After a two-game losing skid, the Lady Vols got back on track Sunday afternoon.
No. 16 Tennessee went on the road and handled Arkansas 93-63.
The win over the Razorbacks (8-11, 1-3 SEC) comes after the Lady Vols (14-2, 2-2) dropped home games to No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 6 LSU.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
It was a trio of players getting the job done for Tennessee in the game. At the top of the list was Talaysia Cooper who got up to 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. She also grabbed three rebounds, passed for two assists and totaled four steals.
Behind Cooper was Zee Spearman. The center let it fly from range hitting all three of her 3-point attempts. She finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
The third piece was Ruby Whitehorn. The guard put up an efficient 17 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
As a team, the Lady Vols shot 45.5% from the field and 35.3% on 3-pointers. Defensively, they forced 22 turnovers resulting in 28 points.
WHAT HAPPENED
Tennessee fell into a three-point hole early but it was never more than just a possession game. At around the midway point of the opening quarter, the Lady Vols went on an 8-0 run to grab the lead.
At the end of the first quarter, Tennessee held a six-point advantage led by Ruby Whitehorn's seven points.
The second featured a 9-2 run for the Lady Vols out the gate. However, Arkansas responded with an 8-0 run of its own to bring the margin back to five points.
Tennessee ran away with it afterward, though. The Lady Vols ran off to a 9-0 run to force the Razorbacks into a timeout. By the end of the half, it was a 47-33 lead for Tennessee. Both Whitehorn and Talaysia Cooper had reached 11 points to lead the way.
The third quarter saw things continue to get out of hand. The Lady Vols won the frame by 12 points to create serious separation.
Tennessee kept its foot on the gas afterward. While leading by over 30 points, the Kim Caldwell emptied her bench with over a minute left.
By the end of the game, the Lady Vols had coasted to a 30-point win in Fayetteville.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols will now return home to face Mississippi State on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Tennessee will follow that up with another road clash, this time on Sunday at Vanderbilt. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
Then, it'll be a stretch of top-5 opponents. The Lady Vols will head to No. 5 Texas on Jan. 23 before hosting No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 27.
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