A Knoxville Police Department officer is charged and placed on administrative leave following an internal investigation into a theft.
A KPD employee reported that several belongings, including some of his gear, was missing from his locker. Reports state KPD Officer Kenno Carlos entered the locker room while on duty and left with the property. A report stated there were thirteen items taken, including a duty belt with tri-lock buckle, Streamlight flashlight, auto-lock baton, Smith & Wesson chain handcuffs, Black Sabre Red OC spray, baton holder, handcuff case, radio holder, OC spray holder, multi-tool, black folding pocket knife, EnerPlex Thermohandz gloves and Reebok duty boots.
KPD chief Paul Noel says this behavior is not acceptable for a police officer. Carlos confessed to investigators for taking the property on Friday. He had been with KPD since 1994. He is charged with misdemeanor theft, his police powers suspended.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee improved to 6-0 in Southeastern Conference play on Sunday, defeating Georgia 68-55 in front of a season-best crowd of 9,772 in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Debuting their Summitt Legacy series Summitt Blue uniforms, the Lady Vols (14-6, 6-0 SEC) won their seventh straight game and claimed victory for the 12th time in their last 14 contests, remaining in a tie for first place in the league standings. The triumph also was the 50th home win for Kellie Harper as head coach at her alma mater.
Senior Rickea Jackson was the game’s high scorer with 23 points. Junior Tess Darby was also in double digits for Tennessee (14-6, 6-0 SEC), tying her season high of 16. Graduate Jordan Walker dished out eight assists for the second straight game, tying her season high set at Texas A&M.
UGA (13-7, 2-4 SEC) was led by Brittney Smith and Diamond Battles with 14 and 12, respectively. The Lady Bulldogs were limited to 30.2 percent shooting from the field and suffered an 0-for-14 afternoon beyond the arc, becoming the first team since LSU (0-for-4) on Feb. 2, 2017, to be held without a three-pointer by the Big Orange.
Darby kicked the game off with a three on UT’s first possession, as the Lady Vols opened the contest on a 7-0 run. Georgia’s first points came from the free-throw line at the 6:28 mark, but eight straight points had Tennessee on top 15-2 a minute and a half later. Audrey Warren scored UGA’s first field goal with 2:47 left in the first, and Chapman cut UT’s advantage down to single digits with a pair of free throws, but the Lady Vols closed out the period with 6-2 run to lead 21-8 at the end of the first.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run to pull within seven until a 3-pointer by Sara Puckett put Tennessee back on top by double figures with 6:38 to go in the half. Horston and Jackson followed that up with seven unanswered points to fuel a 10-0 run that gave the Lady Vols a 31-14 lead by the 1:40 mark. Battles hit a jumper on the next play to end the skid for Georgia, and Tennessee maintained its 15-point margin through the buzzer, leading 33-18 at the break.
Walker hit a three as the shot clock was winding down on UT’s first possession of the second half, and Darby and Karoline Striplin followed it up with treys on consecutive plays to open the third with a 9-2 Lady Vol run. The Lady Bulldogs came out of a timeout and scored four quick points, but Darby answered with her third 3-pointer of the game to give Tennessee a 45-24 lead with 7:27 left in the quarter. UT maintained a 21-point lead through the 3:13 mark when five straight points by UGA cut the deficit to 18. The teams traded free throws until the closing minute, when Georgia closed out the quarter with back-to-back buckets to send the game into the last frame with the Big Orange leading 55-39.
Both teams struggled to find the basket at the beginning of the fourth, with neither team scoring until Smith hit a second-chance layup two minutes in. Darby drained her fourth trey of the game a minute later to stretch UT’s lead back to 17. The Bulldogs whittled the deficit down to 12 by the midway point of the period, but two and a half minutes later the Lady Vols were back up by 18. Georgia strung together an 8-3 run to close out the game, but UT held on to a double-digit lead, winning 68-55.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will have a rematch with Florida on Thursday, hosting the Gators in a 6:30 p.m. ET contest that will be streamed on SECN+. The game is Tennessee’s annual We Back Pat event.
DARBY ON A ROLL: Tess Darby drained four threes on the en route to a season-high-tying 16 points. She has now finished in double figures five times this season, with four of those coming in conference play. It’s also the 12th contest in which she’s hit multiple treys and the eighth time she has made three or more this season.
