Gamecocks not taking Lady Vols’ record lightly

Tennessee has lost five SEC games this year. It has never lost six.

Tennessee has lost nine overall games this year. It has lost 10 or more just twice in the past 20 years, and one of those ended with a national championship.

Tennessee is ninth in the SEC in points per game, and eighth in points allowed per game. Tennessee lost to Arkansas for only the third time since 1996, to Florida for only the third time since 1997 and to Mississippi State for the first time ever.

Tennessee is having a very un-Tennessee-like season. Second-ranked South Carolina, with a chance to clinch a share of its third straight SEC regular-season championship with a win over Tennessee on Monday, is already stitching the banner, right?

Wrong.

Tennessee is still Tennessee. No matter the struggles or statistics, it’s still Tennessee.

It’s still the program USC has beaten just four times in 45 tries (although in three of the last six, including last year’s SEC tournament championship). The game is still being played in Knoxville, where USC has won once in 22 tries.

“We’re going to play history. And history says we haven’t done well playing in Knoxville,” USC coach Dawn Staley said. “But our team has done a great job at being the top team in this conference.”

Only two other programs (Auburn and Tennessee) have ever won three straight SEC regular-season titles. A win Monday puts USC alongside them, a culmination of the dynasty Staley has built in Columbia. The Gamecocks have won 40 of 43 SEC games in three seasons and become the team to beat, but the Lady Vols aren’t going to just let USC walk in and take something they’ve become accustomed to obtaining.

“Every team’s going to give us their best shot, so they might play their best basketball against us on Monday,” senior Khadijah Sessions said. “They haven’t been playing so well, but they’re a great basketball team.”

Staley hasn’t mentioned championships, despite the scenario. The players didn’t know, either.

“I think overall, our team isn’t a team of mathematicians,” Staley wisecracked. “Hopefully, they’re just playing great basketball and wanting to get a win. If we do that, the numbers game will take care of itself.”

Maybe they don’t win by straight intimidation anymore, but the Lady Vols are still dangerous. Perhaps nobody knows that better than the Gamecocks – they’re quite familiar with UT leading scorer Diamond DeShields, considering she was instrumental in two of USC’s five losses two seasons ago, including the final one.

There was some consideration for DeShields to choose USC after leaving North Carolina (she visited), but it seemed predetermined that she would wind up at Tennessee with her mother being a former All-American track and field star for the Lady Vols. Tennessee tied USC for the regular-season title last year without DeShields, but with her eligible, the results have been mixed.

The Vols have struggled to find a cohesive offense this year, DeShields’ scoring ability trumped by her inability to hold onto the ball. Holly Warlick has brought DeShields off the bench the last five games, and there’s been a nearly constant rotation at point guard.

But despite the anguished howls of what’s going on, Tennessee has begun to piece it together. They’ve won three of four, all at home, and they know that nobody will remember their midseason struggles if they finish strong.

Beating the No. 2 team in the country would certainly be a big first step.

“We know everybody plays their best basketball against us,” Staley said. “We’re prepping for their very best. Hopefully we’ll play our best and you’ll see a good game.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 3:02 PM.