Tennessee’s Meighan Simmons drives in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Chattanooga on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE – After watching yet another slow start by Tennessee, coach Holly Warlick had a terse message for the fourth-ranked Lady Vols at halftime against Chattanooga.
“Yeah, I just said they don’t need to come in tomorrow if they don’t win the game because I’ll make their lives miserable,” Warlick said. “That was the short of it.”
The Lady Vols heeded the warning, turning up the heat in the second half en route to an 80-56 victory over the Lady Mocs on Thursday night.
Ariel Massengale, who picked up two early fouls in the game, got a sense of her coach’s frustration as she sat on the bench for most of the first half, watching as her teammates struggled. After Warlick’s halftime warning, they went into the paint to start the second half and drew three quick fouls.
Massengale opened the half with a quick 3-pointer and four free throws during a 12-2 run that put the Lady Vols up 44-34 with 16:59 left.