Breakthrough game by Frieson

Listened to the first half of the game on Tennessee's website, before I had to run some errands. It was tied at 7-7, and then the Lady Vols ran 15 points on the Zags to put their signature on the game. Second half was 43-40 for Tennessee, so the gals put up a good scrap, even without Bowman in the line-up. The Bjorklund sisters did wind up guarding each other, and both had a good game. When I got back it was over, but Angie had been tabbed the star of the game for the Vols and was being interviewed about growing up playing against her older sister in the back yard. Great experience for the Lady Zags.

I watched about 1/2 of it on DirecTV!!!!! Eat your hearts out cable viewers. Actually, the game was tied at 9 before Tenn went on a tear. At one point the run was 20 to 2 in favor of the Vols. The Zags had a lot of trouble with the Vols defense, superior size, and athleticism. They were clearly outmatched. Thats the bad news. The good news is that they were much better than I expected, esp considering they were missing Bowman. Graves needs a big post player with some skills to even come close to staying in a game with the likes of Tenn. The difference between the top tier in the women's game is really significant. The drop off from the top 3 or so to the next 3 is even pretty substantial. The lady's did not embarrass.

Birddog

I have Dish Network, Birddog. Let me know what station and maybe I could've watched, too.

Kelly Graves has been looking high and low for quality bigs but there just hasn't been any, at least not recruitable by Gonzaga. At 6'0" Vivian is one of our bigs, second best behind Bowman, but she's an athletic kid. How'd she look in there?

Some of our guards are simply not strong with the ball. Rachel Kane is good vs lesser teams but when pressured she really lacks strength and attitude. Courtney Vandersloot is the best PG but she's a frosh.

We get those Lady Vols in K2 next year. I plan to be there. Zags should be better...if healthy.

Answer: Short.

The Vols were just superior in every way at every position. They are experienced too. We zoned em, and it was just like watching the men as the Vols tossed it around then hit the open player in the corner for the easy three.
The Tenn defense really had the women on their heels, they had a tough time even getting it into the post and often when they did the Vols collapsed and caused a poor shot or a turnover. The Zags gave up a lot of turnovers. Tenn was grabbing, swiping, clutching, and in general just giving them fits whenever they had possession and the Zags just didn't have a good answer. Some of it can be attributed to strength, some to experience, and some to quickness of the Vols. They're just plain GOOD,no real weaknesses. The Zags had no answer for any of Tenn's post moves either.

I was channel surfing and on a whim thought jeez, the Ladies ought to be playing, I wonder if they are one of the regional Foxes, and sure enough they were. Not sure what channel, but it was all Tenn ads.

Birddog

Not bad...

The girls did well with what they had. The played defense well in the second half and even forced the Tennessee shot clock to expire a couple times. There were times the ball did get into the post and shots were altered by the GU defense, but those occasions were rare. The one thing that they could not overcome was the size. Tennessee has three outstanding post players that are 6'3 or taller plus Candace Parker. Our top post player Heather is 6'2(?) and out for three weeks. Our post player for the game was Vivian who was recruited as a wing and hates to play the post, but is playing where the team needs her to. We were out rebounded by 3 and commited only 5 more turn-overs than UT. For being back only two games I think Vivian did an great job and I am looking forward to when her and Heather are playing together (keep in mind I am a bit biased).
They only were beat by three points in the second half and even against the bench of a team like the University of Tennessee that is an accomplishment.

I'll be excited to see Heather and Vivian play as a healthy tandem in the coming weeks. With Courtney, Tiffanie, Michelle, Jami, and the others I think they can win a game (or two) in March Madness, but the matchups have to be right. No more Middle Tennessee States!

One thing to consider regarding the Lady Vols: Over the years, only a small handful of teams have been better, and it's never very long. UConn is the only women's program to come close. Tennessee defines wmen's hoops.

I look forward to Heather/Vivian playing together.

I look forward to UT-GU next year in K2.

Beat Purdue! I'll be there.