Tennessee bounces back to defeat South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The first loss of the season, a fogged-in airport at home on the return from Texas A&M and a long bus ride back to campus — all of the adversity from Thursday night weighed on Tennessee coach Holly Warlick.
“How are we going to handle it?” she thought.
The Lady Vols handled it very well. Jaime Nared had 19 points, Evina Westbrook scored all her 16 points in the second half and Mercedes Russell added 16 points and 12 rebounds to lift No. 6 Tennessee to an 86-70 win Sunday over No. 9 South Carolina, which played without injured All-American A’ja Wilson.
Tennessee (16-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a late deficit to lead Texas A&M on Thursday night before a series of mistakes by Westbrook in overtime — two turnovers and fouling a three-point shooter — led to the 79-76 defeat. The journey home became even longer when the Knoxville airport was fogged in and the team’s flight was rerouted to Nashville.
But Warlick saw two solid practices in preparation for the defending national champs and was confident her team would bounce back. She didn’t have to worry about talented freshman Westbrook, either, who went 6 for 8 in the third and fourth quarters as Tennessee built an 18-point lead, then held on after the Gamecocks cut it to four midway through the final period.
“All my teammates, every single one, had my back,” Westbrook said. “I had to learn from it, move on and on to the next one.”
Russell, the 6-foot-6 senior starter, said she and Nared let their young teammate know that everyone makes mistakes and that Westbrook needed to shake it off and get ready for South Carolina. “You can’t get it back so forget about it,” Russell said. “Do the best that you can moving forward.”
South Carolina (14-3, 3-2) might apply the same lesson. It has lost two of its past three games and had not been beaten so badly at home in the SEC since Tennessee did it (73-53) on Jan. 3, 2013, in Warlick’s first league contest as head coach.
“This is how we used to beat up on people in this league the last four years,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said with a grin. “It doesn’t feel so good on the receiving end.”
Sophomore Tyasha Harris had a careerbest 28 points for the Gamecocks.
Wilson injured her ankle in the final minute of South Carolina’s win over Auburn on Thursday night. She spent the past few days receiving treatment in the hopes of playing but came out to the court during pregame with a pink cast and a scooter to keep her right leg elevated. There is no timetable for Wilson’s return.
Staley said Wilson remains day to day. She will get the cast off Monday and have an MRI.
Also potentially sidelined is Wilson’s replacement Mikiah Herbert-Harrigan, whose left knee appeared to buckle in the final quarter when she drove the lane. The 6-2 sophomore was helped off the court, her left leg held in air. Staley said the prognosis is better than it looked. Herbert-Harrigan will also have an MRI.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Freshman Gabby Connally returned to her home state and scored 37 points, 15 in overtime, to lead Georgia to a overtime upset of No. 17 Texas A&M.
Connally, from San Antonio, came in averaging 8.8 points per game with a seasonhigh of 13 but against the Aggies made 10 of 17 shots, including four 3-pointers, plus 13 of 14 free throws. Her 37 points rank third all-time among Georgia freshmen behind Coco Miller (45 in 1997) and Janet Harris (39 in 1982). Mackenzie Engram made 6 of 7 from the arc and tied her career high with 23 points while Caliya Robinson added 18 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Connally made two free throws to open overtime and the Lady Bulldogs (16-2, 4-1 SEC) held on to their lead. The Aggies were within five with 1:10 left but Connolly made 5 of 6 free throws from there while Texas A&M missed its final five field-goal attempts.
Texas A&M (14-5, 3-2) finished the third quarter with eight straight points to take its first lead at 54-52 and were up five, 68-63, when Georgia went on an 8-0 run with Connally making a deep, straightaway 3-pointer for a 71-68 lead. The teams exchanged free throws before Chennedy Carter banked in a 3-pointer to tie with 14 seconds left. Connally and Robinson missed shots in the final four seconds to send the game into overtime.
Georgia improved to 7-0 on the road, its best start in away games since the 1994-95 Final Four team started with 11 straight road wins. The victory was the first for Georgia in College Station and the first over a ranked team this season after losses to No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Mississippi State.
Carter had 31 points for 386 this season, eclipsing the Aggies’ freshman season scoring record. Khaalia Hillsman added 14 points and 10 rebounds, Anriel Howard 14 points and 15 boards and Jasmine Lumpkin 13 points.