NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Volunteers dropped their final game of the regular season to Vanderbilt, 38-13, Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium.

After trading punts to start the game, the Commodores (6-6, 3-5 SEC) took a 17-0 lead heading into the half. Tennessee (5-7, 2-6 SEC) fought back to pull within 10 points in the third thanks to sophomore running back Ty Chandler, but Vanderbilt outscored the Vols 21-6 in the final quarter.

“This is my first year here and we did really good the first couple weeks of the season,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “Today we didn’t execute very well defensively. You have to give Vanderbilt credit and we have to tackle the guys. We have to play football.”

Vandy quarterback Kyle Shurmur threw for 367 yards (31-of-35) and three touchdowns while Khari Blasingame rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown.

UT redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano completed 13-of-29 passes for 139 yards, one touchdown and an interception. On the ground, Chandler rushed for 88 yards and one touchdown on seven carries while junior wide receiver Marquez Callaway recorded 36 receiving yards and a score.

Chandler gave Tennessee a boost in the third quarter, opening the gates with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. It was his seventh TD overall this season and fourth on the ground. The Nashville native became the first Vol since 2006 to record two runs of 75 yards or more in a season with the play.

VU scored first in the rivalry matchup as Shurmur connected with Jared Pinkney on a 17-yard pass to the left side of the end zone in the Dores’ second drive of the game. The 11-play, 84-yard series ate up 7:04 on the clock.

Shurmur marched the Commodores down the field again to start the second quarter, putting together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard Kalija Lipscomb rushing touchdown.

Tennessee went on a nine-play sequence that included a pass of 10 yards to sophomore wide receiver Josh Palmer after the score but was ultimately forced to punt after falling short of a first down by three yards at the VU47.

Heading into halftime, UT limited Vanderbilt to just a field goal. The Dores had advanced 44 yards on nine plays before an eight-yard sack by redshirt junior linebacker Darrell Taylor stopped them in their tracks. Ryley Guay’s 43-yard attempt was good, giving Vandy a 17-0 lead before the break.

On the first play of the third quarter, Chandler put the Vols on the board with a 75-yard rushing touchdown. The sophomore running back took the hand-off and found his way to the outside, traveling 75 yards down the right sideline into the end zone in 12 seconds. Sophomore kicker Brent Cimaglia then made the PAT to trim Vandy’s lead, 17-7.

UT held Vanderbilt scoreless on the ensuing drive despite the Commodores tallying three plays inside the Vols’ 10-yard line and a field goal attempt. Guay’s 20-yard kick bounced off the right upright and gave Tennessee the ball at its own 20.

The Vols were unable to capitalize and took the 17-7 score into the fourth.

Shurmur opened the final quarter with a passing touchdown for VU, completing a 26-yard pass to Amir Abdur-Rahman before Blasingame ran the ball in for a one-yard touchdown two drives later.

Tennessee answered with a score of its own, using just 31 seconds to move 75 yards down the field. Guarantano connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings for 43 yards and a roughing the passer penalty put the ball on the VU17. Guarantano then found Callaway for 17 yards to make it a 31-13 ballgame. UT attempted a two-point conversion, but Jennings was stopped short of the goal line.

Vanderbilt scored the last touchdown of the game with 2:33 remaining. The Commodores advanced 49 yards on 10 plays and scored on a two-yard pass from Shurmur to Cody Markel for the 38-13 final.

Defensively,senior defensive back Micah Abernathy and junior linebacker Daniel Bituli led the Vols with nine tackles apiece. Junior defensive back Nigel Warrior added eight.

-UT Athletics

Tennessee DE Kyle Phillips and LS Jesse Medford spoke to the media in the postgame after the Vols 38-13 loss at Vanderbilt to end the season at 5-7.

BIMINI, Bahamas – No. 11/11 Tennessee came from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime and seize a hard-fought victory over UAB, 73-69, on Saturday in the Junkanoo Division title game at the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam.

