Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: The League That Honors Tradition

By Mike Siroky

 

If anything is true in women’s college basketball, it is that the traditionally toughest league – the Southeastern – values it roots.

 

This week, the SEC restored its most valued member, Tennessee, to the Associated Press Top 25, at least for a week, though it became two Monday afternoon.

 

There was a time when the Lady Vols had been in every poll, reaching back past the formulation of the women’s conference. They carried the league and three other future Hall of Fame coaches with them into the NCAA era.

 

 There was also a time when they started the only run of being in every NCAA elimination tournament. 

 

And, for quite awhile, every player who lasted four seasons were also in at least one Final Four, reaching back to the fun runs of the AIAW.

 

When Pat Head retired, she had the most wins of any women’s college coach. Two more with longevity have made that number reachable.

 

UT fell out of the national poll under her successor and did not start this season ranked. They were not ranked in the previous season.

 

But they were back in as No. 23 under Kellie Harper, starting the week at 8-1, 3-0 in conference with a flurry of consolidations that might well have been wins.  

 

They ended the week at No. 25.

 

 Will a loss this week to highly favored UConn knock then out again? 

 

With no other game to recover, it is likely. Of course, they lost right away to an unranked team and that did not help.

 

But there were three of those – unranked teams defeating ranked teams -- on the first league night of the week. 

 

There are no undefeated teams left in conference.

 

Sure, the Lady Vols still have to play ranked teams South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Kentucky, but that is just life in the league.

 

They also will get waxed by the inexplicable schedule of UConn in the middle of the league season. 

 

A win means nothing and the loss is demoralizing. 

 

Tennessee is not good enough to schedule such a loss during the conference season. But ego trumps sanity.

 

The NCAA eliminations are a little less based on angling for position as there will be no home or away advantage, yet overall records will determine the first two opponents.

 

We projected them No. 6 in conference and a NCAA qualifier in preseason and that is where they’ll settle.

 

Harper is in her second season as a coach in Knoxville, a former All-American and NCAA champ at the school, a true legacy whose playing effort surpassed her predecessor. She has at least one all-conference player.

 

Quietly, if past results are indicative of future earnings, she could rise to  No. 2 in conference coach of the year balloting unless the female coaches follow form and  just select the best female coach.

 

A national website picked Texas A&M as the national team of the week, making it two straight for the SEC. And they lost, of course.

 

In this time of Covid cancellations, Vandy ended a brave fight of a season with only seven players left and 0-5 in the league. 

 

How do you weigh the standings now, count the teams that beat them without allowing for at least the ranked teams who were cheated of a win. 

 

It seems everyone has already played a minimum number. 

 

At least the top seed will get a bye if there is a conference tournament. We have said since the preseason, it is all about university egos to force players into the Covid world, doubly stupid in a sport where every game loses money as no team supports itself.

 

In the SEC, Kentucky at Auburn was eliminated. These MIAs are becoming more and more significant for the less-thans as there will be no reason to reschedule for their benefit. 

 

This was on Auburn.

 

Nationally, Baylor’s coach was not yet cleared and so No. 2 missed its conference game with Oklahoma. 

 

They then lost at home after three cancellations and solidified No. 4 South Carolina’s spot in the standings.  

 

No. 24 Syracuse at Georgia Tech and North Carolina State’s games were also postponed in the ACC. 

 

No. 4 UConn was postponed at Xavier and vs. Villanova in the Big East. 

 

Washington at No.8 UCLA and No. 10 Oregon at Arizona St. were erased in the Pac12. No. 13 Michigan vs. Michigan State and No. 22 Northwestern at Rutgers was postponed in the Big 10.

 

Tennessee welcomed its best traditional rival, Georgia, and then had Alabama. 

 

They could not pull  off the sweep, losing the first game after being ranked and thanking the computer scheduling for a gimme in the second.

 

The loss means Tennessee will not win the conference. 

 

Traditionally, you must win all your league home games and pull off an upset. Georgia is still on that path, last winning in Knoxville when Harper was a playing Lady Vol.

 

Georgia pulled to 5-0 on the road this season and had been  one of those teams not to take advantage of Pat Head’s retirement, having not won in Knoxville since 1996.

 

The Bulldogs have five fine seniors. All are graduates, working on Master’s. 

 

None of them had won in Knoxville until this game, so it was a career moment for them.

 

In the second quarter, UT scored four unanswered baskets and separated for 10-point lead. Tamara Key led UT with 10, 4-of-4 from the field; Jordan Horton had nine and Maria Suarez eight. It was 40-25 at intermission.

 

But not over. 

 

They had done the defensive job on Bulldog senior Jenna Staiti, who leads the SEC and is third nationally with 33 blocks (3.0 per game). 

 

Staiti has scored in double figures in 19 of the last 20 games and has posted five doubles this season. 

 

She had two points in this one. 

 

UT imposed its defensive will, allowing eight points in the quarter.

 

But here  came Georgia, a 29-8 third. 

 

It was the Lady Vols looking clueless on offense with a single-digit quarter. Que Morrison and Gabby Connally led the charge. Each knocked in a trio of 3-pointers and combined for 27 points in the final 20 minutes. 

 

Here is an example of one third-quarter swing. 

 

Georgia’s Mikayla Coombs spotted Gabby Connally for a 3.  She assisted Morrison for another 3, Coombs fed Connally then Morrison for layups, four assists in 82 seconds. 

