Lady Vols look to take next step in rivalry clash with No. 5 UConn
Kellie Harper's team kept looking ahead.
A 4-5 start that included losses to ranked Ohio State, UCLA, Indiana and Virginia Tech and was marred by injuries to key players suddenly turned a season of high expectations to a early disappointment for Tennessee.
But the Lady Vols maintained a belief that they could be the team they were expected to be. The turn started after a close road loss to No. 2 Stanford. Tennessee beat Wofford the following game and then ran through the first eight games of SEC play to push its win streak to nine.
Now, the Lady Vols (16-6) prepare for their historic rivalry renewal with No. 5 UConn (18-2) on Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN inside Thompson-Boling Arena with enough confidence that they can knock off the Huskies for the first time since 2007 and make a statement in their climb towards women's college basketball's elite.
"I think we're a much improved team," Harper said on Tuesday. "I think we're playing better together on both ends of the court. I'm not going to say that we've arrived or that we're as good as we can possibly be. We've going to keep working everyday to get better. I think the early games really challenged us and gave us adversity. It was obviously a very clear picture of where we were as a basketball team and where we needed to go. ... We were competitive in more of those games. I felt like there was one where we just weren't, but every other game we were competitive and we came back out every night and every day at practice and tried to get better.
"I think that speaks highly of a team going through adversity early on. You know, they believed. They believed that we could still be a good basketball team."
Adversity hasn't left Tennessee, either. The Lady Vols are just better at adapting to it now.
Tennessee lost 2021 All-SEC defender Tamari Key for the season in December, as well as guard Marta Suarez for personal reasons earlier this month. But the Lady Vols have shown how far they've come even during their win streak.
At Missouri last Sunday, Tennessee needed big shots late to stay perfect in the league. The Lady Vols were again shorthanded without Jordan Horston, but overcame the loss of one of their top contributors.
Sara Puckett banked in a game-tying 3-pointer that erased a late deficit in a 68-65 win.
"I think that (Missouri) game gives you a lot of confidence," Harper said. "I think our team, moving forward, can reflect on this game, and probably as much the poise down the stretch, as great confidence. ... Not a lot of panic but a sense of urgency. The message, the communication in the huddle that was had by the players, I thought, was spot on.
"I was really proud to hear those things and to see those things and to see how competitive our team was down the stretch."
Tennessee will need a similar approach against UConn.
The Huskies have beaten the Lady Vols in three-straight meetings since the game was renewed in 2020 and have played in two Final Fours and a national championship game in that stretch.
The 2022-23 UConn team has wins over then-No. 3 Texas, No. 10 NC State and No. 9 Iowa and losses to No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 20 Maryland.
Paced by 6-foor-3 forward Aaliyah Edwards, who averages 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, UConn's strength is in its front court – an area where Tennessee has also had success with forward Rickea Jackson averaging 18.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
"UConn is really talented," Harper said. "I mean, they're very talented, and what they don't have in depth, they have in the players that are on the court. They're very precise. They understand their roles, they are aggressive. A lot of people can produce. They play with great pace. They're very physical. You know, you talk so much about their offense typically because Connecticut is known for having an unbelievably efficient offense and that is 100% the case, but they're also physical on the boards and they also do a really good job defensively being aggressive and guarding.
"They're really good."
For Tennessee, UConn is an opportunity. The Lady Vols are clearly a better team than they were a month ago, but the question of if they are good enough to win on a national stage again will continue to persist.
Harper is aware of the perception.
"I think it's a great test for us," Harper said. "We've been playing good teams, obviously, in the SEC. We've been challenged. But now you go and you're going to play a top-five team on the national stage. I think it's a big challenge for our team. I think it's a great opportunity for us, and that's the way we're looking at it."
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