KNOXVILLE – Pat Summitt was looking for a better defensive effort from fourth-ranked Tennessee. When she wasn’t getting it early against Arizona State, she benched her best defensive player, Glory Johnson, for a few minutes.
“She had to step up for us,” the coach said. “She was blending in. I got on to her at halftime probably a little tougher than I should have, but she responded. We need her. She can affect the game in many, many ways.”
Johnson returned to the game and affected it by turning up the pressure, grabbing 15 rebounds and scoring 14 points inside as the Lady Volunteers beat Arizona State 80-64 on Sunday.
Summitt was irate with her players after their 85-73 win over Virginia because of what she said was an ugly defensive performance and a mediocre rebounding effort that they covered up with strong shooting from Angie Bjorklund.
“At first I didn’t understand, but when I was sitting down on the bench, I was like, ‘There’s a lot I can do to help my team. Stay focused. Even though I’m getting yelled at, I’m still going to play my game I can take that and make things positive,”‘ Johnson said.