The 2009-2010 Lady Bulldogs basketball team at times has suffered from a case of Jekyll and Hyde syndrome.
They have performed brilliantly in some games, such as their huge win against ranked Maryland earlier this season, and disappointingly in others, such as the Florida game two weeks ago.
After going into Memorial Coliseum in Nashville Sunday before nearly 6,000 Vandy fans and coming out with a solid 65-56 upset over the No. 21 Lady Commodores for the season sweep, Bulldog head coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said the win must be a turning point for the team.
“If you want to be an NCAA [Tournament] team, the Vandy game has to be [a turning point],” she said. “We made some big plays down the stretch, we rebounded better and took better care of the basketball. We found a way to win. With various teams you have to find a way.”
Fanning-Otis said she saw more cohesion and better communication in her players, who have had to take on new roles since senior guard Tysheka Grimes went out with a foot injury.
“We’ve rotated B-Wash [Bethany Washington], Rima [Kalonda], Danielle [Rector] and Channa [Campbell] in various ways in different ballgames,” she said. “They all have the right mindset and say, ‘How can I help make the team better?’ Everybody is becoming more comfortable with people in roles that are different than we started with. Hopefully that makes you better down the stretch.”
Senior guard Alexis Rack said even in front of a large hostile crowd in Nashville, the Lady Dawgs stuck together and pulled out the badly needed win, which will help them down the stretch against even more difficult teams.
“A team that is a championship team has to rely on one another and be confident,” she said. “You just have to expect toughness when the game is on the line.”
The Thursday-Sunday game schedule this season has forced the Lady Dawgs to endure quick turnarounds from one tough game to the next. The team has rarely had time for proper rest and preparation, but senior forward Chanel Mokango said that simply is not an excuse for the team’s sometimes inconsistent play.
“You just come ready no matter what team you play,” she said. “In the SEC anybody can beat anybody. You don’t think about fatigue because we played yesterday or tomorrow. You have to come ready to play no matter what.”
Fanning-Otis acknowledged the dilemma, but she said there was no problem with the crowded schedule.
“If you’re going to win you can’t worry about it,” she said. “You can’t have problems. You have solutions. Everybody is in the same boat. We just play the next team up.”
Still, fans may wonder which team will show up, especially during the current home stretch that included a contest with No. 9 Georgia, who beat No. 3 Tennessee last week, and includes No. 23 Kentucky at 2 p.m. on Sunday in The Hump. There are plenty of challenges left in the season, but Fanning-Otis said if a team communicates and plays together, rankings will not matter.
“There’s more parity in this league than ever,” Fanning-Otis said. “Anybody can win, period, end of discussion.”