KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols won their sixth straight game at home on Sunday, taking an 80-69 wire-to-wire victory over Missouri in front of a season-high crowd of 9,190 in Food City Center. Senior Jewel Spear surpassed the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game to lead Tennessee (14-7, 7-2 SEC) with 22 points and a career-high-tying six assists and three steals on the day. Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson turned in 19 points, scoring all of them in the first half, to eclipse 2,000 career points.
Junior Sara Puckett also had a strong showing with 15 points and five rebounds, as the Lady Vols took sole possession of second place in the SEC standings after a loss by Ole Miss vs. South Carolina on Sunday. Missouri (11-11, 2-7 SEC) was led by Mama Dembele, who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds. Grace Slaughter, Ashton Judd and Hilke Feldrappe were also in double figures with 14, 12 and 11, respectively. The Lady Vols jumped out to a 5-0 lead off buckets from Jackson and Puckett before Dembele put Mizzou on the board with a layup just over a minute into the game. The Tigers rallied within one a minute later, but a trey by Spear on the next possession gave UT a 10-6 advantage at the 7:38 mark. UM pulled within one twice more before Spear and Puckett combined for three straight threes to fuel a 9-2 run that boosted UT on top 21-13 with 3:30 left in the first. Dembele ended the skid for Mizzou, but Jackson hit UT’s sixth 3-pointer of the game 10 seconds later as UT outscored Missouri 7-2 over the final two and a half minutes to lead 28-17 after one. A pair of free throws by Dembele to start the second quarter trimmed the deficit down to single digits, but Jackson answered with jumpers in the paint on consecutive plays to put UT ahead by 13 with 8:13 to go in the half. Slaughter and Judd rallied the Tigers with three straight treys, fueling a 9-2 run that pulled Mizzou within six at 34-28 two minutes later. Four quick points by Jackson stretched UT’s advantage back to double digits, a margin that would hold until Powell converted on a driving layup just before the buzzer to set the halftime score at 46-34. Both teams struggled to hit shots at the outset of the second half, with neither team putting one through the net until Tamari Key hit a layup at the 7:49 mark. Key added another layup just over a minute later to extend UT’s lead to 16 before Abby Feit ended the drought for UM with a three with 6:12 left in the third. That bucket set off a 15-2 Mizzou run punctuated by a Slaughter 3-pointer that whittled UT’s lead down to four with three minutes to go. Puckett responded with a trey on the other end, and the Lady Vols closed out the quarter by outscoring the Tigers 11-0 to lead 63-49 at the end of three. Karoline Striplin nailed a jumper to start the final stanza, and the teams swapped buckets until the 6:21 mark when Spear followed up a pair of Striplin free throws with a layup to fuel an 8-3 run that put the Lady Vols ahead by 19 with 4:39 to play. Missouri closed out the game by outscoring UT 13-6, as the Lady Vol reserves got some action, setting the final score at 80-69. UP NEXT: Tennessee is back on the road for a midweek contest at Alabama on Thursday. The Lady Vols and Crimson Tide will meet in Coleman Coliseum at 7 p.m. ET (6 CT) in a contest streamed live on SECN+.