Sophomore forward Rennia Davis, who was named the tournament MVP, led the Lady Vols (5-0) with 18 points, including three huge second-half three-pointers at Gateway Christian Academy Gymnasium. Sophomore point guard Evina Westbrook tossed in 16 points, followed by sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah, who registered her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Senior Meme Jackson, who had 14 points in Thursday’s win over Clemson, had eight points and eight boards vs. UAB and joined Davis on the all-tournament team.

UAB, which led by 10 points entering the fourth period, fell to 4-1 with its first setback of the season. The Blazers were paced by junior forwards Katelynn Thomas and Rachael Childress, who tallied 19 points each. Junior guard Miyah Barnes chipped in 13, while senior guard Deanna Kuzmanic had 10.

The upset-minded Blazers upped their lead to 12 early in the fourth frame at 58-46 and had a 60-48 advantage with 8:08 to go. Davis, however, stared that deficit in the face and made some big plays, draining three-consecutive long-range threes that cut the gap to six, 63-57, with 5:20 to go. After a Kuzmanic layup with 5:07 remaining made it 65-57 Blazers, UT didn’t allow UAB another point in regulation.

A three by Westbrook started a game-closing 8-0 run, followed by a layup from Kushkituah, a free throw from Westbrook and a layup from Westbrook with 52 seconds to go that knotted it up at 65-all. After UAB’s Kuzmanic missed a pair of free throws that would have put her team up two with 28 seconds left, the Lady Vols had the final possession and two shots at the basket before settling for overtime.

In the extra frame, UAB struck first with Barnes hitting a jumper to put UAB up, 67-65, with 3:39 to go. UT responded with a three-point play by Kushkituah to move ahead, 68-67. A Westbrook driving layup with 2:54 to go and a free throw by the sophomore with 16 seconds left gave the Lady Vols a slight 71-67 cushion. Davis and Westbrook each hit one of two free throws inside the final 11 seconds to offset a Barnes jumper with six ticks left to close out the game.

The Lady Vols outscored UAB 19-9 in the fourth quarter and 8-4 in OT to claim a dramatic, come-from-behind victory. UT limited the Blazers to 3-of-13 shooting (23.1%) in the final stanza while hitting seven of 15 (46.7%). In overtime, both teams were two of eight from the field, but UT outscored UAB at the free throw line, 4-0, and out-rebounded the Blazers, seven to four.

The first quarter started off with everything going UAB’s way, as the Blazers led 17-6 with 3:10 to go in the period. Tennessee stormed back, though, stringing together a Jackson corner three and a Davis layup after a steal by Jazmine Massengill to make it 17-11 with 1:56 left in the period. Following three Blazer free throws, Kushkituah scored inside on a feed from Zaay Green to cut the gap to seven, 20-13, at the end of the first quarter.

Tennessee punched back in the second stanza, after UAB’s Angela Vendrell hit a shot with 9:45 to go. UT reeled off six straight points, with Zaay Green, Kushkituah and Cheridene Green tallying baskets to make it 23-19 Blazers. Following exchanges in buckets, UT surged to an 8-0 run, with back-to-back inside scores from Kushkituah and Davis pushing the Lady Vols into the lead for the first time, 27-26, with 3:50 to go.

UAB responded with a 12-2 run of its own, finishing the half on a 9-0 spree to go into the locker room on top, 38-29. Thomas and Childress did most of the damage for the Blazers, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, during the opening 20 minutes. UAB ended the half eight of 11 from the free throw line, while UT hit three in only seven trips.

The Lady Vols were led by Jackson’s eight points, while Davis and Kushkituah had six each. UT forced seven UAB turnovers but suffered 11 miscues of its own and shot only 36 percent (12-of-33) in the opening half. Tennessee also was whistled for 11 fouls to UAB’s six, with Zaay Green and Davis going into intermission with three apiece.

Tennessee cut the gap to five early in the third quarter but seemingly could get no closer. The Lady Vols later found themselves down by 12 at two junctures of the third frame and battled back to within eight on a jumpers from Mimi Collins and Zaay Green before UAB ended the period up 56-46 after outscoring the Big Orange for the third straight period.

