KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A 10-0 fourth-quarter run enabled No. 12/12 Tennessee to outscore Belmont 22-9 in the final frame and secure a 68-58 victory in front of a crowd of 10,043 on Thursday night at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (3-1) got six points each from redshirt sophomore guard Kaniya Boyd and freshman guard Mia Pauldo in the fourth quarter to overcome a five-point deficit early in the period and wrestle back momentum after the visitors outscored the hosts, 38-21, over the middle two quarters. Boyd hit a pair of key three-pointers, and Pauldo added a trey of her own and three free throws to help the Big Orange fight back the Bruins (1-2) for their third straight win, all over in-state foes.
Redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper led all scorers with 22 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for UT. Senior forwards Janiah Barker and Zee Spearman also were in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Knoxville native and former Lady Vol Avery Strickland paced BU with 14 points, while Jailyn Banks and Hilary Fuller chipped in 13 and 10, respectively.
Tennessee built a pair of early three-point leads, at 3-0 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Spearman, and 7-4 on layups by Spearman and Deniya Prawl, but a pair of Banks free throws sent the Bruins into the 4:52 media break up, 8-7. Using its pressure to fuel the charge, UT put together a 9-1 run out of the timeout, getting a Barker three and three straight buckets by Cooper, the last two coming on steals and layups, to move ahead 16-9 and force a BU timeout with 2:17 left in the opening stanza. The Lady Vols followed that stoppage with a 9-2 burst, getting a Mia Pauldo trey with 12 seconds left to close out the scoring in a 25-11 first quarter for the home team.
Belmont whittled six points off the deficit in the early stages of the second period, but three Cooper buckets helped restore the lead to 13, 30-17, with 5:14 to go. Back-to-back Bruin baskets, though, helped the visitors trim the gap to eight, 30-22, by the 3:26 media timeout. BU continued to chip away, extending its scoring streak to nine and pulling within four, 30-26, with 1:23 remaining before a Cooper put-back ended the run and sent Tennessee to the locker room with a 32-26 advantage at the intermission.
UT and BU exchanged buckets at the outset of the third frame before a Cooper three and layups by Cooper and Jaida Civil extended the Lady Vol lead to nine, 41-32, with 5:10 to go. A Quinn Eubank jumper trimmed the margin to seven, 41-34, as the teams headed to the 4:44 media timeout. A pair of Barker free throws nudged the Big Orange lead to eight, 45-37, with 2:50 to go, but a 12-1 run to close out the period provided Belmont a 49-46 lead heading into the final period.
The Bruins moved ahead 51-46 at the outset of the fourth quarter, but Tennessee responded with a pair of Nya Robertson free throws and a Kaniya Boyd corner three to even it up at 51 with 8:15 to go. A Mia Pauldo three at the 7:38 mark pushed her team back in front, 54-53, but a Jailyn Banks layup sent Belmont into the 5:37 media break clinging to a 55-54 lead. After a Tuti Jones free throw pushed the Belmont lead to two, 56-54, with 4:54 remaining, a Prawl layup off a rebound evened the score at 56 and set off a game-changing 10-0 run by the Lady Vols. First came Boyd’s second deep ball, giving UT a 59-56 lead, followed by a Mia Pauldo free throw, Zee Spearman trey and Cooper free throw to make it 64-56 with 1:01 to go. Two free throws by Mia Pauldo and another by Barker enabled the Big Orange to close out the win.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will play its fourth consecutive game vs. an in-state opponent, as it travels to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee next Thursday night. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 ET), and the contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
BIG GAME FOR COOP
Talaysia Cooper had a very productive night, finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds and three steals, carding a career high in rebounds. Cooper has been in double figures every game this season, and it marked the second time she scored 20+. It also was her second time producing a double-double this season and the fifth for her career. The six-foot guard notched her 33rd time scoring 10+ in her career and 14th with 20+.
KB AND MIMI CAME UP BIG IN THE FOURTH
Kaniya Boyd and Mia Pauldo showed up big in the fourth to help pull out the win. Boyd hit two big threes in the final quarter of the game, one to tie and one to put her team ahead. Those two threes tied for her career high for threes made in a game. Pauldo joined the party with a go-ahead trey of her own along with three free throws
GETTING PRODUCTION FROM THE BENCH
The Lady Vols outscored the Bruins 34 to 12 in bench points. The Big Orange have outscored their opponents in bench points every game this season. Two out of the four games, UT has received 30+ from its bench. Tennessee has now outscored its opponents’ bench 105-66 on the year.
LADY VOLS TURNS UP THE DEFENSE
Tennessee forced 20 Belmont turnovers on the night, resulting in a 23-10 points-off-turnovers margin. The Lady Vols have harassed their past three opponents to commit 20+ miscues and have a 99-48 margin in points off turnovers (24.8 to 12.0). For the season UT foes are averaging 19.75 turnovers per contest.
