The weird thing is Canada’s Thanksgiving Day is October 2. 

 

So, technically, this was not played on Thanksgiving. 

 

State was defending the longest away winning streak in the NCAA, 12 after this one.

 

The Dons’ plan was to work the clock on every possession, stifling a points breakaway. 

 

State countered with the full court press. 

 

For instance, it was seven-all midway through the opening quarter. 

 

San Fran put in the first two substitutes. State ran off seven straight with hard-nosed defense.  San Fran cut it to two.

 

It was 16-all at the first break. 

 

Chloe Bibby, already in form, had two 3s. 

 

State had thrice claimed the ball on two five-second counts and by Myah Taylor taking a charge on the second possession.

 

Shooting better than 60 percent, State scored six straight, four by Bibby, 4-of-6 from the field. 

 

The half ended 32-25.

 

The Dons have 11 players not from the United States, including twins from Croatia. 

 

Injuries have reduced their available depth so much that two managers dressed for this one. 

 

Lucie Hoskova of the Czech Republic led them  at half with 12 points.

 

State’s defense was locked in all game long, allowing a season-low 38 points and holding the Dons to a .219 shooting clip during the final three quarters of the game. 

 

The Bulldogs forced 21 turnovers in the game, which resulted in 27 points.

 

 State had a 44-18 scoring advantage in the paint and nailed seven 3s to keep the offense balanced.

 

Jordan Danberry led everyone with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting with four rebounds and two steals. Andra Espinoza-Hunter finished with 12 points and three 3s.

 

Jessika Carter dropped eight points, six boards and two blocks. 

 

Carter averages a double/double when she starts. In the constricted scoring opportunities, she scored eight with six rebounds.

 

“It’s always impressive when you hold someone to just three points in quarter, but that’s what we were able to do in the third quarter,” said Schaefer.

 

 “That is a team that scored 71 points against Stanford. I was really pleased with how hard we played.

 

 “We held them to 13 points in the second half. They were just 30 percent shooting, and we turned them over 21 times. 

 

“Offensively, I thought we had good flow in our offense, especially considering how they held the ball against us and tried to shorten the game. 

 

“We shot it well. 

 

“I thought we did a great job, but you have to move on.”

 

The second half was all Mississippi State. 

 

In the third quarter, MSU’s defense shut down San Francisco, holding the Dons scoreless for the first eight minutes of the quarter and allowing just three points to take a 53-28 lead.

 

Behind a 16-2 run during the final frame, State cruised to the 35-point victory. 

 

San Francisco connected on two of its final 11 shots. 

 

The Bulldogs shot 52 percent from the field.

 

Looking to the next game, Schaefer said, “Green Bay plays really hard. They are going to post up our guards. 

 

“If we aren’t good defensively, we could find ourselves in some trouble. We are going to have to do a good job defensively. 

 

“We have to try and take people out of what they want to do and impose our will. Offensively, we have to continue to work hard and not settle.”

 

He was not wrong about the Phoenix. They hung around and hung around and only trailed by two at half. 

 

A 22-12 third and 5-0 start to the fourth gave the Bulldogs some breathing room in the 83-58 win.

 

Bibby hit 3-of-4 3s in the first half and finished 18.  Rickea Jackson also scored 18, her career best. 

 

Danberry led everyone with 21, 7-of-11 from the floor.

 

“We talk about having opportunities to play for championships here at Mississippi State,” said Schaefer. “We will have a chance to win a championship here in this tournament. 

 

“That is what we came here for. I am excited for the opportunity. Both teams are well-coached. Two different styles but big. They are really big.”

 

 After a slow start, Mississippi State took over the game on both ends in the second half, outscoring Green Bay, 45-22, after halftime. 

 

After the Phoenix knocked down six 3s in the first half, they did not hit another one.

 On offense, Danberry and Jackson combined for 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting to allow the Bulldogs to pull away.

 

“I just think our defense and our pressure wears on people,” said Schaefer about the halftime adjustments. “It wore on them tonight. I don’t know what the final total was on turnovers, but they had nine at halftime. I thought our execution on the half court offensively was really good. I think defensively holding them to 22 points was pretty good.”

