Tennessee honored its former players at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday night. And those who returned must have felt right at home in the final seconds of the first half.
The crowd was on its feet cheering loudly, and the Lady Vols were winning by three points against a high-profile team. Just like old times, huh?
That’s only if you were referring to much older times.
Tennessee (15-9, 8-4 SEC) hasn’t made a Final Four since it won its eighth national championship in the 2007-08 season under former coach Pat Summitt. When it took the floor against No. 1 South Carolina (24-0, 11-0), it was closer to irrelevance than the biggest stage in women’s basketball.
But there was nothing irrelevant about its performance in a 66-55 defeat. South Carolina can vouch for that.
The Lady Vols didn’t resemble the team that had lost five games by Dec. 6. Or the team that looked as though it had never seen a full-court press in a 20-point loss to Ohio State. Or the one that lost by 16 points to Alabama just a week ago.
Instead, it looked more like a team that not only could make the NCAA Tournament but perhaps even advance as far as the Lady Vols did last season in reaching the Sweet 16.
Tennessee faded down the stretch, but most teams fade long before then against the Gamecocks, who are as deep as they are talented. After three quarters, the Lady Vols were deadlocked at 48-all with South Carolina, which was a 20.5-point favorite.
The third-quarter score is the one Tennessee fans will want to remember. That score indicates the Lady Vols could finish this season far better than they started it.
The obvious question: What changed?
In a word, “focus.”
“When we focus, it shows the top team we can be,” said Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson, who had a team-high 19 points. “If we played like that against all the teams, we would be undefeated right now.”
In fact, you still would have the South Carolina loss, but that’s not the point. Her point: This team is more talented than its record suggests.
“I think our focus was at a different level,” Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper said. “It was at more of an elite level. We’ve been growing into that. And our toughness was there. I think it was one of the tougher games we’ve played.”
UT’s toughness and focus were most apparent early in the game. That was crucial, because once you fall behind a team of South Carolina’s caliber early, you’re likely to get steamrolled. The Gamecocks’ average margin of victory is a staggering 34.3 points per game, which is a more intimidating number than their perfect record.
Intimidation was never a factor. The Lady Vols protected the ball better than their 15-plus turnover average per game would have indicated. They also outrebounded and outhustled South Carolina in the first half.
Strangely, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she had a bad feeling about this matchup in pregame. As her team went through pregame warmups – sluggishly, she thought – she remembered a game South Carolina lost in the same arena once before.
“The spirit of Pat Summitt will always be lingering around here,” Staley said.
The UT alums who returned for this game might have thought about that, too. Only in the fourth quarter did Tennessee look outmanned or overmatched.
“We’re not scared to play anybody,” Tennessee point guard Jasmine Powell said. “We knew we were playing the No 1 team. But we came out with confidence to play for 40 minutes.”
They came up eight minutes short.
The loss isn’t as significant as to where this game might lead. The Lady Vols play at Vanderbilt on Sunday and against 13th ranked LSU a week later. Their final two regular-season games will be against Texas A&M, which beat them by 15 points last month, and South Carolina on March 3.
That will make for a challenging stretch run. But the team that held its own against the Gamecocks for three quarters might be able to handle it.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols revive old times for three quarters vs No. 1 South Carolina
