Lady Vols basketball won its first true road game, but Memphis didn’t make it easy.
No. 16 Tennessee couldn’t pull away until the end of the game, a 90-75 victory against the Tigers (2-8) at FedExForum on Wednesday. The Lady Vols have only one day to rest before playing Richmond on Friday and Tulsa on Saturday at the West Palm Beach Classic.
Here are takeaways from the win.
Jewel Spear is key piece to Lady Vols’ success
Senior guard Jewel Spear returned to the court after missing the previous game with a lower right leg injury, and she was crucial in the road win.
Spear scored 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting and hit three 3-pointers. She added six rebounds and four assists with no turnovers. She scored 14 of her points in the first half, when she had a plus-minus of +11, and Tennessee led by just one point at halftime.
Spear is a player who doesn’t hurt the team — she didn’t give up much defensively and she took good shots. She also makes the Lady Vols better just by being on the court.
“She’s telling people what to do, she’s talking, she’s calming people down when maybe we were playing a little bit too fast,” Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said. “And she did a really good job of putting her head down and getting to the rim tonight as well. So just all around, great game. Feels good for me to have her back on the floor.”
Tennessee got outplayed on the road
Memphis played with energy from the opening tipoff and led by seven at one point in the second quarter after an 11-0 run. The Tigers pressed Tennessee in the first half and their ball pressure in the half-court hampered the Lady Vols’ offense. Tennessee committed 16 turnovers and were able to force only 17.
Memphis beat the Lady Vols on what Caldwell wants her team’s identity to be: the hardest-working team in the country.
“I think Memphis definitely outplayed us today,” she said. “They played harder than us, they had more of a sense of urgency.”
Lady Vols struggled to create turnovers against great point guard
Tennessee had issues trying to create turnovers with its full-court press. Tigers point guard DeeDee Hagemann could break the press, and they were also able to dictate the pace more in the first half with fresh legs.
The Lady Vols averaged 42.8 points off turnovers going into the matchup. They scored only 20 points off 17 Memphis turnovers and gave up 14 points off their own 16 turnovers. That’s the fewest points off turnovers all season — they had 21 against Florida State.
“We didn’t do a very good job of executing our press, and that was disappointing, because we’ve worked on it a lot,” Caldwell said.
Zee Spearman productive on the boards
Zee Spearman got her first double-double of the season and her first game with more than six rebounds. She was efficient, shooting 6-for-11 and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
She had 18 points, 12 rebounds — including seven offensive — and three blocks. Her increased rebounding is a positive sign for Tennessee, which will need that production in SEC play.
“It’s huge,” Caldwell said. “I think we got 47% of our offensive rebounds today and she was a really big part of that. And when we couldn’t find a bucket, she would just go get one.”
MORE: What Kim Caldwell expects undefeated Lady Vols to watch on road trip instead of Netflix
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Takeaways from Lady Vols basketball 1st road win of season vs Memphis