 

Georgia scored the final 10 points of the third in the closing minutes to keep the lead, 54-49.

 

UT could not buy a bounce in the fourth, stuck in a five-point deficit. 

 

Then UT senior Kasiyahna Kushkituah made a layup for her seventh point in the quarter and the deficit was three.

 

Morrison tied a possession ­­­­up inside of a minute, burning clock. UT retained possession and fed Davis for a lay-in, 67-66, Georgia. Bulldog timeout. No one scored again.

 

The last vestiges of Pat Head domination was about to be officially erased, the past far from prologue.

 

Tennessee used its three fouls it had to give. There were 15 seconds left. 

 

Tennessee got the ball back when Staiti missed two free throws, Georgia got the rebound then turned it over. 

 

Tennessee got the rebound and Morrison stole it back.

 

Caldwell turned it over.

 

UT shuffled the ball with 3.4 seconds left. Score and win or miss and die.

 

They missed. 

 

Georgia had trailed by 17 at one point. All UT could do was wait to be unranked again, but likely the root of being saved was Washington State, after its first-time ranking, lost two tough PAC-12 road games in overtime at Southern Cal and UCLA.

 

A typical SEC battle.     

 

Morrison had 13 points in the third when Georgia took the game.

 

“First of all, Tennessee gave us all we wanted,” Georgia coach Joni Taylor said.  “We went with who had the most energy in the third quarter. 

 

“It somehow takes us a while figure out who has the hot hand. And we have to play Tennessee again this season.

 

“There is no expectation of minutes. When they passed the one-time waiver for availability, we had to adjust. At the end, in those conversations we had no more timeouts. They had to have clarity, to do what we do.

 

“I felt like this team was different, to prove we have maturity. I thought Que did a heckuva job. She was a monster of defense. She’s our heartbeat.”

 

Davis scored 15, just two off her average. But she had been averaging 10 rebounds and got four. Rae Burrell had been averaging 18 points; she scored seven.

 

Tennessee defenders were clapping like seals. Morrison had 16 and Connally 14.

 

The Lady Vols could not use their length advantage – 11 players at least 6-0 -- and obviously need work on stamina.

 

Tennessee also once again devolved into the turnover problem that plagued them last season, giving up 24 after 19 the game before. 

 

Are they simply tall but undisciplined, uncoached? That’s been the question for two straight SEC seasons.

 

Davis said they all needed to work harder, to accept responsibility and not accept a comfort zone. “We took our foot off the pedal,” she said.

 

“I was obviously disappointed,” Harper said. “We were one point away from losing at LSU. We came home and lost by one. 

 

“I was really honest with them after the game, they better be better motivated. It appeared we were a little complacent. We stopped guarding. They were getting easy buckets. You can’t get outscored in a quarter by 20 points and expect to win.

 

“They came out and punched us and we didn’t recover.”

 

So here came Alabama, fresh off an upset of Mississippi State and with only one league loss. 

 

It was suddenly a must-win for the Lady Vols to recover an identity.

 

This is one of those defining weeks for Alabama, playing two of the ranked teams. The Tide has won four of its first five SEC games for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

 

Tennessee fought to a 16-all first quarter tie against a resurgent Tide. 

 

Six Lady Vols scored. Alabama had two primary scorers, its Jordans, Walker and Lewis.

 

UT pushed an 12-0 start of the second within the first three minutes.

 

UT was using its length on defense to confuse the Tide. They pushed the lead with 16 straight until Alabama finally scored with 4:27 left.

 

UT center Tamari Key, the tallest Lady Vol at 6-5, picked up a second foul but played on.

 

The Lady Vols imposed the dreaded single-digit quarter on the Tide, 26-7. Alabama hit 29 percent from the field, with nine turnovers.

 

Jordan Horston scored 10 with a 3 at the end of the quarter and a bank in at the buzzer. UT hit six of its final eight shots, 53 percent from the floor in the quarter. Key also had 10 points.

 

There was no comeback in the third, as UT maintained a 70-47 edge.

 

Rennia Davis had 21, past her season average by  eight and allowed rest with all the substitutions. 

Jordan Walker banked in a half court 3 at the buzzer.

 

UT kept their feet moving in the fourth. Alabama could not match their energy.

 

Key injured herself in the closing minutes on a fourth foul and sat down. It was still a 23-point lead.

 

Two 3s made it a 29-point lead. It ended 82-56. Put in perspective, Tennessee could have stopped scoring with 3:26 in the third and still have had enough to win.

 

Rae Burrell scored maintained her team-best average with 17.

 

Two others had at least 14, Key 15 and Horston 14. Davis and Horston were each 2-of-3 on 3s.

 

“We missed a lot of easy looks,” Tide coach Kristy Curry said. “Defensively, we gave up some easy buckets. We missed 10 free throws.”

 

Indeed, the home team was awarded 22 free throws, Tennessee eight.

 

Davis said, “We realized we have to play 40 minutes every game. We did not want a repeat.

 

“It is not necessary to say we changed, but we knew we had to go inside. It was huge to get this win, the right direction. Nobody can guard us when we score like this. No matter which one you pick, you cannot stop the other, inside or out.”

 

Kelli Harper said, “I am really, really excited. I really love our defensive effort. Our team did what we asked them to do.

 

“Their mindset was where it needed to be. They responded. This was about us.”

