Lady Vols prepare for regular season

The Lady Vols finished their exhibition slate on a high note Sunday, defeating the Houston Jaguars 101-51.

Forward Alexandria Fuller led four Lady Vols in double figures with her 20 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.

“I thought Alex Fuller came in and gave us a lot of good things. She’s shooting really well and hitting the boards,” coach Pat Summitt said. “She, Candace and Alexis were the ones who really hit the boards for us.”

The first half ended with the Lady Vols leading by 18 points, after the Jaguars cut into the Lady Vols’ 27-point lead late in the half.

Tennessee saw a different defense in the second half as Houston switched over to a zone defense. The defense initially stalled the Lady Vols’ offense, before they got rolling.

“When we went to the 2-3 zone, they were standing around — they weren’t moving. We really saved our zone for this game,” Houston coach Louis Ray III said.

The Lady Vols opened the second half with a 32-6 run in the first 10 minutes. Tennessee came out with intensity as they attacked the basket, drawing numerous Jaguar fouls. Tennessee finished 26 of 38 from the free-throw line.

Ray was impressed with Tennessee’s size and speed and believes it is one of the top teams in the country.

“Right now, I think Tennessee is the team to beat,” Ray said.

The Lady Vols had a 56-31 advantage rebounding including 32 offensive rebounds. Their domination on the boards, along with 35 Jaguar turnovers, helped counterbalance the poor Tennessee shooting of only 41 percent.

“When a team like this shoots 41 percent, they need to make some things happen in a positive way with their defense,” Summitt said.

Point guard Shannon Bobbitt played another huge role in the victory as she led all players with 30 minutes of action. Bobbitt provided Tennessee with a true point guard, something they lacked most of last season.

“Having a true point guard has made all the difference in the world,” senior Sidney Spencer said. “Last year, Alexis (Hornbuckle) was playing with a broken hand and out of position. Having Shannon gives us confidence and helps us out a lot.”

Houston’s coach had much praise for the 5-2 point guard, even comparing her speed to All-American guard Ivory Latta from North Carolina. He said her quickness and “ball-hawking” really startled his team, but she has even more to show Tennessee fans.

“Y’all haven’t seen nothing yet,” Ray said about Bobbitt.

The two exhibition games have highlighted the issues Tennessee needs to improve on heading into the season.

“We’ve got some work to do; we have to look at putting in our match-up defense,” Summitt said.

Summitt even hinted that freshman point guard Kait McMahan may see her first action of the season, after coming back from knee surgery.

“Based on what I’ve seen from Kate, I think there’s a good chance we can see her on board next Sunday,” Summitt said. “We don’t have to fast-forward this, but she’s worked hard, and she says she feels great.”

The regular season begins for the Lady Vols on Nov. 12 against UT Chattanooga at 3 p.m.