COUNT ON ‘KEA: With 23 points against Georgia, Rickea Jackson logged her eighth 20+ point performance of the season and fifth during SEC play. She is now averaging 22.7 ppg. against conference foes through six games.
JOJO DROPPING DIMES: Jordan Walker matched her season high with eight assists vs. Georgia on Sunday. It marked the second straight game with eight dimes for the graduate guard, as she also dropped that same number on Texas A&M on Thursday night in College Station.
UT DEFENSE SET THE TONE EARLY: For the third straight game and sixth time this season, Tennessee held an opponent to a single-digit point total in the first quarter. UT held Georgia to eight on Sunday after limiting Vanderbilt to nine and Texas A&M to seven over the previous two contests. The Big Orange didn’t allow the Lady Bulldogs to score a field goal until the 2:59 mark of the first stanza.
PUTTING UP 20 IN A QUARTER: Tennessee tallied 21 points in the first period and 22 in the third frame, running its total of quarters with 20 points or more this season to 37 out of a total of 80.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers came up short Saturday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena, falling to Kentucky, 63-56.
Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 SEC) brought the game back to a tie with 5:50 remaining, but a late Kentucky (11-6, 2-3 SEC) run provided distance that helped the Wildcats fend off a six-point scoring run by the Volunteers with just over a minute left. The Vols could not get the elusive equalizer to fall, however, as multiple driving layups rattled in and out of the tin late.
UK capitalized on strong rebounding, besting the Vols 43-23 on the boards Saturday. Despite being out-rebounded, Tennessee found its offensive stride in the paint, doubling up the Wildcats, 36-18, in that category.
Tennessee senior Uros Plavsic answered the bell in the post, dropping a career-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He did so largely battling Kentucky big Oscar Tshiebwe, a physical matchup on both ends of the floor that lasted the duration of the game.
The Vols roared out of the blocks, starting the game on an 8-0 run for the first four and a half minutes of play. Kentucky countered with a 13-2 run of its own and it was a dogfight for the rest of the period, as the sides battled for every basket. Tennessee outscored the Wildcats 16-10 in the paint, and Plavsic played a big part of that, sinking 3-of-4 tries during the period. But a 12-3 Kentucky run in the final four minutes of the half put the Big Orange behind by seven, 33-26, at the break.
Plavsic went to work to start the second, sinking three consecutive shots on the block, backing down Tshiebwe—the reigning national player of the year—to begin the second half. Defense ruled early in the second half, but Vols guard Tyreke Key enlivened the sold-out arena with a deep 3-pointer to tie the game at 41. Kentucky made eight of its 22 free throws in the final four minutes of play and managed a seven-point final margin, 63-56.
With the loss, Tennessee saw its 25-game home win streak come to an end.
During halftime of Saturday’s game, Tennessee legend Chris Lofton (2004-08)—the SEC’s all-time 3-point king—became the fifth Vol ever to have his jersey retired when a banner bearing his No. 5 was hoisted to the Thompson-Boling Arena rafters.
UP NEXT: Tennessee heads to Mississippi State on Tuesday for a battle in Starkville, Mississippi, at 7 p.m. ET at Humphrey Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
NR/RV Tennessee (13-6, 5-0 SEC) will wear Summitt Blue uniforms on Sunday for the first time in the modern era, as Georgia (13-6, 2-3 SEC) comes to Thompson-Boling Arena for a 1:03 p.m. ET matinee.
The Lady Vols and the Lady Bulldogs will meet for the 73rd time in a series that dates back to 1969, with UT holding a 53-19 advantage after winning in Knoxville last season in Athens, 63-55.
Through five games, UT remains tied atop the SEC standings along with South Carolina, LSU and Ole Miss, while Georgia stands alone in eighth place. Kellie Harper‘s squad enters on a six-game winning streak and has been victorious in 11 of its past 13 contests, with its only two losses coming vs. (then) No. 9/9 Virginia Tech (59-56) on Dec. 4 and at No. 2/2 Stanford on Dec. 18 (77-70).
On Thursday in College Station, Tennessee stayed unblemished in league play by taking care of Texas A&M (5-10, 0-5), 62-50, with Rickea Jackson firing in 22 points, while Jordan Horston chipped in 12 points and Tess Darby contributed 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds. Tennessee improved its record on the road to 3-2 this season, including 3-0 in league play, after dropping its first two away games of the year at top-three ranked teams Ohio State and Stanford.
