Lady Vols Suffer Fifth Consecutive Road Loss to No. 1 South Carolina

The Lady Vols held tight with the No. 1 Gamecocks for a while in Columbia, but Tennessee's lack of depth and rebounds led to a 14-point loss.

COLUMBIA, S.C.– The No. 12 Tennessee Lady Vols lost their fifth consecutive road contest on Sunday afternoon to No. 1 South Carolina 67-53.

Tamari Key was the highlight for Tennessee, scoring 10 points, grabbing seven boards, and recording ten blocks for the third time this season.

Despite Tamari Key's near triple-double performance in Columbia, Tennessee could not keep up on the boards, as the Gamecocks won the rebound battle 59-38. Naismith Player of the Year watchlist member Aliyah Boston posted her 19th consecutive double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Boston's double-double streak of 19 games ties Sylvia Fowles for the longest streak in SEC history.

19 straight double-doubles for Aliyah Boston. She ties Sylvia Fowles for the longest streak in SEC history.

— Kellyanne Stitts (@KellyanneStitts) February 20, 2022

Tennessee started off hot on the road, leading the number one team in the nation for two-and-a-half minutes, but South Carolina soon took the lead and never gave it back.

The Lady Vols trailed by nine points at halftime and kept it within double digits for half of the third quarter, but an 11-2 run from the Gamecocks to end the third quarter buried UT.

Below are three takeaways from another Lady Vols road loss and the first without Jordan Horston in conference play.

Lack of Depth Felt; Board Battle Lost by 21

Tennessee's season took a turn for the worse when Keyen Green suffered a torn ACL against Georgia. They are 3-5 since the injury and winless on the road, counting the loss to South Carolina.

And things did not get any better for Tennessee. In their loss to unranked Alabama on Thursday night, the Lady Vols' leading scorer Jordan Horston suffered a fractured elbow dislocation that will likely keep her out of action until the NCAA Tournament, if not the entire season.

The timing of Horston's injury could not have been worse, as a road game against the No. 1 team in the nation awaited Tennessee three days later.

Horston's presence on the glass was missed significantly, as the Lady Vols recorded only 38 boards. Offensively, Rae Burrell performed nicely with 14 points, and Tamari Key logged 10, but Horston's style of fearless, never say die play was missed in a marquee matchup.

Tennessee has yet to gain momentum since dropping a Thursday night game to Auburn in late January. And without Horston for the foreseeable future, Tennessee will need a lot of production from freshmen Kaiya Wynn and Karoline Striplin and increased output from Key and Dye in the post.

And, to be fair, Dye and Key performed well defensively as they combined for 21 boards, and Key was a menace with ten blocks. The junior center was also productive on offense with 10 points shooting 4-7 from the field, but Dye must be better on offense. The Troy transfer shot an abysmal 14.3 percent from the field, and with Green and Horston out, Dye's physical offensive presence is desperately needed.

Kaiya Wynn and Karoline Striplin, two freshmen Kellie Harper said would see increased playing time, combined for 16 minutes. Striplin recorded one rebound, and Wynn posted two boards with four points.

Little Offensive Explosiveness

Horston's presence was missed on defense, but the spark on offense the junior often provides was lost on Sunday.

Rae Burrell re-entered the starting lineup and led the Lady Vols in points with 14, but the senior logged only five points in the second half. One of if not the best aspects of Horston's game is her will to win, and while a couple of Lady Vols put together solid performances against South Carolina, the other level just wasn't there.

Three-point shooting was also an area of struggle for Tennessee, as the Lady Vols shot a meager 1-10 from deep. Shooters Tess Darby and Sara Puckett did not come through in their specialty area, as Puckett went 0-3 from deep, and Darby didn't attempt one from beyond the arc.

Sara Puckett only logged 13 minutes against the Gamecocks, and the Lady Vols were -7 when the freshman was on the court.

The only Lady Volunteers who had a positive +/- were Alexus Dye and Karoline Striplin.

The Lady Vols also had 0 fast break points to South Carolina's 0.

Positives for Tennessee

Some quick positives from a 14-point Lady Vols loss:

-It could've been worse. Tennessee kept it within single digits for a good part of the game without two key players and did not get blown out. With what the Lady Vols were facing and the condition they are in health-wise, it could've been much, much worse.

-Tamari Key's near triple-double (ten points, ten blocks, seven rebounds)

-Kaiya Wynn and Karoline Striplin helped more than they hurt, albeit minimally

-Only 14 turnovers

-The next (last) two games are at home. This is the best news the Lady Vols can hear to close out their season.

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Tennessee getting out-rebounded 59-38 and the lack of Jordan Horston combine to result in the Lady Vols' fifth consecutive road loss.

Kellie Harper's squad will look to rebound in the next two games as they host Mississippi State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET and No. 11 LSU on Sunday, February 27, at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics 

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