The Lady Vols have lost four straight games for the first time since 1970. No. 20 Tennessee goes down to Tuscaloosa and makes history in the wrong way. For the first time since 1970, the Lady Vols have lost four straight games. It's also the worst loss to Alabama in program history. Alabama finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three in its fifth straight win against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide only have seven wins against the Lady Vols since 1977. Tennessee was outscored 26-10 in the fourth quarter. Evina Westbrook led all players with 19 points (8/20 shooting) with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Zaay Green added 14 points and Rae Burrell notched 12. For the first time in her Tennessee career, Rennia Davis scored zero points in a game (0-5 from the field).<doc-sep>Opening Statement “I think you have to give the credit to Alabama. To go back towards the start of the game, I thought we came out really focused defensively and built a lead. We had some major breakdowns. Guys that we know we can’t give open looks to, we gave them open looks. Even if we had a chance to build a lead back up, by the end of the half we didn’t handle that right either. Admiral Schofield was definitely struggling. He was pressing too hard and turning the ball over in ways where he just needs to get it up on the rim. Alabama is really well coached and we knew they were going to have guys like John Petty get it going, and he got it going. He really did. “They started isolating us and started picking on whatever mismatch they thought they had, whether it was back down to the post or getting guys involved. We were in zone one time to disrupt the rhythm and we gave up a baseline drive. We were in total scramble mode and they hit another three. When they came out in the second half and started coming back, I told the coaches, ‘I am not going to call a timeout. We need this to see how we respond.’ And then I called a timeout because we didn’t respond when we needed to. You have to give Alabama credit. We came down and we were way too impatient on the offensive end. “They are a long athletic team. We didn’t move the ball the way we really should’ve moved it and tried to force something. We had a turnover during that stretch. It was just careless. Momentum changed. As much as I hate to say it, we were forced to win this game, but we needed a game like this. We are going to see what we can learn from it because this is two games in a row now where we gotten beat in the second half. I don’t think we have come out and executed. It comes back to defense. I don’t think we are as good of a defensive team as we were a year ago at this time, but we are definitely a better offensive team. Jordan Bowden had a great defensive stand, but I told him to rebound the ball and then he started running the other way and Petty got his rebound. That’s what happens when a team is just not totally locked in. That is just one example. I could find one in every player. “I thought Kyle Alexander came up with some big rebounds for us when we needed rebounds. Grant’s block in the corner was a big one. It got down to us getting called for a charge on one end, and then them getting called for a travel. I thought it was a cylinder and I am sure Avery thought we tripped or fouled. It just shows how fine of a line it is. But you have to give Alabama credit. They are an experienced team. I told the guys at halftime, they aren’t going away, and they didn’t. But we found a way at the end to get a win.”<doc-sep>After a major beatdown at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide last season in Tuscaloosa, the Tennessee Volunteers came into Saturday’s matchup looking for revenge. Except there was more than just revenge on the line in this game. An 11-game winning streak, an 18-game home winning streak, and a chance at the No. 1 ranking in the country were on the line for the Vols as well. Even though it came down to the wire, Tennessee was able to preserve and to continue to extend those records after a hard-fought win against the Tide. Tennessee picked up right where it left off against the Arkansas Razorbacks, shooting 50% from the field and recording six rebounds in the first 3:30 minutes of play to build an 8-2 lead. The quick run was highlighted by another amazing dunk by Yves Pons and the Vols were rolling early. The Tide, on the other hand, didn’t start off so well. The Vols built an 11-2 lead off of an 11-2 run with 14:00 left in the game thanks to a 2/8 shooting start from Alabama. Avery Johnson’s team had gone on a four minute scoring drought before Donta Hall ended it with his second dunk of the game to make the score 11-4. But Kyle Alexander immediately responded with a layup on the other end and Tennessee’s defense continued to clamp down. Outside of a few breakdowns in transition, the