University of Tennessee Athletics
@LadyVol_Hoops Report (12/10/14)
December 10, 2014 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Head coach Holly Warlick, senior center Isabelle Harrison and senior forward Cierra Burdick visited with the media Wednesday in advance of Tennessee's 3 p.m. Sunday showdown with #17/19 Rutgers. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2, with Pam Ward and LaChina Robinson describing the action.
The #11/13 Lady Vols (6-2) hit the road for their second-straight road game, facing the Scarlet Knights (7-1) in the Rutgers Athletic Center in a battle that will require toughness and a sense of urgency against a confident and potent RU squad. The Lady Vols are 1-2 away from Thompson-Boling Arena this season, but they carry a nine-game series winning streak into Sunday's contest and have emerged victorious in their past two trips to a venue known as "The RAC."
Though it is 19-3 all-time vs. Rutgers, Tennessee is only 3-3 in six previous trips to Piscataway, N.J. Prior ventures there and other matchups with C. Vivian Stringer-coached teams have proven that defense and rebounding will be necessary components to achieving victory in what has traditionally been a low scoring game. History bears that out, as the average score over the last 14 meetings has been UT with a 64.0 to 54.2 advantage.
Yet, stats for these teams as of Wednesday show Tennessee averaging 85.5 points per contest, while Rutgers is putting up 76.5 per game. The Lady Vols have given up an average of 52.4 per opponent, while the Scarlet Knights have allowed 57.2. On the boards, UT is pulling down 47.2 caroms per game and has an 11.4 advantage. RU, meanwhile, is grabbing 44.5 rebounds and is plus 7.6. The team committed more to these fundamental aspects of the game should come out on top Sunday.
Tennessee has had a pair of road tests against NCAA Tournament-type teams that it has dropped thus far, but those losses to Chattanooga (67-63) on Nov. 26 and #6/9 Texas (72-59) on Nov. 30 provided learning opportunities for the Lady Vols. The squad now is back to 11 active players, but for those games, the Lady Vols played without (then) injured post player Isabelle Harrison. Her presence (11.0 ppg., 7.7 rpg.) and leadership will be keys for the Big Orange.
Rutgers, meanwhile, has a Dec. 7 road win over #25/NR Arkansas (64-52) and dropped a 96-93 double overtime home decision to #6/6 North Carolina on Dec. 4. That near miss and the 24-point, 24-rebound double-double in 50 minutes of action by RU's Betnijah Laney in the UNC tilt drew the attention of Tennessee coaches and players.
With an eye toward getting second-chances for themselves and eliminating them for opponents, Tennessee coaches have made it a point to focus plenty of time on rebounding in practice leading up to the game.
OLD NEIGHBORHOOD
Tennessee assistant coach Jolette Law will certainly enter Sunday's game with an array of emotions. Now in her third season as an assistant at Tennessee, Law was an assistant and associate head coach at Rutgers for C. Vivian Stringer from 1995-2007, helping the Scarlet Knights to a 257-125 record, two NCAA Final Fours (2000, 2007), three Elite Eight showings, three Sweet 16 appearances, two BIG EAST titles (2005, 2006) and a league tournament crown (2007).
Two of Law's pupils at Rutgers, Tasha Pointer and Chelsea Newton, are now Stringer's assistants, as is Tia Jackson, who played at Law's alma mater, Iowa. Law's former Hawkeye teammate, Michelle Edwards, is Rutgers' director of women's basketball operations. She and Law played for Stringer at Iowa from 1987-90, helping the Hawkeyes to four Big Ten championships.
Law experienced this reunion two seasons ago in Knoxville, when the Lady Vols defeated Rutgers, 66-47, but this will be her first trip back to the RAC with Tennessee.
PREPARING FOR THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Lady Vols are preparing to hit the road for their second ranked opponent of the season. This time, they'll make their way to Piscataway, N.J., to take on a talented Rutgers team. To prepare for what is expected to be a tough road game for Tennessee, the Lady Vols have focused on their conditioning while mentally preparing for the game despite sharing concentration and study time on finals this week.
"We've run a lot," Burdick said. "They're an extremely athletic team. They're quick. They're physical, and they're mean. They get after it, so I think the coaches definitely tested us mentally and physically our last practice. We've been running a lot just trying to get our minds right for what we're going to see up there. We just have to have great days of prep. The better the preparation, the better we'll be come game time. I think that's important."
To mentally prepare, the team is using their scouting report to see exactly what to expect from Rutgers.
