Lady Vols basketball started its trip to the West Palm Beach Classic with a blowout win over Richmond.
No. 16 Tennessee won 92-67 against the Spiders (9-3) on Friday but had a slow start. Richmond – which only lost to No. 6 Texas by 11 points – led 15-14 at the first media timeout, and coach Kim Caldwell gave the Lady Vols (10-0) a reality check.
“She told us this was a very good team before we even started playing, and we came out there a little sluggish,” guard Talaysia Cooper said on the Lady Vol Radio Network. “She told us, y’all thought it was gonna be easy, but it wasn’t.”
Here are takeaways from the 10th win of the season. Tennessee plays Tulsa at 11 a.m. Saturday in its second game in West Palm Beach.
Lady Vols avoided third-quarter slumps in last two games
Tennessee started the season with a string of lackluster third quarters, particularly on the defensive end.
In five of its first eight games, the Lady Vols gave up the most points in the third quarter. They gave up 30 points to Florida State in the third, which was the most points allowed in a quarter all season.
“Our third quarters are terrible,” Caldwell said after the FSU game. “So we got to do a better job at halftime of just making sure that we don’t look at the scoreboard and then start to take bad shots and take our foot off the gas.”
In the last two games, Tennessee has allowed the fewest points in the third quarter. The Lady Vols outscored Memphis 27-13 and outscored Richmond 26-11. The Spiders only made four shots in the third, with three points coming from free throws.
Cooper was a big factor in the strong third quarter, scoring 15 of her game-high 24 points.
“We just picked up our intensity, played with more pressure,” Caldwell said. “That’s something we’ve been harping on them since right after the Memphis game.”
Tennessee didn’t settle for 3-pointers
The Lady Vols are going to take and made a lot of 3-pointers this season. But they can’t afford to live and die by the 3 in SEC play – they have to get to the paint and score.
Tennessee went 9-for-31 on 3-pointers, which is its fewest number of 3-point attempts this season. But the Lady Vols shot 51.4% from the field overall, finding quality looks inside the arc. They outscored Richmond in the paint 52-36.
Tennessee consistently looked to get into the paint Friday, especially Cooper and Ruby Whitehorn. The two guards are the Lady Vols’ top scoring threats, and while they can both hit 3-pointers, they have to get downhill, too.
Cooper and Whitehorn only combined for five 3-point attempts and the rest of their 24 shots were inside the arc, which led to an efficient day for the duo. Cooper shot 10-for-18 and Whitehorn went 7-for-11 for 15 points and added seven rebounds.
Tennessee’s pressure impacted low-turnover game
Tennessee has forced 27.6 turnovers per game, and only three opponents have committed fewer than 20. FSU committed the fewest of any opponent this season with 16.
ROAD TRIP HABITS: What Kim Caldwell expects undefeated Lady Vols to watch on road trip instead of Netflix
The Lady Vols have only forced 17 turnovers the last two games. They scored 26 points off turnovers against Richmond, but the press was still making an impact in other ways.
“I think pressure looks like different things,” Caldwell said. “That’s a 40% 3-point shooting team, and they shot 27%, and it wasn’t because we were in their face.”
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kim Caldwell: Tennessee coach got Lady Vols attention vs Richmond
