KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee women’s basketball team will begin play in the 2019 SEC Tournament on Thursday at noon ET. The No. 8 seed Lady Vols will face No. 9 LSU at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C., in a game televised by the SEC Network.
The Lady Vols (18-11, 7-9 SEC) defeated Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon, 81-56, to move from No. 10 to No. 8 in the bracket. They’ll have a rematch with the LSU Lady Tigers (16-12, 7-9 SEC), who fell to Auburn, 56-46, on Sunday.
The last time UT and LSU played, the Lady Vols forced 25 turnovers en route to a 74-65 victory in Knoxville on Jan. 27. UT is 49-15 all-time vs. the Lady Tigers. They last played one another in the SEC Tourney in 2014, when UT grabbed a 77-65 triumph in Duluth, Ga.
OXFORD, Miss. — The Lady Vols closed out the regular season with a commanding victory over Ole Miss, winning 81-56 on 51.8-percent shooting on Sunday at the Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Tennessee (18-11, 7-9 SEC) was led in scoring by Meme Jackson, who hit five threes in route to 20 points while tying her season high of six assists. Rennia Davis and Cheridene Green also were in double figures for UT with 13 and 11, respectively. Evina Westbrook narrowly missed a double-double, tallying nine points and nine assists.
The Rebels (9-21, 3-14 SEC) were led in scoring by redshirt senior Crystal Allen, who turned in 30 points. Freshman Gabby Crawford also was in double digits for UM with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 5-0 lead off back-to-back buckets by Crystal Allen, but Rennia Davis put UT on the board by knocking down a 12-foot jumper just over two minutes into the game. Davis struck again at the 5:34 mark to give UT its first lead of the game at 6-5. The score was knotted at 10-all with 2:20 to play in the first quarter, with Allen accounting for all of the UM’s points. The Rebels then pulled ahead 13-10 off an old-fashioned three-point play by Crawford, but Tennessee closed out the final two minutes of the quarter with a 13-0 run, fueled by two Zaay Green steals, to take a 10-point lead into the second period.
La’Karis Salter knocked down a jumper on the Rebels’ first possession to end the streak, but Rae Burrell answered for Tennessee, knocking down back-to-back buckets to kick off another double-digit run, as UT scored 10 unanswered points to lead 33-17 with 6:10 remaining in the half. Ole Miss rallied back, scoring on two straight possessions, but Tennessee answered with another 10-0 run to lead 43-19 at the half.
The Lady Vols picked up where they left off in the second half, outscoring the Rebels 14-6 in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Davis led UT in scoring in the frame with six points, all of which were scored from the free throw line. She hit her final two charity tosses of the third quarter with 1:07 remaining to put Tennessee up 64-31, but Taylor Smith knocked down a layup just before the buzzer to send the Rebels into the final stanza down 29.
Ole Miss outscored UT 16-8 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, led by Allen, who poured in 12 of those points. Tennessee went on to hit 4-of-5 from the floor the down the stretch, though, while holding Ole Miss without a field goal for the final 2:53 to claim an 81-56 victory in Oxford.
Up Next: The Lady Vols will head to Greenville, S.C. to compete in the SEC Tournament. With the win, they will begin play at noon on Thursday as the No. 8 seed versus No. 9 LSU.
Big First Half: UT poured in 43 points in the first half against Ole Miss, the most first-half points Tennessee has scored against an SEC opponent since tallying 43 vs. Arkansas on Jan. 4, 2018.
Meme Back To Her Old Ways: Senior Meme Jackson went 5-of-6 from behind the arc to finish the day with 20 points. It’s the eighth time this season Jackson has hit three or more treys, but the first time she has hit 3+ threes or scored 20+ points since logging five threes and 27 points against Auburn on Jan. 3.
Raining Threes: UT went 8-of-14 from the three-point arc against Ole Miss for a 3-point field goal percentage of 57.1, marking their best percentage from behind the arc this season and their highest total of made treys in SEC play.
Unselfish Basketball: UT had season-high 25 assists on 29 field goals with six different Lady Vols logging at least one assist. It was the most assists Tennessee recorded since tallying 38 against Troy on Dec. 6, 2017. Westbrook led Tennessee with nine assists while Jackson tied her season high of six. The game moved Westbrook’s apg. to 5.3 on the season, placing her third all-time for Lady Vol sophomores behind only Dawn Marsh (5.6) and Lea Henry (5.4).
Cleaning The Glass: The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Rebels 36-32. They have now out-rebounded 24 of 29 opponents on the season, including 14 of 16 in SEC play. UT has now out-rebounded opponents 43.9 rpg. to 34.5 rpg.
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Tennessee picked up a doubleheader sweep on Saturday to finish the Cox Diamond Invitational with a perfect 3-0 record.