Vols weren’t allowing the Tide to make any easy buckets and it was showing up on the stat sheet. UT’s 20-10 lead was due in large part to 4/17 shooting, seven turnovers and just six points in the paint. With just 8:00 left in the first half, Alabama needed to find some offense in a major way. Despite shooting nearly 50% from the floor at this point, the Vols had yet to hit any shots from three. If they could get the outside game going then things could start getting ugly for Alabama. Fortunately for the Tide, Tennessee couldn’t find the spot from the outside. After an extremely sluggish offensive start, both teams finally found a groove later in the first half. The Vols hit five shots in a row while Bama hit four, and the nine combined shots left the game at a 32-22 mark with 4:46 left in the first half. The three-point shooting started to come to life for Tennessee soon after. Jordan Bowden was able to get a good look from the top of the key and Admiral Schofield followed that right up with one of his own to push the lead to 38-27. Tennessee continued to pour it on to the tune of a 44-32 first half lead. The offense played one of its most efficient halves of the season, shooting 60% from the field, including a 2/5 mark from three. The Vols were operating at a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio with 26 points in the paint. Alabama finished the half 8/14 from the floor after starting off 4/17, but couldn’t sustain any momentum during the first 20:00 of the game. Every time the Tide hit a big shot, Tennessee would respond. They simply looked outmatched at this point. Could Johnson find a way to tap into his young team and get them over the hump in the second half? Well, he certainly tapped into John Petty during the half. Petty came out and made the team’s first three shots of the second half, sparking a 13-0 run that saw Alabama take the lead, 45-44. It was the first time all season long that the Vols trailed at home after halftime. An irate Rick Barnes took a timeout in order to figure out how to stop the Crimson Tide attack. Just like Johnson, Barnes provided an immediate answer, except his player was Jordan Bowden. Barnes drew up a play that found Bowden down low for a quick jumper to end the run and give the lead back to the Vols, 46-45. Bowden hit another three a few possessions later to give the Vols some breathing room and push the lead to 51-47, but Petty came right back with a layup to keep the Tide within one score, 51-49. After scoring just 10 points in the first half, Petty already had 10 points with 15:00 to play in the second half. Alabama’s Herbert Jones had a chance to tie the game from the free throw line, but missed both free throws as the team continued to struggle from the line as a whole. A 50% hit rate would not beat the third ranked team in the country. Grant Williams drained a 15-footer off some slick moves to give the Vols a 55-49 lead, but Petty came roaring right back with consecutive three-pointers to tie the game, 55-55. It was a season-high 26 points for Petty and it looked like there was plenty more to come. He was able to draw the foul off Williams en route to the bucket, but hit just one of his free throws. It was still good enough to give Alabama a one point, 56-55 lead, however. But Admiral Schofield responded with a layup and a foul of his own. He hit the free throw and the Vols led, 58-56. It was short-lived, though. The Vols lost Petty yet again on defense and he hit his fifth three-pointer of the second half. It was a wide-open shot from the corner and the lead went right back to the Tide, 59-58. Donta Hall then followed up a missed layup with an offensive rebound-turned-into-dunk that pushed the lead to 61-58. Alabama had serious momentum at this point and the Vols were on the ropes. Bama had shot 69% compared to UT’s 32% from the floor at this point. It was a tale of two halves as both teams continued to trade blows with 7:30 left in the game. Lamonte Turner’s fourth foul didn’t make things any better, but fortunately for the Vols, Alabama missed both free throws again and the lead was still 61-58. The Vols were able to pull back within one and appeared to have taken the lead off a Williams’ basket, but a terrible offensive foul called on Williams prevented that from happening. And guess who he supposedly fouled? None other than John Petty. A tough basket from Hall pushed the lead back to three points for the Tide, 63-60. Outside of Hall and Petty, Alabama had no answers. But that didn’t matter because the Vols were approaching a six-minute scoring drought with just 4:39 to play. Ten straight misses and a 22% shooting mark from the floor were the reason for the three-point deficit. Tennessee caught a break when Williams was fouled by Alex Reese, but Williams could only convert one of his free throw opportunities. It was time for the defense to step it