Raleigh, N. C. — The Lady Vols basketball's season ended on a familiar note.
Tennessee ran into trouble early in the game and a late push that showed its potential wasn't enough to advance. This time, it was a 79-72 loss to NC State that closed the book.
The 6-seed Lady Vols (20-13) trailed by as much as 20 in the second half before scratching within two points. However, the 3-seed Wolfpack (29-6) finished strong in front of their home crowd to seal the win.
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The reason Tennessee fell into the hole was a poor second quarter. The Lady Vols were down just one after the first frame before being outscored 25-8 in the second.
Willing Tennessee to be in a position to win was the play from Rickea Jackson. The All-SEC forward dropped 33 points on 13-for-22 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arch.
Helping her out was Jasmine Powell and Tamari Key who also produced 13 and 10 points, respectively.
As a team, the Lady Vols shot 45% from the field and 31.3% on 3-pointers. The defense limited NC State to 44.8% shooting from the field and 35.7% on 3-pointers.
This wraps up the 2023-24 season for Tennessee. It finished in a tie for fourth place in the SEC before falling to top-ranked South Carolina at the buzzer in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Now, the Lady Vols' NCAA Tournament run is wrapped up in the Round of 32 after securing a 6-seed in the field. Head coach Kellie Harper has now led the team to a pair of Round of 32 exits and two Sweet 16s in her five-year tenure that featured the 2020 tournament being cancelled.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jackson came out of the locker room on fire. She torched NC State for 14 first-quarter points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 on 3-pointers.
This was enough to create a six-point advantage with two minutes until the second quarter. However, the Wolfpack responded with a 7-0 run to finish the frame while grabbing a one-point lead at the break.
Tennessee shot an efficient 58.8% from the field while NC State sat at 52.9%.
The Wolfpack snowballed the 7-0 run to finish the first quarter into an even larger one. Between the breaks, the Lady Vols were on the wrong side of a 16-2 spurt. This put Tennessee down eight.
Things continued to spiral from here. Tennessee surrendered a 10-0 run to finish the half and allowed NC State to take a 49-31 lead into the break.
The Lady Vols shot 46.7% from the field but the 60.6% mark from the Wolfpack on top of 3-for-4 shooting from range was too much.
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Tennessee began the third quarter by slowly cutting into the lead. However, a late push got it all the way back into the game. After going on a 10-2 run to finish the frame, it was just an eight-point deficit with 10 minutes to go.
The difference was the Lady Vols' ability to get to the line. They scored eight of their 10 points during the stretch on free throws after getting aggressive on offense.
Tennessee stormed back in the fourth quarter. NC State was threatening to run away with the game after creating a nine-point lead with 6:43 to go. However the Lady Vols pitched a 7-0 run to cut it all the way down to two points with four minutes to play.
Consecutive baskets from Aziaha James pushed the lead back up to seven before Tamari Key responded with a basket. The teams traded free throws for NC State and field goals for the Lady Vols but Tennessee was never able to get it back to a one-possession game.
WHAT WAS SAID
UP NEXT
Tennessee now enters the off-season after a turbulent 2023-24 season. The Lady Vols were without Jackson for much of the out-of-conference slate but were a competitive SEC squad after her return.
Seniors Jackson and Powell are out of eligibility and will not be able to return. Key, Tess Darby and Jewel Spear all have an additional year remaining and have the option of coming back.
One freshman is currently committed to join in Kaniya Boyd who early enrolled and is already with the team. Talaysia Cooper also is making her Lady Vol debut as a redshirt-sophomore after being forced to sit this season out.
Other key possible returners are Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin, Kaiya Wynn, Jillian Hollingshead and Destinee Wells.
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