Lady Vols beat Texas A&M for sixth-straight win
Tennessee had plenty of reasons to feel confident ahead of its road bout with Texas A&M at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas on Thursday night.
The Lady Vols had played well in their first four SEC games and were getting the most out of forward Rickea Jackson off the bench as well as starters Jordan Horston and Tess Darby on the offensive end. The Aggies on the other hand were struggling, depleted by numerous injuries with only seven players available.
For a half, it ended being more of a challenge than many had expected.
Tennessee and Texas A&M locked into a defensive struggle in the first two quarters with the Lady Vols leading by just six at the half, but sparked by their defense, they managed to pull away early in the third on their way to a 62-50 win.
Tennessee has now won nine of its last 10 games.
As she has in three previous conference games, Jackson led the Lady Vols in scoring with 22 points while Horston scored finished with 12. As a team, Tennessee shot 41.3% from the field and scored 44 points in the paint and 29 points off of the bench.
The Lady Vols also outrebounded Texas A&M, 49-25 with Jasmine Powell grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
The Aggies shot 32% from the field and were paced in scoring by Sydney Bowels and Aaliyah Patty with 12 points each.
After both teams went scoreless over the first minute-plus, Horston opened the scoring with a layup before Texas A&M responded with a 5-0 run to take the lead. Darby provided an answer with a 3-pointer that opened the way for a 7-0 run to pull ahead 8-5 with just over two minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Aggies hit just three shots from the field in the second quarter and Jackson scored 10 of Tennessee's 13 points in the frame to take a 23-17 lead at the intermission.
The offenses on both ends picked up their pace a little more in the third quarter. The Lady Vols (13-6, 5-0 SEC) took their biggest lead of the game thanks to a 10-6 run highlighted by scores from Sara Puckett and Jackson.
That stretch allowed Tennessee to take a 33-23 lead, but Texas A&M (5-10, 0-5) didn't go away quietly. Patty, Bowels and Mya Petticord combined for three 3-pointers to pull within seven.
Tennessee closed out the quarter with Horston scoring on back-to-back possessions to lead 41-32 heading into the fourth. The Lady Vols created their most significant separation when Puckett connected on a deep three with just over six minutes left that swelled the advantage to 15 points, putting Tennessee in position for a strong close.
Texas A&M mounted another comeback attempt in the last four minutes, rattling off a 7-0 run that was capped by a Patty three to cut the deficit down to 55-49 with 2:17 left.
Horston ended the drought on a layup, drawing a foul in the process and making the ensuing free throw to complete the and-1. Jasmine Franklin scored on a put-back on the next offensive possession to all but put the game away with an 11-point Tennessee lead.
Tennessee returns to Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time since Jan. 5 to face Georgia on Sunday. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on SEC Network.
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