The Lady Vols traditionally have been hard to beat at Thompson-Boling Arena with a 90-percent winning percentage there over 36 years, and this season has been no exception. The Lady Vols bring a 9-2 mark on The Summitt into Sunday’s matchup with UGA, with the only losses there coming vs. Indiana and Va. Tech.
Following a 7-0 start this season and 11-3 non-conference record, Georgia has dropped three of its last five contests since SEC play began. On Thursday in Athens, Georgia struggled to 39-percent shooting, including nine percent from three-point range, and surrendered a 14-5 edge on fast break points in dropping a 66-58 decision to Ole Miss. A 22-14 first quarter by the Rebels was the difference, as the teams played each other even the rest of the way.
The Scoop On Summitt Blue Uniforms
In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Title IX, Tennessee Athletics’ updated brand standards renamed the blue accent color historically associated with the Lady Vols “Summitt Blue.”
Four teams are debuting the Summitt Blue uniforms during the 2022-23 academic year – a collection dubbed the “Summitt Legacy” series.
During fall, the Tennessee soccer and volleyball teams were the first to compete in the new Summitt Blue jerseys.
The Lady Vol basketball team follows suit with a full Summitt Blue uniform on Sunday, and the softball squad’s jersey rotation also will feature a Summitt Blue option this spring.
Summitt Blue stands alongside “Smokey Grey” and “Dark Mode” (formerly Anthracite) as the three accent colors on Tennessee Athletics’ official color palette.
“Tennessee’s history as a worldwide leader in women’s athletics, along with the Lady Vols’ unique legacy of excellence are traditions we are proud to celebrate,” Tennessee Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said. “As some of our teams recently saw their new Summitt Blue uniforms for the first time, they reacted with a joy and enthusiasm that I hope will extend to our fans and proud alumni.”
The first version of the Lady Vols’ blue accent color appeared in 1968 when Joan Cronan set out to obtain jerseys for the women’s basketball team. At the time, no company offered an orange uniform, so Cronan opted for Columbia blue uniforms with orange lettering when the Lady Vols played at home.
Later, when orange uniforms became available, Tennessee switched to the traditional orange jerseys but a touch of Summitt Blue has remained.
Blue also has appeared on Tennessee men’s uniforms in the past, as the men’s basketball program used a shade of blue as an accent color on its jerseys during the head coaching tenure of Ray Mears in the 1960s.
The 2022 Tennessee football team wore accessories during the home game vs. UT Martin. In addition to commemorating the anniversary of Title IX, the Summitt Blue color honored longtime Lady Vols head coach and innovator in the sport of basketball, Pat Summitt. UT Martin served as the alma mater for the iconic Tennessee head coach.
Game Promotions
Sunday vs. Georgia is the Kids Takeover TBA presented by KOC. Purchase the Kids Day Out ticket package and enjoy a pregame event and meal at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Then come and watch the Lady Vols take on Georgia.
Weekend Family 4 Pack Deal: Get four tickets & four $10 concession vouchers starting at $72 (plus tax/fees).
Purchase a pink shirt from Orange Mountain Design and receive a free ticket to the Play4Kay game vs Vanderbilt on Feb. 12. Proceeds from the shirts will be donated to the Play4Kay Foundation.
Ticket packages are available at AllVols.com.
Broadcast Information
Sunday’s game will be televised on SEC Network, with Eric Frede (PxP) and Christy Thomaskutty (Analyst) on the call.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard frequently on satellite radio via SiriusXM and the SXM App. but will not be available this game.
Familiar Faces In Different Places
Tennessee sophomore Jillian Hollingshead was a member of the Georgia women’s basketball program last season before transferring during the offseason to the Lady Vols after her former coach, Joni Taylor, took the head coaching job at Texas A&M.
Hollingshead, who battled injuries in 2021-22, didn’t play in the game in Athens on Jan. 23, 2022, when UT prevailed 63-55 and improved to 18-1 overall and 7-0 in the SEC.
The 6-foot-5 forward did record a career-high nine rebounds along with four points and two steals against her former coach (Taylor) and her Aggies on Thursday night in College Station, as Tennessee stayed unbeaten in league play at 5-0 with a 62-50 triumph at Reed Arena.
UGA’s new head coach, Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, may be familiar face to UT women’s basketball observers.
“Coach ABE,” as she is known, came to Athens following six seasons as the head coach at the University of Central Florida (UCF).
