Tennessee and Kentucky basketball players battle for a rebound during their SEC game Jan. 10 in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE - For the Tennessee women's basketball team to turn around its recent misfortunes, the Lady Volunteers need someone to lead.
And in this case, not all of those responsibilities can fall on the head coach.
The Lady Vols' four-game losing streak going into tonight's "We Back Pat" game against Arkansas (13-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) at 7 at Thompson-Boling Arena has come down to a lot of little things down the stretch in a lot of games. However, one skill they had excelled at earlier this season - shooting - has been noticeably lackluster during the recent skid.
Holly Warlick likes her teams to attack the paint, and when that's not available, the Tennessee coach wants her players to be able to kick out to open shooters.
The problem with that scenario is the 20th-ranked Lady Vols (12-5, 1-4) haven't been hitting those open looks, which has allowed defenses to pack things in and not worry about that aspect of Tennessee's offense. That has made it harder for point guard Evina Westbrook to find the necessary gaps to drive into the lane. It has made things more difficult inside for posts Cheridene Green and Kasiyahna Kushkituah, who haven't had room to operate because of the team's inability to hit shots outside.
Meme Jackson, who has been asked to be the team's primary 3-point shooting threat, has struggled in recent games. In fact, the team's success - or lack thereof - on offense could be tied to the 5-foot-10 senior guard, who has averaged 14.7 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range in Tennessee's 12 wins, compared to 7.4 points on 20 percent from the field and 22 percent behind the arc in its five losses.
As the team's lone four-year member, Jackson is the Lady Vol most likely to be looked at for leadership in the hard times. Her struggles have heaped a lot of the pressure for scoring on sophomores Westbrook and Rennia Davis.
"Sometimes the game relies on these two, and when any of these guys are struggling, we've got to have some guys step up," Warlick said after the Lady Vols' loss to Georgia on Jan. 13. "Our sophomores are our leaders; they're no longer youth. Like it or not, they have to grow up, have a key leadership role for us, keep focusing and moving forward."
The problem for Jackson is that while she is the team's most experienced member, having played 103 college games and started 69 of those, she has never been asked to shoulder much of a scoring load. Prior to this season, she had scored in double figures in 15 of her 86 games for Tennessee and averaged 5.4 points. This season, she scored in double figures in 10 of the first 13 and has averaged 12.5 points in the Lady Vols' 17 games - despite her scoring a total of 20 points in the past four.
Tennessee has been able to get some contributions from freshmen Rae Burrell, Mimi Collins, Zaay Green and former Hamilton Heights Christian Academy standout Jazmine Massengill, but those contributions have come inconsistently, which isn't a surprise for first-year players.
Like Jackson, Davis and Westbrook are being looked to as voices of the team, and a lot hinges on how well they play.
But being young for the roles they've been given, that has put pressure on the two sophomores and Jackson to lead, and for Warlick to aid if needed.
"Our leaders are young," Warlick said. "I still have to step up at times. Evina (Westbrook) and Rennia (Davis) step up at times, and Meme (Jackson) needs to be more consistent. That just comes with experience as they continue to play.
"They are going to develop more experience and gain more trust as they continue together."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.