KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee women’s basketball team picked up a big win Sunday at home against LSU, outlasting the Tigers 63-58 to improve to 16-4 for the season and 6-1 in the Southeastern Conference.
The Lady Volunteers are on the road for their next two games, with trips to Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Here are three next-day observations from the win:
1. Horston not efficient but vital: A quick glance at Tennessee freshman Jordan Horston’s stat line doesn’t read pretty. She was just 2-for-11 from the field, turned the ball over four times and was just 1-for-2 at the free-throw line. But overall it was a good day for the 6-foot-2 freshman guard, who had nine assists, a block and a steal and was a plus-10 in 33 minutes. She is very much an extreme-high, extreme-low sort of player, but it was little things, such as her defensive intensity and affecting LSU’s offense that proved huge in Sunday’s win.
Tennessee guard/forward Rennia Davis (0) is guarded by LSU guard/forward Mercedes Brooks (12) during an NCAA college basketball game in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)2. McCoy minutes: On the subject of key contributions, what about Jaiden McCoy? The 6-3 junior had maybe her most productive game of the season, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds in 21 minutes, the most she’s played since a 21-minute outing against East Tennessee State in the season opener. LSU’s physical style suits McCoy’s style perfectly, which made games like Sunday’s a good matchup for her. To that point, McCoy was a team-best plus-12 in her time on the court, and she’ll be needed more down the road.