The South Carolina women's basketball team will take on the top Southeastern Conference team on Sunday afternoon, for the second game in a row. This past Thursday, the Gamecocks downed the Ole Miss Lady Rebels, then tied for first place in the SEC with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols. The Vols are now solely in first place and will visit the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday to defend their standing.

Poor Tennessee. Watching their recent game against Georgia, last year's team was described as their "worst ever." Whoa! Technically speaking, that is true--if you confine yourself to the NCAA era. (They were actually 16-11 in 1975-76, before the NCAA had a tournament for women's basketball. ) The Lady Vols were 22-11, last season, 9-5 in the SEC. They didn't win either the regular season or conference tournament--which is a disappointment for Tennessee. They were seeded 5th and I don't think I'd ever seen a Tennessee team play the opening day before. Despite all that, they were a 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. And that's where "worst ever" comes in. The Lady Vols are used to slashing their way through the first few rounds of the NCAA tournament and winding up in a Final Four. Last season, they were bested by Ball State in the first round--and not a close game, either.

(Everything is relative. A LOT of teams would trade for that record, right now, and be satisfied. But those are teams that have not been in contention for a lot of championships.)

But none of this was a huge surprise, as the 2008-09 season progressed. Head coach Pat Summitt was disappointed in her team's play, all season long, and repeated her concerns at every possible opportunity. After the Ball State loss, she challenged the team--most of whom returned this season, only Alex Fuller graduated--to put in the work needed to improve themselves and the team. She didn't try to pretend she had a team without talent, just pointed out that it still takes a lot of hard work to have a championship team. This season, she has shuffled lineups, as needed, and has some of last season's starters coming off her bench. She even benched her team leader, junior guard Angie Bjorklund, recently to try to shake her out of an unproductive streak. 

Injuries have been a factor, but not a huge one. The Lady Vols have enough talent to weather even some serious injuries. Vicki Baugh is still having knee problems and is out, again, for the season. Amber Gray is out for the year, recovering from both shoulder and brain surgery.

But the single biggest problem is, straight from Summitt's mouth, that the team "doesn't always work hard." And that they still need to learn "having composure on the road." (Let's hope that both are a problem on Sunday. Nothing personal, Vols!)

Tennessee does have a big height and length advantage. Most of the time, every player on the floor is 6-0 or taller. Most of them are pretty quick and most of them have long arms. That can be a problem for a team (like Carolina) that has speedy, little guards with normal-length arms. For UT, Bjorklund is a great 3-point shooter and one of the team leaders. Sophomore Shekinna Stricklen is transitioning to point guard, this season, and is making a lot of progress but has also had some struggles with the change of position. Georgia's defense frustrated her and forced her into numerous errors. Sophomore Kelley Cain is a good rebounder, good shot blocker and takes high-percentage shots. But the few games that I've seen her play, this season, I have observed that she is one of the players that doesn't always work hard. She doesn't get back on defense quickly; whether it's a lack of speed, laziness or the need to drop a few pounds--I don't know. But you'll see her just standing around, at times. I like the chances of Carolina's freshman center Kelsey Bone--who does work hard and has improved with every game--against her. Bone has more speed and stamina and will have assistance from junior forward Jewel May and sophomore forward Charenee Stephens on the inside. Freshman forward Ashley Bruner may see some playing time, too.

On the perimeter, USC will count on junior point guard Samone Kennedy to push the tempo, junior guard Valerie Nainima to hit some 3s and stretch out the Tennessee defense. Freshman guard Ieasia Walker will play, too, and senior guard Cocoa Falohun will likely come in to provide some tough defensive minutes and senior steadiness. Sophomore guard Ebony Wilson will also be on the bench, waiting for her name to be called. Sophomore guard LaKeisha Sutton can run, pass, score and play great defense. She had a terrific game against Ole Miss and if she brings that same intensity against Tennessee, she could frustrate a player or two, enough to get a slight edge for South Carolina. South  Carolina will have to play well, as they did against Ole Miss, and make the game harder for the Lady Vols, at the same time. It can be done, but it won't be easy.

Tipoff is at 2 pm at the Colonial Life Arena.