No. 15/13 Lady Vols Soar Past Eagles, 114-50, To Remain Unbeaten
Courtesy / UT Athletics

No. 15/13 Lady Vols Soar Past Eagles, 114-50, To Remain Unbeaten

Posted on December 29, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 15/13 Tennessee improved to 12-0, shooting a season-high 53 percent from the field to run away from Winthrop on Sunday, 114-50, in front of a season-best crowd of 11,152 at Food City Center in the Lady Vols’ final game before SEC play. 

Senior forward Sara Puckett matched her season high of 17 points that she recorded in the previous game vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21 and added a season-best eight rebounds to lead six Lady Vols scoring in double figures. Joining her in double digits were Ruby Whitehorn with 16, Jewel Spear and Kaniya Boyd with 15, Zee Spearman with 14 and Tess Darby with 10.  Boyd’s point total surpassed her previous career scoring high of six vs. Richmond on Dec. 20, and her four assists equaled her personal best vs. Liberty on Nov. 16 and tied Samara Spencer for team honors vs. the Eagles on Sunday.

Winthrop, which fell to 6-7, featured only one player scoring in double figures. Amourie Porter contributed 14 points to her team’s cause, making most of them via an 8-for-8 day at the charity stripe.

The Lady Vols came out sizzling, bolting to an 11-0 lead out of the gate on a three-pointer and paint jumper from Puckett and back-to-back threes from Boyd and Spencer. After Winthrop got on the board via a Leonor Paisana trey at the 5:42 mark, a Darby long ball and Talaysia Cooper putback sent UT into the 4:07 media break with an 18-5 cushion. Another Spencer trey and two more from Spear enabled the Big Orange to finish the first quarter seven of 13 beyond the arc and push the score to 35-13 after one.

After the Eagles notched the first two scores of the second stanza to cut the gap to 35-17 with 9:18 to go, a Jillian Hollingshead old-fashioned three-point play and buckets by Whitehorn and Alyssa Latham lifted Tennessee to a 42-17 lead with 7:10 remaining. Layups by Darby and Cooper and a putback by Latham then propelled the Lady Vols into the 4:53 media timeout with a 48-20 advantage. After a pair of Winthrop free throws by Porter trimmed UT’s lead to 26, 48-22, the Big Orange got a layup from Whitehorn, a steal and score from Spear and single free throws from Spencer and Boyd to build the advantage to a game-high 32, 54-22, with 3:12 on the clock. WU managed to hold the home team without a three in the period, but UT nonetheless outscored the visitors 26-19 to possess a 61-32 edge at the intermission. 

Tennessee pushed the lead to 34 by the 5:41 mark in the third quarter, getting a steal and layup from Darby and a bucket down low by Spearman before Olivia Wagner’s response made it 71-39 and elicited a timeout from the Winthrop coaching staff with 5:20 to go. Spear’s three with 5:12 to go extended the gap to a game-best 35 at 74-39, and that’s what the score remained until the 4:52 media break. UT increased it to a 37-point cushion through the end of the third, as Whitehorn’s layup with 50 ticks left sent the teams into the final 10 minutes with the Lady Vols up, 83-46.

The roll continued into the final frame, as Tennessee put together an 11-2 run to take a 94-48 lead at the 6:26 media timeout, coming on a pair of Spearman layups and another by Spear on the break. Thirteen of 14 Lady Vols who played would etch points in the official scorebook on the afternoon, with the Big Orange closing the game with a 31-4 blitz over the final 10 minutes that included a 17-0 spree from the 8:57 mark until 3:29 remained.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols open SEC play on Thursday, as they make the trip to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) at Reed Arena, with the contest being carried on SECN+ but paired with the Aggies’ radio broadcast. UT fans can turn down the SECN+ sound and listen to the Lady Vol Network radio broadcast by Brian Rice. Rice’s voice can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.

TWELVE STRAIGHT WINS: First-year head coach Kim Caldwell has led the Lady Vols to a 12-0 start, marking only the seventh time that has happened in program history. The 12-0 beginning is the best by Tennessee since it opened up at 15-0 in 2017-18. Caldwell has notched her second-best start to a season in her ninth year as a head coach. Top honors go to her 2021-22 GSU squad that started 29-0 on its way to 35-1 and an NCAA Division II national title. 

PUCKETT MEANS BUSINESS: Senior guard Sara Puckett has produced back-to-back double-digit contests, draining six total field goals and one trey. Puckett finished with a season-high-tying 17 points, a season-best eight rebounds along with two steals. The Muscle Shoals, Ala., native logged her sixth double-digit game of the season. Her other 17-point contest came against Tulsa on Dec. 21.

