After beginning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament with a dominating win over Rutgers and a disappointing loss against UCLA, No. 23 Tennessee found itself in a battle for third place with Gonzaga.
The match with the Bulldogs went down to the wire as the pair of teams traded blows throughout the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the Lady Vols (2-4) fell 73-72 to Gonzaga (5-1).
Following a made shot from Jordan Horston to claim a one-point lead and a stop on the other end with 15 seconds left, it appeared the Lady Vols would earn their second win of the tournament.
However, Horston was whistled for a travel on the ensuing inbound — giving Gonzaga a free opportunity to reclaim the lead. The Bulldogs took advantage of it with a made 2-pointer by Yvonne Ejim.
Down a point, Tennessee had little time to win the game. Despite having three chances due to offensive rebounds, the Lady Vols could not get a shot to fall as time expired.
The loss earned Tennessee a fourth-place finish in the tournament.
Leading the way throughout the match was Horston. She finished with 19 points, five rebounds, an assist, three blocks and two steals in her 34 minutes of play. Four of her points came in the final moments of the game as she attempted to will her team to victory.
Helping Horston in the effort was Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Franklin. Jackson scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the contest. Six of her points came in the final quarter.
Franklin made her impact off the bench after playing 20 minutes due to Tamari Key’s foul trouble. She finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Franklin made most of her impact down the stretch, though. She scored nine of her points and earned eight of her rebounds in the second half.
“(Franklin) gave us a spark off the bench,” said Horston. “The game ball goes to her.”
Defensively, the Lady Vols held the Bulldogs to 39% shooting from the field and 36% on 3-pointers. They also forced 16 turnovers and swatted away six shots.
Tennessee claimed a lead heading into halftime after holding Gonzaga to just six second-quarter points. The lead was held until the fourth quarter.
“I thought our effort and energy were better defensively,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper. “We still had a few breakdowns but those are correctable.”
After playing four teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA Tournament in their opening six games, the Lady Vols’ schedule gets no easier. Tennessee will face its fifth Power Five team of the year when it hosts Colorado in Knoxville on Friday. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air on SEC Network.
*****
– 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, @TMansfieldMedia, @JNichols_2121, @ByNoahTaylor, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman, @JacobPolacheck, @RyanTSylvia.
