COLUMBUS, Ohio – Alyssa Latham was ready to pounce when South Florida tried inbounding the ball.
She jumped the pass and finished at the rim with ease, forcing the Bulls into yet another timeout. It was the third turnover in a row Lady Vols basketball forced in response to USF’s 7-0 run, and Tennessee’s stifling defense slammed the door on any comeback hopes for the No. 12 seed Bulls.
The No. 5 seed Lady Vols finished the job in dominating fashion, winning 101-66 at Schottenstein Center on Friday to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. But it wasn’t just the win that was important – it was the fact that Tennessee played its brand of basketball again.
“We had been a little bit off track, so we needed to kind of get our juice back, and I thought we did that tonight,” Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said. “We hadn’t been playing very well, and we hadn’t really been having fun. So to do it polar opposite of how we’ve been playing the last two weeks of the regular season was important.”
Tennessee will play No. 4 seed Ohio State (26-6) in the second round Sunday (8 p.m., ESPN) for a trip to the Sweet 16.
The win was a breath of fresh air compared to the Lady Vols’ last four games. They struggled going into the NCAA tournament, losing three of the previous four games. They didn’t play with the same fight, and they didn’t look like the team they had all season.
But the two weeks to rest and practice turned out to be what Tennessee needed. Getting fresh legs helped it get back in rhythm offensively, and UT went 16-for-37 on 3-pointers. Caldwell said she knew they were gassed going into the SEC tournament, so the break was “really big for us.”
Leading with their defense was a big part of the Lady Vols getting back on track.
“I definitely do think that we really just went out there, just had fun,” Latham said. “When we press and we get steals and we score, that’s when we have the most fun. We’re just up and down cheering for each other, and long as we just keep that up through the rest of this tournament, we’ll be fine.”
Tennessee forward Zee Spearman could see the change when practices resumed.
“We knew that we needed to just stay connected no matter what,” Spearman said.
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The Lady Vols finished with 36 points off 24 USF turnovers, 12 of them steals for UT, and they took control of the game early. Tennessee outscored the Bulls 29-9 in the second quarter, and its defense set the tone.
While the Lady Vols found their rhythm again against South Florida, Caldwell is looking to see how her team handles the Buckeyes.
“I think it was some of the best energy we’ve had all year,” Caldwell said. “Our energy has been really good all week. So let’s see what it’s like when we get punched. That’s going to be important.”
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on X @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: How Lady Vols got their ‘juice back’ to open March Madness with win vs USF