ROCKING ON ROCKY TOP: A stellar crowd of 11,152 fans piled into Food City Center, cheering the Lady Vols to victory. It marked the first 10,000-plus crowd since Tennessee played LSU on Feb. 25, 2024, welcoming 15,281 fans. It was one of two contests during the 2023 season that compiled over 10,000 fans. The other game during the 2023 season came against South Carolina on February 15, 2023, with 11,073 fans in attendance. The last time a Tennessee squad eclipsed a 10,000-plus crowd before January was against Stanford (10,017) on Dec. 18, 2021. The last time the Lady Vols lured a 10,000-plus crowd against a non-power-four opponent before the month of January was against Stetson (10,705) on Dec. 30, 2015.

100-POINT DUB: Tennessee has reached 100 points six times in 2024-25. The all-time record for the Lady Vols is seven in 1987-88. That gives the program 93 all-time regular-season scoring efforts of 100 or more points through the Winthrop game. UT had 101 in the opener vs. Samford on Nov. 5, 109 vs. Liberty on Nov. 16, 102 vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 26, a school and SEC-record 139 vs. N.C. Central on Dec. 14 and 102 vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21.

12-0 WITH 11 DIFFERENT FIVES: The Lady Vols have begun the year 12-0 with 11 different starting lineups and 10 different players appearing in the first five. Tennessee repeated a previous quintet vs. Memphis but had new ones in the past three contests. Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Sara Puckett, Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn opened Sunday’s contest. Spencer leads the team with 12 starts, Whitehorn follows with ten and Spearman notched her eighth. Spear tallied her sixth and Puckett added her sixth versus the Eagles.

FAST, FURIOUS AND FUN: The Lady Vols forced Winthrop to turn the ball over a total of 30 times during Sunday’s win, posting a 45-8 advantage on points off turnovers. Nine of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 22 miscues: NC Central (44), Samford (37), Western Carolina (37), UT Martin (31), Iowa (30), Winthrop (30), Liberty (25), Tulsa (23) and MTSU (22). Tennessee’s defensive efforts held the Eagles to only four points in the fourth quarter, the lowest point total in a quarter by a foe this season. The Lady Vols also held Winthrop to a 29-percent field goal percentage, the lowest of any opponent this season. Tennessee also collected a pair of 10-second violations versus the Eagles. This season, UT’s press has resulted in 15 10-second violations by opponents through twelve games.

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No. 15/13 Lady Vols Soar Past Eagles, 114-50, To Remain Unbeaten
Courtesy / UT Athletics

No. 15/13 Lady Vols Soar Past Eagles, 114-50, To Remain Unbeaten

Posted on December 29, 2024 by Jim Kelly • 0 Comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 15/13 Tennessee improved to 12-0, shooting a season-high 53 percent from the field to run away from Winthrop on Sunday, 114-50, in front of a season-best crowd of 11,152 at Food City Center in the Lady Vols’ final game before SEC play. 

Senior forward Sara Puckett matched her season high of 17 points that she recorded in the previous game vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21 and added a season-best eight rebounds to lead six Lady Vols scoring in double figures. Joining her in double digits were Ruby Whitehorn with 16, Jewel Spear and Kaniya Boyd with 15, Zee Spearman with 14 and Tess Darby with 10.  Boyd’s point total surpassed her previous career scoring high of six vs. Richmond on Dec. 20, and her four assists equaled her personal best vs. Liberty on Nov. 16 and tied Samara Spencer for team honors vs. the Eagles on Sunday.

Winthrop, which fell to 6-7, featured only one player scoring in double figures. Amourie Porter contributed 14 points to her team’s cause, making most of them via an 8-for-8 day at the charity stripe.

The Lady Vols came out sizzling, bolting to an 11-0 lead out of the gate on a three-pointer and paint jumper from Puckett and back-to-back threes from Boyd and Spencer. After Winthrop got on the board via a Leonor Paisana trey at the 5:42 mark, a Darby long ball and Talaysia Cooper putback sent UT into the 4:07 media break with an 18-5 cushion. Another Spencer trey and two more from Spear enabled the Big Orange to finish the first quarter seven of 13 beyond the arc and push the score to 35-13 after one.

After the Eagles notched the first two scores of the second stanza to cut the gap to 35-17 with 9:18 to go, a Jillian Hollingshead old-fashioned three-point play and buckets by Whitehorn and Alyssa Latham lifted Tennessee to a 42-17 lead with 7:10 remaining. Layups by Darby and Cooper and a putback by Latham then propelled the Lady Vols into the 4:53 media timeout with a 48-20 advantage. After a pair of Winthrop free throws by Porter trimmed UT’s lead to 26, 48-22, the Big Orange got a layup from Whitehorn, a steal and score from Spear and single free throws from Spencer and Boyd to build the advantage to a game-high 32, 54-22, with 3:12 on the clock. WU managed to hold the home team without a three in the period, but UT nonetheless outscored the visitors 26-19 to possess a 61-32 edge at the intermission. 

