Lady Vols build confidence, earn respect at SEC Tournament

CALEB JARREAU Staff Writer

Tennessee has filtered out the outside noise.

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Lady Vols had a lot of questions to answer heading into the SEC Tournament, and they came away with some answers.

Tennessee (23-11) answered what happens when they’re at their best, they can compete with the best team on the biggest stage. But Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said the Lady Vols weren’t at their best in the SEC Championship against South Carolina (32-0) in Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The undefeated No. 1 Gamecocks took home the SEC Championship 74-58, getting revenge for being upset a year ago. The Lady Vols made a run at the title, tying the game at 21 in the second quarter, but they couldn’t close the gap.

But no one has been able to close the gap against South Carolina. SEC All-Tournament team nominee Rickea Jackson came away from the game with newfound confidence.

“Playing the number one team in the country, coming within the point margin we did,” Jackson said. “I feel like it builds our confidence knowing we can compete with them.”

The Lady Vols have been overlooked this season. Remaining unranked for almost the entirety of the season while finishing third in the SEC,

South Carolina did not overlook the Lady Vols like national polls have. Two time reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston made it clear the mutual respect she shares with Tennessee, particularly with Jackson and Tennessee guard Jordan Horston.

“Tough players make great plays and that’s just who they are,” Boston said of Horston and Jackson. “As the game went on, we tried to make it more difficult. If they hit a shot, they hit a shot, and we just take the ball out and go down. It’s not like we can stop them, because they’re great.”

Jackson and Horston combined for 36 of Tennessee’s 58 points. Both players echoed the same message after Sunday – they are OK with being overlooked.

“I’m not holding my head on this loss,” Horston said. “That’s the number one team in the country, and we were hanging with them. Once we clean up what we need to clean up, we can beat them, but we’re happy being the underdogs.”

Tennessee has had close losses and games where the should’ve triumphed over teams ranked above them. The Lady Vols finally got that ranked win. Taking down No. 4 LSU on Saturday felt like a culmination of the whole season.

Following the win by hanging with South Carolina on Sunday boosts Tennessee’s ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

“At the end of the day, South Carolina is the number one team,” Tennessee forward Jillian

Hollingshead said. “Knowing we can run with them, knowing we can compete with them, just trying our hardest. The sky is the limit for our team and we’re just going to keep on going.”

The Lady Vols got validation for their tough season at the SEC Tournament: a run that will boost their seeding, and a run that has given the team a blueprint on what they need to do to win.

Everyone in the locker room echoed the same message on Sunday, the best is yet to come for Tennessee.

“I think we have had some really good basketball, and we’ve shown a lot of grit,” Harper said. “I think we have come a long way. I’m excited for the journey to continue, to see what this team can do. I think they really believe in each other, and they believe in this basketball team.”