Lady Vols hope success, trends travel with them to first true road games

What Tennessee's Jaime Nared has learned about the Lady Vols so far this basketball team primarily involves an anatomy lesson.

The senior forward has been impressed with her team's heart, which has translated into a 10-0 start and a No. 7 national ranking. The latest installment was an 82-75 victory over then-No. 2 Texas on Sunday.

"I didn't really know how everybody was going to respond, especially in big games," Nared said. "I think everybody is super competitive and everybody wants to compete and win. That's what I've learned about this group."

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Nared now will view these attributes in the context of Tennessee's heightened profile. UT coach Holly Warlick perhaps had the pratfalls of success in mind Wednesday when she jump-started practice by rebuking the players' effort and having them run full court.

"I would be shocked if they changed their demeanor, their personality, how they play," Warlick said beforehand. 

Tennessee's first true road games will constitute a different setting. The Lady Vols begin with a visit to Long Beach State (2-7) at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday. They play at No. 17 Stanford next Thursday. 

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The three games of the Cancun Challenge in Mexico last month included two of UT's stiffest challenges. A 101-99 overtime victory over then-No.20 Marquette featured five ties and eight lead changes. A 79-69 victory over Oklahoma State has added value, considering the Cowgirls have since lost at then-No. 6 Mississippi State 79-76 and upset then-No. 7 UCLA 87-72.

The neutral environment, though, didn't add to the degree of difficulty.

"Just staying together, that's the biggest thing on road games," Nared said, "just not getting into the crowd saying random, kind of inappropriate things. In road games, you never really know what to expect."

The Lady Vols will hope that two early season trends continue as travel companions.

For starters, they are outscoring the opposition 232-125 in the first quarter. Texas coach Karen Aston called the disparity "pretty staggering." Tennessee was a minus-46 in first quarter point differential at this point last season.

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The Lady Vols shot 31.6 percent from the floor in the first quarter against Texas and still led by as many as 10 points. They were ahead 16-11 at quarter's end. 

While Tennessee has trailed in four games, it's only happened in two games (Wichita State and Marquette) after the first 10 minutes. UT has trailed for a total of 25:29.

"We used to get off to such terrible starts last year," Nared said. "You never really knew what you were going to get. ... It's just completely different."

The other trend, a 280-131 advantage in free throw attempts, could be impacted by a road venue. Still, Warlick believes the difference stems largely from UT running its offense and attacking the basket.

"We're not settling," Warlick said. "I don't want them to just settle for a contested jump shot. If it's going to be contested, get to the basket. And we have players that can get to the basket. So that helps the situation with the free throws."