up. The defense got the stop it needed thanks to an ill-advised deep three. Bowden responded with a mid-range jumper and the game was tied 63-63 with 3:17 to play. Kira Lewis Jr. came through with an answer of his own in the form of a jumper, but Schofield immediately dropped one in on the other end to keep the score tied, but at 65-65. A key offensive foul on Lewis Jr. gave the ball back to Tennessee and Schofield hit a tough runner over the middle to put the Vols back in the lead, 67-65, but Alabama’s Dazon Ingram was fouled while driving to the basket and had a chance to tie the game back up. But he couldn’t convert both attempts and the Vols still led by one point. Schofield then barley missed an opportunity to push the lead to three and Alabama had a chance to take the lead. Excellent ball movement found who else but Petty wide open to make the three-pointer that would put the Tide up by two points. But as Petty pulled back to fire, Grant Williams came through with a candidate for the defensive play of the year and blocked the potential shot.<doc-sep>
Zaay Green (UT Athletics) The Lady Vols’ downward spiral continued Thursday with an 86-65 loss to Alabama, the fifth in a row to the Crimson Tide and the fourth in a row for Tennessee. Tennessee (12-5, 1-4) got considerable help from two of its freshmen in Zaay Green and Rae Burrell, but Alabama (10-8, 2-3) capitalized on a Lady Vols team playing tight and, in the fourth quarter, without much fight. “We didn’t play with any energy, any emotion or heart,” Tennessee Coach Holly Warlick said. That is a damning assessment – and an accurate one. When asked what the Lady Vols needed to work on, Burrell mentioned defense and then added, “A little bit more heart.” Alabama claimed a 22-18 lead at the end of the first quarter after shooting 53 percent from the field and connecting on 3-6 from the arc in the first 10 minutes. Tennessee opened in a 1-2-2 full court press and then dropped into a 1-2-2 zone. The Lady Vols used all 10 players on the roster in the first quarter, and the Crimson Tide also kept the turnstile turning at the scorer’s table. Tennessee trailed at halftime, 36-34, after shooting 37 percent to 45 percent for the Crimson Tide. The Lady Vols went 2-10 from the arc and seemed tentative on both ends, perhaps the result of the losing streak to Alabama and playing a must-win game in January. Rennia Davis grabbed five rebounds but didn’t score in the first half. Zaay Green paced the Lady Vols with 11 points, while Evina Westbrook added five points. Rae Burrell added a pair of fives in points and boards. Before tipoff, Assistant Coach Dean Lockwood said the staff wanted the team to be focused but to also “play loose and play free – play without fear of consequences.” Instead, the Lady Vols played tight, and it showed. Final from Tuscaloosa. pic.twitter.com/BPp9BawqG6 — Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) January 18, 2019 “We’ve got to get together,” Warlick said. “We are just not playing together.” Tennessee faltered to start the third quarter and needed a timeout at the 7:36 mark, trailing 45-36. The Lady Vols then switched to a man defense and trimmed the lead to 47-44, forcing Alabama to call timeout at the 4:43 mark of the third quarter. But the Crimson Tide maintained the lead, 60-55, at the end of the third quarter. Alabama dominated the fourth quarter, as Tennessee struggled to score or get stops. The bright side for the Lady Vols was the play of Burrell, who finished with 12 points and seven boards. Burrell and Westbrook, who tallied 19 points, attacked the paint and stuck jump shots. Zaay Green notched a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Davis struggled for Tennessee and finished 0-5 in 19 minutes of play. The sophomore was visibly frustrated on the bench. Meme Jackson ended up with four points, and her shooting woes continued, though the senior took good shots. Alabama shot 50 percent (34-68) overall, 43.8 percent (7-16) from the arc and 64.7 percent (11-17) from the line. The Crimson Tide had 16 assists, 12 turnovers, five blocks and four steals. Alabama had five players in double figures: Cierra Johnson, 17 points; Ariyah Copeland, 16; Shaquera Wade, 15; Jasmine Walker, 14; and Ashley Knight, 11. Tennessee shot 33.8 percent (27-80) overall, 17.4 percent (4-23) from the arc and 70 percent (7-10) from the line. The Lady Vols had nine assists, 14 turnovers, five steals and three blocks. Tennessee won the board battle, 49-44. “Alabama just wanted it more than us,” Warlick said. “It was hard to watch. We’re stuck in the mud right now.” The Lady Vols will host Arkansas on Monday in a season that needs to get on track quickly and will increasingly rely on freshmen to help. “We need to come together and figure out what needs to be done,” Burrell said. BOX SCORE Holly Warlick presser Rae Burrell presser Highlights