Tuesday recap: Lady Vols rebound with win over MTSU, No. 10 Louisville routs Murray St.
#8 Tennessee 82, MTSU 43
No. 8 Tennessee (3-2) recovered from its Sunday afternoon loss to Baylor with a freshman-led rout of Middle Tennessee State (4-3) Tuesday night in Knoxville. The Lady Vols earned the 82-43 win with first-years Cierra Burdick and Ariel Massengale each scoring 14 points. Tennessee led 48-24 at halftime and in the last ten minutes of the game extended their lead to a 62-30 margin.
“It’s a good thing to break that two-game losing streak,†said Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt speaking about the loss to Baylor and last week’s defeat at the hands of Virginia. “We played with high energy and it came from the players. They challenged each other to come into the game with lots of high energy and it’s obvious they did that.â€
Tennessee associate coach Holly Warlick indicated that the Lady Vols had concerns about morale after the Baylor loss.
“I thought we as a coaching staff were a little worried about a possible letdown from the Baylor game, but I thought we came out and played with great intensity on the defensive end,†said Warlick. “We were aggressive with our traps. I thought we made them play fast, and I was very proud of our defensive effort. Offensively, I thought we attacked, we got open looks and knocked down open looks. I thought in the Baylor game, we did not knock down open looks, but tonight we did. We got 37 points from our bench and as a coach, that’s exciting. When your whole team contributes, that’s a great sign for us. So overall, I’m very pleased. I’m excited that everybody got some minutes, and we’ll have some good footage both offensively and defensively to evaluate the team.”
#10 Louisville 105, Murray State 62
No. 10 Louisville (7-1) had no trouble defeating Murray State (2-5), taking down the Racers 105-62 at the KFC Yum! Center.
Monique Reid led the Cardinals with 18 points. Teammates Shawnta’ Dyer and Shoni Schimmel added 14 each. The Cardinals (7-1) came out of the gates on a 16-0 run and never looked back. They led 50-18 at halftime.
Louisville head coach Jeff Walz’s thoughts on the game:
“I thought everybody played well, I was pleased. I was very pleased with the way everyone played. I have tried to explain to all of our players that I can only play five at a time. It comes down to a point where I don’t care when you are put in the game, you have got to take advantage of your playing time. There is no such thing as scrap minutes. I am coming in and picking up the slop, there is no such thing because I evaluate you the entire game. If you can’t play when we are up 20 then what makes me think you can play when it is a four point game. I have kind of explained to them in general, don’t come to me and say I hate playing this amount or I hate playing at the end of the game. It all counts to me. I thought they played extremely well today, I was very pleased with the emotion and the energy that they played with.”
Duke Suspends Shay Selby
Duke announced Tuesday that head coach Joanne P. McCallie suspended senior Shay Selby for violation of team rules. The term of the suspension is indefinite. Shelby has been a starter this season and averages 6.2 points, 3.0 assists and 1.6 rebounds.