LADY VOL NOTES

Up Next: Tennessee will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at 4 p.m. ET next Saturday. The game will be carried on FS1, UT’s first linear TV broadcast of the season.

Second-Half Sophomores: Davis, Westbrook and Kushkituah combined for 33 of UT’s 44 second -alf points after scoring just 14 in the first half. Additionally, Davis hit three fourth-quarter threes, while Kushkituah pulled down 11 boards in the second half.

Kasi’s Career Day: Kushkituah logged her first career double-double, scoring a career-high-tying 13 points while pulling down a career-high 13 boards vs. the Blazers.

Warlick’s Junkanoo Jam Success: This is Head Coach Holly Warlick‘s second Junkanoo Jam Championship, having also won the Lucaya Division in 2013. The win moves her record to 4-0 at the Junkanoo Jam tournament while advancing her record in international games to 10-0.

UT in OT: The overtime win over UAB moves Tennessee’s all-time record in OT to 32-20 and improves Warlick’s OT record as a head coach to 5-4. UT also went to overtime during last year’s holiday tournament, defeating No. 20 Marquette, 101-99, in its opening game at the Cancun Challenge.

-UT Athletics

BIMINI, Bahamas — It will be a battle of unbeatens on Saturday, as the No. 11/11 Lady Vols (4-0) meet UAB (4-0) at 2 p.m. in the championship game of the Junkanoo Division at the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam at Resorts World Bimini in the Bahamas. The tournament is being played at the Gateway Christian Academy gymnasium.

Tennessee advanced to Saturday’s winner’s bracket after using a 13-2 fourth-quarter run to overtake Clemson (2-3), 78-66, on Thursday in the opening game of the tournament. The Tigers provided further proof of their improvement, having held No. 11/11 UT and No. 13/12 South Carolina (69-57) to within 12 points. UT has produced a +38.0 scoring margin (86.0-48.0) and +16.0 rebounding margin (48.5-32.5) in its first four games.

UAB, meanwhile, enters on the heels of an 89-84 victory over Oklahoma (3-1) on Thursday evening in the other opening-round game of the Junkanoo Division. The Blazers are averaging a +25.0 scoring margin, out-pointing opponents 86.0-61.0 in four games. The five-point game vs. OU was UAB’s closest of the season, just as UT’s vs. CU was.

UT is making its second appearance in the Junkanoo Jam title game, winning the 2013 Lucaya Division crown in Freeport. The losers of the first two games, Clemson and Oklahoma, meet on Friday at 7:45 p.m. ET, playing for third place in the Junkanoo Division.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Tom James (play-by-play) and Ray Giacoletti (analyst) are describing the action for the Junkanoo Jam  online broadcasts for FloHoops.
• Mickey Dearstone is handling the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 20th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.
• PLEASE NOTE: Since Tennessee advanced to Saturday’s winner’s bracket game, the contest features an online broadcast only on UTSports.com (free), due to the football radio broadcast of the Vols vs. Vanderbilt. The Lady Vol pregame and postgame shows may be abbreviated.

JUNKANOO JAM NOTES

• The Women’s Junkanoo Jam, hosted annually over Thanksgiving, features Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, Florida State, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, UAB and West Virginia.
• This year’s field is split into two divisions of four teams, the Junkanoo and Bimini Divisions, and each division will crown a champion.
• The Lady Vols are in the Junkanoo Division with Clemson, Oklahoma and UAB.
• In UT’s bracket, OU (NCAA First Rd.) and UAB (WNIT Second Rd.) are coming off 2018 postseason appearances, as is Tennessee (NCAA Second Rd.).