 

Alabama had won five of six in the series before this, but Harper is 2-0. They had won 11 straight this season. They failed to defend the home court.

 

As if Tennessee needs more challenges, they welcome in UConn this week.

 

For years we have said interrupting the league season only helps mighty UConn. 

 

Tennessee is no longer in their competitive orbit. A loss means nothing but depression over a loss. A win means nothing but a false high that helps the conference quest not one bit.

 

The interesting side note is that UConn features Evina Westbrook, once UT’s best player who fled the previous coaching staff when they became disinterested in her. 

 

She has started all seven UConn games with 26 assists and 17 steals as the playmaker, averaging 10 points.

 

“She is just another player now,” said Davis. “We have to suit up and play.”

 

Harper said they have to play hard and execute, on defense as well as offense.

Once part of the best recruiting class in America, with a rebuilt knee, only Kushkituah and Davis remain of the original five.

 

Tennessee has no other game this week with Vandy dropping out.

 

Texas A&M: The No. 7 Aggies have now lost five straight to LSU. 

As part of Gary Blair’s Revenge Tour – teams he lost to last season and five straight to the Ben-Gals – they went to Baton Rouge and, of course, lost, in a second upset on game night of a ranked team 65-61 in overtime.

 

And that was after they worked like heck to tie it at regulation, winning the fourth 15-8 but allowing the tie on LSU’s last possession. 

The Aggies truly lost their undefeated season on the road.

LSU took the first quarter lead, 17-15, Reserve sophomore Tiara Young scored seven for the Ben-Gals.

Blair was making adjustments, basically sticking with his starters. LSU doubled its lead. 

He said later he had complete faith in the lineup but later said the coaches simply did not do the job.

The second started with LSU still playing its game.  

Tiara Young and Faustine Aifuwa made the first two baskets. 

The Aggies were simply not accustomed to not defining play. Aifuwa scored again and the lead was nine.

A&M had never trailed by as many in the half.

A Karli Seay layup pushed it to 11. 

Jailan Cherry’s jumper had the lead at 13. It was obvious which team was playing with more intensity.

All A&M seemed to manage were free throws by N’dea Jones. 

LSU had a 34-19 lead with 2:34 left when Jones took a pass from Destiny Pitts to a layup.

Aaliyah Wilson, the conference player of the week, spotted Pitts outside and Pitts hit a 3. 

Wilson missed a free throw after a layin and the half was 34-26, a bit of an edgy comeback.

This is usually where the Aggie braintrust usually fashions a magnificent new game plan and the team responds flawlessly.

Instead, it was a 13-12 third, A&M by one.

The rumor of an upset was closer to reality.

A&M seemed ready to win anyway, closing in on an 14-6 fourth. 

Jordan Nixon scored a layup, was fouled and made the free throw. Jones fed Nixon for another layup.

These are the usual suspects in A&M’s success. Wilson made a layup. Jones did too. She hit one of two free throws. Jones claimed as rebound and Wilson a steal.

With 49 seconds left, Pitts hit a 3 off a Zaay Green defensive rebound and A&M led by one.

Wilson hit a free throw and crucially missed the second. “But who wouldn’t want the SEC player of the week at the line,” Blair observed.

With a last possession and five seconds left, Aifuwa threw down the dagger that tied it at 54, an assist by fellow-senior Kahyla Pointer. 

A&M had fought all the way back only to not win.

Pointer is not only the team’s leading scorer but also the assist leader.

Refreshed by wiggling off the hook, LSU seized its destiny for an 11-7 overtime, scoring the first four and then playing even. 

Aifuwa blocked a shot, Cherry took the rebound and Pointer hit a 3.

Time flew. 

Jones had a block and a rebound, but Wilson and Green had turnovers. Young had a steal but blew the layup.

Aifuwa had a block with a minute left. No one was timid. Wells had a rebound and missed the layup.

Green had a foul but Aifuwa missed one of two. 

A six-point lead with 45 seconds left seemed suddenly insurmountable.

Aggie Cierra Johnson hit two free throws. Khayla Wells made two.

Young made a free throw but Green rebounded the miss next and quickly set up a Pitts 3 with five seconds left.

A&M could not foul as Pointer streaked ahead for the layin and the 65-61 final. 

It only cost the Aggies one spot in the rankings, down to No. 8.

LSU coach Nikki Fargas said, “We didn’t want to look at this game and feel like we hadn’t prepared. We knew that this was going to be a fight to the end. Texas A&M is a very good basketball team, but so is LSU.

“We had players that we have been counting on in the last four games and I thought the play of Tiara Young was huge for us. She showcased why she’s going to become one of the best players in our league.

“The play of Khayla Pointer has just been solid for this team, and she’s a player that is very crafty and, obviously, she makes things a lot easier when the ball’s in her hand, but it was great to be able to come back in the second half with Faustine. I thought she really did a nice job of clearing a lot of those boards that we needed against a very tall and athletic Texas A&M team.

“We had different players make a huge contribution on the defensive end.

Karli Seay was just all over the place. There was a huge play by Jalin Cherry drawing that charge; I thought that was key for us. Just different players doing different things, even when we got in foul trouble in the first half.

“Our bench came in and really did a nice job staying steady, although we lost the lead and weren’t able to maintain the lead, it was good to have those minutes for them, so it’s a valuable experience for them as they’re moving forward.”

