To round out a three-game home stand, the Lady Vols dominated Alabama in a ranked matchup.
No. 15 Tennessee fired past the No. 18 Tide 88-80 on Thursday night.
Alabama (21-6, 8-5 SEC) now joins Auburn and Ole Miss as victims to the Lady Vols (20-6, 7-6) during the stretch at home.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Just as Tennessee's win over the Rebels had significant seeding implications, Thursday's victory against the Tide also helps the Lady Vols' postseason resume. With both teams vying for a top-16 seed to host in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee's win could be the difference down the stretch.
Helping secure the possibly pivotal win was once again Jewel Spear. Coming off of winning Co-SEC Player of the Week, Spear had another phenomenal showing. This time, she posted 20 points with 11 coming from the line.
Also scoring in double figures was Talaysia Cooper with 16 and Zee Spearman with 13. As a team, the Lady Vols shot 47.8% from the field and 38.1% on 3-pointers.
Defensively, Tennessee held the Tide to 43.5% shooting from the field and 40.7% on shots from range. Alabama also turned the ball over 10 times resulting in 20 points.
WHAT HAPPENED
Alabama took control early in the game. Tennessee got off to another poor start falling into a 10-4 hole before Kim Caldwell called timeout.
After talking it over, the Lady Vols looked much better. They tied the game at 13 off a strong start for Alyssa Latham, featuring the three to knot up the score. Despite this, the Tide pushed ahead by five at the first intermission.
Tennessee responded by scoring five-straight out of the quarter break to tie the game and force an Alabama timeout. After their break, the Tide went on a 7-0 run to reclaim their lead.
The Lady Vols fired back on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Alabama went on an 8-0 run to take back a five-point lead. Tennessee closed out the half on another 10-0 run, though.
This gave the Lady Vols a 42-37 lead at halftime. Tennessee was led on offense by Spear and Cooper who both scored eight in the opening half.
The Lady Vols kept it rolling in the third quarter, as well. Tennessee outscored Alabama 16-5 in the opening phase of the frame to take a 58-42 lead at the media break. It would continue to hold strong earning a 14-point edge by the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, Tennessee led by 14 with 6:34 to go. The Tide didn't stop their push, though.
Instead, Alabama stormed back on six-straight made field goals to make it a four-point game with just over three minutes to play. This forced the Lady Vols to take a timeout.
After the break, Samara Spencer hit one of two shots at the free throw line. Cooper forced a steal-and-score on the ensuing possession finished by Kaniya Boyd. Spear followed it up with a put-back two to move the advantage back to nine.
This separation was enough to hold on to earn an eight-point win.
UP NEXT
After three games at home, Tennessee is headed back to the road. The Lady Vols will play Florida in Gainesville on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air on SEC Network.
Tennessee then stays on the road to face No. 14 Kentucky next Thursday. The game with the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
The regular season finale is a home match, marking Senior Day, against Georgia. Tip-off is set for noon ET on March 2.
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
