December 11th, 2011: DePaul at Tennessee (Maggie Dixon Classic)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: The Lady Vols of Tennessee induced 24 turnovers and 47 missed shots on their way to an 84-61 win over the Blue Demons of DePaul. Glory Johnson led Tennessee with 16 points, while Cierra Burdick and Alicia Manning both added double digits off the bench. Jasmine Penny led DePaul with 16 in reserve.

For exhaustion, wandering eyes, blurs of color, and a lot of orange, join your intrepid and sore blogger after the jump.

Tennessee is home for this game, so we're behind their bench with a lot of people in orange. I especially like the Tennessee-colored lei over in section 106. Tennessee is up 12 at the half, and it doesn't feel like it should be that much. DePaul's shooting well, though they'd be a lot better off if they could hit some of their bunnies. Tennessee's been rebounding well, and their defense is on point.

I love how John Whisenant talks about how there are WNBA prospects in all four games. Yes, maybe if you include the class of 2013, but I don't think a single senior played a significant role in the Baylor-St. John's game. I also don't think it's a good idea to talk draft strategy when the Seattle coaching staff is in attendance scouting (oh, and the Connecticut staff, too, though Thibault is a wee bit biased).

Kara Lawson is across from the Tennessee bench. There was a lady who looked a little bit like Loree Moore, but much girlier, so I don't think it was her.

Full disclosure: between looking for my team, gossiping with Ray, working on the Baylor-St. John's notes, and chatting with the people next to us, I found myself not paying as much attention to the game as I should, so these notes are not up to par, and I'm sorry.

Tennessee fans have some of the niftiest gear. They traveled in large groups, but the biggest group in orange... well, we spotted them during the first half, wearing the “We Back Pat” shirts. My husband went to talk to them at the half to see where we could get the shirt. Turns out the group in the “We Back Pat” shirts wasn't from Tennessee and weren't Tennessee fans. They were UConn fans who'd come for the doubleheader, basically to prove that UConn fans shouldn't be judged by the worst of their fanbase. We saw a couple of stray UConn fans, a lost UNC fan, a very lost South Carolina fan, and far too many Penn State fans.

Live by the three, die by the three, DePaul. Tennessee wasn't that much bigger than you are. Maureen Mulchrone (just a wild guess, what with the pale skin and the red hair and the name, she's of Irish descent) came in as a shooter off the bench. Jasmine Penny came in and played big minutes for the Blue Demons with Keisha Hampton and Katherine Harry both dealing with big foul trouble. I was impressed, though I wasn't thrilled with the way she knocked out Glory Johnson at one point. I don't remember much of anything else from the DePaul bench. My apologies.

Anna Martin looked like she was looking for shots she could get against the minor D-I teams of Chicagoland, but that she wasn't going to get against a team like Baylor. Brittany Hrynko couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but she always seemed to be in a good place on the other side of the ball. Keisha Hampton never seemed comfortable, though that might have been because of the foul trouble. I didn't even see most of the calls; I blinked and she was out of the game. Katherine Harry showed off a pretty hook shot, but I don't remember much else she did. And I don't even know who Kelsey Reynolds is. I'm sorry, Kelsey Reynolds.

Alicia Manning put on a show. She was in a lot of places, and I think she had the move of the game with her pretty spin move. Briana Bass is adorably tiny, but not much else. Cierra Burdick went on a run in the second half that helped bury DePaul for good. Not much time for Isabelle Harrison.

Vicki Baugh's knee, or shoulder, or whatever, must have been acting up, because Burdick and Manning shouldered the load for her. Glory Johnson was everywhere on the court. Taber Spani looked a little out of sorts, like she wasn't quite with the program. I'll admit that when watching Tennessee on television, I tend to mix up Shekinna Stricklen and Glory Johnson, and when not looking at a roster, it's possible to mix players up. You have to understand that my perception of the game was less detailed than usual, and fading hours later; I have impressions of fast-moving orange and blue missing shots.

DePaul fell apart in the second half, and that's uncharacteristic of a Doug Bruno team. I guess that says as much about Pat Summitt as it does about Doug Bruno, though.