Honestly, I watched this game largely because I didn't have access to a radio with which to listen to the Gamecocks game--well, and also because it was a Top Ten matchup between 2 Southeastern Conference teams. Those have been a little hard to come by in the past couple of years, as the SEC has fallen on (relatively) hard times, compared to a couple of the other power basketball conferences.

(It can't be terribly hard times, considering that Tennessee won the national championship a mere two seasons ago, but remember that I said "relatively" hard times.)

So, no, I'm not doing a complete recap of the entire game, with a review of the box score and all of the other good stuff, just a few observations on a very good game.

This is the kind of game that new and young players need to sit down and watch--and LEARN.  There were plenty of mistakes, from both teams, early on--but they played through them and played each possession as it might be the last possession of the game. When games are that close, mistakes can be significant. This game may have been more or less decided by a very silly mistake by Tennessee center Kelley Cain. After a physical play inside (nothing out of the ordinary, the way I see it) Cain was called for a foul and completely lost her cool. She said something out of line, added a technical foul to her accomplishments and fouled out of the game with about 3 minutes left to play. Georgia's Ashley Houts hit the technical shot and UGA had regained the momentum. That wasn't the end of it, by any means, but in such a close and critical game one little swing of the momentum can make the difference in a game. The game continued and both teams had some chances. Tennessee got a final shot at the basket, took a rushed 3-point attempt that missed and gave Georgia the victory.

The bottom line: the Lady Bulldogs defeated Tennessee, the first-ever victory over the Lady Vols for the UGA seniors. And head coach Andy Landers, who already has more victories over Tennessee than any other coach in basketball, got his 15th victory over Pat Summitt.

How 'bout them Dawgs???

 

 

PS. Is anybody surprised that this game, a matchup between 2 Top Ten teams, had Dee Kantner on the officiating team?  Dee likes her TV time.