Lady Vols Fall Short to No. 8 LSU, Suffer Second Home Loss of the Season

The Lady Vols suffer a three-point loss to LSU in the season finale.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The No. 16 Lady Vols suffered their second home loss of the season on Sunday afternoon, falling 57-54 to No. 8 LSU. 

Tennessee got behind early, as the Tigers posted 22 first quarter points to Tennessee's 10 and shot over 50 percent in the first quarter compared to Tennessee's 17.6 percent. LSU was able to ride that lead to a 14-point halftime lead, and the Lady Vols looked simply outmatched throughout the first two quarters. 

But, as they usually do in Thompson-Boling Arena, the Lady Vols came out fighting in the third quarter, as a Brooklynn Miles steal and score set the tone for what would be a 32-point half. 

Tennessee outscored the Tigers by six in the third quarter and continued the momentum into the fourth led by Alexus Dye and Tamari Key.

After the junior did not make a single field goal in the first half, Key had an impressive 11-point, seven rebound second half. Alexus Dye was a crucial part to Tennessee's fourth quarter success, as the graduate senior posted eight fourth quarter points in four minutes before fouling out. 

However, the Tigers were able to hold on. Tennessee had gotten within two points with 30 seconds remaining after ferociously battling all of the second half, but Tamari Key could not convert a layup, and LSU's Kayla Pointer got the rebound and was fouled. Pointer split her free throws, leaving Tennessee trailing by three with three seconds remaining. But the Lady Vols did not get a shot off, as Pointer stole the ball on an inbound pass to Tess Darby and the Tigers got the victory. 

Below are a few takeaways, notes and observations from Tennessee's loss to LSU on Senior Day

Tamari Key, Alexus Dye Take Control in Second Half. But it's too little, too late.

LSU started off hot in TBA on Sunday, lighting up the Lady Vols for 22 first quarter points to take a 12-point lead after ten minutes. A significant part of the Tigers hot start was forward Autumn Newby, who accumulated ten first quarter points on 5-6 shooting. Newby's performance helped the Tigers finish the first frame with a staggering 52.4 field goal percentage.

"To start the game, we were a little bit on our heels," Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper said. "Giving up 22 points in the first quarter is where the difference in the game was. We couldn't find the basket at all. Got to be better for 40 minutes, but we weren't able to do that to start the game."

The Lady Vols held tight with the Tigers in the second quarter, only allowing LSU to outscore them by two, and Tennessee was clearly the better team in the second half. 

"I'm proud of our team continuing to fight," Harper said of her team's second half performance. "We played hard and gave ourselves a chance at the end for sure. Our temp was better and we got stops, which goes hand in hand because we work well in transition."

And the key pieces to the Lady Vols' near second half comeback were Alexus Dye and Tamari Key. Eight of Dye's 10 points on the day came in the fourth quarter before she fouled out. Key erupted for 11 points and seven rebounds in the second half, and the junior finished the day with a near double-double line of 12-9-3 (blocks). 

Needless to say, Harper's halftime adjustments worked for the duo of Key and Dye the rest of the game. 

"Coach got into me at halftime. I wasn't getting in position well enough. So I wanted to come in in the second half and do so," Key said.

"I told them to get the ball inside," Harper said regarding her locker room words at halftime. "We got very stale offensively in the first half and did not get any movement, and in the second half we wanted to get the ball more inside and I'm proud of the team executing that."

Moving forward, Key says her team must come out ready to go, unlike their performance against LSU. 

"Our biggest takeaway from today is that we cannot keep losing in similar ways," Key said. "Because once we lose we will go home. So we have to remember this feeling. We dug ourselves into a hole. It's easy to blame the refs but that's not us. Everything that happened [with our slow start] was in our control.

"[Falling behind] is the most frustrating part because we see how hard we can play," Key continued. "They only had eight third quarter points to their 22 in the first. It's just disappointing on our half. We cannot always come back and dig ourselves out of a hole, we have to come out ready."

The Lady Vols have come back several times this season after slow started, but being as banged up as they are without star Jordan Horston, Tennessee must avoid coming out flat as the postseason approaches. 

Rae Burrell and Tess Darby Struggle

A significant part of the Lady Vols struggles on Sunday afternoon were due to a pair of starters having lackluster outings. 

Tess Darby and Rae Burrell combined for 15 points and shot a collective 22.7 percent from the field. Darby was 0-2 from three and could not get open against a quick LSU team. In addition, Darby's one turnover was brutal for Tennessee, as the sophomore got the steal and had a clear lane for a layup, but a traveling violation deflated the momentum building in Thompson-Boling Arena as the Tigers regained possession. 

Although Darby did not contribute a lot on offense, her defensive performance hurt Tennessee the most. 

The sophomore saw Tigers fly past her on multiple occasions Sunday, as LSU's quick guards were too much for her. This contributed to her total +/- of -15, which was the worst +/- for the Lady Vols in the regular season finale. 

Burrell's struggles mostly came on offense, as the senior shot a poor 4-18 from the field. With Jordan Horston injured, Tennessee clearly turned to Burrell in hopes of increased offensive production, but Burrell could not get shots to fall on Sunday. 

The Las Vegas native's final line for the afternoon was 11 points on 4-18 shooting (1-3 3pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, two fouls, two assists and a pair of turnovers. 

Three Seniors Recognized for Senior Day

Tennessee's game against LSU saw three Lady Vol seniors participate in their final regular season game on Rocky Top: Rae Burrell, Alexus Dye, and Keyen Green (injured). 

The videos of the three players getting recognized during the pre-game festivities are below, as well as additional coverage from Lady Vol Basketball Twitter.

Rae Burrell

Keyen Green

Alexus Dye

These seniors 🧡 pic.twitter.com/ymiwlXRaje

— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 27, 2022

Mickey Dearstone is Honored

Tennessee's weekend matchup with LSU also saw a Lady Vol legend get honored before tip-off: Long-time Voice of the Lady Vols Mickey Dearstone. 

Dearstone has served as the official voice of Tennessee's women's basketball program since 1999 and has seen five Lady Vols NCAA national championships (1996, 1997, 1998, 2007 and 2008) since taking over for Bob Kiesling. 

A video of Dearstone getting honored before the game with Kellie Harper at his side is below.

Up Next for Tennessee

The Lady Vols have officially clinched the No. 3 seed in the SEC women's college basketball tournament that will take place in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville next weekend. Tennessee gets the No. 3 spot after Mizzou upset Florida on Sunday. 

Therefore, Tennessee will take on their TBD opponent on Friday, March 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: USA Today Syndicate

Head coach Kellie harper's entire post-game media availability is above. 

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