Tennessee center Mercedes Russell (21) calls to teammates in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Texas, Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Calvin Mattheis)KNOXVILLE - Tennessee women's basketball coach Holly Warlick is reserving judgment on the way a challenging four-game stretch has shaped up for the Lady Volunteers until late Sunday afternoon.
"I'll answer that after the fourth game," Warlick said Wednesday, referring to Sunday's home showdown against No. 3 Mississippi State, which is undefeated through its first 19 games this season.
The Southeastern Conference formulates league schedules. It just so happened the sixth-ranked Lady Volunteers' nonconference game Thursday night at No. 5 Notre Dame (16-2) follows two straight road games against SEC opponents who are also ranked and precedes Mississippi State's visit to Knoxville.
But halfway through the gauntlet of four straight games against top-20 oppponents, there are at least some positives for the Lady Vols (16-1) to take away. For one, Warlick has learned some things about her talented young squad.
"Our turnovers at Texas A&M hurt us," she said, referencing last Thursday's overtime loss at Texas A&M, which was ranked 17th at the time and moved up a spot this week. "Our rebounding hurt us at key times."
In a win Sunday at No. 9 South Carolina, which dropped a spot this week, Tennessee got to work on correcting one of those problems. They outrebounded the Gamecocks 41-28 but were still plagued by 18 turnovers in the 86-70 bounce-back victory.
Possessions will be at a premium against the Fighting Irish, who average 83.7 points per game and lead the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 18.4 assists per game. Warlick said winning will require Tennessee to bring its "A game."
Tennessee freshman Evina Westbrook speaks to the a member of the media at Tennessee NCAA women's college basketball media day in Knoxville, Tenn. Thursday Oct. 26, 2017. (Caitie McMekin/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)"It's going to be an extremely tough battle at Notre Dame," Warlick said. "We're going to have to play well. You can't play average and win up there. Then we come back here and play Mississippi State. So it is a tough stretch for us. But again, I keep saying it's what we were dealt and we were going to deal with it and take it one game at a time."
Tennessee snapped a six-game losing streak against Notre Dame with a 71-69 win in Knoxville last January, but the Lady Vols have lost their past three games at Purcell Pavilion.
Thursday's game is close to a sellout, Notre Dame said, and that's one area in which Tennessee's current stretch of tough games pays off. The Lady Vols played in front of 14,763 at South Carolina's Colonial Life Arena on Sunday after struggling late in front of 5,043 at Texas A&M.
Tennessee's three freshman starters combined for 12 of the team's 16 turnovers in that loss. Despite continued turnover woes, Warlick believes her young team responded better down the stretch against the Gamecocks.
"I think when we were in Columbia, we finished the deal," Warlick said. "They cut it to four, and we stayed the course. The freshmen had a lot to do with that. They were in the game.
"They don't know what Notre Dame's environment is, which is a good thing, but they do have a feel of what it can be like from what we got from Columbia. We'll see. I like their focus, and I guess they're sticking to our game plan and just playing the game and again being resilient."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.