BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Tennessee picked up its first ranked win of the season and improved to 7-0, knocking off No. 17/20 Iowa, 78-68, at the Barclays Center in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic on Saturday night.
The Lady Vols, who only shot 39 percent for the game, rode 53.3-percent fourth-quarter shooting to victory, including three-of-five marksmanship beyond the arc, to outscore the Hawkeyes (8-1), 23-16, in the closing period and hand them their first loss on the season. UT forced UI into seven of its 30 turnovers for the game in the final stanza, generating 12 of the Lady Vols’ 42 total points off those miscues in that period.
Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, who played less than five minutes and had only four points in the first half due to foul trouble, made up for it after halftime. She tallied 19 of her team-high 23 points to fuel the Tennessee attack over the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Ruby Whitehorn chipped in 16 points, while senior guard Samara Spencer and fifth-year guard/forward Tess Darby added 11 each, with Darby nailing two three-pointers in as many tries during the decisive quarter. Cooper and senior forward Jillian Hollingshead grabbed six rebounds each to pace UT, and Cooper added a team-high three assists and blocked shots as well.
Iowa was led by Lucy Olsen with 23 points, while Addison O’Grady produced a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Tennessee exploded to an 8-0 start, getting pairs of buckets by Cooper off Iowa turnovers. An Alyssa Latham steal and score for UT’s fifth made field goal in as many attempts boosted the lead to 10-2 with 7:23 to go, before the Hawkeyes reeled off eight straight to tie it up at 10-all by the 4:17 media timeout. The Lady Vols pushed back ahead four times the rest of the opening stanza, taking an 18-15 edge with 2:02 left on a Darby layup before UI put together a 7-0 run to close out the first frame.
Iowa extended its run to 10-0 and its lead to 25-18 after the quarter break, but Whitehorn stemmed the tide and cut the gap to 25-21 by nailing a trey with 9:15 to go. A layup and three by Spencer pulled the Lady Vols to within one, 27-26, with 7:50 remaining. A 7-2 Iowa burst, though, propelled the Hawkeyes into the 3:27 media timeout with a 34-28 advantage. Out of that break, Latham hit one of two free throws, and then Whitehorn put together a 6-0 personal run on a jumper and pair of layups to increase her point total to 13 and help her team forge a 35-all tie at the intermission.
Spencer hit a pair of free throws to put her team on the board first in the second half, 37-35, before Iowa equaled it at 37. A 5-0 Hawkeyes burst put them in front, 42-37, with 7:06 to go in the period, but the Lady Vols used threes by Sara Puckett and Darby to fight back to within one, 44-43, by the 4:59 media break. Cooper instigated a 12-8 burst by the Big Orange to close out the third, finishing with nine points in the frame. She gave the Lady Vols a 47-44 lead at the 3:56 mark on a layup and another three-point edge, 55-52, with 25 seconds left to close out the third with an old-fashioned three-point play.
After Iowa had taken a one-point lead in the final frame, a Darby three put Tennessee back on top, 58-56, with 8:29 remaining. Iowa moved ahead 62-59 on a 6-1 surge, though, forcing a UT timeout with 5:52 to go. After Whitehorn tied it up, the Hawkeyes moved in front, 66-62, with 4:38 left on a Kylie Feuerbach layup, but two Cooper jumpers sandwiching a layup by her pushed the Lady Vols in front, 68-67, with 3:04 on the clock. UT closed out the contest on a 10-1 blitz, getting a Darby three to make it 71-67 with 2:25 to go and a pair of Cooper scores to make it 75-68 with 39 ticks on the clock. A free throw by Spencer and two more by Zee Spearman in the final seconds accounted for the final result.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will be back in action at Food City Center next Saturday, as North Carolina Central pays a visit. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET, with the contest being broadcast on SECN+ and the Lady Vol Network via radio stations statewide and 99.5FM WGRV beginning at 1:30pm.