 

On trying to find rhythm on offense: “Yeah, it’s hard to do that when you know what you’re able to do and when you have Faustine and Awa in the game. For them to now be out of the game and we’re going with a smaller lineup with four guards and a freshman. 

“That’s going to throw the rhythm off of any team, and we knew that we were capable; it was just a matter of can we stay and keep that group on the floor, and we tried to as long as we could. 

This game is a 40-minute game and we knew that Texas A&M wasn’t going to go away, but neither was LSU.”

At the end of regulation . . .

“You want your two best players in the mix,” she said. “We talked about before the game, how, there’s a quote that Michael Jordan was talking about how many shots he’s missed. 

“Over 9,000 shots that he’s missed and over 300 games that he’s lost and there were 26 times that he had an opportunity to win the game, and he failed. Through all of those attempts and through all of that failure, that’s how he became successful.

“ I think that’s what we were able to do in game late; we might not have been making those easy shots or scoring, but you got to keep going at them and you got to keep trying. 

“To me it’s about the courage too for Khayla to play downhill for Faustine on that roll and get herself in a position because we knew that they were going to collapse on Pointer, and Pointer being handy enough to deliver the ball to Faustine who finished right there at the rim, that was critical for us moving forward.”

For A&M, Jones was about all of the offense, 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Pitts hit 4-of-5 3s. But they had 21 turnovers.  Wilson was six under her scoring average.

Blair was stressed, saying he was not looking forward to the long bus ride home.

As he usually does with any bad performance, he took the weight on himself.

 

“They thoroughly outcoached us and that’s on me,” he said. “They  thoroughly outplayed us.

“Defense got us back in the ballgame and I liked the defense we had.

As for a possible different substitution pattern, “There is no excuse for the lineup we used. That’s on us.

“We have got to score the ball in the paint. That’s the only way we win.

“Our offensive boards by our starters (four),  that’s not good. We just didn’t get the job done.

“We forced 42 turnovers. We did not score enough off them. The same thing happened last year when we lost twice to them.

(They made up the 17-point difference after three) “I thought that was going to be it, too. We have to respond like veterans. We had seven turnovers in the quarter. Sometimes, preparation had got to meet motivations. We had two great practices.

“I got to do better during time outs. On the last play, we obviously did not guard well enough, letting a post player get an uncontested shot.

“As soon as you get complacent, you lose the respect for the others.

“You have got to be ready for ends of games.

“The referees, the coaches, the players, we all second-guess decisions we have to make during ballgames. We were completely ready for LSU. And Arkansas.

“Before the year started, I would have been satisfied with a 1-1 split. During this Covid year, no. We do not know when it can all be shut down.

“It was a heckuva ballgame, we came back from 17. I was pleased with our kids. How they got up by 17 came from lack of rebounding by us.

“Mississippi State has our full attention right now. Their height scares you. We have a lot of questions on how we are gonna defend them and hopefully they have a lotta questions on how they are gonna defend us.

“They have all the ingredients for a Top 10 team. So it comes down to what scheme are they gonna play that night. It’s huge because it is a home game. You have got to take care of your home games.

“We cannot let South Carolina get way ahead. t is a huge mission for us.

It stings when you lose to your rivals.

“Our next game is home court, the advantage is everything. We had lost four straight times here. We got to use it against Mississippi State.”

That was the next game, two more ranked teams.

As he closed his comments, he was anticipating State would win at Alabama. He was wrong in the third upset this night of a ranked team by one not ranked.

Like Tennessee, they play this conqueror again.

And that set the game of the conference weekend, was two antsy losers, A&M at home for Mississippi State, on the down elevator  in the national rankings.

The Aggies scored the first seven points. State did not score until Aliyah Matharu hit a 3 with just under six minutes left. 

The Aggies bult the lead to 14-3. Cierra Jones ha two baskets in three attempts. A&M was hitting but 28 percent from the field, failing several times in close.

They held State to 7 percent from the floor, 1-of-13 The three points by State is obviously a season low. 

It was apparent Blair was outcoaching Nikki McCray-Person, another game failure for the new coach. 

 In the recent past, this matchup had been two phenomenal coaches.

The abysmal shooting continued. 

A&M was hitting 25 percent from the field, the secret of the 16-6 lead was 6-of-6 from the line. Each side seemed content with one-and-dones. State was 3-of-11 from 3s. But nothing was working. 

With five minutes left, State finally hit double figures, a made 3 by Myah Taylor, set up by Sidney Cooks. Taylor had eight points.

N’dea Jones scored underneath, then Cierra Johnson, 25-12 Aggies.

Rickea Jackson was 0-for-7 for State, a major disappointment against a 16-point average. 

They had seven turnovers, heading to their worst half of the season. Taylor hit another 3 and State avoided a second single-digit quarter. Another 3 and it was 26-18.  The five 3s kept the visitors in the game. It  was up to halftime adjustments.

Blair came out with renewed energy, ditching his jacket as he shouted animated orders. They maintained their lead. but seemed unable to dominate. 

The edge only grew to 13. Stamina was missing.

State’s Taylor did not score until a free throw to end the third. A&M ran off a 17-8 advantage and ended the quarter ahead, 50-31.  

Aliyah Wilson and Kayla Wells each had 11.

