NC Central was no match for a rolling Lady Vols squad
Yes, you read that correctly. Nothing like a casual record-breaking performance to get to 8-0!
The Lady Vols set the nets on fire at the Thompson-Boling Arena against winless NC Central on Saturday afternoon, breaking the NCAA record by draining 30 three-pointers in their 80-point trouncing of the Eagles. Efficiency had been the issue from the Lady Vols from deep this season, but they made up for that a little bit, making 30 of 63 triples on the day. That mark of 63 three-point attempts is an SEC record, breaking the old record of 47 set by Arkansas, who had broken a 30-year record earlier this season.
The Lady Vols forced 44 Eagle turnovers to their 15, and never trailed once. This is the fourth time NC Central has allowed 110+ points this season and the second time they’ve lost by 80 or more points. They have racked up losses of 44, 58, 39, 30, 62, 76, 87, and now 80 points this season. Simply put, they’re among the worst teams in the nation.
Samara Spencer had a career day, scoring 33 points to go with 10 assists for her first double-double this season, and her nine threes set a new school record previously held by Ariel Massengale and Meighan Simmons who made 8 respectively. Spencer is now averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Lady Vols, and she is shooting 51.2% from deep on the season. The Arkansas transfer has molded into Kim Caldwell’s system perfectly
Adding to Spencer’s performance was yet another great day by Talaysia Cooper who has been the catalyst for all things on this team, namely on the defensive end. Cooper has emerged as this team’s best player early on and is also Caldwell’s Swiss army knife. Cooper added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists as well as 5 steals in just 18 minutes. We saw this Tennessee team run a lot through Cooper against their power conference wins over Florida State and Iowa, and the confidence from the sophomore South Carolina transfer is growing by the game. She tallied her fifth straight game of 20+ points, and her five steals raised her season average to 3.1 per game, a top 15 mark in the country and third best among power conference players. She’s a total game breaker.
Below is a list of players with at least a 120+ offensive rating (ORtg), 30%+ assist rate, and 5%+ steal rate in the nation with at least 40% of team’s minutes played:
1. Talaysia Cooper
That’s the list. Dominance personified from Cooper thus far, and as we near the new year and SEC play, expect more of the same from her.
Tennessee goes to 2-7 Memphis next on the 18th, and then returns home to face Richmond, Winthrop, and Tulsa before starting SEC play on January 2nd in College Station. There is an energy back with the Lady Vols, and we will be here to capture it all with you!