Lady Vols blow 16-point second half lead to Notre Dame

Early in the third quarter with a 16-point lead, it looked like Tennessee would cruise to victory in the first year of the ACC/SEC Challenge.

However, a collapse led to the No. 20 Lady Vols (4-3) falling to No. 18 Notre Dame (6-1) while being outscored by 17 in the second half.

For Tennessee, its matchup in the event against the top-20 team marked the third straight game against a ranked opponent. In the Fort Meyers Tip-Off, the Lady Vols fell to No. 19 Indiana and took down No. 22 Oklahoma.

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The second-half collapse came on 34.6% shooting from the field in the pair of frames. The first half featured 45.2% shooting from the Lady Vols.

On the other side, the Fighting Irish finished on fire with 58.3% shooting from the field in the second half. In the first half, they shot just 27.8% from the field. Notre Dame never made a 3-pointer in the game.

Tennessee was led by Jasmine Powell in the game. She finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Fellow guard Destinee Wells was right behind her with 13 points, three rebounds and five assists. Both players earned the start to begin the game.

Tennessee got out to a fast start against Notre Dame. After one quarter, the Lady Vols held an eight-point advantage.

This was in large part due to suffocating defense. The Fighting Irish shot just 26.3% from the field in the frame. They also didn't manage to score for the final 3:49 of the quarter letting Tennessee get off to a 6-0 run and extend its lead.

The Lady Vols didn't stop there, though. In the second quarter, Tennessee out-scored Notre Dame by four to take a double-digit lead into the break.

The first half dominance came from incredible play by Wells. The starting guard produced a team-high seven first half points and dished out five assists.

As a team, the Lady Vols shot 45.2% from the field in the first half. On the other side, the Fighting Irish shot just 27.8% from the field.

However, the script was flipped in the third quarter. Notre Dame surged to a 15-3 run late in the frame to cut the lead to just two. Powell managed an and-one before the buzzer to extend the lead to five but the damage was done.

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The Fighting Irish shot an incredible 73.3% from the field in the quarter to catapult themselves back into the game.

The fourth quarter featured both teams trading blows. However, an 8-1 run to finish the game by Notre Dame was the deciding factor. Prior to this stretch, Tennessee led by two with under two minutes to go.

The Lady Vols led for 36:11 of the 40 minutes before losing.

Notre Dame didn't need the three-ball to beat Tennessee. In fact, the Fighting Irish never made a 3-pointer in the contest.

However, this didn't stop Notre Dame from putting up 74 points. Instead of shooting from range, it pounded the ball inside. This led to 32 points in the paint in the second half.

For the Lady Vols, they scored just eight second half points in the paint. This difference from point blank was the decider.

Next, Tennessee will play in its fourth straight contest against a ranked opponent. Following matches with Indiana, Oklahoma and Notre Dame, No. 16 Ohio State is next on the slate.

Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 3. It will air on ESPN.

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