Lady Vols come up in clutch to beat UConn

By AL LESAR

Associated Press

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Zee Spearman scored 18 points, including a basket with 12 seconds left, to lead No. 19 Tennessee to an 80-76 win over No. 5 UConn on Thursday night.

The Lady Vols (17-5) led 78-76 when Jewel Spear found Spearman for the basket. It was Tennessee’s first victory over the Huskies (21-3) since 2007. The Lady Vols had lost all four meetings since the rivalry was renewed in 2020.

Samara Spencer scored 14, Spear had 12 and Talaysia Cooper added 11.

Sarah Strong scored 18 points for the Huskies. Paige Bueckers collected 14, Kk Arnold had 11 and Azzi Fudd 10.

Strong scored 12 points in the first half as UConn jumped to a 39-37 advantage.

Tennessee outrebounded the Huskies, 24-19, but shot just 18.8 percent from 3-point (3-of-16). UConn forced the Lady Vols into 10 turnovers.

Takeaways

UConn: Strong has rapidly grown into one of the top freshmen in the country. The 6-foot-2 forward has the strength to be a post presence and the agility to shoot 37 percent from 3-point range. She’s averaging 17 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Tennessee: Besides Top-10 battles with SEC foes South Carolina, Texas and LSU, the matchup against UConn will help the Lady Vols down the road come tournament time. Seeing the elite competition is a plus. Playing well in those game will be considered in seeding.

Key moment

UConn led 45-41 early in the third quarter. Tennessee held the Huskies scoreless for the next 4:20 while scoring 11 straight points to take the lead.

Key stat

Tennessee held a 46-34 rebounding advantage.

Up next

UConn will travel to Providence on Sunday, and Tennessee will visit No. 7 LSU Sunday.