 

 State shot 60 percent in the final quarter.

 

Mississippi State once again won the battle underneath, outscoring the Phoenix 40-24 in the paint down low and outrebounding them 36-30. 

 

State also had eight blocks, seven steals and forced 20 turnovers that resulted in 26 points for the Bulldogs.

 

State put it away by hitting 60 percent from the field in the period while holding the Phoenix to 3-of-11 shooting.

 

But now loomed No. 3 Stanford. 

 

In their previous game, all the starters performed well in the rout of No. 18 Syracuse. But it was freshman Hannah Jump off the bench leading them early.

 

So here it was, two undefeated Top 10 teams, each with a rich tradition, in the title game of a fine tournament.

 

State was losing the rebounds fight 18-7 after one, but were winning on the scoreboard, 15-12. 

 

Stanford was 8-of-8 from the line. Every State starter scored.

 

 The quarter went back and forth, neither side claiming any great momentum.

 

Tara Vanderveer kept with her tradition of liberal substitutions, using six reserves. 

State used two. The Cardinal edged ahead by three, but the Bulldogs responded to tie it at 25 with five minutes before halftime.

 

Stanford’s 10-rebounding advantage was offset by shooting 29 percent from the floor, Mississippi State was shooting 45 percent. 

 

Espinoza-Hunter and Jackson each hit 3s. 

 

State tried to be more deliberate but Stanford was having none of it. 

 

It remained tied, at 31.

 

Stanford freshman forward Francesca Belibi was 3-of-4 from the field and the first player to 10, against a season average of six.

 

 With 34 seconds left, Stanford had the biggest lead of the game, four points. 

 

 Jackson came out of a time out with a power drive for a layin as the leading Bulldog scorer with nine.

 

 State gained possession and worked for a final shot which lipped out. 

 

Stanford led, 35-33. 

 

It was State’s lowest halftime score.

 

Stanford went on a 12-0 run in 1:46 and so had a 47-35 lead with possession. 

 

The run defined the game.

 

The big difference remained the 10-of-11 from the line for the Cardinal. 

 

State was awarded only three tries. But the Stanford matchup zone frustrated State, which hadn’t scored in four minutes.

 

It was 55-47 at the end of three, that big run defining the game. 

 

No Bulldog was in double figures. Danberry had the biggest falloff – or was it the defense -- was from 21 points the night before to four this night.

 

State simply could not make it work on offense. 

 

Stanford was coolly killing them. 

 

With 7:30 to go the lead was 13. Jackson had four fouls and Danberry three. Nobody on Stanford had more than two.

 

State tried full-court pressure, but Stanford was unimpressed. Stanford ruled rebounds, 46-24, 32 on defense. 

 

It was pretty obvious which team would win this title. 

 

With the No.1 and No.2 teams in the poll already beaten this night, Stanford was also playing for the top spot after eight wins.

 

The Bulldogs cut it to seven inside of three minutes. Jackson scored and it was a five- point game with 68 seconds left.

 

Jackson finished with 15 points and Carter 10 with four blocks. 

 

Jamaya Mingo-Young hit two free throws. 

 

They were down by three with 34 seconds left and missed a 3.

 

Danberry had to foul to stop the clock. Stanford hit two free throws, 67-62.

 

Part of the comeback was aided by a right knee injury to junior guard Kiara Williams.

 

She fell hard with 3:24 left and was unable to put weight on it. 

 

VanDerveer said she was removed as a precaution.

 

 She iced the knee for the rest f the game. 

 

Afterwards, she said it was “scary” but was not as serious as it appeared.

 

“When she went out, that really was a test for our team to have other people -- Anna Wilson, Jenna Brown, Haley Jones -- step up,” said VanDerveer.

 

“That’s the No. 3 team in the country. We just took them down to the wire and had a chance to win,” Schaefer said. “We made them play down there.”

 

It was small consolation, but State held Stanford below its 86.1 scoring average and average point spread of 27. It was an NCAA worthy confrontation.

 

 ”(This) taught the young players a lot,” VanDerveer said. “I think this will help our team’s confidence. (Mississippi State) are a great program and they play a very physical, aggressive brand of basketball that’s hard to play against.”

