Highlights/Postgame/Stats/Story: Lady Vols Dominate The Razorbacks, 87-67

Box Score (PDF) | Highlights | Jackson/Harper/Franklin Presser

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennessee outscored Arkansas in the opening stanza 25-9 and led wire to wire, taking a commanding 87-67 win on the road on Thursday night in Bud Walton Arena.

Seniors Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston each recorded a double-double to lead the Lady Vols (19-9, 11-2 SEC). Jackson finished with a team-high 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Horston logged 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Three other Lady Vols were in double digits, with junior Tess Darby posting 11 points, and graduates Jordan Walker and Jasmine Powell each turning in 10.

Erynn Barnum was the high scorer for Arkansas (19-9, 6-7 SEC) with 25 points. Chrissy Carr and Samara Spencer also had strong outings with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Horston and Walker combined for seven points to put the Lady Vols out front 7-0 before Barnum got the Razorbacks on the board at the 7:20 mark. Following the UA bucket, Jackson and Karoline Striplin teamed up for another 7-0 UT run that built the Lady Vols’ lead up to 12 at 14-2 a minute and a half later. Makayla Daniels converted on an old-fashioned three-point play on Arkansas’ next possession to trim the deficit down to single digits, but Tennessee closed out the period with an 11-4 run punctuated by three 3-pointers to lead 25-9 by the end of one.

Consecutive baskets by Jackson and Fayetteville native Jasmine Franklin blew UT’s lead open to 20 points less than a minute into the second period. Arkansas pulled back within 17 by the 5:55 mark, but Darby drained a three on the next play that set off a 9-0 UT run contributed to by four different Lady Vols to give the Big Orange a 26-point lead with 2:31 left in the half. The Razorbacks responded with a trey by Chrissy Carr and a fast-break layup by Barnum to whittle UT’s lead down to 21 two minutes later. Franklin closed the scoring for the half with a free throw, sending UT into the locker room with a 44-22 lead at the half.

Arkansas opened up the third quarter with five straight points to pull within 17 before Jackson had a 3-point play in the first of three straight possessions in which UT logged three points to go ahead 52-31 three and a half minutes into the half. Striplin stretched that lead to 23 before the Razorback strung together a 7-2 run to pull within 18 by the 4:47 mark. The rest of the period was a back-and-forth affair with the teams trading buckets until UT took a 66-47 advantage into the final stanza.

Darby hit her third trey of the game 10 seconds into the fourth to put the Lady Vols ahead by 22. Barnum answered with layups on consecutive plays, but a 9-0 run had UT on top 80-51 with 7:41 left in the contest. The Razorbacks found some momentum with a 15-4 run fueled by three straight 3-pointers to pull within 18 with 2:32 to play, but that’s as close as they would get as UT’s reserves closed out the game for an 87-67 victory.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will return home to host Auburn in a noon ET contest on Sunday that will be broadcast on ESPN2. The game will be UT’s Senior Day, with seven players being recognized.

JP HITS 1K: With 10 points against the Razorbacks, Jasmine Powell eclipsed 1,000 career points, now standing at 1,007. The senior joined Rickea Jackson (1,565), Jordan Walker (1,299), Jordan Horston (1,302) and Jasmine Franklin (1,257) as the fifth member of the current squad to hit 1K. That is the most ever on one Tennessee team. The previous high was four in 2014-15.

BALANCED ATTACK: Five Lady Vols finished in double figures against Arkansas with Rickea Jackson (25), Jordan Horston (15), Tess Darby (11), Jasmine Powell (10) and Jordan Walker (10) all finding their way into double digits. It is just the second time this season UT has had five players score 10 or more points, with the previous occasion coming against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22, 2022, when Tennessee won 105-71.

STRONG FIRST-HALF DEFENSE: UT held the Razorbacks to just nine points in the first quarter, marking the 16th time the Lady Vols have held a team to single-digit points in a stanza, the sixth time versus an SEC opponent. The Lady Vols held Arkansas to just 27-percent shooting in the first half, including 9-of-34 from the floor and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

ANOTHER 20-POINT GAME FOR RICKEA: With 25 points on the night, Rickea Jackson recorded her 11th 20-point game this season, the eighth in SEC play, and notched her 24th double-digit effort of 2022-23, the 12th time against an SEC opponent.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES GALORE: Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson both posted double-doubles against the Razorbacks, marking the second time this season that more than one Lady Vol has notched a double-double in the same game. The first time came when Jillian Hollingshead and Jackson did so at Mississippi State (2/6/23). Jackson recorded 28 points and 11 rebounds in Starkville, while Hollingshead added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

STARTING STRONG: Three Lady Vols contributed to five made threes in the first period as Tennessee shot 55.6 percent from behind the arc en route to 25 points. UT has only scored more first-quarter points on one occasion this season when it poured in 33 against EKU. It ties UT’s start against Mississippi State on Jan. 5 as UT’s best start in SEC play.

DOUBLE DIGIT DARBY: Tess Darby drained three treys against Arkansas and finished with 11 points on the night. She has now scored in double figures in three straight games and in eight contests on the season with seven of those coming in SEC play. Over the last three outings, she is averaging 11.7 ppg.

TRIPLES BY TESS: With her three treys against UA, Darby has three or more long balls in nine contests this season. She now has 53 made 3-pointers on the season and 109 in her career, pulling within 24 treys of catching Sidney Spencer (133) to land among the top 10 career totals in program history.

PUTTING UP 20 IN A QUARTER: After registering three 20+ scoring quarters in the last game vs. Vanderbilt, Tennessee put together three more vs. Arkansas. UT raced out to a 25-9 lead after the first stanza and added another 22 in the third and 21 in the fourth. Tennessee has tallied 20 or more in 48 of 112 quarters.

JOJO TAKES ANOTHER ONE: Jordan Walker stepped up and took her team-leading 14th charge of the season. UT has taken 29 charges through 28 games to surpass last year’s previous Kellie Harper-era high of 21.

ANOTHER 50 REBOUND NIGHT: Tennessee pulled down 59 rebounds vs. Arkansas, marking its second straight game and sixth time this season surpassing the half-century mark on the glass. UT collected 51 caroms on Sunday vs. Vanderbilt. UT was three shy of its season high of 62 registered vs. Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 27.