University of Tennessee Athletics
@LadyVol_Hoops Report (11/17/15)
November 17, 2015 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The #4/5-ranked Tennessee women's basketball team will play four games in the next nine days, starting with a game against Penn State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
The day before the game, head coach Holly Warlick, freshman Te’a Cooper and redshirt sophomore Mercedes Russell spoke to the media at the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
Cooper Shines in Debut
Point guard Te’a Cooper made her Big Orange debut Sunday afternoon against Central Arkansas. Through one game, Cooper already has made a name for herself in the Lady Vol record books.
She finished with 22 points against the Sugar Bears, tied for the second-most points by a freshman in her debut. Meighan Simmons also scored 22 against Louisville in 2010, and Semeka Randall owns the record with 24 against Ole Miss in 1997.
In Tuesday afternoon’s press conference, Cooper was more focused on having fun with her teammates than her historic debut performance.
“I thought I played O.K.,” Cooper said modestly. “I really just enjoyed being out there with my team for the first time. [My teammates] were very encouraging, and we just had fun out there. I just missed being out there (for the Carson-Newman game), having fun and enjoying the game.”
As a Lady Vol point guard, Cooper has one of the biggest responsibilities on the entire team. Warlick, a gifted UT point guard in her own playing days, makes sure that Cooper understands the importance of her role.
“[Coach Warlick] stresses that I am an extension of the coaching staff, being that I’m a point guard and I have the ball in my hand a lot during the game,” Cooper said. “I have to be a leader, and I have to talk on the floor. I have to be vocal. I have to get my teammates involved. I have to set the tempo. I have to do a lot, but she just stresses that I need to get the job done.”
Cooper was able to do just that against Central Arkansas. Aside from the scoring, she also got her teammates involved with six assists and had a great defensive presence with four steals. After her strong debut, Cooper looks forward to what the rest of the season has in store.
“I think we get stronger every day, communicating with each other and having chemistry on the court. It being my first game, I thought it went pretty well. I think we shared the ball, and I think we all played hard and were all on the same page. Hopefully, we just keep going up from there.”
Scouting Penn State
The Penn State Lady Lions won just six games last year, but Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick knows not to let that affect her team’s preparation.
“[Last year was] a down year for Penn State,” said Warlick Tuesday. “I don't think that's going to happen too often. I think they're as athletic as we are; they're as physical as we are inside. There are a lot of similarities. It's going to be a tough game for us.”
The Lady Lions already have jumped out to a 2-0 start this season with home wins over Holy Cross and Fordham. In addition to returning four starters, Penn State has added a strong freshman class and a transfer from UConn, senior guard Brianna Banks. Banks leads the Lady Lions in scoring with 21 points per game early in the season.
The Lady Vols must also prepare for the size of the Lady Lions. After scoring 20 points and bringing down 13 rebounds in the opener, redshirt-sophomore center Mercedes Russell will face a stiffer challenge against Penn State.
The Lady Vols did not face an opponent in the exhibition or the season-opener taller than 6-foot-1. Penn State has five players on their roster that meet that criteria, including 6-6 senior center Candice Agee.
“Height is always a good challenge,” said Mercedes Russell Tuesday. “I think it will be a good test for us just because we haven’t seen any height so far.”
Lady Vols Not Lacking Depth
The Lady Vols only played six players against Central Arkansas due to a combination of injuries and team policy violations, but that didn’t stop UT from racing to a 55-point victory in the opener.
One of the reasons the team was able to succeed is the great depth of the squad. The Lady Vols boast seven former McDonald’s All-Americans on their roster and have no problem playing any of their 12 student-athletes.
“When you have the talent and the ability to put people in [that we do]; you’ll see a lot more people play and their time will be a little less,” Warlick said. “What we strive to do is to make sure it’s quality minutes; I want them to be productive in those minutes. If someone has to play for 34 again, I’m sure they’re capable, but with what we want to do and the tempo we want to play; it’s going to be difficult.”
The Lady Vols would like to play up-tempo and press their opponents. Fans didn’t see much of that in the first game because only six players suited up, but that will not be the norm for UT.
“I’m pleased that we have a bench where anybody could start,” Warlick said. “As I think we proved with the five that started the other day. If I had to say at the beginning of the year, that those would be the five that started, I probably wouldn’t have picked them, but right now they’re solid, they’re getting it done. I have people on the bench who can come in, obviously, and maintain the level and hopefully raise it. We’re going to play a lot of people.”
Coming into the season opener, the five starters had combined for 65 starts, with 57 of those coming from Andraya Carter. Mercedes Russell (5) and Alexa Middleton (3) have made a couple starts in their careers, but Kortney Dunbar and Te’a Cooper each made their first career start vs. UCA. Cooper became just the 19th Lady Vol freshman to start her debut game.
“I think I plan to go with the same starters that went last time. They got us off to a great start. They haven't warranted me to change.”
“To see us move the ball, pass the ball and cut was really fun to watch,” Warlick continued. “To get a basketball team to do that, that's an unselfish basketball team. You've got to be in great shape to pass and cut and move. But I haven't seen us move the ball like that in a real long time. It was encouraging for our coaching staff, because we've been trying to emphasize that for quite some time."
Bashaara Graves (98 career starts), Jordan Reynolds (35), Diamond DeShields (32 starts at UNC), Jasmine Jones (14) and Nia Moore (10) have combined for 189 career starts between them, but none of them started the opener.
That is a lot of talent and experience to bring off the Lady Vol bench. Tennessee, though, hopes it can find the formula to utilize that depth to win a lot of games and make a greatly-coveted Final Four run.