 

“We have a very young team,” VanDerveer said. “People really stepped up and it was very exciting.”

 

“We didn’t come out in the second half ready to play,” Schaefer said. ”They did and they popped us.

“I am disappointed, but I am proud of my kids.

 

“I thought we fought and competed. I thought we made enough plays there at the end to win. We had something go against us that shouldn’t have, but that’s part of the game.

 

“We ended up putting a young lineup out on the floor. Just real proud of those kids and how hard they competed. I just love their toughness.

 

 ”JaMya played her heart out. She came off the bench and played 30 minutes at point for me and did a heck of a job. 

 

“Rickea Jackson, Jessika Carter, two young kids who are just now getting into the fray along with Xaria Wiggins and Andra Espinoza Hunter were the other four.

 

“That group right there fought tooth and nail to the bitter end. Really proud of them. That is the No. 3 team in the country. We just took them down to the wire and had a chance to win. 

 

“We made a good defensive play and still had a wide-open 3 at the end to tie it. I am proud of my kids. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

State associate head coach Johnnie Harris said, “I thought we learned a little bit, fighting for rebounds. We lost and we gave up 15 offensive rebounds.

 

“I was really proud of fighting back. We allowed some 3s in transition. Once we went with Mingo, she’s fearless and she fights.

 

“We need to start out better, playing our game and imposing our will. We have to be better from the jump.”

 

Playing tough against the new No.1 team kept State in the Top 10.

 

Mississippi State has more than a week off before welcoming in No. 23 West Virginia in a one-game workweek.

 

No. 12 TEXAS A&M (5-1)

 

The Aggies announced their intentions against state rival Prairie View with a 25-4 start which established the winning pattern of the fifth straight win.

 

N’dea Jones fed Ciera Johnson on the drive for the first basket. Then Chennedy Carter made a layup, then Jones after her third rebound. 

 

Jones hit a free throw and was assisted by Johnson on another down low score. 

 

Two Carter free throws and a Kayla Wells layin and it was 13-4 with 6:49 left in the quarter.

 

Jones had two steals with a Wells Layup in between. 

 

Carter hit two more at the line, then Jones converted  a rebound into a basket and Carter hit a jumper, followed by a Johnson layup. 

 

A&M took two minutes off before reserve Anna Dreinane pushed a layup back in. Aliyah Wilson’s 3 made the 26 in the quarter.

 

The starters were on automatic pilot and the backups were filtering in. 

 

The defense held the Panthers to 26 percent from the floor and had 3 turnovers.

 

Jones had 10 points and five rebounds. Carter had 10 as well, 6-of-6 from the line.

 

Gary Blair had mixed in six reserves, with five scoring. 

 

The pattern established, it was 69-29 at the end of three, Carter with 20, Jones with 16. 

 

Carter has 51 games of more than 20. 

 

So far, she was 7-of-9 from the floor and earned no free throws in the quarter. 

 

Her work for the night was done. 

 

The Aggies caused 17 turnovers in the third quarter.

 

An all-reserve quintet started the final quarter.

 

Staying in-state came the challenge of No. 12 Florida State

 

The Seminoles wore the Aggies out and turned them to dust at the end in a convincing 80-58 win.

 

It was a tight first quarter. Chennedy Carter scored 10 of A&M's 20 points in the opening period and the Aggies held a two-point advantage. 

 

She only scored 10 the rest of the way, hassled into an 8-of-22 day from the floor.

 

The Seminoles turned up the defense. They went on a 7-0 run to start the second The Aggies responded with four straight scoring possessions, but State held a 40-32 halftime edge.

 

A&M had a 10-2 run left, but still trailed, Florida State hanging on to a two-point lead after three. 

 

Then came the collapse, a 19-6 Seminole fourth. The better team always had enough to win the fourth.

 

The Seminoles are relying on three seniors this season.

 

In this one, Nausia Woolfolk had a big first half, Kiah Gillespie hit the shot that put Florida State up by double digits and Nicki Ekhomu helped put her team back in control.

 

Woolfolk scored 18 of her season-high 24 before halftime, Kiah Gillespie added 22 with nine rebounds and Ekhomu finished with a career-high 12 assists.

