KNOXVILLE — Unlike the men’s event, the women’s NCAA basketball tournament has included a top seed losing to a No. 16 seed.
Saturday wasn’t the time for a second. Especially not in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers pounded in-state foe Austin Peay for most of Saturday afternoon before letting up late in a 75-42 win.
Saturday’s only drama centered around the unveiling of UT’s Monday night opponent. No. 8 seed Dayton edged No. 9 seed TCU later in the afternoon to earn that right.
Dayton (25-7) will likely give the Lady Vols (31-2) stiffer opposition than Austin Peay (15-18) did Saturday.
“There were some things I was obviously disappointed with, but this was a great experience for our team,” Austin Peay coach Carrie Daniels said. “We only have one senior, and I expect them to be back here next year … but not as a No. 16 seed.”
“All you can ask for is going out there and playing your hardest,” Austin Peay sophomore center Jasmine Rayner said.
The 5-foot-10 Rayner battled admirably against 6-6 Lady Vols sophomore center Kelly Cain. But Cain had 18 points and 12 rebounds on 9-for-11 shooting in just 22 minutes.
“She’s huge,” Rayner said with a chuckle. “I couldn’t stay strictly in the paint and try to shoot over her, because she could just block my shot. I had to try different ways to score or get rebounds or do anything.
“(Defensively), I had to fight to work with her and fight to get around her. I couldn’t let her pin me as low as she did — even though she did at times. I knew if she pinned me low, she could just turn around and shoot right over me.”
Daniels also laughed while telling stories of this week’s practice, where she and her assistants held brooms in the air to simulate Cain’s size.
The Lady Vols outrebounded Austin Peay by only one in the first half, 21-20, despite a 37-16 lead in points, but the Lady Govs were beaten 26-8 on the glass after the break.
“We obviously don’t have any players on our roster of that height,” Daniels said. “We had to get a little creative.”
This game was never in doubt after the Lady Vols exited last year’s tournament with a first-round loss to Ball State.
“It was just a little bit different, you could say,” joked UT senior guard Angie Bjorklund, who scored 14 points with four 3-point baskets. “Anywhere we go, our fan support is going to be great, but this felt like a home game. We had our regular routine down, and the fan support was great.
“We didn’t know what to expect when we first ran out there, but it was all orange. We were really excited, and like Coach (Pat) Summitt always says, we needed to give the fans something to cheer about. And that’s what we did today.”
It wasn’t perfect. Austin Peay guard Ashley Herring drove right by the Lady Vols’ defense on several occasions, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting. UT shot just 5-for-19 behind the arc, and Bjorklund needed 12 tries to hit her four treys.
Still, as Summitt said, Saturday was a positive first step.
And, unlike last season, there will be a second step.
“Last year we struggled at times, and we didn’t always play together and we didn’t always play hard,” Summitt said. “Last year, it was like a wait-and-see in every game we played. It was very frustrating for the coaching staff, but they won a lot more games than I probably had anticipated. But this program, we’ve got high expectations. They thought they’d just come in here (last year) and put on the orange uniform and win. It doesn’t happen like that.
“This sets the tone. When you come out and you’re ready to play, it’s a feel-good thing for our coaching staff, our team, our fans and our administration. It shows you’re ready to play and ready to take it to the highest level and get the job done.”
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