The Vols earned wins over North Florida (10-2) and Western Kentucky (6-3) to improve to 12-0 on the season, tying the program record for the best start in program history, matching the 2014 team’s historic start.
GAME 2: Tennessee 6, Western Kentucky 3 (7 Inn.)
Tennessee scored all six of its runs in the second inning to finish off a perfect weekend with a 6-3 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
Seven of UT’s starters recorded a hit in the win with Evan Russell leading the way, finishing with two hits, including his team-leading seventh double of the year.
The Hilltoppers struck first with a two-out RBI single by Jackson Swiney in the top of the second. Matt Phipps scored on the play after leading off the inning with a single and stealing second to move into scoring position.
The Vols didn’t waste any time erasing the deficit as Luc Lipcius continued his huge day with a mammoth three-run homer to right-center field to put the Big Orange ahead 3-1. It was the second homer of the day for Lipcius and his third of the year. The junior slugger went 3-for-6 with four runs, two homers and four RBI combined in UT’s two wins on Saturday.
The Orange and White took advantage of two throwing errors by the Hilltoppers’ catcher to score three more runs in the inning and take a commanding 6-1 lead.
WKU chipped away at the lead with a pair of solo home runs by Davis Sims and Jake Sanford in the third and sixth innings but were held at bay for the most part by Vols’ starter Will Neely.
The senior right hander earned his second win of the year and tied a career high with six strikeouts on the night. The Knoxville native allowed three runs on five hits and walked one in six innings of work.
Redshirt sophomore lefty Redmond Walsh worked around a leadoff single in the seventh to earn his third save of the season.
NOTABLE VOLS TIE BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY: With Saturday’s doubleheader sweep, Tennessee improved to 12-0 to start the year. That is tied for the best record to start a season in program history, matching the 2014 squad’s 12-0 start.
Tennessee has been dominant during its 12-game winning streak, posting six shutouts and outscoring its opponents 82-12.
LIPCIUS TWINS LEADING THE WAY: Twin brothers Luc and Andre Lipcius have been two of the Vols most productive hitters so far this season. The Lipcius twins are tied for the team lead with 10 RBI apiece while Luc leads the team with three home runs and Andre is tied for second with two four baggers.
After having just three hits and scoring only four runs last season, Luc has been on an absolute tear to start the season. The Williamsburg, Va., native currently leads the team with three homers, 10 RBI and ranks second on the squad with 11 runs and 12 hits with a slash line of .324/.435/.703.
UP NEXT: The Big Orange continue their road trip with another neutral-site game on Tuesday against Troy in Hoover, Ala. The Vols and Trojans will face off at the Hoover Met, which is the site of the SEC Tournament every year. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET.
GAME 1: Tennessee 10, North Florida 2
The Vols came out swinging in Game One of Saturday’s doubleheader against North Florida, plating three runs in the top of the first inning en route to a 10-2 victory.
Justin Ammons and Jay Charleston sparked the offense at the top of the lineup, combining for five hits, three runs and five RBI. Luc Lipcius also had a strong game at the dish, going 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored. The junior first baseman also blasted a solo home run in the second.
Zach Linginfelter put forth another dominant performance on the mound with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work. The powerful right hander gave up two runs on four hits and walked just one to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Alerick Soularie doubled to right center to score Ammons and Charleston before Evan Russell scored on a Connor Pavolony sacrifice fly to give UT an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first.
Lipcius made it 4-0 with a towering solo home run over the right-field fence to lead off the second, his second long ball of the season.
The Ospreys answered back with a home run of their own in the bottom of the second. David Maberry sent a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left for a two-run homer to cut the lead in half.
UT continued the back-and-forth with two more runs in the third to extend the lead back to four. After back-to-back two-out walks by Lipcius and Jake Rucker, Ammons came up big with his second hit of the day, a two-run single to center field to make it 6-2.
A sacrifice fly by Ammons and a bases-loaded walk by Charleston helped the Vols put up another two-spot in the fifth and extend their lead to six. The Vols added two more runs in the eighth to cap off the scoring.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In front of the sellout Thompson-Boling Arena crowd, No. 7 Tennessee powered past No. 4 Kentucky, 71-52, to move into a two-way tie for first place in the SEC.
It was the largest loss for the Wildcats in conference play since Feb. 4, 2017, when they lost by 22 points to Florida.
Backed by a career-high performance from Bob Cousy Award candidate Jordan Bone, the Vols (26-3, 14-2 SEC) maintained a perfect home record against the Wildcats (24-5, 13-3 SEC) in the Rick Barnes era while extending their home winning streak to 25 games.
Bone scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting while knocking down all five of his attempts from behind the arc. He eclipsed his previous high on the final Tennessee shot of the game, hitting a 3-pointer falling away into the student section with 12 seconds left on the clock.
National Player of the Year candidate Grant Williams added 24 points to go along with a game-high seven rebounds. Combined, the duo tallied 52 points, shooting 18-of-28 (64.3 percent) from the field.