"Each team brings its own strengths," Burdick said. "We know Rutgers wants to drive the basketball. They hound the offensive boards, so we have to box out. Our transition defense is going to be key. With every team you have a different scouting report. It's just a matter of adjusting and preparing. I think we've done that these past couple of days and we have to continue to do that."
Head coach Holly Warlick explains that heading into "The RAC," the nickname of the Rutgers Athletic Center, the Lady Vols will have to put together their physical and athletic talents with a winning mentality.
"We're a very talented basketball team," Warlick said. "There's no question. You look at it on paper, we're a very talented team. It's what you do with that talent. We have to come and be focused. We have to be disciplined. We have to play with a huge amount of effort. When you combine those things with talent, you're a great basketball team. We have to put all that together."
STARTING FROM A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW
When it's time for tipoff, most coaches want their most experienced players on the court, but so far in 2014-15 at Tennessee it's been different situation. Lady Vol Head Coach Holly Warlick has all three of her seniors opening the game on the sideline and entering as reserves
Ariel Massengale, Isabelle Harrison and Cierra Burdick have seen their fair share of time on the court throughout their careers on Rocky Top, but the trio is not concerned about the coach's choice.
"We just look at it as the platoon system," Burdick said when asked about the decision. "If the coaches want to take us off the bench, it is their decision. When we get into the game, we try to make the biggest impact possible.
"Ariel, Izzy and myself, we are the leaders of this team. Wherever the coaches need us is where we will go. The way we respond to what the coaches do is how everyone else is going to respond. We have responded positively, and when we are granted the opportunity to come out and play, we come out and play."
It isn't that Warlick lacks faith in her players. Burdick has used the past couple of weeks to get back on track after a slow start to her final season. As for Harrison, the only senior not to start a game yet this season, she was been restrained due to a knee injury, but she has used the opportunity of not starting to her benefit.
"We get defensive assignments before the game," Harrison said. "By starting on the bench, you get to see what other players might not see when they are on the court. You can help coach them up, and when you go out, you can apply that to yourself."
Although it is unusual to see all of the seniors for a team on the bench at the beginning of a game, the Lady Vol trio has used their time on the sideline to benefit and build confidence in themselves and their teammates before they begin SEC play in January.
BURDICK GETTING BACK IN THE GROOVE
After what she calls a slow start to the season, senior Cierra Burdick has drastically improved from the first game of the season to the most recent game against Lipscomb. Burdick is currently averaging 7.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In the six games she has played, Burdick has started in two of them and has added 40 total rebounds and a team-high free throw percentage of 81.0 (17-for-21).
"I think I'm just playing with confidence, playing to my strengths," Burdick said of her early season improvements. "Especially in the Lipscomb game, I wanted to go with my mid-range early, because that's where I'm most confident."
"I think my coaches are confident in me. Holly [Warlick] took me aside. I wasn't playing as well as I should have the first couple of games. I think it hurt the team. I knew I needed to step it up. Holly brought me into the office and told me she was confident in me and she needed me. I think I responded to that very well. I think that's one of the keys why I've been more confident on the court. I've been playing better because of that."
Burdick credits Warlick's personable coaching style in helping her to understand where she could improve. Warlick recognizes the importance of Burdick and wanted her to realize it with a one-on-one meeting with the senior.
"Cierra is a glue (player) for us," Warlick said. "She worries a little bit about what just happened instead of refocusing. I just try to get Cierra to focus on what she does. She's one of our best rebounders, (so) just focus on rebounding and being a vocal leader, a big leader for this team.
"When you take the view off of her individual game of saying `Cierra you have to shoot 60 to 50 percent' instead of saying... she has a great shot. It's a matter of getting this team mentally prepared. When she thinks about the team and zeros in on her rebounding, it builds her game up. She's playing hard. She just had to get in the flow of things."
REMEMBERING THE GREAT COMEBACK
Tennessee has trailed in six of eight games this season. They came from 16 down vs. Chattanooga to tie it, but the Lady Vols couldn't quite get over the hump in the end, falling 67-63 to the Lady Mocs.
On Jan. 3, 2009, though, the Big Orange women dug a 23-point first-half hole and trailed 33-13 at the half before completing the greatest comeback in school history. That epic Lady Vol performance should serve as a twofold reminder to the 2014-15 squad that it is best to never get in that predicament, but that there is hope of getting out of it with belief, sense of purpose and maximum effort.
