KNOXVILLE — Raucous road environments don’t seem to penetrate Alex Fuller’s self-described “mellow” exterior.
The Tennessee senior barely noticed the jeers from a boisterous George Washington crowd after she and her Lady Vols teammates won in the nation’s capital on Dec. 2.
“That’s going to happen anywhere,” Fuller said earlier this week. “We’ve heard a lot worse.”
But not every UT player likely will be as unfazed when the No. 7 Lady Vols (7-1) play sixth-ranked Texas (8-0) today in Austin, Texas.
“That I’m sure is going to be very loud,” said forward Shekinna Stricklen, one of six freshmen on this year’s UT team. “We’re going to have to communicate and have each other’s back.”
Fuller advised her younger teammates to block out what’s happening outside the basketball court.
“Once the game comes, that stuff shouldn’t be running through your head,” she said.
With coach Pat Summitt’s penchant for scheduling tough games, an inexperienced team has had to adjust to playing on the road. Not always successfully, though.
In their two games away from Knoxville this season, the Lady Vols struggled. At UT-Chattanooga on Nov. 21, they needed a late rally to secure a 66-63 victory and avoid a major upset. In similar fashion, UT used a 15-5 spurt with four minutes remaining to knock off George Washington.
“I think if they’re at Thompson-Boling (Arena), they’re a lot more comfortable,” Summitt said during her weekly teleconference Wednesday. “We keep reminding them that we have a lot of tough road games, and this Texas game will certainly be a challenge.”
Though they have an unblemished record, the Longhorns have yet to face a highly ranked opponent this season. Six-foot junior guard Brittainey Raven leads them in scoring with 17.1 points per game.
Texas has been bolstered by the addition of Erika Arriaran, who returned to the lineup after sitting out most of the last two seasons with a knee injury.
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