Her Knights lost only four times a year ago en route to American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a NCAA Second Round bid, and one of those setbacks came at the hands of Tennessee in Orlando, 49-41, on Nov. 12 in the Lady Vols’ third game of the season.
Prior to that, she was at the University at Albany and brought her sixth and final team from that program to Knoxville on Nov. 27, 2015, when the Lady Vols defeated the Great Danes, 63-55, during a season in which Abrahamson-Henderson also took that school to America East regular-season and tourney titles on its way to an NCAA Second Round showing.
As a highly-regarded high school recruit from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Katie Abrahamson spent two seasons playing basketball for Andy Landers at Georgia from 1985-87 before finishing in her home state at the University of Iowa and graduating in 1990.
Common Threads
Kellie Harper and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson share the distinction of each playing in the SEC as well as serving as head coaches at Missouri State.
Harper played point guard for Pat Summitt and led Tennessee to three NCAA titles during a career spanning from 1995 to 1999 before holding the head coaching job at Missouri State from 2013-19.
Playing two years at UGA for Andy Landers from 1985-87, Abrahamson-Henderson went on to lead MSU from 2002-07.
Tennessee Director of Athletics and Vice Chancellor Danny White was the A.D. at UCF from 2015-21 and has been the Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics at Tennessee from 2021 to present.
UCF assistant coach Nykesha Sales played at UConn from 1994-98 and left Storrs as the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Sales’ and Harper’s playing careers overlapped, with Sales winning an NCAA title at UConn as a freshman in 1995 and Harper claiming three straight from 1996-98 from her freshman through junior seasons. The battles between the schools at that time were epic events in women’s sports that drew in even casual sports fans.
Looking Back At The A&M Game
Tennessee took a gritty 62-50 victory on the road at Texas A&M on Thursday night to claim its first win in Reed Arena since 2014 and stay unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play.
Senior Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols (13-6, 5-0 SEC) with a game-high 22 points. Senior Jordan Horston turned in 12 points, while sophomore Tess Darby finished with 10 points and career highs of eight rebounds and four steals.
The Aggies (5-10, 0-5 SEC) were led by Sydney Bowles and Aaliyah Patty who each recorded 12 points.
Sniping And Swiping
Tess Darby knocked down two treys against TAMU, marking the 11th game this season in which she’s hit multiple treys.
She also finished the game with four steals, tying her career high set in the previous game at Vanderbilt
She now has 16 steals on the season with half of those coming over the last two contests.
Rickea In Conference
Rickea Jackson led Tennessee in scoring at Texas A&M with 22 points on the day.
She has now finished with 20 or more points in four of five SEC games and is averaging 22.6 points against conference foes.
Taking Advantage In The Paint
Tennessee got 44 of its 62 points in the paint, outscoring the Aggies by 32 there.
UT has come out on top in paint production in 17 of 19 contests.
What’s Next?
Florida comes to town for the annual “We Back Pat” game on Jan. 19. Tip-off is set for 6:32 p.m. ET.
The game will be streamed on SECN+.
UT/UGA Notes
The Lady Vols are 23-5 in Knoxville, 16-3 at neutral sites and 14-11 in Athens vs. the Lady Bulldogs.
Tennessee is 1-3 vs. UGA in overtime games.
The Lady Vols have a 14-3 postseason record against Georgia after winning in the 2015 SEC quarterfinals.
This is Kellie Harper‘s fifth meeting with UGA as a head coach. She was 6-2 vs. the Lady Bulldogs as a player (1995-99) and is 2-2 as coach.
UT beat Georgia, 83-64, in the 1996 NCAA title game in Charlotte to begin a run of three straight crowns.
Tennessee (18) and Georgia (7) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in SEC regular season championships.
A Look At The Lady Bulldogs
Diamond Battles (13.8) and Brittney Smith (12.5) lead in scoring, while Javyn Nicholson averages 6.9 boards.
UGA limits foes to 38.9 FG% and 57.5 ppg.
It averages 10.4 spg. and forces 20.6 TOs per game.
UGA’s Last Game
Ole Miss defeated Georgia, 66-58, on Thursday evening in Stegeman Coliseum.
Brittney Smith led Georgia (13-6, 5-0 SEC) with 18 points and 10 boards, while Diamond Battles added 16 points.
Last Meeting Between UT, UGA
No. 5/6 Tennessee won its fifth AP Top-25 contest of the year on Jan. 23, 2022, defeating No. 13/13 Georgia (15-4, 4-3 SEC) in Stegeman Coliseum, 63-55.