 

"They all just play such a strong role for us," said coach Sue Semrau, who's seeking a third trip to the Elite Eight in the past six seasons. "I thought Woolfolk got us going early. 

 

“And then Kiah in the second half, she had rhythm shots. She took 'em. She hit 'em. And then Nicki just runs the show."

 

The first meeting between the teams since the Seminoles won on the Aggies' home court in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament came at TCU in the Maggie Dixon Classic, named for the late sister of Horned Frogs men's coach Jamie Dixon.

 

It's the second straight year TCU has hosted the event, in its 14th season. 

 

The previous year, coach Gary Blair and his Aggies were the hosts. 

 

Maggie Dixon died of heart arrhythmia in 2006. The first tournament in her honor was later that year at Army, where she coached.

 

Carter, who went to high school in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, missed all seven of her 3-point attempts, including a good look that could have pulled Texas A&M within four late in the third quarter.

 

"Chennedy has got to learn what the defense is giving her," coach Gary Blair said. "What they're giving her, they want her to shoot the 3.

 

“She wanted to come back home and put on a show like she's been putting a show on everybody all year. This wasn't one of her better decision games offensive or defensively."

 

Gillespie was 5-of-6 from inside the 3-point line while going 3 of 10 outside the arc, but one of those 3s opened the second half and gave the Seminoles their first double-digit lead at 43-32.

 

Florida State's 13-point lead in the third quarter was down to five late in the period before buckets late in the shot clock from Kourtney Weber and Ekhomu, who assisted on Weber's basket and finished with 15 points.

 

"When we cut it down to five, we should have capitalized," said Shambria Washington, who had the Aggies' only 3-pointer as they finished 1-of-11 from beyond the arc. "We didn't capitalize on our moment when he had the chance."

 

Florida State moved into the Top 10 at No. 8.

 

There were some positives. A&M's 17 assists were the second most this season. 

 

The 20 rebounds kept them with at least 30 for every game. Carter moved into fifth on A&M's all-time career scoring list.

 

Last season, the Aggies were 4-4 against AP Top 25 opponents, most of those in conference. State had already defeated LSU and Florida.

 

The Aggies average a plus-15.8 rebounding margin (No. 2 in the SEC behind Tennessee).

 

SEC scoring leader Carter (23.2) had scored at least 20 in five straight.

 

 Ciera Johnson is shooting 60 percent from the field (No. 4 in the SEC. The Aggies start ths week with a much-easier opponent at home, Central Arkansas, in a pre-noon start for Elementary School Day.  They are favored in the final seven before the SEC starts.

 

Losing to a lower-ranked team pushed A&M out of the top 10. 

 

No. 16 KENTUCKY (7-0)

 

A 42-17 opening half had the Kats well on the way to a sixth straight win, over Grambling.

 

Rhyne Howard was 5-of-8 from the field, 3-of-5 3s. 3-of-4 free throws and had 16 points. The Kats were winning on percentage shots, 54-29 percent and rebounds, 18-8. They had created 14 turnovers. 

 

The destiny of this game was defined by the 22-5 second quarter. It was the second of what should be seven straight home wins.

 

They used a 21-2 run in the second quarter to break it open. Unfortunately, only 3,716 chose to attend

Howard hit a season-high 27 points – 10 in the first quarter -- to lead Kentucky to its sixth straight win, against no losses, to start the season.

 

Sophomore reserve Blair Green hit a season-high 12, 5-of-6 from the field, 2-of-3 3s. 

 

Grambling did not hit a 3, the first UK’s defense has done that since early 2016. In the second half they got no closer than 37.

 

“The team is working hard and fighting every day to improve, so that’s what we have to keep doing and really happy with the victory tonight,” said coach Matthew Mitchell.

 

Green said, “With her being the great scorer that Rhyne is, she’s also a great passer, so if we are standing there watching she might hit us in the face with the ball, because she’s looking to score but she also looking to get her teammates involved, so just always moving is probably helping her out.

 

“I always try to bring energy, whatever we’re lacking, I try to bring to my game, whatever my team needs from me, just for them to pick up the energy and to continue to bring energy was something special for tonight.

