KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 23/24 Lady Vols picked up their third SEC win on Sunday, defeating Georgia at Thompson-Boling Arena, 73-56, in front of a season-high crowd of 10,036.
UT (13-3, 3-1 SEC) was led by junior Rennia Davis with 17 points and six rebounds. Senior Lou Brown and freshmen Tamari Key and Jordan Horston were also in double figures with 12, 13 and 14, respectively.
Junior Maya Caldwell paced Georgia (10-7, 1-3 SEC) in scoring with 13 points. Gabby Connally chipped in 11 points, and Que Morrison finished with 10.
Horston led Tennessee team in assists, collecting a career-high seven. Sophomore Jazmine Massengill recorded a team-high seven rebounds, while UT out-rebounded UGA 35-29 and out-scored UGA in the paint, 36-22, with 20 of those coming in the second half.
Key got things going for the Lady Vols, scoring the first four points and making it a 4-3 lead for the home team early in the first quarter.
With back-to-back three pointers from Davis and Massengill, the Lady Vols went on an 8-0 run over a one-minute, 45-second span to extend the lead to 12-5 on the Lady Bulldogs.
Georgia followed that up with an 8-0 run of its own, providing UGA a 20-19 lead after the first ten minutes of play. UT finished the first quarter with a 58.3 shooting percentage and a perfect two-for-two accuracy from beyond the arc, while the Lady Bulldogs shot at a 69.2 percent clip.
With 2:56 left in the second quarter, Horston brought some life to the Lady Vols by tying the game at 27-27 after making a jumper. The freshman followed it up with a three-pointer to give UT the lead back at 30-27.
Davis continued the scoring run for the Big Orange with a jumper, followed by a three-point bucket from sophomore Rae Burrell to give Tennessee a 35-29 advantage going into the locker room. That lead came courtesy of a 14-4 UT run over the last five minutes. Defensively, Tennessee held Georgia to an icy 17.6 shooting percentage in the second quarter.
At the half, six different players had scored points for the Lady Vols, led by Davis with 11. UT also out-rebounded UGA, 16-14, and hits shots at a 54.2 percent rate compared to Georgia’s 40 percent.
Massengill opened up scoring for the Big Orange in the third quarter with a three-pointer. Brown responded with a lay-up on the next possession, propelling UT a 40-34 lead.
Tennessee went on a 12-2 run in the middle of the third and held Georgia scoreless for over three minutes, pushing the lead to 47-34. After the scoring spree, Horston made a jumper that was followed by points from Davis and Brown at the end of the quarter, providing Tennessee a 53-43 advantage.
The Lady Vols put together a 10-0 run to help seal their victory in the fourth quarter, going five-for-five from the field during that stretch. Key started the run with a lay-in, which was followed closely by three pointers from Davis and Brown. Brown finished the streak with another lay-in, giving UT a 65-47 advantage.
Junior Kasiyahna Kushkituah finished the game with a last-second lay-in under the basket to close the scoring at 73-56.
Up Next: The Lady Vols will hit the road, traveling to Gainesville for a 6 p.m. tilt on Thursday with the Gators. The game will be available for streaming on SECN+.
Balanced Attack: Coming off a game against Ole Miss that saw seven Lady Vols score eight or more points and three tally more than 10, UT had four players make their way into double digits against Georgia. Tennessee has now had three or more players in double figures in 11 of 16 contests.
Block Party: Freshman Tamari Key blocked four shots against Georgia, moving her season total to 41. Her average of 2.6 bpg. ranks third in the SEC, but she is first in league games at 4.5 per contest.
Horston Dishing: Freshman Jordan Horston headed into the match-up with Georgia tied with Tyasha Harris (South Carolina) for first in the SEC in assists per game at 4.9 apg. Today she doled out seven assists against Georgia, moving her season average to 5.1 apg. If the season ended today, that average would rank first among Lady Vol freshmen all-time.
Double-Figure Streaks: Rennia Davis scored in double figures for the 14th straight game. She now has hit 10 or more points in 14 of 15 games this season and in 28 of her past 29 contests. Jordan Horston, meanwhile, has developed consistency in scoring as well, hitting double figures in her sixth-consecutive game and for the 10th occasion in 2019-20.
Sharing The Ball: Tennessee recorded 20 assists in the win over UGA, marking the sixth time this season the Lady Vols have had 20 or more dimes in a contest. They were coming off a game at Ole Miss where they dished out 24 assists.
Sharp Shooters: The Lady Vols shot a scorching 51.9 percent from the floor against Georgia and hit a season-high 66.7 percent of shots from behind the arc. Tennessee has now hit at least half of its shots in seven games this season. During the 2018-19 season, that occurred only three times.
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