To kick off Tennessee's foreign tour, the Lady Vols competed against the Venice All-Stars in a scrimmage on Tuesday.

At the Palestra Leo Perziano gym, Tennessee used nine players to take down the all-star team 89-76.

Leading the way in the match was Rickea Jackson. The returning star scored a game-high 20 points in addition to six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Behind her, junior Jillian Hollingshead stuffed the stat sheet while recording a double-double. She finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Sara Puckett also added 15 points and seven rebounds.

After taking a 46-36 lead at halftime, walk-on Edie Darby found a rhythm. She scored all eight of her points in the third quarter to finish fourth on the team in scoring.

Also seeing the court in the match were returners Tess Darby, Jasmine Powell, Kaiya Wynn and Karoline Striplin and transfer Avery Strickland.

"Excited about game number one," said coach Kellie Harper. "We got the win. I thought our players did a really good job adapting to the style of play here and learning some rules on the fly, for sure... I thought they pushed through when they got tired. Communication was good. I thought we saw some good things. It's always good to get that first win on this trip."

Despite participating in practices leading up to the trip, Tamari Key did not play as she continues to work back into playing shape. She missed most of the 2022-23 season due to blood clots in her lungs.

Also remaining on the sideline were transfers Jewel Spear and Destinee Wells. The pair of guards made the trip but did not compete in the game.

"It was hoped that the standard reviews of the course credits earned at their previous schools could be completed in time for this trip, but to no one's fault that was not the case," said a press release by the university. "While the early timing of this summer tour hindered Spear and Wells from hitting the court in Italy, it is expected that the routine process will be completed well in advance of the 2023-24 campaign."

The Lady Vols will play their final scrimmage of the trip against the Rome All-Stars on Thursday night after arriving to the city on Wednesday.

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