 

 ” I made a lot of mistakes last year trying to force things or trying to create things that I see that my teammates didn’t see, but sometimes we’re just not on the same page. 

 

“So watching film and also communicating with them is really helping me.”

 

Another valued traditional state rival, Austin Peay.

 

UK had five players score in double figures in the 81-52 runaway.

 

 Howard led everyone with 14 points, Junior KeKe McKinney scored a season-high 12. Ogechi Anyagaligbo, Sabrina Haines and Jaida Roper each had 10. 

 

Haines also tied a career high with nine rebounds. It was the first time since last December that the Cats had five players in double figures in scoring.

 

Kentucky hit 56.7 percent) from the floor, holding Austin Peay to 32.8 percent. The Cats forced 22 Lady Gov turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues.

 

 Kentucky an 11-2 and extended that to 16-5. Austin Peay closed the first period on a 7-2 run, cutting Kentucky's lead to 24-17.

 

 Kentucky scored the first seven points of the second period, and assembled an 18-2 run to stretch the lead to 42-19. 

 

Eight different Wildcats scored in the period as Kentucky outscored Austin Peay 21-6 to take a 45-23 lead into the break. Kentucky scored 16 points off of Austin Peay's 15 first-half turnovers.

 

 In the third period, the teams started in opposite directions.

 

 While Kentucky made three of its first four shots from the field, Austin Peay missed its first five shots, as the Cats extended its lead to 52-23. 

 

Austin Peay hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 52-30, but Kentucky led 61-33 after three periods. 

 

The lead was as much as 35 in the fourth period before settling for the 29-point victory.

 

Mitchell said “They have our respect. They played really, really, hard, and tough today. Our players played hard as well so I’m proud of that. 

 

“We continued to improve some areas, and offensively we had some improvement today. 

 

“We shot over 50 percent for the first time all year and that was good. I feel like that’s the kind of team we can be. 

 

“We just need to try to keep going defensively and just try to keep getting better. So good win and looking forward to the next practice to try to get a little bit better.”

 

“We’ve worked extremely hard on our offense and our offensive skills and so the coaches break up into three areas and each coach has a small group working on their individual skills and I think the players have worked very hard on trying to get better from that perspective. 

 

“Then, as a team we’ve just tried to be intentional about taking our shots and our spacing, our timing, our shot selection, and I do feel like we’re getting better at that. It’s been a lot of hard work.”

 

 “Great day for Ogechi (in her first start), Tatyana Wyatt had a migraine-level headache, we’re not sure exactly if it was a migraine, but it was a really debilitating headache for her today, so she was, as we all were, sad she couldn't go, but an awesome opportunity to Ogechi and I thought she played with some great poise and some great toughness and that’s what we need from her. 

 

“We need her to be a physical, tough interior presence for us and she was that today, so really, happy with her stepping up and filling in and a tough situation losing Tatyana. 

 

“She’s one of our top producers and so you lose someone like that you get concerned and it will get you to step and fill in a really significant way today. 

 

“( Sabrina Haines) was real tough today. Sabrina keeps coming out with great games and doing a good job of being very productive.

“ She hustled a lot today to get some of those rebounds, really some tough physical rebounds today, and showed a lot of poise out there so I’m proud of her.”

 

  Guard Jaida Roper said, “I just do what I need to do, whatever my teammates need me to do, whatever the coaches need me to do, if they need me to come off the bench and be that spark, that’s what I try to achieve. So I’m just gonna keep giving what I got.

 

  “I really enjoyed (Ogechi’s start) because she’s a really tough player, a tough person, because she’s battled so many injuries. She’s bounced back. 

 

“No matter what’s thrown at her, she tries to put her best foot forward so finally seeing her kind of getting her rhythm and playing and out of her head so much, I enjoyed it for sure.”

 

Forward KeKe McKinney said. “Yeah, I love to see my teammates do well so when they make a good play you know I’m going to turn them up.”

 

 Anyagaligbo said, “It felt good, just being able to step up and help because a teammate is out right now, and just to help my team in any way possible. I enjoyed it.”

 

They drew 3,902.

 

No. 17 TENNESSEE (7-0)

 

It had been a week since the previous game, a one-game of the week, halfway through six straight winnable home challenges. 