Tennessee pushed the lead to 34 by the 5:41 mark in the third quarter, getting a steal and layup from Darby and a bucket down low by Spearman before Olivia Wagner’s response made it 71-39 and elicited a timeout from the Winthrop coaching staff with 5:20 to go. Spear’s three with 5:12 to go extended the gap to a game-best 35 at 74-39, and that’s what the score remained until the 4:52 media break. UT increased it to a 37-point cushion through the end of the third, as Whitehorn’s layup with 50 ticks left sent the teams into the final 10 minutes with the Lady Vols up, 83-46.

The roll continued into the final frame, as Tennessee put together an 11-2 run to take a 94-48 lead at the 6:26 media timeout, coming on a pair of Spearman layups and another by Spear on the break. Thirteen of 14 Lady Vols who played would etch points in the official scorebook on the afternoon, with the Big Orange closing the game with a 31-4 blitz over the final 10 minutes that included a 17-0 spree from the 8:57 mark until 3:29 remained.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols open SEC play on Thursday, as they make the trip to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) at Reed Arena, with the contest being carried on SECN+ but paired with the Aggies’ radio broadcast. UT fans can turn down the SECN+ sound and listen to the Lady Vol Network radio broadcast by Brian Rice. Rice’s voice can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.

TWELVE STRAIGHT WINS: First-year head coach Kim Caldwell has led the Lady Vols to a 12-0 start, marking only the seventh time that has happened in program history. The 12-0 beginning is the best by Tennessee since it opened up at 15-0 in 2017-18. Caldwell has notched her second-best start to a season in her ninth year as a head coach. Top honors go to her 2021-22 GSU squad that started 29-0 on its way to 35-1 and an NCAA Division II national title. 

PUCKETT MEANS BUSINESS: Senior guard Sara Puckett has produced back-to-back double-digit contests, draining six total field goals and one trey. Puckett finished with a season-high-tying 17 points, a season-best eight rebounds along with two steals. The Muscle Shoals, Ala., native logged her sixth double-digit game of the season. Her other 17-point contest came against Tulsa on Dec. 21.

ROCKING ON ROCKY TOP: A stellar crowd of 11,152 fans piled into Food City Center, cheering the Lady Vols to victory. It marked the first 10,000-plus crowd since Tennessee played LSU on Feb. 25, 2024, welcoming 15,281 fans. It was one of two contests during the 2023 season that compiled over 10,000 fans. The other game during the 2023 season came against South Carolina on February 15, 2023, with 11,073 fans in attendance. The last time a Tennessee squad eclipsed a 10,000-plus crowd before January was against Stanford (10,017) on Dec. 18, 2021. The last time the Lady Vols lured a 10,000-plus crowd against a non-power-four opponent before the month of January was against Stetson (10,705) on Dec. 30, 2015.

100-POINT DUB: Tennessee has reached 100 points six times in 2024-25. The all-time record for the Lady Vols is seven in 1987-88. That gives the program 93 all-time regular-season scoring efforts of 100 or more points through the Winthrop game. UT had 101 in the opener vs. Samford on Nov. 5, 109 vs. Liberty on Nov. 16, 102 vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 26, a school and SEC-record 139 vs. N.C. Central on Dec. 14 and 102 vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21.

12-0 WITH 11 DIFFERENT FIVES: The Lady Vols have begun the year 12-0 with 11 different starting lineups and 10 different players appearing in the first five. Tennessee repeated a previous quintet vs. Memphis but had new ones in the past three contests. Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Sara Puckett, Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn opened Sunday’s contest. Spencer leads the team with 12 starts, Whitehorn follows with ten and Spearman notched her eighth. Spear tallied her sixth and Puckett added her sixth versus the Eagles.

FAST, FURIOUS AND FUN: The Lady Vols forced Winthrop to turn the ball over a total of 30 times during Sunday’s win, posting a 45-8 advantage on points off turnovers. Nine of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 22 miscues: NC Central (44), Samford (37), Western Carolina (37), UT Martin (31), Iowa (30), Winthrop (30), Liberty (25), Tulsa (23) and MTSU (22). Tennessee’s defensive efforts held the Eagles to only four points in the fourth quarter, the lowest point total in a quarter by a foe this season. The Lady Vols also held Winthrop to a 29-percent field goal percentage, the lowest of any opponent this season. Tennessee also collected a pair of 10-second violations versus the Eagles. This season, UT’s press has resulted in 15 10-second violations by opponents through twelve games.