Lady Vols Fall to Indiana in Second Loss of Young Season

No. 11 Tennessee fell to No. 12 Indiana in the second home game of the season on Monday night. 

The Lady Vols trailed throughout against the Hoosiers, never being able to take control of the game. The loss marks the second of the season for UT, with both coming to Top-15 teams. 

Tennessee had a strong night from beyond the arc, shooting 9-24 as a team. Tess Darby and Jasmine Powell led the Lady Vols in the area, contributing 18 overall points from deep. 

Despite the solid shooting, Tennessee struggled to slow down Indiana's attack. The Hoosiers were fairly efficient throughout the entirety of the game, excelling in mid-range shooting while providing various sparks from three. 

Indiana's offense also played cleaner basketball than the Lady Vols on Monday, turning the ball over 10 times compared to Tennessee's 15. 

The most significant factor of the Lady Vols' loss, though, was in the rebounding difference. The Hoosiers out-rebounded Tennessee 35 to 33. This game marks the second consecutive game Kellie Harper's Lady Vols have lost the board battle, which is an uncharacteristic occurrence for Lady Vol Basketball. 

Tennessee's defense was terrific against Ohio State in the season opener until an inordinate amount of turnovers allowed the Buckeyes to dominate. And against UMass, Kellie Harper's defense played well. 

However, against the Hoosiers, the Lady Vols were far from sufficient on the defensive side of the ball. 

Indiana went on many runs in the game, including an 11-0 run in the first quarter that allowed the Hoosiers to play ahead for the remaining 34 minutes of the game. 

The Hoosiers found a lot of success with mid-range shooting, and the Tennessee's fairly soft defensive showing led to five different Hoosiers finishing the night with double-digit point totals. 

After the game. Lady Vols guard and point leader on the night Jasmine Powell attributed their inability to prevent Indiana's attack to lackluster transition defense. 

Meanwhile Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper attributed the poor defense, and the overall poor performance, to a "lack of toughness."

A specific example of Tennessee's lack of toughness came in the first half, when Indiana made three threes off of offensive boards.

Tennessee has a lot of problems currently, and there doesn't seem to be an easy fix. 

But Kellie Harper affirmed that the team will improve. 

"We will get better because we have to," Harper said.

Tennessee will have two practice days and an off-day before heading down to the Bahamas this weekend. The Lady Vols will take on Rutgers on Saturday at Noon ET. 

Photo Credit: Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Communications