 

The Lady Vols kept Arkansas-Pine Bluff winless, 92-51. The lovey parting gift was the chance to play in front of the biggest crowd they will see this season, 7,521.

 

Coach Kellie Harper appreciates the one-game workweek.

 

“It is huge,” she said. “We don’t get enough practices. It is good for us to get some practices in and working on us instead of working on an opponent. 

 

“For a while there, I felt like we just did a scouting report. This was really good for us. We were able to put in a few new things both offensively and defensively, to give our players a variety and also give us some things to work on for down the road.”

 

She said defense, her focal point, is a work in progress, but she is not satisfied.

 

“No. But no coach does. It’s November. We are still working on our defense. I have been proud of some improvements that we have had. 

 

“I think there are some certain areas we can get better at -- some individually, some as a team. 

“Also, as we add parts to our defense, different schemes, I think that will give us some variety. I think it will be a constant work in progress as we put new things in and try to get those things solid.”

 

The 9-0 start against Pine Bluff had four of five starters score, with nine rebounds (seven defensive) as well. Jordan Horston had missed three 3 attempts.

 

Junior center Kasiyahna Kushkituah has earned playing time as never before. 

 

At 6-4, she was matched with 5-6 Kyeonia Harris and quickly had seven points, 3-of-3 from the floor. She had nine in the half.

 

The 26-7 first already defined the eventual result. UT had subbed in the whole bench. 

 

Tennessee was shooting 60 percent, the Golden Lionettes 13 percent. 

 

Rebounds were already 20-6.

 

It swept to a 48-11 half. 

 

UT did not make a turnover until 90 seconds were left. 

 

Pine Bluff had no points in the quarter until then.   

 

Rennia Davis scored nine with eight rebounds and a block.

 

Give Pine Bluff credit. 

 

As Harper continued to coach within a game, they were only outscored 44-40 in the second half. 

 

Davis scored 17 in 26 minutes, with 11 rebounds. 

 

Rae Burrell had the best game of her season, also with 17, in 25 minutes. 

 

Kushkituah scored 15 in 14 minutes, 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line, a third straight double-figure game.

 

“Kasi is playing with a little more confidence now than she did early on,” Harper said. “She is more physical, which is great, because she is a very strong and powerful player. She has wanted the basketball. 

 

“She has put herself in great positions on the court to catch and score, and our guards have been finding her and rewarding her for her effort.

“ She has finished well. I am just really proud in how she is playing right now, and hopefully she will maintain that confidence and momentum.”

 

Many of the younger players had career highs.

 

The day before, a Pine Bluff walk-on and ROTC cadet Sierra’li Wade, had died in a shooting in her hometown. The team leaned of the tragedy while already in Knoxville.

 

Their coach said playing on was a tribute to Wade’s devotion to her team and the game. Everyone observed a moment of silence before tipoff, the fans standing reverently as well.

 

“First thing, I want to express our condolences to Sierra’li Wade’s family and the entire Arkansas-Pine Bluff family,” Harper said.

 “I know it took a lot of courage and strength to play today, and I cannot imagine what they are going through. Our hearts are with them right now.

 

“Well, we wanted to do something for them. I know it’s not anything big and nothing is enough at this point, but we wrote individual cards to their players and staff. 

 

“We gave them to them before the game, so they have them now. It’s just a small token, saying that we are thinking of them.

 

“You don’t want to have to go through a tragedy to put things in perspective, but it does; it puts things in perspective. All afternoon it has weighed on me, because I cannot even imagine being in their shoes. 

 

“That is a young life gone way too soon.”

 

As for the game: “I thought in the first half, especially defensively, we were pretty solid. I thought our energy was pretty good. 

 

“We did some things defensively with changing up our defenses to help that.

 

“We didn’t change it up as much in the second half, and I think that our energy was a little bit lower there. 

 

“Our execution in our man defense in the second half was not where I want it to be. 

“We were a little gapped out at times and gave too many driving lanes, or we weren’t getting out to the 3-point shooters.

 

“We can clean some of that up. They did a better job in the fourth quarter than they did in the third, but in the locker room right after, they were disappointed in their second-half defense. 

