The Tennessee Lady Vols took the court Monday as if they were trying to atone for a loss.
At 15-0, a game result was not in question for the top-ranked women's basketball team. Lost practice time was the issue and how it's beginning to reflect in UT's play.
"I've said all along the downside of the schedule is we haven't had the practice time,'' UT coach Pat Summitt said. "It's showed.''
With Saturday's 89-80 victory over No. 7 Connecticut, the Lady Vols finished a stretch of four games in eight days. They began the season with five games in seven days.
The Lady Vols have been leaking momentum the past three games. They beat the Huskies despite suspect defensive play.
"They just missed shots,'' Summitt said of UConn. "It's not that they didn't have them. I thought we'd compete harder in our transition defense.''
The development doesn't bode well for Thursday's visit from No. 13 Georgia, which raced to an 89-70 SEC victory over Florida on Sunday.
"What we are not strong at,'' Summitt said, "they're strong at.''
The scheduling was Summitt's doing. So too has been the demands she's placed on the team.
"I'm not asking enough from this group,'' she said. "I'm going to ask for more.''
UT junior guard Dominique Redding said the coach's message has been received.
"She's been in the position where she's had great teams,'' Redding said. "She's trying to get us to that level.
"What she's doing is right. We have to buy into it.''
The Lady Vols will play their usual two games per week from this point forward. There should more time for tougher practices. Or Summitt will make time.
"We'll find a way,'' she said. "I've got to."
Parker Update: UT redshirt freshman Candace Parker was held out of Monday's workout to work on her ailing left ankle.
She sprained the ankle Dec. 28 versus Temple and suffered a reinjury to it Saturday, missing three minutes in the second half.
"She had more swelling than I'd like,'' Lady Vols athletic trainer Jenny Moshak said of Saturday's aftermath.
Parker will continue to rehab and Moshak lists the 6-foot-4 forward as probable for Thursday.
"If she keeps making progress, we'll be fine,'' Moshak said.
Moats Update: Moshak said the key variable in UT signee Nicci Moats' left knee injury is the extent of the damage to the meniscus cartilage.
That will be determined Friday during the surgical procedure to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament Moats suffered in game on Dec. 29.
"That's the key right now,'' Moshak said of the cartilage damage. "The ACL we know about. It's a matter of whether they can save the meniscus for down the road."
Moats' medial collateral ligament is not torn
Moats, who is from Daleville, Va., and attends Lord Botetourt High, will have her surgery in Roanoke.
Notebook: Parker received the SEC freshman of the week award for the third time. Georgia jumped four spots in this week's Associated Press top 25 poll. The Lady Vols received 35 of 46 first-place votes in the poll. Tennessee's game at Duke on Jan. 23 is sold out. It's the third advance sellout in Duke women's history. UT vs. Duke was a sellout there on Jan. 24, 2004.
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