Game Notes: Lady Vols Remain Perfect in Conference Play With Road Victory Over No. 13 Georgia
ATHENS, Ga.– On Sunday afternoon, the No. 5 Tennessee Lady Vols went on the road to Athens, Georgia, to take on the No. 13 Georgia Lady Bulldogs for a Top-15 SEC showdown, and UT came out on top to the tune of a 63-55 win.
Tennessee improves to 18-1 on the season and 7-0 in conference play with the victory, having beaten five ranked teams this season despite losing Marta Suarez to start the year and Rae Burrell for 12.5 games.
A big reason for the Lady Vols' success this season, especially on Sunday against Georgia, is junior guard Jordan Horston. Horston erupted for a team-high 19 points, 11 boards and co-team-high five blocks to earn her ninth double-double of the season.
Horston, combined with elite defensive play and solid post presence, led Tennessee to a victory over a physical SEC squad. Game notes from the win are below.
Georgia Points Off Turnovers: 1H: 17, 2H: 1
If there is anything the Lady Vols have struggled with this season, it's turnovers. And in the first half against Georgia, Tennessee struggled yet again, committing five turnovers in the first five minutes and 15 in the first half compared to Georgia's ten first-half giveaways.
Entering the break, the Lady Bulldogs had over half of their first-half points (17) off of Tennessee turnovers, and the Lady Vols trailed by a point. In the second half, the Lady Vols had only six turnovers. According to the official Georgia-Tennessee live stats, Georgia had a mere point off of those turnovers in the latter half.
Lady Vols star guard Jordan Horston discussed limiting turnovers in the second half, claiming they were playing "frustrated" in the first half.
"We were playing frustrated. In the second half, we played tough," Horston said. "We are a great transition team. We only had six turnovers in the second half."
The Lady Vols' ability to flip the script on that narrative in a game where Tennessee was outplayed in the first half is indicative of their ability to find ways to win. Against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, Tennessee dominated so many other areas that turnovers weren't as significant. Against Georgia, Tennessee had to think of another strategy to put the No. 13 Lady Bulldogs away in the second half. And that strategy was shutting down turning the ball over.
Georgia was the fourth team the Lady Vols trailed to at halftime, joining Southern Illinois, USF and Stanford. The Lady Vols are now 3-1 when trailing at the half and undefeated when leading at the break.
Jordan Horston is On Another Level
Horston recorded her team-leading ninth double-double on Sunday, her tenth of the season. Horston has been the offensive MVP for Tennessee this season and is showing no signs of slowing down as the season progresses. Against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, Horston got off to slow starts but rebounded for big second-half performances.
If Horston hadn't been perfect enough this season, she thwarted three slow starts in a row with five first-quarter points. Tennessee was trailing by three at the end of the first frame and was trailing 32-23 with nearly 100 seconds remaining in the first half, but the Lady Vols turned it on to go on an 8-0 run to end the first half, led by Jordan Horston's four points in the final minute.
Horston has been one of the best players in the country this season and is crucial to the Lady Vols' offensive upside. Tamari Key is to the Tennessee defense as Jordan Horston is to the Tennessee offense.
The junior's poise, consistency and competitiveness have helped elevate Tennessee to a superstar offense to match their elite defense led by Tamari Key.
Horston has now scored double-digit points in 12 of 15 games this season.
Tennessee Goes on 8-0 Run to End Fist Half
As mentioned earlier, Tennessee trailed by nine points with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter, cutting Georgia's lead to a point at the break. Dye was responsible for two points, Burrell was responsible for a pair of free throws, and Horston had four in Tennessee's 8-0 run in 97 seconds.
After a first half in which Tennessee got outplayed and committed 15 turnovers, the Lady Vols heading into halftime down one point with all the momentum was a massive win.
Lady Vols Points in Paint: 32, Georgia Points in Paint: 22
The Lady Vols did not get many looks from beyond the arc against a well-coached Lady Bulldog team that played solid defense, as Tennessee went 1-7 from three-point range. It also did not help that deep-range shooter Tess Darby was unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols.
Regardless, Tennessee had to focus more on its paint presence. The Lady Vols did just that, putting up 32 points in the paint, attacking the Lady Bulldogs at the bottom of the key with Tamari Key, Alexus Dye and Jordan Horston. In addition, Tennessee did a good job containing Georgia in the paint, limiting them to 22 points.
UT found a way to score despite a subpar shooting day, and their shutdown defense was vital to Tennessee's ability to limit Georgia to a mere 23 second-half points.
Harper credited the Lady Vols' defense after the win.
What's to Come?
The Lady Vols have another road game up next as the Lady Vols will travel to Auburn to take on the unranked Tigers. Auburn is scoring the least amount of points per game in the SEC, so with the Lady Vols having not lost a game in conference play, the Tigers should not give UT much trouble despite playing at home.
The game will take place in Auburn Arena on Thursday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics
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