WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter, propelling No. 18/16 Tennessee past RV/NR Richmond, 92-67, on Friday afternoon at the West Palm Beach Classic.
With a partisan orange-clad crowd cheering them on, the Lady Volunteers improved to 10-0 on the season, marking the third time during the post-Pat Summitt era and 13th time in program history the team has begun a campaign with 10 straight wins. The Spiders, who are ranked No. 31 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, fell to 9-3 after losing their second straight game to a ranked Power Four program. No. 6 Texas defeated UR by 11 last Sunday, 65-54, on the Spiders’ home court.
Cooper, a 6-0 guard, took over in the third stanza, scoring 15 of the Lady Vols’ 26 points in the frame after Richmond cut the gap to six just after halftime. She finished 10 of 18 from the field and added five steals in her sixth game this season with 20 or more points.
Also hitting double figures in points for the Big Orange were Ruby Whitehorn with 15 and Samara Spencer with 11, with the Fort Lauderdale native knocking down three of seven tries beyond the arc and dishing a game-best six assists. Zee Spearman led her squad on the glass, hauling down nine caroms and was a rebound bucket shy of her second straight double-double with eight points on the day.