ANOTHER TROPICAL THANKSGIVING BREAK BREAK

• Just as they did a year ago and have done several times in the past, the Lady Vols are visiting somewhere tropical for Thanksgiving to play several games in a short period of time.
• Tennessee is making its third in-season trip outside the U.S. during the Holly Warlick era and fourth international excursion during the past seven years, holding an 9-0 mark on foreign soil soil under Holly Warlick, including 6-0 in games that count toward season records.
• Last year, Tennessee went 3-0 at the Cancun Challenge, defeating #20/20 Marquette (101-99, OT), Oklahoma State (79-69) and South Dakota (69-49) to take the Riviera Division crown at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Convention Center in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.
• UT was 2-0 at the 2013 Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas, defeating Virginia (76-67) and SMU (87-47) to win the Lucaya Division title.
• UT also went 3-0 during a tour of Italy during the summer of 2015.
• This marks the program’s eighth all-time international excursion, and UT is 20-7 on foreign soil.
• During the Pat Summitt era, the Lady Vols had previous summer trips to Brazil in 1987, Belgium/France/Switzerland in 1999 and Italy/Greece in 2003. They also went to Great Britain in January of 1992.

LADY VOL NOTABLES

• MEME LEADING THE WAY: Senior Meme Jackson’s work during the offseason is apparent. She leads the team at 14.3 ppg. and is tops in steals (12), threes (11) and blocked shots (3) and second in assists (13) and FT pct. (.750). Jackson has led UT in scoring the past three games.
• TURNING THEM OVER: Tennessee has forced its first four opponents to commit 20 or more turnovers per game. The last time a Lady Vols team did that in the first four games of a season was in 2004-05, when UT forced its first six foes to commit that many.
• PRESSURE DEFENSE: Using a high-pressure defense, Tennessee is holding foes to 48.0 ppg., 32% on FGs and 25% on 3FGs while forcing 28.5 turnovers per game.
• COUNT OF 10: UT forced four backcourt violations all last season. The Lady Vols already have prevented foes from crossing the timeline on six occasions in 2018-19 (4 vs. Presbyterian).

UT’S LAST GAME

• No. 11/11 Tennessee used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away and defeat Clemson, 78-66, in the opening game of the 2018 Women’s Junkanoo Jam on Thursday at Gateway Christian Academy.
• Entering the final period knotted up at 54, the Lady Vols outscored the Tigers 24-12 in the final stanza to improve to 4-0 on the season. Clemson, which lost by 12 in Columbia to No. 13/12 South Carolina last week, fell to 2-3.
• Senior guard/forward Meme Jackson led UT in scoring, riding 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc to tally 14 points. Junior forward Rennia Davis was right behind Jackson with 13 points, followed by freshman Zaay Green with 12, senior forward Cheridene Green with 11 points and eight rebounds, and sophomore center Kasiyahna Kushkituah with 11 points and six boards.
• UT shot 60 percent (9-15) from the field in the fourth to close out the game, with Zaay Green (8), Davis (6) and Cheridene Green (5) scoring 19 of UT’s 24 final-stanza points. The Lady Vols, meanwhile, held Clemson to 5-of-13 shooting and forced six fourth-quarter turnovers to seal the deal.

ABOUT UAB

• UAB is led by Randy Norton, who is in his sixth season as head coach. He owns a 95-68 career record, all at UAB, through the Nov. 22 win over OU.
• The Blazers returned four starters and six total letterwinners from a year ago. They also welcomed four newcomers to the squad.
• Returning starters include Miyah Barnes, Rachael Childress, Deanna Kuzmanic and Angela Vendrell, with Kuzmanic and Childress earning All-C-USA FIrst Team honors and Barnes landing second-team accolades.
• UAB set a school record for wins, going 27-7 overall and 13-3 in C-USA play with a regular season title in 2017-18.
• The Blazers were C-USA tournament runners-up and wound up in the WNIT, advancing to the second round before bowing out last season.
• UAB has a veteran lineup, with six juniors and two seniors.

THE BLAZERS’ LAST GAME

• The UAB women’s basketball team is headed to the championship game of the Junkanoo Jam after defeating Oklahoma, 89-84, on Thursday.
• The win improved UAB to 4-0 on the season, marking the fifth 4-0 start in school history and first since the 1994-95 season.
• Katelynn Thomas was one of five Blazers in double figures, as she led the team with a career-high 22 points on a 10-of-11 night from the field. The Birmingham native also reeled in eight rebounds and added a pair of free throws.
• Rachael Childress finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points, connecting on four 3-pointers to go along with seven made field goals.

-UT Athletics