UT (18-1/7-0 SEC), the only team undefeated in league play, posted its best start since 2007-08.
Junior Jordan Horston turned in 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Vols. Rae Burrell added 13 pts.
Tennessee honored a hero Saturday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.
But the highly favored Vols couldn’t find a hero to subdue a struggling Kentucky team.
Thanks to resounding rebounding, a huge free throw advantage and tenacious defense, Kentucky won its first true road game of the season, turning back fifth-ranked Tennessee 63-56 before a sellout crowd of 21,678.
Tennessee had won 25 in a row at home (12 against SEC opponents), five of the last seven UK meetings in Knoxville and 19 of the last 20 against SEC foes. But, despite an 8-0 start, Tennessee suffered its first conference loss of the season to a reeling Kentucky team.
The Wildcats lost earlier in the week at Rupp Arena to South Carolina, which lost by 43 at home to UT. They were routed at Alabama. They weren’t playing good defense. And they were down two starters.
All that didn’t matter as Kentucky won the battle of the boards 43-23, made 22 of 25 free-throw attempts (compared to UT’s 7 of 10) and held UT to 3 of 21 shooting from 3-point range, a paltry 14.3%. UT had out-rebounded SEC opponents by 14.5 per game.
“They just wanted to win more,’’ said Tennessee senior Josiah Jordan-James, who had five points, five rebounds and four assists. “They were more aggressive, more physical.’’
Vols 7-1 center Uros Plavsic, who had a career-best 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting, went toe-to-toe with Kentucky All-American Oscar Tschiebwe (15 points, 13 rebounds) but it wasn’t enough.
“It felt like we were out-physicaled out there,’’ Plavsic said. “Their team effort was better than our team effort.’’
Tennessee entered the game as a 12-point favorite, only the second time in series history the Vols were favored by double digits.
The Vols were also motivated by UT retiring the No. 5 jersey of former All-American Chris Lofton, a Kentucky native who as snubbed by the Wildcats but became one of the greatest 3-point shooters in SEC history.
Allan Houston and Candace Parker and Tyler Smith and Dane Bradshaw and several other Lofton teammates were in the house, hoping for a Tennessee victory.
Lofton even urged his team at halftime to “finish this with a win.’’
But it wasn’t to be. In part because the Vols were pathetic shooting from 3-point range. In part because of the rebound differential.
And in part because the Vols couldn’t buy a layup, if it wasn’t shot by Plavsic. They bricked at least eight bunnies.
Zakai Ziegler, who missed two days of practice, missed at least four layups and scored just six points on 3 of 12 shooting.
Santiago Vescovi missed a couple of layups and finished with 13 points on 4 of 13 shooting, 1 of 6 from beyond the arc.
“We missed a lot of shots at the rim,’’ said a scratchy-throated Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who lost his voice yelling during the game.
“But the difference in the game was rebounding. I mean, they did whatever they wanted to on the boards.’’
Two Tennessee starters were virtual no-shows. Freshman Julian Phillips had more fouls (four) than points (two) or rebounds (three). Olivier Nkamhoua, who had a two-game stretch of hitting 15 consecutive field-goal attempts, also had more fouls (three) than points (two) or rebounds (two).
While Barnes praised Plavsic, he said Kentucky’s game plan was to guard the perimeter and “let us score’’ inside.
Kentucky coach John Calipari backed that up. But he second guessed himself during the game.
“Do we let the big man score baskets?’’ Calipari asked himself at one point.
Before he altered his strategy, his assistants talked him out of it.
“They can beat us at the 3-point line,’’ Calipari reasoned. “They can’t beat us with twos.’’
Calipari figured the contest would be physical.
“Both coaches made it a slugfest,’’ said Calipari, now 20-15 all-time against the Vols. “You gonna back down? Neither team backed down.’’
Kentucky certainly backed down during a 26-point loss at Alabama and the 3-point home loss to South Carolina.
But as Calipari said after the UT win: “We defended and fought like my teams normally do.’’
It wasn’t normal to see Kentucky unranked, 10-6 overall and 1-3 in SEC play. Heck, the Cats weren’t even in Joe Lunardi’s 68-team NCAA tournament bracket. They had an NCAA net of 63 and a defensive efficiency rating of 93.
And they had the Big Blue Nation ripping them.
To counter the negative outside noise, Calipari took away the players phones and iPads and any other technology they had Friday night. He said the players looked lost at breakfast the next morning, unable to peak at twitter or TikTok or InstaGram.
