Lady Vols use extended break to down Vanderbilt

On Monday, Tennessee traveled to face Mississippi State in Starkville. What followed was a double-overtime match that featured Jordan Walker and Rickea Jackson playing 48 and 46 minutes, respectively. The team ultimately lost 91-90 in the grueling battle.

However, the Lady Vols received a bye at the perfect time. They didn't have a midweek game scheduled as their next battle came six days later.

On Sunday, Tennessee (18-9, 10-2 SEC) returned home to face Vanderbilt (11-15, 2-10 SEC) in Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols used their break to get back on track with an 86-59 win.

"It was a great thing," said Jordan Horston. "We got the chance to just sit back and focus on us. Focus on what we really need to lock in on. Just dial in for those practices. It wasn't easy. … It's what we needed. I'm very thankful for that. I feel like we got better."

One player who made the most of her time off was Jackson. In her 46 minutes against the Bulldogs, she posted 28 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal. Following the break, she instantly got to work vs. the Commodores.

In the first half alone, Jackson pitched in a team-high 13 points to go along with her two rebounds, two blocks and a steal. She would ultimately finish with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting. She also pitched in five rebounds, an assist, two blocks and a steal.

However, the remainder of the team didn't get out to as hot of a start. At the halftime break, the pair of teams were tied at 38. A flurry of Lady Vols fell into early foul trouble leading to 12 players seeing the court in the opening half.

This changed entering the third quarter, though. Tennessee jumped out to a 14-2 run to grab a strong lead. They followed this up with a 10-0 run to leave the Commodores in the dust. The Lady Vols held on to this advantage as they never trailed for the remainder of the game.

In the monstrous third period that created separation, Tennessee's defense dominated. It surrendered just eight points in the period on 3-for-15 shooting.

"The flip started on the defensive end," said Kellie Harper. "When we got stops, we were able to push the ball in transition. We were playing downhill. We were playing aggressive. It's all related. You take good shots, you score, you get your defense set. You get stops, you get your offense on a push."

While playing elite defense, the Lady Vols were just as good on the offensive end. They scored 28 points on an extremely efficient 11-for-15 shooting. This included 10 points from Horston.

Horston would finish the game with 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. She also recorded nine rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.

"It was just fun," said Horston. "I was just letting my defense dictate how everything else was going to go. I feel like, it's a lot more fun playing that way... It's a lot more fun when we let our defense energize us and motivate us so we can get easy points in transition. Just take them out of their rhythm. I feel like we came out with a chip on our shoulder in the third quarter."

Also contributing were Tess Darby and Jordan Walker. Darby put up 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting. The sharpshooter also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

After playing a team-high 48 minutes a week prior, Walker contributed a team-high eight assists. She finished with six points, six rebounds and a block, as well. This effort was good enough for a team-high +/- of +40.

"Jordan Walker. Somebody said backbone, heart, I don't know. She's a big part of who we are. Again, you don't see +40 very often. That's how she was affecting the game on both ends of the court. Six points and +40, she's so valuable to our success.

Next, Tennessee will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks. The match vs. Arkansas will tipoff at 7 p.m. ET and air on SEC Network.

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