Lady Vols smothered by Texas A&M’s defense
Lady Vols basketball finally dug itself into a hole it couldn’t climb out of and was handed its first conference loss of the season by Texas A&M.
Tennessee (10-6, 3-1 SEC) got blown out 71-56 by the Aggies on Sunday at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas. The Lady Vols were smothered by defensively and the game felt like it was over by the time Texas A&M (14-3, 2-2) went up by 17 points with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Tennessee came back from doubledigit deficits in its first three SEC wins, but there was no heroic comeback against Texas A&M, which was able to stifle forward Rickea Jackson., who played just nine minutes in the second half. She finished with 10 points and one rebound. Tennessee was led by junior forward Sara Puckett’s 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Aggies scored 44 points in the paint and shot 44.1% from the field.
Tennessee struggles against Aggies defense
Texas A&M ranks fourth in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 51.2 points per game.
The Lady Vols had only eight points in the second quarter, their lowest-scoring quarter of the season, and they trailed 36-22 at halftime, the secondfewest points they’ve scored in a half this season.
The Aggies also capitalized off turnovers in the first half, scoring eight points off nine Tennessee turnovers. The Lady Vols scored only four points off eight Texas A&M turnovers before halftime.
Texas A&M dominates on rebounding
Texas A&M crushed Tennessee on the boards in the first half. The Aggies were grabbing offensive boards against a lineup with the 6-foot-2 Jackson, 6-5 Jillian Hollingshead and 6-6 Tamari Key on the floor.
The Aggies had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half for eight second-chance points. They outrebounded Tennessee 26-17 in the first half and 43-34 overall.
The Lady Vols couldn’t stop Texas A&M’s Lauren Ware and Janiah Barker on the glass, and they combined for 21 rebounds. The game was a physical one, and both fouled out.
Lady Vols can’t get anything going offensively
Tennessee never got into any sort of offensive rhythm. It made five 3-pointers out of 16 attempts, and the shot selection was not good enough against Texas A&M’s defense.
The Lady Vols struggled to even get touches in the paint, scoring just 24 points there.
They averaged 36 points in the paint in SEC play going into Sunday’s game. They shot just 36.7% from the field after shooting 48.6% in their first three SEC games.
The Aggies keyed in on Jackson. Her 5-of-15 shooting was her worst performance of the season, and Tennessee couldn’t overcome an off night for its star on the road.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.