MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — No 15/13 Tennessee put together a pair of 16-0 first-half runs to build a 48-16 lead at the intermission and never looked back, blowing past Middle Tennessee, 85-41, on Thursday night in front of an announced crowd of 10,212 at the Murphy Center.
The Lady Vols (4-1) won their fourth straight game, all against in-state opponents, and tied their largest margin of victory in the 25-game series vs. the Blue Raiders (2-3). On Feb. 1, 1974, Margaret Hutson’s UT squad won 77-33 in Knoxville to also notch a 44-point triumph.
Senior forward Janiah Barker led the Big Orange charge, turning in season highs of 20 points and 12 rebounds behind 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 accuracy at the free-throw line. Freshman guard Deniya Prawl produced a career-high 15 points, while redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper tallied 13 and freshman guard Mya Pauldo tossed in a career-best 10 as their squad claimed its second wire-to-wire win of the campaign.
Savannah Davis led MTSU, which was limited to 26.5-percent shooting and forced into 27 turnovers, with 18 points. Kirston Verhulst added 10.
Barker scored the first five points on a bucket and trio of free throws, and back-to-back treys by Prawl and Cooper helped Tennessee explode on an 11-0 game-opening run to force a Blue Raiders timeout with 7:54 left in the first. Another Cooper trey and a Mya Pauldo put-back extended the run to 16 before MTSU got on the board via a Davis three with 4:28 remaining. A Nya Robertson two and a three, followed by Mya Pauldo layups off Cooper steals pushed the score to 25-7 before the home team hit a bucket to cut the margin to 25-9 by the end of the quarter.
Zee Spearman started the second stanza with another personal five-point run for UT, hitting a pair of charity tosses and a three to make it 30-9. After surrendering an MTSU score, Tennessee used a 12-0 burst fueled by three Prawl layups to move ahead, 42-11, by the 4:45 media break. A jumper by Barker and a Boyd layup off a soaring Jaida Civil rebound and dish gave UT its second 16-0 run of the game and provided its largest margin of 35, 46-11, with 3:09 remaining. The Blue Raiders countered with a pair of scores, but a Civil steal and layup sent the Lady Vols into the locker room with a 48-16 cushion.
A Robertson layup and a Cooper three lifted the margin to 37, 53-16, less than two minutes into the second half, and Tennessee carried a 56-21 lead into the 4:37 media break. After a 4-0 spurt by Middle Tennessee, a Cooper layup, a Mia Pauldo steal and score, and three free throws by Barker sent the Lady Vols into the final frame with a 66-30 advantage.
MTSU scored the first five points and outscored the Lady Vols 7-2 to open the fourth period before UT responded with a Barker layup and three, and a Lauren Hurst corner three to head into the 4:44 media break with a 76-37 lead. Tennessee closed the game with a 9-4 edge down the stretch, getting a Hurst layup with 1:07 on the clock to account for the game’s final score.
NEXT UP
Tennessee returns home to play host to Coppin State on Sunday in Knoxville. The Lady Vols and Eagles will meet at 2 p.m. ET at Food City Center. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations as well as on SiriusXM channel 389.
JB HAD A NIGHT
Janiah Barker led Tennessee with season bests of 20 points and 12 rebounds. The last time the Georgia native scored 20+ was on February 19, 2024, against LSU in her sophomore year with Texas A&M. Barker paced UT in points for the first time in her career and scored 20+ for the sixth time as a collegian. It also was her first double-double in the orange and white and the 17th of her career.
CAREER NIGHT FOR THREE FRESHMEN
Deniya Prawl (15) and Mya Pauldo (12) combined for 25 points, with both scoring in double figures for the first time in their careers. Lauren Hurst logged her first career points with a three in the fourth and added a late layup to finish with five.
CAUSING PROBLEMS ON THE DEFENSIVE END
UT logged its fourth game in a row forcing 20+ turnovers, hurrying Middle Tennessee into 27 miscues. Seventeen of the 27 turnovers came in the first half. The Lady Vols outscored MTSU, 36-7, on points off turnovers, recording their highest total of the season and holding a foe to its lowest sum of the year. Tennessee already had 30 points off turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.
RACKING UP STEALS
Tennessee matched its season high in steals with 17 vs. the Blue Raiders, equaling the total it had vs. ETSU. The Lady Vols have now forced double-figure steal totals in their past four contests. Talaysia Cooper paced the squad with six steals, while Deniya Prawl checked in with a career-high four.
GAME OF BIG RUNS
Tennessee was able to get hot collectively in two big stretches during the game. The Lady Vols started Thursday night off with a 16-point run and added a second 16-point burst, giving them five sprees of 10+ this season. Those were the largest overall runs and game-opening runs of the year. Previously, they scored 12 straight versus NC State and opened with nine straight against ETSU.
BENCH BRIGADE
Lady Vol reserves scored a season-best 42 points vs. Middle Tennessee, holding the Blue Raider bench to just 10 for a margin of 32. UT’s previous best effort came vs. Belmont, when Big Orange reserves posted a 34-12 advantage and had a gap of +22.
UT/MTSU SERIES NOTES
With the win, Tennessee is now 24-1 against Middle Tennessee, including a perfect 6-0 when playing in the midstate.
