Kim Caldwell lost her first basketball game as a Lady Vols coach Sunday afternoon against Oklahoma. But she also probably won more converts to her style of basketball.
She couldn’t have been thinking about the latter after the Sooners won 87-86 at Food City Center and ended her team’s 13-game winning streak. The 36-year-old coach has won way too much to find any benefits from a defeat, even by the narrowest of margins to 10th-ranked Oklahoma.
Caldwell was 191-24 in seven seasons at Glenville State and 26-7 in one season at Marshall. The Lady Vols were 13-0 and ranked 13th nationally before they came up one point shy of Oklahoma.
My guess is the fans in attendance won’t dwell as much on the final score as they will the Lady Vols’ comeback, made possible by the fast-paced, full-court brand of basketball that Caldwell preaches.
The fans who didn’t leave early were rewarded for their loyalty when Tennessee came so close to overturning a 19-point Oklahoma lead. That lead was 10 points with just under two minutes to play when the Lady Vols struck the Sooners with the suddenness of a rogue wave.
Moreover, coach Jennie Baranczyk’s team is comfortable in an up-tempo game. She also relies on a deep bench, which made the Sooners less vulnerable against Tennessee’s mass substitutions that don’t require anyone to play as many as 30 minutes.
Keep in mind Oklahoma has virtually nothing in common with all of the overmatched nonconference opponents who had come undone against Tennessee’s full-court pressure this season. It’s a veteran, versatile team that can beat you in myriad ways.
“We don’t do as much five in and five out (like Tennessee),” Baranczyk said. “We do tend to sub more. But we probably subbed more (in this game) because it’s a little bit of a track meet.”
The Sooners nipped Tennessee at the finish line in this meet when Sara Puckett’s 3-point attempt was a few inches to the left with three seconds to go.
Not surprisingly, Caldwell was fine with Puckett’s final shot.
“Sara was wide open,” she said. “It was a high-percentage shot. It didn’t come down to the last play. It came down to the 38 minutes before that.”
The fans who left early and the ones who stuck around till the final shot likely will remember those last two minutes more than the first 38, though. They learned as much about Caldwell basketball in that frantic comeback as they did in the 13 consecutive victories.
They learned that almost no lead — even against an opponent as skilled and well-coached as Oklahoma — is insurmountable.
The Sooners established their superiority right away and seemingly held a tight grip on the game. They outrebounded and outshot Tennessee, which missed 26 of its first 31 3-point shots.
But Oklahoma still almost lost.
Its 31 turnovers played a huge role in the close call, especially because they came at an accelerated rate in the fourth quarter. UT’s confidence also contributed to the comeback.
Because the Lady Vols are conditioned to play the game at a high speed and because Caldwell substitutes so freely, they have faith the fourth quarter will go their way.
“That’s what we focus on the whole game — to wear teams down,” guard Samara Spencer said. “But we didn’t do what we needed to do (earlier in the game).”
Tennessee will have an opportunity to build a stronger foundation through the first three quarters Thursday night when it takes on fourth-ranked LSU, which is 17-0 after beating Auburn 73-63 victory on Sunday.
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Like Oklahoma, LSU won’t discourage a fast pace. Unlike last season, LSU is less apt to tire in the fourth quarter, thanks to its improved depth.
But talent and depth don’t make you invulnerable to how quickly Caldwell’s team can change the course of a game. The Sooners can vouch for that.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Even in defeat, Lady Vols show how Kim Caldwell can win over fans
