Tennessee's trip to face Mississippi State was the final return to Starkville for Lady Vols star Rickea Jackson.
The forward played her first three seasons with the Bulldogs including a junior campaign that saw her average 20.3 points per game.
In Thursday's matchup against her former team, her effort helped lead to a massive 75-64 road win over Mississippi State.
Jackson would post numbers of 19 points, seven rebounds and a +/- of +10.
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The win was not always certain, though. The Lady Vols (11-6, 4-1 SEC) fell into another double-digit hole in the first half. However, an explosive third quarter shot them to a win over the Bulldogs (15-5, 2-3).
After a poor shooting first half, Tennessee managed to raise its numbers to 42.9% from the field and 23.8% for the night.
Helping lead the charge and stepping up as a ball handler was Kaiya Wynn. She managed a career-high 13 points to go along with five rebounds, an assist and a career-high three steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite previously winning three SEC games and only dropping one, Tennessee trailed in each of the matches by double-digits in the first half. This trend continued on Thursday.
With two minutes remaining in the first quarter, Jessika Carter sunk a midrange to create the double-digit deficit. By the end of the opening frame, Mississippi State had built the lead up to 11.
The Lady Vols were able to bring the score within six in the second quarter but settled at a seven-point hole heading into the break. Tennessee shot 31.3% from the field and an ice cold 18.2% on 3-pointers in the half.
On the other end, Mississippi State shot 47.1% from the field and 22.2% on 3-pointers.
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The Lady Vols flipped the script in the third quarter, though. They stormed out to an 8-2 run to pull within one point. Tennessee didn't stop there, either. It took its first lead of the game on a Jewel Spear 3-pointer midway through the third quarter.
Tennessee used this to propel itself to a 13-0 run to finish the quarter. The Lady Vols held the Bulldogs off the board for the final six minutes of the frame during this time which gave it a nine-point lead heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter featured more of a back-and-forth affair but this benefited Tennessee who came into the frame with a healthy lead. The Bulldogs came within eight points but weren't able to get any closer as the Lady Vols won by 11.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Lady Vols previous season low in turnovers was 11. The team has suffered from forking over the ball throughout games causing stalls on offense.
This wasn't the case in Starkville, though. Instead, Tennessee only turned it over nine times marking a new season low.
This is a crucial step forward and helped the Lady Vols pitch the comeback and hold onto the lead.
WHAT THE LADY VOLS HAD TO SAY
UP NEXT
Next, Tennessee will return to Knoxville to host a hot Vanderbilt squad.
The Commodores sit at 17-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play. They previously defeated Auburn at home by three on Thursday afternoon.
The Lady Vols have won six-straight games over Vanderbilt, though, with the most recent loss coming in 2019.
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