Lady Vols Get Back on Track With Encouraging Win Over Mizzou

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The No. 13 Lady Vols came into Thomspon-Boling Arena on Thursday night 'desperately' needing a win, according to Kellie Harper.

And win they did.

Tennessee and Mizzou stayed tight in the first half, but a third-quarter eruption from the Big Orange Women distanced Kellie Harper's squad from the Lady Tigers as The Lady Vols outscored Missouri 26-6.

Alexus Dye recorded 11 points to lead Tennessee's third frame total in the third quarter, and Rae Burrell caught fire and posted seven points in the final four minutes.

After leading by only five at the break, Tennessee soon found themselves blowing out the conference foe heading into the fourth quarter leading by 25.

The Lady Vols junior guard Jordan Horston delivered again, recording her team-leading 11th double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Tennessee's overall offensive performance highlighted by Horston and four Tess Darby threes was encouraging, but their defensive performance through the first three quarters is what may indeed get the Lady Vols' confidence back where it needs to be at this point in the season.

Below are some game notes from a good night for Tennessee in Knoxville:

Horston Continues Excellence, Records 11th Double-Double

Jordan Horston has been electric for Tennessee's offense all season. The junior continued her dominance against Missouri, recording her team-leading 11th double-double on the season in a 21 point, 13 rebound effort at home. Horston was the bright spot for Tennessee in their blowout loss against UConn but had little help. Tonight was a different story, but it didn't stop the ultra-competitive guard from torching the Lady Tigers.

Stats: Horston shot 44 percent from the field, drained two triples in her 31-minute effort, and tacked on five assists to join her 21 and 13 stat line.

Many players joined Horston in contributing to a productive team effort, including Alexus Dye, Rae Burrell and Tess Darby.

Third Quarter Excellence to Contrast UConn

Tennessee entered halftime up five points after a competitive first half that the Lady Vols weren't displaying quite enough sharpness on offense, but any doubt of UT dropping three in a row was squashed in the third quarter.

The Lady Vols erupted for 26 third-quarter points and destroyed the Lady Tigers by 20 points in the third frame. Alexus Dye led the orange and white in the third quarter, posting all of her 11 points on tonight in ten minutes. Dye struggled mightily against UConn and committed a couple of head-scratching turnovers in the first half, but the Troy transfer's third-quarter performance was encouraging.

Harper and the trio of Tamari Key, Jordan Horston and Tess Darby commented on Dye's encouraging performance, noting it is huge for them as a team and equally as significant for Dye.

"When Alexus Dye is playing well, that's great for us as a team. She's a dog, and she's a beast, she just had to have confidence in herself and she had that today," Horston said.

"We had been talking to her about what we want to see more out of her for us, and I'm really proud of how she responded tonight. It's going to get her going, and I'm excited for that," Harper said.

Dye also finished with five boards and a 75 percent shooting percentage at the free-throw line.

Tennessee's third-quarter performance starkly contrasted their performance against UConn coming out of the break, as it was the third frame that the Huskies extended their lead by 19 and buried UT.

Tess Darby discussed the difference in Thursday night's third quarter.

"We knew we had to defend and help put the game away," Darby said. "It's as simple as that. We defended. We still had 20 minutes left, and we knew it. Our mindset was to go out and do what we do."

When Harper mentioned the third-quarter run, she credited the players for their ability to lead and be vocal.

"I felt like throughout the game, their convos to each other were really good," Harper said. "Picking each other up, genuinely excited about each other. And they fed off of that. It was a snowball effect. It was fun to see the unselfish, and smart play."

Fixing Turnovers

Tennessee committed eight turnovers in the first quarter, an awful number for a team already struggling in that area. However, the Lady Vols did not commit another turnover until the late third quarter and ended the game with a mere 13.

"We made some silly mistakes turning the ball over eight times in the first quarter. After that, we settled down and didn't play silly," Harper said. "We focused more, more on our toughness. We won a lot more 50-50 balls after that first quarter."

Tennessee has not been able to fix the turnover troubles that efficiently since conference play started. A crucial part of the Lady Vols' overall success on Thursday night was their ability to play clean down the stretch and make possessions count.

Tamari Key Gets Back on Track, Swats 11 Tiger Tries

This week, Kellie Harper said Tamari Key's recent struggles were due to mental hurdles, such as getting over her nagging ankle and playing without Keyen Green.

Tonight, Key may not have delivered on the scoreboard offensively, but her defensive presence gave Robin Pingeton's squad nightmares. The Lady Vols' junior center swatted seven shots from the Lady Tigers, improving her season, SEC-leading total to 88. Key is now four blocks away from passing Lady Vol for Life Sheila Frost for second all-time in Tennessee women's basketball program history.

"I played smarter today and didn't get in foul trouble," Key said. "It helped with getting the seven blocks."

While Harper noted she does want to get Key more involved on offense, her defensive presence tonight was pivotal in Thursday night's dominance.

"Tamari Key's defense is so important to what we do," Harper said. "She did a really nice job of being where she needed to be. She made very few defensive mistakes. And don't get me wrong, everyone else stepped up defensively, too."

As for Key's offensive presence, she keeps the defenses honest, as the North Carolina native will bite you down low if you leave her open. Her simple presence allows players such as Tess Darby to stretch the floor and have the triples rain down.

"I'm never going to be the fastest player on the court," Darby said. "But having someone in the paint like Tamari makes me very thankful to have on our team. Other guards and posts have to think about what they're doing when they get in there, which allows me to get open and make big shots."

Key finished her dominant defensive outing with seven blocks, five points, four rebounds and only two committed fouls.

Playing Tennessee Basketball Leads to a Confidence-Building Night

Tennessee came into Thursday night's game having lost their last two, three of their previous four, desperately needing a win. To win, all the Lady Vols had to do was play Tennessee basketball, and they were able to do so because they didn't panic and forget who they were.

"For us, a big focal point was to realize we were okay," Key said of the team's mindset coming into the Mizzou game. "There were things people were saying, but we had to feel good about ourselves and our coach. I just had to get back to what we do. And tonight, we played Tennessee basketball."

Harper backed up Key's post-game comments.

"Our team understood what they needed to look like," Harper said. "They were in a good space mentally coming in, and I'm glad it carried over. They got back to playing for each other."

What's to Come

The Lady Vols will look to build off the morale-boosting effort on Thursday night when they host Vanderbilt in a rematch on Sunday at noon ET in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt 65-51 in the first meeting. Still, the Lady Vols will look to put together a more polished performance to keep the confidence where it needs to be, as a date with South Carolina on February 20 looms.

Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics

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