COLUMBIA, S.C. -- One of the biggest issues for Tennessee the past few years was that coach Holly Warlick couldn't be sure what she was going to get. Would the Lady Vols be plugged in and maintain their focus when games got tight? Or would they play flat or distracted or sloppily -- or all of that?
There was no way to know, because just about the time it seemed Tennessee had shown its personality, it would change. And then change again. And again.
But Sunday, in a critical junction of this season, the Lady Vols demonstrated the kind of steely resolve that Warlick has been seeking. In front of 14,763 fans at Colonial Life Arena, No. 6 Tennessee beat No. 9 South Carolina 86-70 and made a statement.
"How they performed -- I'm really proud of them. It's great to see," Warlick said. "When South Carolina made the run, [the Lady Vols] kept their composure. I'm probably more emotional than our whole team. And today, that was better."
The run Warlick referred to came in the fourth quarter, when South Carolina was able to cut what had been an 18-point Tennessee lead down to four: 70-66 with 5 minutes, 45 seconds left in the game after Alexis Jennings' 3-point play.
South Carolina's star, national player of the year candidate A'ja Wilson, was sidelined with an ankle injury on the bench wearing a bright pink cast. Sophomore post Mikiah Herbert Harrigan had to be helped off the court at the 7:45 mark in the fourth quarter with a leg injury. So South Carolina fans, who've made this arena one of the toughest in the country for opponents to play in, were trying to transfer to the Gamecocks as much of their energy as they could.
And closing out games has been a thorn for Tennessee in recent years. This could have been a time when the Lady Vols came unglued. But the exact opposite happened, which tells you something about Tennessee's personality this season.
Tennessee went into warp drive, going on a 7-0 run in the next minute and a half that restored the double-digit lead and took the last of the wind from the Gamecocks' sails. It was fueled by a layup from Jaime Nared, a jump shot from freshman Evina Westbrook, and a three-point play from Nared, who finished with a team-high 21 points.
To say this game was redemption for Westbrook is silly, considering she's a rookie who was playing in just her fifth SEC game and doesn't need any redeeming. But such is the spotlight on the end of games that her foul on 3-point shooter Danni Williams and then a subsequent turnover both stood out in Tennessee's first loss of the season, 79-76 in overtime at Texas A&M on Thursday.
Warlick stressed that those two plays were not what cost Tennessee that game; rather, a series of mistakes and missed opportunities at the end of the fourth quarter and in the overtime were the problem. Still, Westbrook might have let the ending linger in her mind.
Instead, she got good advice from Warlick and seniors Nared and Mercedes Russell, in particular: Let it go. Move on. Nobody plays a perfect game.
"My teammates, every single one, had my back," said Westbrook, a 6-foot guard from Salem, Oregon, who's a big part of this strong Tennessee freshman class. "They could tell I was down on myself, and I'm hard on myself already. They picked me up. And I'm going to do the same for them."
She did that Sunday, scoring 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, with a team-high five assists in 33 minutes.
This was the kind of game Tennessee needed on this difficult stretch of their schedule against four ranked teams in a row, three of them on the road. They were edged by Texas A&M, beat South Carolina by double digits, and now go into Notre Dame on Thursday. Next Sunday, they'll be at home against still-unbeaten Mississippi State, which leads the SEC at 5-0 and has the week to prepare for the Lady Vols. Tennessee and Georgia, which upset Texas A&M in overtime Sunday, are tied in second at 4-1.
"We're excited for the opportunity we have this coming week," said Russell, who was 7-of-9 from the field for 16 points, plus had 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Tennessee had 44 of its 86 points in the paint, as Wilson's absence inside clearly was felt by South Carolina's defense. And the Gamecocks missed her plenty on offense, too, although sophomore point guard Tyasha Harris had a career-high 28 points, and freshman forward LeLe Grissett had her best game thus far with 10 points and eight rebounds.
However, the Gamecocks had a season-low four assists -- all by Harris -- as the offense had a hard time getting into sync without Wilson, who was injured in Thursday's victory over Auburn. It was the fewest assists by South Carolina since having one in November 2012 against DePaul.
A week ago, Wilson was limited to eight points and fouled out in a loss at Missouri, playing just 19 minutes. Sunday, the Gamecocks didn't have her at all. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley pointed out that a lot of teams are dealing with injuries, and it's just a part of sports. But taking away a senior averaging 23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 3.3 blocked shots from a team without much other experienced leadership is a big blow.
Many expect Wilson to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA draft; Las Vegas coach Bill Laimbeer, who will be making that selection, was in attendance at Sunday's game. Staley said that Wilson will get her cast off and have an MRI on Monday. Herbert Harrigan also will have an MRI; Staley said that the initial tests on her after the game were better than what she was expecting.
Still, Sunday's loss at home was something the Gamecocks and their fans aren't used to now. This was just South Carolina's third defeat at home since the start of the 2013-14 season; they are 68-3 at home since.
The Gamecocks have won or shared the SEC regular-season title for the past four seasons, going 59-5 in the SEC in that time, and have won the past three SEC tournament titles. Now they are 14-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, tied in the middle of the league pack with Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU.
"We haven't been in this situation in a very long time," Staley said. "I told our team, 'This is how we used to beat up on people the last four years of this league. And it doesn't feel good on the receiving end.' But we'll just bounce back."