Holly Warlick says Tennessee Lady Vols 'uninspired and uninterested' in loss
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Holly Warlick left Reed Arena on Thursday night and it wasn't with a smile.
“We were uninspired and uninterested,” the Lady Vols coach said after a 79-62 loss to No. 21 Texas A&M.
The Lady Vols (17-9, 6-7 SEC) are left with three chances to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee, including only one ranked opponent — No. 13 South Carolina at home Sunday.
ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme reinserted the Lady Vols as a No. 9 seed in the Waco Region on Monday after they won five of their past six games. Creme has UT playing at Waco, Texas, in the first round against North Carolina with Baylor as the regional host.
With the loss to Texas A&M, Creme believes UT will need to beat South Carolina to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament or finish the season with wins over Vanderbilt and Ole Miss and a victory in the first round of the SEC tournament.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, as we’ve always done throughout the season, but, now, being on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, it is crunch time,” UT guard Evina Westbrook said. “Winning games is really crucial for us.”
Tennessee's game plan against A&M (20-6, 9-4) was to close down guard Chennedy Carter from behind the arc, leaving the 3-point line open for the rest of the A&M lineup, Westbrook said. Only two players on A&M’s roster registered more than 10 3-pointers entering the game.
A&M guard Kayla Wells took advantage of the space, hitting two shots from mid-range and a 3-pointer in the first quarter. After the early spark, Wells was surprised to find continued opening shooting space throughout the game, she said.
She finished with a career-high 29 points, hitting 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
“After I made two, I was like, ‘Why am I still open?’” Wells said. “I just kept hitting shots and they left me open.”
Despite going 0-for-6 from 3-point range, Carter netted 28 points, three shy of her season high. Her 12-for-26 clip from the field set new Lady Vols' opponent high marks for the season.
Warlick's frustration was evident.
“Defense, that’s just effort,” Warlick said. “You can play defense. You can rebound. You may have an off night, but you can control what you do on the defensive end. We had no interest in it. None.”
► Watch: Holly Warlick's postgame presser after Texas A&M
Westbrook led the Lady Vols with 17 points, followed by forward Cheridene Green with 11 and Rennia Davis with 10.
With a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament and the double-bye that comes with it on the line for the Aggies, coach Gary Blair was happy he nabbed just his sixth all-time win against the Lady Vols in 24 tries.
“I have been playing Tennessee since 1980,” Blair said. “I respect the orange. I don’t fear the orange, I respect the orange.”
With that respect comes the opinion that Tennessee has nothing to fear come tournament selection.
“They’re not on the bubble,” Blair said. “They are in, even if they go 7-9.”
“That team is not finished winning. Tennessee is going to win some more. They’ve got three games left. They just get to seven, they’re in, because of their strength of schedule and who Tennessee is.”