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Under pressure, Tennessee struggles with shooting

By BETH RUCKER

Published December 3, 2008 at 3:54 p.m.
Updated December 3, 2008 at 7:34 p.m.

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ There's no doubt that the Tennessee Lady Vols have a size advantage over most opponents.

That doesn't do them a lot of good when they get double teamed at the post and their shooting is poor.

"I felt like our perimeter game could have really helped us by just knocking down a couple shots," coach Pat Summitt said of Tennessee's 71-59 win at George Washington on Tuesday. "It's there, it's just a lack of consistency."

The seventh-ranked Lady Vols (6-1) shot only 35 percent as 6-foot-6 Kelley Cain, 6-foot-4 Vicki Baugh and 6-foot-3 Glory Johnson struggled to keep their composure in a physical inside game against the Colonials.

Summitt wants her post players to stay calm in high-pressure situations and her point guards Cait McMahan and Brianna Bass, who combined for only two points against George Washington, to take more shots.

"I didn't mind the fact that we went inside, but I do think we have to establish some balance on the perimeter," Summitt said. "There are a lot of people, just like (George Washington), they're just going after our post game."

The Colonials (4-3) managed to slice the Lady Vols' 13-point second-half lead to only two points with about six minutes left in the game.

Tennessee benefited from its domination of the glass, second-half free throw shooting and a 3-point basket by Angie Bjorklund with a little over a minute left that started a 7-0 run to end the game.

"That's where Angie's got to get in a better rhythm and I probably should've played (Sydney Smallbone) more just looking at the tape," Summitt said. "She's really starting to play with confidence and not forcing things and knocking down some shots for us."

Summitt said she's still learning which of her young players should be on the floor as she watches how they respond to certain situations.

She found herself frustrated Tuesday night with several of the freshmen, keeping forward Alicia Manning on the bench for much of the game and sitting guard/forward Shekinna Stricklen out for most of the second half after some costly turnovers.

"Some of our freshmen didn't seem to be ready for the intensity and the pace of that game, so we definitely shortened our bench," Summitt said.

The team has a week and a half off for final exams before hosting Middle Tennessee, which beat LSU on the Lady Tigers' home court on Sunday.

After that, they travel to No. 9 Texas and Old Dominion before returning home to host No. 4 Stanford in a rematch of last season's NCAA title game.

Summitt expects the close game to George Washington and the Lady Vols' earlier loss to Virginia to help prepare them for what's to come.

"Being in that environment was probably a good thing for us in terms of preparation, and hopefully it did things for the players that didn't come ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work right away," she said.