Tennessee held the Wildcats to a season-low 52 points and 31.8 percent shooting from the field while limiting them to just 10 points in the paint, outscoring Kentucky by 18 points on the block. It was the fewest points scored by a Kentucky team since March, 13, 2013, and tied the second fewest points it has scored in the John Calipari era.
Within the first four minutes of the second half, Tennessee stretched its 13-point halftime lead to 20 points, getting to the rim on four of its first five field goals. The 10-4 run was capped by a fastbreak up-and-under finish from Lamonte Turner to push it to a 47-27 edge with 16:17 left in the game.
It was the largest lead of the game for UT, and from that point forward, it held a double-digit lead through the rest of the game. In the second half, Kentucky only came within 13 points of Tennessee, as PJ Washington was the only Wildcat player to score in double figures. Washington also had four turnovers in the game as Kentucky’s 17 turnovers in the game were its most in SEC play this season.
Turner finished with a team-high six assists, with five coming in the final 20 minutes of the game.
After trailing 6-0 to start the game, Tennessee, led by seven points from Bone, went on an 11-1 run to put the Vols in front by four at the 14:06 mark of the first half.
UT had the edge the rest of the first half, as it limited Kentucky to just 15.3 percent shooting (4-of-26) in the final 18 minutes of the half. The Vols defense helped them push the lead out to as many as 14 points in the first half.
After the game sat at 23-18 for nearly three minutes, Admiral Schofield got the ball in the left corner. Schofield drove baseline before elevating, throwing down a one-handed slam over Kentucky’s Nick Richards.
On the very next possession with Williams as the last player up the court, the ball found him at the top of the key. He stepped into a three and knocked it down to give Tennessee a 28-18 lead with 4:03 left in the first.
Bone and Williams both ended the half in double figures. Bone led the way with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Williams chipped in 11 points, including eight from the free throw line. Behind their 23 combined points, Tennessee took a 37-24 advantage into the halftime break.
Home Streak: Saturday’s victory extends Tennessee’s home win streak to 25 games, which dates to last season and is the second-longest in the nation. It also marks the Vols’ fourth consecutive home win over Kentucky, making head coach Rick Barnes a perfect 4-0 against the Wildcats in Knoxville.
The Big Orange is also 10-0 in regular-season SEC rematch games, dating to the start of last season.
Jordan Bone Dominates UK: With point guard Jordan Bone’s career-high of 27 points, he has averaged 23 points against the Wildcats this season and has led the team in points in both contests this year. The junior also has an average of 4.5 assists per game against UK.
Defense Wins Games: Due to some solid defense on Tennessee’s part, this 19-point loss for Kentucky is its worst SEC loss since Feb. 4, 2017, when it lost to Florida by a margin of 22 points.
Tennessee also stopped Kentucky’s top-three scorers, holding freshman Keldon Johnson (13.6 ppg), freshman Tyler Herro (14.2 ppg) and sophomore PJ Washington (15 ppg) to just 26 points combined. The trio came in averaging 42.8 per game.
Scoring Drought: The Vols held Kentucky without a field goal for 9:32 in the first half, with UK missing 12 field goals during that span. At the start of the scoring drought, the score was 17-16 in favor of UT, and when the Wildcats ended the drought, Tennessee extended its lead to 34-21.
It’s Hard to Score Against UT: Tennessee held Kentucky to its fewest points in a game this season with 52. The previous lowest was 56 points against Vanderbilt on Jan. 12. It also marked the lowest field-goal percentage of the year for the Wildcats, shooting just 31.8 percent. The previous low for Kentucky was against Kansas with a 39.1 shooting percentage.
First Half Woes for the Cats: UT’s defense clamped down on Wildcats in the first 20 minutes, holding them to just 24 points, their lowest of the season. The Wildcats’ previous low was 28 against Vanderbilt (1/12) and Arkansas (2/26). The Big Orange also held Kentucky to a 23 percent field-goal percentage, 6-for-26 from the field.
Up Next: Tennessee plays its final home game of the season in Thompson-Boling Arena Tuesday night against Mississippi State. The Vols will honor Kyle Alexander, Lucas Campbell, Admiral Schofield and Brad Woodson as a part of Senior Night. Tipoff versus the Bulldogs is set for 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
FULLERTON, Calif. — Due to heavy rain on Saturday morning, Tennessee’s two remaining games in the Judi Garman Classic have been canceled.
The Lady Vols will be back in action next weekend for the start of SEC play as they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face the Gators.
With the cancellation of Day 4 of the tournament, Cal State Fullerton’s Athletics Ticket Office will be refunding Single Day 4 passes. For additional ticket questions contact the Ticket Office at 657-278-2783 or email athletictixs@fullerton.edu. Please note that phone calls and emails may not be returned until Monday, March 4.
