The Tennessee Lady Vols made history Thursday night at Food City Center with their first victory over Connecticut since 2007. They also made a statement.
If they could beat UConn in coach Kim Caldwell’s first season, their future looks brighter than it has in a long time. And by “future,” I mean as soon as March.
The 80-76 victory did more than boost Tennessee’s hopes for success in the NCAA Tournament. It ended an agonizing trend.
Tennessee (17-5) repeatedly has come close against the best teams in the country this season. It lost to No 2 South Carolina by seven points, to No. 4 LSU by two, to No. 6 Texas by four, to No. 16 Oklahoma by one, and to No. 24 Vanderbilt by one.
But it did more than come close against the fifth-ranked Huskies (21-3). It closed the deal. Another way to put it: Caldwell’s first Tennessee team beat coach Geno Auriemma’s 40th UConn team.
Even though the game was in doubt until the final seconds, it didn’t look like an upset.
The 17th-ranked Lady Vols looked deeper, quicker and more athletic. And when it mattered most, they were more clutch. They outshot and outrebounded the Huskies. The rebounding advantage was especially significant..
Tennessee frequently has fallen short in rebounding against nationally-ranked opponents. But this time, it often denied UConn second-shot opportunities while occasionally converting on putbacks of its own.
Three different Lady Vols – Ruby Whitehorn, Talaysia Cooper and Zee Spearman – had seven or more rebounds. Spearman, who came on strong down the stretch, finished with seven rebounds and a team-high 16 points.
Their rebounding said more about their quickness and hustle than size. Not surprisingly, Caldwell summed up the victory in her postgame ESPN interview by saying, ““I thought we played really hard.”
On her postgame radio show, she didn’t just praise her team’s effort. She said she didn’t believe UT could have won without the crowd.
But the Lady Vols might have prevailed on a neutral court as well. They looked that good when the pressure mounted.
Even when UConn was at its best in taking a seven-point lead in the second quarter, the Lady Vols weren’t shaken. Their confidence soared higher in the final minutes.
This UConn team might not remind you of its 11 national championship teams any more than the current Lady Vols spark flashbacks to their eight national championship teams under former coach Pat Summitt. But this still ranks as one of the program’s most significant victories in recent years.
Never mind that Auriemma’s Huskies haven’t won a national title since the 2015-2016 season. They have qualified for three of the last four Final Fours, are ranked fifth nationally and entered the game on an 11-game winning streak with a 33.5 average margin of victory.
UT ended another UConn winning streak. The Lady Vols had lost four consecutive games in the series, which for so many years provided the sport’s marquee matchup but was discontinued for 13 years after the 2006-07 season.
The intensity and closeness of the game were reminiscent of some of the series’ great matchups, most of which went UConn’s way. Not this time, though.
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Tennessee not only won. It looked like a team that could be hard to beat in the NCAA Tournament.
And when was the last time you could say 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: Lady Vols upset UConn and make a statement for the postseason
