Lady Vols basketball squandered an opportunity to send a message in its SEC opener.
It looked like No. 13 Tennessee was going to destroy Texas A&M on its home court. The Lady Vols were dominating the first half at Reed Arena, and things were clicking in every area.
They were shooting well. Their runs forced Aggies coach Joni Taylor to call two timeouts. Their defense held the Aggies to 11 points in the second quarter and they were winning the battle on the boards.
Then Texas A&M scored 52 points on 68% shooting in the second half, making Tennessee’s first SEC win under coach Kim Caldwell much closer than it was on pace for. The Lady Vols won 91-78 on Thursday, though, bringing home a gritty win from College Station, Texas.
“I think we had a really good opportunity to make a statement and we blew it,” Caldwell said on the Lady Vol Radio Network. “Up 22 (points) at halftime, math is 44 if we continue to do what we’re doing, which I think would have been the statement we were coming in here looking to have … We have a lot to learn.”
The Aggies (7-6) started the third quarter on a 7-0 run that made Caldwell call a rare timeout, and they ended up outscoring Tennessee 27-19 in the third. It helped Texas A&M that the Lady Vols (13-0) were called for 11 fouls, and the Aggies shot 11-for-13 from the free throw line that quarter.
“I was not at all happy with our second half,” Caldwell said. “We fouled way too much, we still got to adjust to the officials better. Offense was a little stagnant, and our defense was atrocious.”
One of the highlights was senior guard Jewel Spear. The Colony, Texas, native led Tennessee with 20 points and went 6-for-8 from 3-point range. Whenever it felt like Texas A&M made a push and got some momentum, Spear made a big shot. She added five rebounds, two assists and two steals while shooting 63.6% from the field.
“She shoots with confidence – I mean, I trust her on the floor,” Caldwell said. “Any shot she wants, she can take.”
Caldwell wasn’t happy with much, but she was pleased with the Lady Vols’ shot selection and offensive rebounding. They outrebounded Texas A&M 39-29, and 21 of those were offensive rebounds. Tennessee only gave up nine offensive rebounds to the Aggies, outpacing them in second-chance points 23-9.
UT shot 10-for-23 on 3-pointers, which is its fewest attempts all season. Shot selection on 3-pointers, especially on the road, was a point of emphasis going into the game, Caldwell said.
The Lady Vols’ defense remains a concern. It was better in the first half, but Texas A&M leading scorer Aicha Coulibaly was sitting for nine minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
Once she returned in the third quarter, Tennessee couldn’t slow her down. Coulibaly got to the rim at will and ended with 20 points.
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“We were lucky she was in foul trouble in the first half, to be honest, or it might have been a completely different game,” Caldwell said. “We were just trying to guard her one-on-one.”
The Lady Vols only have a few days to make adjustments before hosting No. 10 Oklahoma on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Food City Center.
“Practice is going to be a doozy (Friday),” Caldwell said. “We got to get a lot better in a very short amount of time if we don’t want our next game to be really ugly.”
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: Why Kim Caldwell was unhappy with Lady Vols’ SEC-opening win vs Texas A&M