How did Calipari handle the criticism? He watched The Waltons and documentaries about Alaska.
But he did admit: “I had one foot on the panic button, but I didn’t have two.’’
He can take that one foot off.
And he can probably sleep better tonight.
As one media member said as Calipari left the podium, “Good night, John Boy.’’
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Tennessee took a gritty 62-50 victory on the road at Texas A&M on Thursday night to claim its first win in Reed Arena since 2014 and stay unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play.
Senior Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols (13-6, 5-0 SEC) with a game-high 22 points. Senior Jordan Horston turned in 12 points, while sophomore Tess Darby finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high-tying four steals.
The Aggies (5-10, 0-5 SEC) were led by Sydney Bowles and Aaliyah Patty who each recorded 12 points.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first frame, with Tennessee shooting 20 percent from the floor and TAMU managing a field goal percentage of just under eight percent for the quarter. Horston scored UT’s first basket on a steal and score a minute into play before Patty tied it up from the free-throw line 15 seconds later. The score would stay 2-2 for nearly two minutes until Bowles hit a long range three. Darby ended UT’s scoring slump with a baseline trey at the 5:42 mark, tying the game at 5-all through the media timeout. Tennessee took the lead when Jackson hit the second of a pair of free throws with three minutes to go in the first and went up 8-5 a minute and 15 seconds later when she added a 10-foot jumper. Mya Petticord cut Tennessee’s lead down to one with a pair of free throws in the closing minute, sending the game into the second quarter with the Lady Vols leading 8-7.
The teams’ offensive woes continued into the second period with UT being held to a single field goal and the Aggies’ only points coming from the free-throw line until nearly two and a half minutes in, when Jackson scored on back-to-back possessions to put the Lady Vols up 14-10 with 7:01 left in the half. The teams traded 3-pointers before Jackson rattled off six straight points while UT limited Texas A&M to two, taking an eight-point lead at the 3:34 mark. TAMU scored one more basket before the half, making the halftime score at 23-17.
Patty hit a three to kick off the second half, pulling the Aggies within three points. Tennessee responded with a 10-3 run capped off by back-to-back fast-break layups by Jackson to give the Lady Vols a 33-23 lead at the 5:30 mark. Petticord drained a three coming out of a timeout to cut the deficit back to single digits, but Jillian Hollingshead hit a contested jumper falling away from the basket, and Darby followed it up with a layup to put the Lady Vols up by 11 with 3:23 to go in the third. UT would maintain that lead until TAMU hit a layup at the buzzer to send the game into the final period with the Big Orange on top 41-32.
Karoline Striplin scored two straight possessions to open the fourth, giving the Lady Vols a 13-point cushion with nine minutes left in the game. A jumper by Kay Kay Green pulled Texas A&M within 11, and the game became a back-and-forth affair with Tennessee maintaining a double-digit lead. A&M, however, cut it back to 11 points on three occasions before a 7-0 Aggie run beginning at the 3:43 mark pulled them within six at 55-49 with 2:27 to play. Tennessee responded with an old-fashioned 3-point play by Horston and back-to-back layups by Jasmine Franklin and Jackson to stretch its lead to 13 with 48 seconds to play. The Aggies hit a single free throw in the closing seconds, and UT ran out the clock to take a 62-50 victory on the road.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will return home to host Georgia on Sunday in a 1 p.m. ET matinee that will be broadcast on SEC Network.
SNIPING AND SWIPING: Darby knocked down two treys against TAMU, marking the 11th game this season in which she’s hit multiple treys. She also finished the game with four steals, tying her career high set in the previous game at Vanderbilt. She now has 16 steals on the season with half of those coming over the last two contests.
RICKEA IN CONFERENCE: Rickea Jackson led Tennessee in scoring at Texas A&M with 22 points on the day. She has now finished with 20 or more points in four of five SEC games and is averaging 22.6 points against conference foes.
TAKING ADVANTAGE IN THE PAINT: Tennessee got 44 of its 62 points in the paint, outscoring the Aggies by 32 there. UT has come out on top in paint production in 17 of 19 contests.
KNOXVILLE – Legendary Tennessee pass rusher and Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White was inducted posthumously into the Hula Bowl Hall of Fame at an awards ceremony on Thursday night in Orlando.
