Lady Vols basketball's fourth-quarter fade again sabotages good defense | Adams

The Tennessee Lady Vols' return to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Sunday afternoon didn’t vary much from their previous home appearance.

They often excelled on defense. They were in position to win against a nationally ranked opponent early in the fourth quarter.

And then they faded down the stretch.

The 10th-ranked LSU Tigers (24-4, 11-3 SEC) pulled away in the fourth for a 75-60 victory, much as No. 1 South Carolina did 10 days earlier in a 66-55 win over Tennessee (16-10, 9-5).

Against LSU, you could cherry-pick stats and raise the question: “How could the Lady Vols have lost?”

They held All-American Angel Reese and fellow star post player Aneesah Morrow to 8-for-32 shooting combined from the field and limited LSU to 33% shooting overall.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey had a simple explanation.

“That’s called size,” she said, raising her arms to signify 6-foot-6 Tamari Key’s advantage against the 6-3 Reese.

Other tall post players have handled Reese’s first shot, only to be undone by her follow-up. Key and fellow Tennessee post players frequently challenged LSU’s second-chance tries as well — and sometimes even its third attempts near the basket — which contributed to the Tigers' errant shooting.

Another number worth noting: LSU outrebounded Tennessee by only four. You needed to check the Tigers' season stats to appreciate that. They’re outrebounding opponents by an average of 14.9 per game.

If you view Tennessee’s performance through a postseason lens, you could envision the Lady Vols being competitive against competent opponents. Of course, that’s assuming they make the NCAA tournament.

They’re only 16-10 but have a top-five strength of schedule and have looked the tournament part — at least for three quarters — against teams as talented as South Carolina and LSU.

“If you watch the games, we pass the eye test,” Tennessee coach Kellie Harper said. “I feel really good going into the postseason. I think we can compete.”

UT’s defense has been encouraging of late, though that wasn’t apparent when LSU guard Hailey Van Lith had the ball. She made 4-of-5 tries from 3-point range and scored a game-high 26 points.

Despite the problems she posed, Tennessee still held the Tigers to 14 points under their average. Two games earlier, it held South Carolina to 14.3 points below its average.

UT's defensive success wasn’t solely about how much trouble it caused on LSU drives. The Tigers also came up empty on too many unguarded layups.

Those botched opportunities probably factored into why Mulkey said, “I can think of six reasons why we should have lost this game.” Another factor: LSU defensive star Flau’jae Johnson was “playing sick,” according to Mulkey, though you couldn’t tell it by her stamina. She played 36 minutes.

Despite LSU’s uncharacteristic offensive shortcomings, its Johnson-led defense did its part by holding UT to 31.1% shooting. Harper might circle that stat. And it wasn’t just about how many shots Tennessee missed, but who missed them.

Point guard Jasmine Powell was 3-for-17 from the field, which was alarmingly similar to her shooting against South Carolina (4-for-17), and leading scorer Rickea Jackson made only 6-of-18 shots.

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Obviously, the Lady Vols' postseason chances will hinge heavily on Jackson. An off-game from her likely would doom them in a first-round NCAA tournament game. More perimeter scoring from Powell also could be crucial.

If the Lady Vols are looking for more postseason advice, they can add “polish up fourth-quarter play” to the list.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.