KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee women lost 69-48 at top-ranked South Carolina on Sunday and fell to 17-5 for the season and 7-2 in the Southeastern Conference.
The Lady Vols limited the Gamecocks to 38% shooting from the field but shot 35% themselves and turned the ball over 21 times, which led to 28 South Carolina points.
The road doesn’t get any easier for Tennessee, which hosts eighth-ranked Mississippi State (19-3, 8-1) on Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Here are three next-day observations from the loss:
Tennessee center Tamari Key (20) and South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston (4) battle for rebound position during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)Needed more Key in the key: Tamari Key’s nine blocked shots set a Tennessee freshman record, and some of those were just because she had the speed and the agility to prevent the Gamecocks’ penetration by the guards. But South Carolina kept attacking the 6-foot-5 rookie and eventually got her in foul trouble, which weakened the Lady Vols’ interior due to the mismatches that were created.