It was a tale of two halves in Tennessee's SEC opener.
On the road, the Lady Vols fell into a hole heading into the halftime break against Auburn.
However, a third quarter push gave Tennessee (8-5, 1-0 SEC) a 75-67 win over the Tigers (11-3, 0-1).
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Leading the way was Rickea Jackson who had a career night. She produced 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting to go along with a career-high 19 rebounds. This effort was pivotal with 14 of the points coming in the second half to spearhead the comeback.
Behind Jackson, the pair of point guards replacing Destinee Wells had solid nights. Jasmine Powell finished with 16 points, two assists and three rebounds. Kaiya Wynn put up 10 points, six assists and five rebounds. The group did combine for 11 turnovers, though.
As a team, Tennessee finished shooting 50% from the field. It turned the ball over 23 times but 14 came in the first half.
Auburn connected on 33.3% of shots from the field but took 30 more shots than the Lady Vols due to just six turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tennessee didn't get out to a good start. The Lady Vols fell into a seven-point hole with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. However, partially due to switching to a 2-3 zone defense, Tennessee fired back. An 8-0 run catapulted it into the lead with little time remaining in the opening frame.
By the end of the first quarter, Auburn had retaken the lead, though. It led by one heading into the second.
The second quarter was dominated by the Tigers. Auburn outscored the Lady Vols by seven in the frame. While figuring out Tennessee's zone, the Lady Vols had to abort the defensive scheme in the midst of a 12-2 run to start the period.
Ultimately, the Tigers took a 40-32 lead into the break. This was largely due to the 14 turnovers that were surrendered by Tennessee. Keeping the Lady Vols in the game was Jackson who had 10 points after 20 minutes.
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However, Tennessee came out of the locker room on fire. It wasted no time forcing itself back into the game. The Lady Vols let the deficit move to 10 before firing to a 13-0 run and taking the lead.
Heading into the fourth quarter, Tennessee had claimed a six-point lead after outscoring Auburn by 14 in the third. Powell led the scoring effort in the period with 10 points.
The Tigers were able to make it a six-point game with 23 seconds left but that was as close it would get. The Lady Vols put away the match at the line and escaped with a win.
STAT OF THE DAY
Throughout the course of the game, Tennessee shot 30 free throws. The majority of these came down the stretch while Auburn tried to pitch a comeback, but the Lady Vols were able to connect on 24 of the free shots.
This resulted in 11 more points at the line than the Tigers. With the margin of victory only at eight, this was one of the deciding factors.
UP NEXT
Next, Tennessee will play its SEC home opener on Jan. 7 at noon ET on SEC Network against Kentucky. The Wildcats are 8-7 and won their first SEC game against Arkansas on Thursday.
Former Lady Vol Brooklynn Miles will be returning to Knoxville in the match after playing her first two seasons with Tennessee.
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