White was part of a seven-member Class of 2023 that included the late Bobby Bowden, Ron Simmons, Steve Bartkowski, Willie Roaf, Darryl Talley and Brandon Marshall.
Before becoming the NFL’s most feared pass rusher, the “Minister of Defense” was a consensus All-American and the SEC Player of the Year in 1983 after gathering a school single-season record 15 sacks as a senior. A team captain, he registered 100 tackles that fall in leading the Vols to a nine-win campaign and a Citrus Bowl victory over Maryland.
In 42 career games played, White collected 293 tackles and a school-record 32 sacks before dominating in the 1984 edition of the Hula Bowl.
White signed with the Memphis Showboats of the USFL where he played for two seasons before joining Philadelphia in the NFL. In a 13-season career with the Eagles and Green Bay Packers, he was NFL Rookie of the Year, an 11-time Pro Bowl performer and a member of a Super Bowl winning team.
White was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002, and he was a member of the 2006 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.
The Hula Bowl was established in 1946 and has featured the game’s greatest players. The 77th edition of the all-star contest will be played on Saturday at noon ET on CBS Sports Network.
The Hula Bowl Hall of Fame was founded in 2019 to recognize the greatest collegiate players and coaches to have participated in a Hula Bowl All-Star Game. Since its inception in 1946, the Hula Bowl has featured more than 6,000 players from every D1 college and multiple D2 and D3 schools.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With Super Wild Card Weekend just two days away, 11 former Tennessee Volunteers are gearing up for the NFL Playoffs with six currently on active rosters. Five active players will participate in Super Wild Card Weekend.
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, Saturday, Jan. 14, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX The game with the most Tennessee representation is the first one of the 2023 playoffs as five former Vols makeup the two sides’ rosters for Seattle’s battle with San Francisco.
Suiting up for the Seahawks will be defensive back Justin Coleman and defensive end Darrell Taylor. Taylor has played a big role in his second year in the league, wrapping up nine and a half sacks, forcing four fumbles and recovering a loose ball in 2023. He has been in top form as of late, recording 6.5 sacks in Seattle’s final six regular-season games.
On the other sideline is wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who continues to build his role in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The second-year man has a reception in the 49ers last six games and is gearing up for his first playoff run as a professional.
Also on the respective clubs is defensive back Emmanuel Moseley for San Francisco, who has been on the injured reserve, and linebacker Alexander Johnson, currently on Seattle’s practice squad. Johnson was elevated to the active roster for the first time this season in Week 18, and logged three total tackles in a 19-16 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars, Saturday, Jan. 14, 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC In Saturday’ nightcap, Joshua Palmer gears up for a battle with the AFC South-winning Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field. Palmer finished the 2022 regular season with the second-most receiving yards (769) and second-most catches (72) on the Chargers’ roster. He provided a steady presence throughout much of the season for LA in a receiver room that was battered with injury, playing 16 games, and averaging just under 50 yards per game.
New York Giants at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Jan. 15, 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX The final former Vol in action this weekend is rookie Theo Jackson of the Vikings. Jackson, who started the year with the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad before being signed to Minnesota’s active roster, has played in 11 games this year, and posted back-to-back contests with a tackle in Weeks 17 and 18.
Elsewhere The Kansas City Chiefs and Trey Smith are off this week after earning the top seed in the AFC and getting the bye, as are the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC and Derek Barnett, who is on injured reserve.
A pair of Vols currently occupy roster spots with the Baltimore Ravens, who will battle Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 8:15 p.m. ET in Cincinnati. Ja’Wuan James has been on the injured reserve for Baltimore while Kahlil McKenzie holds a spot on the team’s practice squad.
For a list of all games and the former Volunteers representing on each team’s roster, see the below list.
Saturday, Jan. 14
Seattle at San Francisco – 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX Seattle Justin Coleman, DB Darrell Taylor, DE Alexander Johnson, LB (Practice Squad)
San Francisco Jauan Jennings, WR Emmanuel Moseley, CB (Injured Reserve)
Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville – 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC Los Angeles Joshua Palmer, WR
Sunday, Jan. 15
Miami at Buffalo – 1 p.m. ET, CBS
New York Giants at Minnesota – 4:30 p.m. ET, FOX Minnesota Theo Jackson, DB
Baltimore at Cincinnati – 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC Baltimore Ja’Wuan James, OL (Injured Reserve) Kahlil McKenzie (Practice Squad)
Monday, Jan. 16 Dallas at Tampa Bay – 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN
