Lady Vols ‘getting there’ following loss to UConn

The Lady Vols have yet to beat a ranked team this season. With the loss to No. 5 UConn on Thursday night, Tennessee falls to 0-7 against ranked competition.

The matchup with the Huskies on Thursday had many similarities to the inaugural game of the rivalry. When UConn head coach Geno Auriemma first beat Tennessee in 1995, UConn was a program on the come up. He defeated the established juggernaut that was Pat Summitt and went on to win a championship.

The roles have reversed in 2023 after watching Auriemma’s squad outplay Tennessee.

“(UConn is) a really good team, that's another level,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said. “How can we take that next step?”

Coming into Thursday, it seemed Tennessee was favored in the matchup. The Lady Vols were firing on all cylinders, hot off a nine-game win streak.

After watching Tennessee compete with the best, it’s clear there is still work to do.

"Obviously, we are not there,” Harper said. “We know that. We are getting there, and I think we can continue to go in a positive direction. I really think we can.”

UConn is the gold standard in women’s college basketball, and the Lady Vols are now the team trying to fight to return to the upper echelon.

Hollie Warlick – Tennessee’s former head coach that was promoted when Summitt stepped down – revived the series with UConn before being terminated. She left a program in disarray that now Lady Vols’ head coach Harper had to inherit.

Trying to rebuild Tennessee to the standard expected in Knoxville is a long road, and a work in progress for Harper.

“Obviously, we're in different spaces right now as teams, but I think you can still see there's a lot of competitiveness in that game,” Harper said following the loss to UConn. “I think it's a great challenge. I think that the matchup, at least on our part, is a great challenge to see where you're at and where you need to go to improve.”

Harper defeated UConn while she was playing guard for Summitt, but she has yet to defeat the Huskies as a coach. The Huskies act as a measuring stick for Tennessee.

“Anyone who has seen us play knows that we are very capable, and we can play,” Harper said. “What we want to do is take it another step. For us, that's going to be in the details. It's going to be in the consistency, not from game to game, but from minute to minute.”

Auriemma said, multiple times this week, that coaching in Summitt’s shadow is impossible. He believes that Lady Vol fans are harsh on Harper, and they should allow her to forge her own path.

Auriemma can see the similarities between Harper and Summitt.

“Yes, she has a lot of Pat's similarities, but she has her own style, and she has her own way of doing things, which I think is important,” Auriemma said. “Because that's what she has to do, she can't try to be like Pat. That doesn't work.”

As Harper forges her own path, Auriemma believes there is no one better to bear the weight that being a coach at Tennessee comes with.

Thursday could’ve been the first step in building Harper’s own legacy at Tennessee. Instead, the Lady Vols lost due to the little things.

As has been the story with this season, the little things have killed Tennessee down the stretch. Recurrent problems, such as turning the ball over, have hurt.

On Thursday, Tennessee turned it over 21 times, resulting in 20 points for UConn.

“It's not anything complicated,” Harper said. “It's not that we have to learn a new offense or a new defense, it is the details for what we're already doing. That's all the time, it's every single possession over and over.”

Despite the loss to the Huskies, Tennessee’s goals are still in front of them. The Lady Vols sit undefeated in SEC play, but their toughest competition is still in front of them.

Tennessee travels to No. 4 LSU on Monday. No. 1 South Carolina is looming on the Lady Vols’ schedule, and Arkansas will prove another tough test.

The Lady Vols have to grow following the loss to UConn, and it has to happen quickly with conference play approaching. The perfect opportunity for a bounce back comes on Monday in Baton Rouge.

“They’ve been great all year in terms of handling adversity,” Harper said. “I think they’ll be motivated (at LSU). I’d be disappointed if they’re not. They’ve been competitive and they want to get better.”