“I’ve been working so hard,” Wells said. “I have been in the gym putting up a lot of shots. They filmed me shooting and we found I was turning my body because of a torn labrum. So we adjusted.

“In the huddle we were stressing. We knew we had to focus. It was very distressing to lose. We wanted to move on and play hard.”

Blair frequently substituted.

Cierra Johnson doubled for A&M, 14 points and 12 rebounds. Kayla Wells hit all three 3s she attempted for 18 points.  The Aggies shattered a seven-game losing streak in this series, all to the previous State coach.

It ended 69-31. The Aggies had 41 with three minutes left in the third. They won the second half, 43-22.

Assistant coach Kelly Bond-White said, “Our defense was beautiful in the first half.  We just wanted to spread the floor. Wells is back. We knew she is capable of doing it.”

Johnson said, “We were able to get Jessika Carter in foul trouble. For us, it was to have a short memory, to take care of our business, to not lose two in a row. I’ve been complacent. I wanted to e a little more active today. But we look for who is hot and get her the ball.”

Blair said, “It’s hard coming back after that last loss. I thought it would be interesting in which team would respond in the first 10 minutes. We missed a lot of layups, but we were playing with energy. I would not have changed any of those shots.

“We made some adjustments in the second half on offense but never changed a thing on defense.

“We don’t care on who it is, all we need is who has confidence that game.

“Last year, at Mississippi State we were up by 13 at half and then lost. My message was to stay what we have.

“We are fixing to have four out of five on the road. I know what it’s like on the road. The setback happens, but the more important thing is the comeback.”

At 13-1, the one loss in conference, A&M trails only South Carolina in the league, No. 7 nationally.

The league challenge this week is at Missouri after seven days off.

 

Mississippi State: The third upset of the opening night of the workweek was Mississippi State losing at home to Alabama, part of a winless week for State.

They dropped five spots to No. 19.

Kristy Curry has the Tide believing. 

This limits State’s odds of winning the conference as you traditionally must win all your SEC home games to win the league.

Moreover, it is a disturbing report card for new coach Nikki McCray-Penson. The previous administration seldom failed in games against less-thans and never at home. She inherited more talent than ever has she coached. Can she handle it?

State has not had three conference losses this early in several seasons.

 

No. 14 Mississippi State dropped its home contest against Alabama, 86-78, after a poor second half.

 ”The biggest thing that I told them was that you can’t lose games like this, not when you have the game in control,” said McCray-Penson. “This is a very experienced team. We needed to execute the game plan for 40 minutes. We have to do that to win games.

“The other thing is that we are a team that gets in the paint. We had 30 points in the first half and four in the second. We went away from what we wanted to do. We just didn’t execute. I told them that you just have to know the scout for 40 minutes.

 ”Alabama  came in with an attack mentality. I thought they had us on our heels in the second half. I thought we had them right where we needed to in the first half. In the second half, we talked about what to expect. We didn’t handle it. We couldn’t guard them at the rim.”

After taking an 11-point lead into halftime, Mississippi State (8-3, 3-2 SEC) was outscored 53-34 in the second half. The Crimson Tide (11-1, 4-1 SEC) hit 59 percent (20-of-34) of its shots. After scoring just two points in the paint during the first 20 minutes, Alabama adjusted and scored 28 points in the paint in the second half.

 They also won rebounds, 44-34 allowing 16 offensive boards. The Crimson Tide turned those second-chance opportunities into 21 points. Although State won the scoring battle down low 34-30, 

Alabama was able to get to the line 11 more times than MSU, shooting 17-of-21 on free throws.

 State shot 47 percent from the field, it won bench points, 31-6. The Bulldogs also did well in transition, recording 23 fast-break points compared to seven for Alabama. State had assists on 20 of 31 baskets.

 Rickea Jackson and Myah Taylor were the leading scorers for Mississippi State, 15 each. But Jackson had six after halftime. Taylor had three 3s. Jessika Carter narrowly missed a double, 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and an assist.

Madison Hayes and Aliyah Matharu both earned their first starts of the season for State, Hayes the first  of her career.

 Alabama was led by five double-digit scorers. Jordan Lewis paced the Tide with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Crimson Tide hit 11 3s.

The opening period was all offense showdown. State hit 69 percent from the field. Alabama countered with five 3s. Taylor had a pair of 3s. State led the quarter, 22-21.

State looked like the ranked team in the second. The Bulldogs held the  Tide to  13 percent shooting for the quarter. 2-of-16)  State didn’t allow a basket for a stretch of 7:43 during the period, Jackson scored  nine. State led, 44-33, at halftime.

 The better coach in this one made better adjustments.

Alabama hit  eight of its first 11 shots in the third. The deficit was three with 4:02 left in the period. UA shot 58 percent from the field for the stanza. After the Crimson Tide tied it, Jackson hie a 3  from the corner with 36 seconds remaining to keep State ahead, 62-61.

 Each side used 5-0 scoring runs to open the fourth. Alabama pulled away by hitting 60 percent from the floor during the period. They sealed deal with 6-of-6 at the line in the quarter. 

All five of Alabama’s starters finished in double figures during an 86-78 victory at No. 14 Mississippi State on Thursday night.  

Jordan Lewis led Alabama with 22 points, half of which came from the free-throw line. Megan Abrams had a dominant fourth quarter while scoring 11 of her 18 points, and Jasmine Walker netted 17 to go with 10 rebounds. 