 

“That’s good, and I am glad they were feeling that.”

 

 Davis had been praised by Harper for her rebounding work, pointing out she is more than a natural scorer and that a result is putback points.

 

“Rebounds are on my mind all the time,” Davis said. “I just think that if I can give the team something different other than scoring, I feel like rebounding is that thing that I can bring to the table every single night, so I try to get at least 10 a night.”

 

Harper also said the Thanksgiving holiday was special in her first Knoxville celebration since 1998.

 

Her Husband, Jim, is an assistant coach.

 

“What is there not to be thankful for? I just love where I’m at,” Harper said. “I love my life, love my family.

“ I love working with these young ladies every single day. I am blessed. I am absolutely blessed, and I’m very grateful and thankful for my life.”

 

Sunday came with an Air Force fly-in and crash landing, 81-54.

 

Tennessee was led by sophomore Rae Burrell and junior Rennia Davis, each with 18 points. Even on a holiday weekend, attendance climbed again to a season-high 8,032.

 

“We did some good things that we can praise our team before. I’ve been concerned about it,” Harper said. “Now we have something we can work on.

 

“Sometimes you just have to have something, a tangible stat sheet that shows we have something to buy in. They had too many opportunities to cash in.

 

 “We missed more this time because of their efforts.

 

“We start defense with our point guards. Our team can be a defensive team.”

 

She said a tough schedule always pays off.

 

“We have to make sure to challenge our team. They will be ready in January.”

 

She said a focus for Burrell will be to channel her aggressiveness without diluting her enthusiasm.

 

“I think my teammates were just putting me in good positions to finish the ball,” Burrell said, “and that’s really just all I had to do, just finish. My teammates were doing the rest for me.

 

“For myself, I’ve just learned that decision making is important for me. That’s what I’ve been working on—trying to work on my decision making, especially with these types of teams. 

 

“As a team, we’ve just been really working on the details. Like Re (Rennia) said, even though we’re more athletic, we need to work on the details of boxing out and just doing the little stuff.”

 

 She said the four straight games in double figures was explainable.

 

“Like I said earlier, my decision-making and just being smarter with the ball and making better decisions with scoring, passing, defense, all that.”

 

 Rennia Davis is the undisputed team leader, statistically as well as emotionally.

 

“I think, on the offensive end, we were able to attack today, especially in transition,” Davis said.

 “That was a focus for us. I think we did pretty good at attacking and getting the shots that we wanted today, especially getting the ball at the top.”

 

 On defense: “Just the little things as far as like boxing out, which I think today it kind of caught up with us. 

 

“We did not win the rebounding battle which was a little disappointing for us with our size, especially.

 

“In that area, just being cleaner with our box out and going to get the rebound instead of just trying to jump over everybody, which we can’t do sometimes. 

 

“Just the little things in that area specifically. Boxing out is something she (Harper) is really focused on.”

 

With the improvements come higher expectations.

 

“Coach is very much preaching that it’s more so about us and not who we’re playing,” Davis said.

 “We’re trying to get better for ourselves, especially the games that we have non-conference and the SEC every single night. 

 

“We’ll see better teams than this, so it’s not just about now and the team that we’re playing now. It’s more about us getting better for future games to come.

 

 ”I think every single night we can come and we can shut teams down. I think we have the ability to do so. 

 

“It’s more so just about us committing to do it for the full 40 minutes. I think there are times throughout most games that we do it for the most part of the game, but then we have a small fall off. 

 

“Then we’ll gather ourselves back together. Just staying consistent in that area is what’s going to be the biggest thing for us.”

 

Sophomore guard Jazmine Massnegill said she likes assists as well as steals or blocks.

 

 ”I don’t know. I guess it depends on how I’m feeling that day.”

 

But she did have six assists this time, raising her season to 32.

 

“(It’s) feeding players in the right spot and really just trying to emphasize getting them the ball. We have a lot of scorers on this team, so it would be selfish to not give them the ball at the right time.”

 

 UT recorded a season-high 15 steals against Air Force, converting those into a season-high 21 fast-break points. It marks consecutive games raising both levels.

