In the Lady Vols' efforts to earn be a top-four seed and host in the NCAA Tournament, the margin for error is becoming increasingly thin.

That made No. 15 Tennessee's 80-71 win over Ole Miss all the more important.

The Lady Vols (19-6, 6-6 SEC) came into the game on the fringe as the final four seed and No. 16 overall team in an early reveal from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee on Sunday.

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This resulted in the nine-point win over a strong Rebels (17-8, 8-5) team being a critical win for Tennessee's resume.

Pacing the Lady Vols in the win was Jewel Spear. The fifth-year senior got off to a strong start with a team-high eight points at halftime but was nearly unstoppable in the second half.

Spear finished the game with a tie for a season-high 28 points on 9-for-11 shooting and five made 3-pointers.

Also helping Tennessee was Samara Spencer. She finished with a double-double while posting 13 points on 6-for-15 shooting. She also grabbed 10 rebounds while passing for six assists.

Also in double figures were Zee Spearman with 14 points and Talaysia Cooper with 11.

For Ole Miss, it shot just 35.9% from the field and 42.1% on 3-pointers. It also turned it over 19 times.

The Lady Vols' defense came out in full force against Ole Miss. Tennessee built itself a 10-point advantage after one quarter while allowing just seven points.

The Rebels shot a poor 3-for-13 from the field while turning the ball over three times in the period.

Ole Miss' offense found a bit of a groove in the second quarter, though. Opening the first five minutes at an 11-6 advantage brought the game within five points. The Lady Vols had a small response but it wasn't enough to hold the Rebels back in the final stretch.

Ole Miss would go on a 7-0 run late in the period to get within three points. However, a Spear 3-pointer made it a 34-28 game at the halftime break.

The leading scorer at this point for Tennessee was Spear. She managed eight points with a pair of made 3-pointers.

Out of the half, the Lady Vols didn't look sharp. This forced an early timeout as the Rebels got back within three points.

Spear took over to open up a large lead, though. She scored seven straight with Zee Spearman hitting a shot directly after to make it a 9-0 run. This ballooned the lead up to 12 midway through the third at the media timeout.

By the end of the third quarter, Spear had pushed her point total to 23 points. The result was an 11-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

In the fourth, Tennessee pushed its lead to as much as 17 points off an early 8-0 run. Ole Miss fought back to get within six points with under a minute to play but got no closer.

The Lady Vols held on to win by nine.

Tennessee will play its third-straight home SEC game on Thursday. The Lady Vols are set to host No. 21 Alabama with tip set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The TV designation is yet to be announced.

Then, Tennessee will head back to the road. On Feb. 23, the Lady Vols travel to Gainesville to face Florida. Tip is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Tennessee's toughest remaining game will follow that. The Lady Vols head to Lexington to play No. 8 Kentucky on Feb. 27.

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