Hannah Barber had 12 points and a game-high six assists. 

Ariyah Copeland rounded out the group with 11 points and 13 rebounds. It is the first time this season all five starters hit double figures.

The Crimson Tide’s 11th win means back-to-back victories against the Bulldogs (8-3, 3-2 SEC) for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 seasons and recorded consecutive wins in Starkville for the first time since 1997 and 1999.

“I’m just really proud,” Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said. “Tremendous character and toughness by our kids down the stretch to make plays on both sides of the ball. I thought that Jordan and Hannah in our back court really controlled the tempo. Great decisions. We were fortunate to get Jordan a couple looks. I thought we came out and established in the third quarter. Got Jas some looks around the rim. 

“I’m just really proud of our effort. To have five in double figures. I thought there were two keys to winning. The first was to take care of the ball and have under 13 turnovers. We had 11. And you’ve got to rebound. You’ve got to at least stay even. To out-rebound them by 11 was just an effort category. I’m just really proud of our kids today in so many different areas. Great balance and great team effort.”

Alabama out-rebounded Mississippi State, 44-34, capitalizing on second-chance points, 21-10.

The Tide trailed the Bulldogs by one at the end of the opening quarter, however Alabama struggled shooting the ball in the second quarter, hitting two of its 16 attempts. At halftime, the Tide regrouped and scored 28 points in the third frame to close the gap. Alabama continued to outpace State, scoring nine more than the home Bulldogs in the final quarter for the comeback win.

Copeland and Walker recorded double-doubles for the third straight game together as they each had double-doubles against LSU and Vanderbilt.

         

Alabama’s 86 points are the most it has scored in the series since a 92-86 victory over Mississippi State in 2002.

The Tide took 11 more attempts from the free throw line than the Bulldogs (21-10). With two straight losses, the Bulldogs look for three straight against South Carolina then into Vanderbilt.

South Carolina:  The Gamecocks only had to travel to the bottom team in conference, Vanderbilt. 

 Coach Dawn Staley keeps creating challenges in games like this.

The result this time was holding the Commodores scoreless in the second quarter of the 106-43 rout. This has become an annual challenge. The Gamecocks did the same to bottom feeder Mississippi one year ago.

Victaria Saxton scored 20. “It’s all an effort to have a big picture mentality, meaning you don’t play for the scoreboard, you play for the moment,” Staley said.

They are 9-1, 4-0 in conference, having won 20 in a row in the league.  With four more wins, they will match their longest SEC winning streak, set in January 2016. They are the most-likely team to win all their home games again this season, continuing the record into next year.

Brea Beal scored 17, Destanni Henderson 12, and Laeticia Amihere 11. With limited minutes, preseason All-American Aliyah Boston had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Koi Love led Vanderbilt (4-3, 0-2) with 18.

“Obviously, South Carolina’s a national championship contender, and they were relentless for 40 minutes,” Vanderbilt coach Stephanie White said. “Their size, their length, their versatility. They’re great in transition, they’re great on the defensive end of the floor. It’s a tough matchup for us anywhere, let alone when we’re so limited in our numbers.”

She only had eight players available.

The Gamecocks never trailed as Boston opened the scoring with a jumper. 

They quickly pushed their lead to double digits thanks to a 12-2 run and simply dominated again at Memorial Gym.

 They led 30-13 after the first quarter and 49-13 at halftime. Staley said she was proud of how the Gamecocks played defensively, staying engaged for 98% of the game against a Vanderbilt offense featuring constant movement.

“It was a good game for us to gauge ourselves and try to put another notch under our belt to having some type of identity on the defensive side of the ball,” Staley said.

The Commodores struggled to score with their worst drought starting late in the first quarter after Kyndall Golden’s layup with 2:27 pulled Vandy to 27-13. They missed all 16 shots in the second quarter.

Yaubryon Chambers finally scored on a layup 9:37 into the third quarter to break the drought. South Carolina led 82-27 at the end of the third.

It is the 142nd of the SEC regular season for Staley, moving her into fourth place in the category. Staley broke a tie with Van Chancellor who had 141 wins in 20 seasons at Ole Miss. Chancellor also was Staley’s Olympic coach in 2004 in Athens. Staley is two back of Texas A&M coach Gary Blair.

On the season, Boston is 22nd in the country with and SEC-best 10.7 rebounds per game. Her 2.2 blocks per game are 29th in the nation and second in the league. She has posted four doubles through nine games, including two in the team’s first three SEC outings.

The Gamecocks host the SEC game of the week next, welcoming in No. 17 Arkansas. Then a rescheduled game at midweek has Georgia visiting.

 

Arkansas: One of the two ranked teams that did not lose on opening night in the conference was Arkansas at home in a very competitive 84-80 game with one-year-away Florida. It is Arkansas’ lone game this week. 

They had lost two straight and three of four (it’s a tough league), naturally against other ranked teams,

Last season, the Gators caught the Razorbacks for their marquee upset.

Even if Florida is better, so is Arkansas, especially with a bonafide player of the year candidate in Chelsea Dungee who right now is outplaying the defending player of the year, leading all conference scorers on ranked teams, 20.5. She has hit 31 3s and 90 of 112  free throws. The team has hit 147 3s.

She has help, as four Arkansas players hit double figures.

Lavender Briggs is a special player for Florida as well. But she didn’t have the same support.

The 11th win was a fun run.

Dungee scored a season-high 33. She hit all 17 free throws, another career-best.

Senior classmate Destiny Slocum scored 17. Amber Ramirez, off concussion protocol and a missed game, scored 12. Makayla Daniels scored 11.

They were all needed to offset Briggs’ 41, a career best and twice her average, as were the six 3s, two in the final 11 seconds. 

Kiki Smith scored 21 from the off-guard position. They are the only league team to start with four ranked teams after Covid knocked the original schedule askew.

Arkansas led for 37 of the 40 minutes. The Razorbacks hit 16-of-18 free throws and shot 50 percent from the field in the first half.

“We settled for three straight jumpers to start and that was not what I wanted us to be doing,” said coach Mike Neighbors. “We had a nice little six-man rotation.”

Dungee scored 20 and Slocum 12 (6-of-8 from the field) by intermission.

Turns out, they needed to maintain the game plan in the second half. Each side was a little gassed towards the end, Arkansas committing five turnovers in the final minutes and the Gators seven. 

Dungee hit all four free throws at the end.

It is the 10th time she has surpassed 30, the most ever in program history. She is the first Razorback to hit at least 17 free throws twice.

Briggs hit 3s with 11 seconds left and at the buzzer. Dungee hit her final two free throws with seven seconds left.

“We decided we were going to trap it,” said Dungee, “especially if Lavender got the ball.

“We scouted them and were sticking to the defensive play. We lost to them last year, so this felt good. That’s our team identity.

“We decided to double-team the ball. You knew it was going to Briggs. Defense in the first half was big on them as well.”

Florida coach Cam Newbauer said.

“I really liked our fight in the second half. I liked our belief even when we were down five with about a minute and a half to go. 

“I really saw conviction in our players eyes and believed that we could win the game and that was great. We really had some spurts and some moments that weren’t great, but we fought back to give ourselves a chance.

“Just had a few miscues here and there that seemed to be our Achilles heel in these games. But you know you’re on the road playing a Top 15 team with some great players and overall in that first half we just had too many mishaps and untimely scores with some defensive breakdowns. 

He said of Briggs: “Her pace was really good from the get-go when she hit that 3. She just had a lot of good rhythm. I was trying to get her more looks and just couldn’t get her as many as I wanted her to get, but she seemed to have the feel early and was just flowing real nicely. I thought the players were getting her the ball and great opportunities to scores.

“She’s a competitor. We’ve said it from Day 1, even since before she got here, that this young lady wanted to come here and really try to put us on the map and change this program for the better and that’s what she’s done.”

Neighbors said, “Chelsea was the kid who believed in us before it was cool. It is tough to be the kid we throw it to every time.

“She is going to leave a legacy here beyond her play.”

He said Ramirez’ return is, “Massive (confidence booster). I’ve asked Amber to be our energy and she has done that. She is our voice.

“Her presence has a calming effect on me.”

Now they prepare to start this week at  South Carolina.

The win “earned them the day off,” Neighbors said, “which was the loudest cheer in the locker room. I will not think about South Carolina until Saturday.”

 

The challenge at South Carolina is its only game this week. The recovery if they end up losing three of four conference games – all losses to teams ranked higher – are musts at Georgia and home for Vanderbilt. The Razorbacks may be no longer rated when the NCAA eliminations start and no one is playing for home court games, but they have the potential to win in the NCAAs against anyone else from any other conference through the Sweet 16.

 

This one of the most difficult places in the country,” Neighbors said of South Carolina. “Their team, their coach, their fans.

 

“This is an important game. We need to be prepared when they come at you with weapon after weapon. We really focus on us. Just knowing what they are gonna do does not mean we cand do anything about it. It’s gonna take a certain number of made 3s. It will come down to our ability to make shots. We have to focus on us.

 

“We are not going to change. We will be available to play our game, go the day of. We owe it to the other teams to be as safe as we can. We want to go as close to game time as we can. We made the right decision.”

 

Dungee is still in All-America discussions and is among the trio of likely conference player of the year consideration, with Howard and Boston. Their individual confrontation. Arkansas moved up two spots in the rankings, to No. 15.

 

Kentucky:  After Auburn cancelled, The Kats had one chance to recover from  back-to-back losses, at home for Vanderbilt’s last game, the first of six straight winnable games, free of ranked teams. It did not affect their ranking at No. 12.

But the Commodores proved they have a worthy coach.

Rhyne Howard, one of the best players in the league, has a left ankle injury and is day-to-day with a boot on the foot. Three other players were out due to the Covid protocol: as junior guards Robyn Benton and Jazmine Massengill and senior guard Kameron Roach . 

Vandy was down to the league minimum seven players, with Covid protocols and other injuries. Coach Stephanie White even had to suit up for practice. The end was near.

The 10th Kat win started as expected, 23-12. Scoring was spread among the starting five, Emma King the new starter in for Howard. Four 3s made the difference. Howard was missed not at all. Yet.

You have to admire a team with only seven players competing as well as did the Commodores. They won the second quarter, 24-15. They played the third quarter even. Vandy was ahead by a point with a minute left, by two at quarter’s end.

Koi Love was 10-of-12 at the line and had 28 points. Senior guard Chelsie Hall had 18 against a 14 average. For UK, Blair Green and Chasity Patterson both had 14. Green was 3-of-4 on 3s. The 

Kats’ eight 3s were keeping them in it.

UK needed to push them, wear them out.

Which is what they did in a 22-14 fourth. Love finished with 32mand will make an all-conference team. Green led UK with 33. Green and Dre’una  Edwards combined for 15 of UK's 22 fourth-quarter points. Edwards was first off the bench for 17 points. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and had a game-high four blocks. 

Significantly, it took 10 3s to provide the difference. Green had a career best 22, 7-of-10 from the field, 4-of-5 3s. UK scored six straight free throws in the final minute to seal it.

Senior guard Chasity Patterson said they were prepared for Howard’s absence.

“It definitely was big for us. We knew we had to have other people step up in this game because we were down almost half of the team. So, coming into this game, we had to step up and the bench  players had to come in and they did a great job. Credit to Treasure (Hunt), Emma (King) and all those who came up and stepped up today.

“Yeah, really was proud of how we shot the ball. I got a lot of assists, so credit to Blair (Green) and Treasure, they were shooting the lights out.

“For me, I know the foul trouble wasn't what I wanted but I'm glad that my teammates kind of picked me up.

“We love getting stops, so when we get a stop, we're going to be excited for it. For me, personally, my defense has come a long way, it can get better. Our team defense, we're doing a good job, we've just got to be more consistent and stop trading baskets. I feel like that's something we're going to continue to work on in practice every day. We're going to get better at defense, effort-wise.

“In the huddle, Dre (Edwards) and them, they were all saying we needed to help them. I was like, I've got you all. I've got to rebound as a guard. They can't do it all themselves. So, just trying to help out, get in there and help them out.

“It definitely was a big opportunity for Treasure. We tried to motivate her before the game because we knew she was going to get this chance. I was so proud of Treasure. She did a great job tonight. 

“She was being aggressive. We already knew what she could do and having the opportunity to do it. It was good to see her doing what she does best. I think this is just the start of something special for her because she's definitely a talented player."

Green said, “I was feeling pretty hot on my shot. My teammates kept giving it to me. They believe in me and I was confident so it was a good night.

“It was very important because Rhyne brings a lot of points and a lot of big plays and gets everyone open. Without her, I really need to step as well as everyone else who needs to step up and I thought everyone did their job and really stepped up to the plate.

“She definitely says lock in. We're prepared for this. They really do a good job of working us hard in practice so just be confident in ourselves and listen to them and really dial in to what this team is about and our roles.

 "I don't think I have too many distractions. Peers, maybe, just because they're really excited about you because they know you from high school and they are expecting that kind of stuff from you. Probably peers. My parents are just encouraging me and just telling me to lock in and dial in to what the coaches say because they really trust in them. Trying to limit my social media and stay off there.”

Her late 3 put UK ahead to stay.

"We just got a steal, I think, and Chasity was running down the floor really fast, which is something the coaches have really been on her about and I thought she really stepped up tonight and really threw the ball up. And they were kind of sagging back so Chasity was kind of bringing them into the middle and I was wide open on the 3 in transition.

“So, it was a really good play. And I know the next play down, Chasity was coming back down in transition and they kind of helped over on me and she had a wide lane to the basket. So, it's just everyone working together."

She also said  Emma King has earned a shot.

"Definitely. Emma is here for a reason. She's prepared. We're always getting shots with each other before and after and even off days. We're always in the gym getting up extra shots. So, I have the most belief in her and she really stepped up and played a good role today.

At halftime, "We just definitely said, we have to stop trading baskets and step up and get better on our one-on-one defense, make them have to shoot outside shots. Just limit them getting into the paint. I thought we really stepped up to that and we took pride in our one-on-one defense and got some stops. But, the biggest message, do not panic. We have been here before, we are battle-tested, we have enough players on the floor that can make plays, and that showed tonight.”

Coach Kyra Elzy said about the missing players, “Well, we found out yesterday. So, it was an adjustment when you're missing that many players, especially in the guard position, but we have talked all year, this is a team.

“We have to play together, we have to stick together, and we have to be able to make plays, we don't just depend on one person. And tonight, people stepped up who haven't been playing.

“Rhyne's injury is day-to-day.

 "Yeah, this was a huge win for us. We celebrated as a staff with the team, and I just keep telling them how proud I am because we went into the game saying no excuses, no excuses, we had enough to win. 

“And that COVID, it's a different challenge for you. Every day, we don't know what it will bring. So, we have to be resilient, we have to be tough, and we have to stay together. We showed that we can do that. 

“And, just the confidence of some of the players that are coming off our bench. We asked them to step up and play big minutes. That's why we push them in practice to be ready. But, this is a huge win. We could've folded but we didn't.

Late in the game  "I didn't realize I was animated. We were just trying to bring the energy in the huddle. As a leader, I was trying to continue to instill confidence in them and we were talking about in the huddle, we have been here before, we are battle-tested. We've been through the gauntlet in practice and in games. So do not panic. We just do what we do best and that is try to get a stop, push in transition offense and make it once possession at a time.

“Don't overthink it. And our players remained very calm and they're confident that they can make the plays that we need to make in order to win." On transition defense … I thought we took a step forward. But it's really hard to do a complete assessment with this many players out. When we get back to a full team, then I'll really be able to really judge where we are.

“But for tonight, we did enough to get the job done.”

A rescheduled game starts the Kat week at Auburn. UK is one game back of South Carolina.