 

Burrell and Kasiyahna Kushkituah each finished in double figures with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

 It marks the fourth straight game the pair have come off the bench to contribute double-digit points.

 

 Freshman Jordan Horston and sophomore Massengill lead the team in assists with 33 and 32. 

 

If the season ended today, Horston’s average of 4.7 would rank second all-time for Lady Vol freshmen behind only Ariel Massengale who averaged 4.9.

 

 Massengill’s average of 4.6 would rank fifth all-time for Lady Vol sophomores.

 

UT has won rebounds in all six games.

 

In what used to be called Big Orange vs. Bigger Orange, depending which was hotter at the moment, Texas slinks into Knoxville on Sunday, another national cablecast after a week of preparation. 

 

The Longhorns are still adjusting after several defections!!

 

The Vols are more energized than in recent years with a coach that connects.

 

 

No. 23 ARKANSAS (7-1)

 

Escaping to the Bahamas, the Razorbacks went 2-0 at a holiday festival.

 

Fordham was a tough out, actually contested on Thanksgiving Day.

 

Neither side seized momentum to start. 

 

It was 10-9 Arkansas with four minutes left in the quarter, when the Razorbacks took off an 8-0 run. 

 

Arkansas was working towards even more open shots with a suffocating defense.

 

Freshman Makayla Daniels drove twice in succession and gained two layups. One of the Fordham starters had three fouls. It was 18-9 at the break.

 

They were locked up in the second quarter. The Rams went on a 7-0 run and the deficit was six. 

But Arkansas responded with a 3 by Amber Ramirez and two free throws by conference scoring leader Chelsea Dungee made it 34-23 at half, the lead increased by only a basket.  Ramirez had four 3s.

 

The third started as more of the same. 

 

Arkansas used its length to stifle Fordham, but the lead never really stretched until back-to-back 3s stretched it to 20. 

 

Fordham used a basket at the buzzer to make it as the final quarter started.

 

It was 65-57 with 80 seconds left, Arkansas’ first game under 80 all season. It ended with free throws, including an intentional to stop the clock, 71-59.

 

Fordham won the final quarter by five. Not a pretty win against an unranked team that came in 2-4, but still a win.

 

Dungee scored 24 with 3 3s. Taylah Thomas had a double/double, 15 points and 13 rebounds. She is the top rebounder in the SEC.  Two others hit double figures.

 

Fordham coach Stephanie Gaitley said, “It was either a silly turnover or a lack of defense. When you have as many scorers on the court as they do . . . they surround you with shooters. It is probably the most athletic team we’ll see.

 

“To beat teams like that, everyone’s got to be all in.”

 

Unranked Wisconsin of the Big Ten was the other game in the Bahamas.

 

Arkansas earned another tough win.

 

The Razorbacks started behind, 10-0 and never took the lead in the first half.

 

The deficit was eight at the first break and that only because Dungee hit two free throws with 17 seconds left. 

 

Two 3s by Ramirez rallied Arkansas at the start and end of the second quarter. The Badgers led by two at the break.

 

Dungee hit 4-of-5 free throws and an anemic 4-of-12 shots but still was the only player with double figures. 

 

Arkansas hit 32 percent from the field, Wisconsin 35. The Badgers had eight more rebounds.

 

It stayed competitive throughout.

 

Arkansas slipped into an 11-point hole, but responded for a 68-64 win. 

 

In the final quarter, it was the 3, 5-of-6, that determined the outcome.

 

Dungee had the game-high 27 points, the fourth straight game with at least 20. 

 

But it was senior guard Alexis Tolefree with 12 fourth-quarter points that confused Wisconsin. She cut the deficit to three at 54-51.

 

After a technical foul, and two free throws from Dungee, Tolefree hit another 3 to put the Hogs up 56-54.

 

Dungee drew another charge inside of 30 seconds. Tolefree free throws closed it out.

 

Arkansas was outrebounded by 17, but held the Badgers hit only 22 percent from the floor.

 

Junior guard Amber Ramirez hit 15, 5-of-10 on 3s, two of those in the final quarter.

 

Arkansas has four of the last five pre-conference games at home starting with the Kansas State encounter on Saturday – a week to prepare -- as part of the SEC/Big 12 challenge.