Tennessee beat Missouri by 45 points in Knoxville less than a month ago, but that game had little effect on the rematch Sunday afternoon. The Lady Vols came out of the gate flat and never really played with the kind of intensity fans expect from Tennessee. A back-and-forth first 20 minutes saw eight lead changes, and the Lady Vols clung to a 37-34 lead at the break. Kamiko Williams had 14 points in the opening period for Tennessee, while Morgan Eye led the Tigers with 11.

Warlick wasn’t pleased with her team’s effort Sunday.
Photo by Randy Sartin

The second half wasn’t kind to the Lady Vols. Eye scored 15 points in the final 20 minutes and the Tigers shot 55.6% after the break on their way to the 80-63 victory—the first win over Tennessee in program history. To make matters worse for Holly Warlick’s squad, Kamiko Williams left the game with an ankle injury, then Jasmine Jones exited with a knee injury. The extent of their injuries is not known, but if they miss the next game, Tennessee will have just seven players available.

Offense: Five Lady Vols scored in double-figures, with Williams’ 14 points leading the way. Simmons added 13, Spani 12, Graves 11, and Massengale 10. Despite the balanced effort, Tennessee shot just 34.8% in the second half and struggled getting looks down the stretch. Nineteen Lady Vol turnovers were too much to overcome.

Defense: Morgan Eye led all scorers with 26 points; 18 of those came from beyond the arc. Tennessee allowed the Tigers to shoot 52.7% for the game, and it’s difficult to find a positive note anywhere in this one. Missouri got great looks at the bucket, especially in the second half, and Tennessee never played the consistent defense needed to win.

Final Take: Tennessee lacked intensity for much of the game, and that’s become somewhat of a troubling trend for the Lady Vols. “We’re not a disciplined team when we need to be,” Warlick said. “We’re kind of all or nothing, and today we were nothing.”

Up Next: The Lady Vols play at LSU Thursday at 9 p.m. TV: CSS