WOMENS BASKETBALL

Lady Vols still need more wins to go with big win

Dan Fleser
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The sounds of celebration echoed through a hallway of Colonial Life Arena on Monday night.

The Tennessee Lady Vols were whooping and hollering while returning to their locker room after a 76-74 women’s basketball victory over South Carolina. Amid the revelry, there was a joyful reference to getting another “big buck.” The hunting analogy was coined by assistant coach Dean Lockwood before UT’s first big victory of the season, 59-51 over then-No. 10 Stanford on Dec. 18.

The Lady Vols did some big-game hunting against the fourth-ranked Gamecocks (18-2, 8-1 SEC). Along with their first victory over a top five team since beating the Gamecocks in 2014, it was their first such victory away from Knoxville since a 70-64 win over then-No. 5 Connecticut in Hartford, Conn., on Jan. 6, 2007.

Tennessee forward Jaime Nared (31) grabs a rebound against South Carolina forward A'ja Wilson (22) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Tennessee’s Diamond DeShields was mindful afterward, though, that the Lady Vols continue to be hunted as well. The follow-up to their victory over then-No. 6 Notre Dame on Jan. 16 was a disheartening 79-61 rout at the hands of Auburn three days later.

Therefore the redshirt junior guard was a quieter, sobering voice of reason in the postgame interview room when taking a stab at some perspective on the result.

“For us, we’ve got a lot more games left and we’re not in the best position in the conference,” she said. “And so it’s another win, but we have to keep winning. Yeah we beat South Carolina, but we have a lot more basketball to play.

“So just get to celebrate tonight and get back to work (Tuesday).”

The Lady Vols return home to face LSU (15-6, 4-4) at 7 p.m. EST Thursday. The Tigers’ defensive profile is similar to Auburn’s. They lead the conference in steals, averaging 13.3 per game. And they’re third behind Auburn and Mississippi State in turnover margin at plus-7.6.

Thursday is the annual “Live Pink, Bleed Orange” game to raise awareness and encourage funding for breast cancer research.

Tennessee (14-7, 5-3) still is trying to rise above a season of inconsistency. A modest three-game winning streak is its longest since February of 2015.

Despite beating the reigning SEC champions, who had won 30 consecutive conference games and 30 in a row in league home games, the Lady Vols didn’t distinguish themselves in the conference standings. They’re still among five teams with three losses. And Missouri and Kentucky stand out in that crowd by virtue of an extra conference game and thus an extra victory.

DeShields, who had 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks and just one turnover against South Carolina, said after a victory over Vanderbilt on Jan. 22 that the Lady Vols “were playing for their lives.” Given that perspective, every game fits Lockwood’s analogy.

“Every team in this conference is a big buck,” DeShields said. “It’s not just the top 10 teams.”

Nice Gesture: South Carolina and a crowd of 13,690 on Monday paid tribute to former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who died June 28 after a five-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Between the third and fourth quarters, the fans held up placards that spelled out “We Back Pat” and acknowledged some of Summitt’s achievements.

“Obviously we greatly appreciate it,” said UT coach Holly Warlick, who was in the team huddle and missed the display. “I wish I had gotten to see it, but I think Pat would’ve told me to get my butt in the huddle and coach.”

Notebook: Nared’s 27 points were a career high. She shared conference player of the week honors with Florida's Ronni Williams… Warlick said she considered fouling Bianca Cuevas-Moore before the South Carolina guard hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left but said Lockwood was adamant against it. “We stepped back (on defense) and we’re not supposed to step back,” Warlick said. … Nared and DeShields both played 40 minutes.

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