Tennessee takes down Texas A&M on Senior Night

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – 5 seniors had been acknowledged in Senior Night time festivities previous to Thursday’s contest, and all 5 contributed considerably as Tennessee received its ultimate common season dwelling sport of the season, 75-66, over Texas A&M at Meals Metropolis Middle.

The Girl Vols (17-10, 10-5 SEC), who had fallen to the Aggies, 71-56, in Faculty Station on Jan. 14, earned some closure over that setback and secured one other stable NET win within the course of over A&M (18-10, 6-9 SEC), which got here in ranked No. 39.

Ahead Rickea Jackson led the Girl Vols together with her eighth 20+ scoring effort of the marketing campaign, connecting on 9 of 14 pictures from the sector and eight of 9 from the free throw line to complete with a game-high 27 factors. Jewel Spear loved a 6-of-10 night from the sector, together with 2-of-5 from lengthy vary, to web 16 factors. Tamari Key chipped in 9 factors and 7 rebounds, eclipsing 1,000 profession factors within the course of, Tess Darby tallied seven factors and 6 rebounds and Jasmine Powell dished out a game-high six assists.

Texas A&M was paced by Solé Williams, who tossed in 20 factors. Janiah Barker and Sahara Jones additionally had been in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.

After the Aggies struck first within the sport on a Barker three-pointer, the Girl Vols responded with a pair of Jackson free throws and a trey from Spear to take a 5-3 lead by the 8:12 mark. A Darby three and consecutive buckets by Spear pushed the UT benefit to 5, 12-7, with 5:15 to go within the first interval. After a Barker jumper, the Huge Orange put collectively an 8-0 run, ignited by a Jillian Hollingshead jumper and aided by layups from Darby, Karoline Striplin and Jackson to surge forward 20-11 with 1:56 remaining within the opening stanza. Texas A&M ended the spree and scored twice earlier than Striplin countered with a 3 to finish the scoring, giving her crew a 23-15 cushion after one.

The Aggies put factors on the board first once more within the second body on an Aicha Coulibaly steal and layup, however Sarah Puckett shortly responded with a 3 to make it 26-17 Girl Vols with 8:00 left within the quarter. After Tineya Hylton drained a 3 for A&M, Jackson knocked down a pair of charity tosses and Key labored inside for a layup to offer UT its largest lead, 30-20, with 7:13 to go. Texas A&M chipped away on the lead and closed inside three, 32-29, with 2:29 left on a Williams jumper, however a Jillian Hollingshead free throw and Spear three pushed the lead again to 36-29 with 42 seconds left. She and her teammates would take that rating into the locker room on the half.

Jackson christened the second half with an extended ball to spice up the lead again to 10, 39-29. A Key layup and Jackson free throw adopted to increase the benefit to 11, 42-31, on the 8:12 mark. Puckett then pocketed a nook three and Darby deposited a pair of free throws out of the third quarter media timeout to construct UT’s largest lead at 47-34 on the 6:16 mark. The Aggies would not go away, whittling the hole to 4, 49-45, with 3:32 left. Jackson and Spear, although, went to work to stem the tide. Jackson, who registered 13 factors within the interval, scored 5 straight on a pair of layups and a free throw to rebuild the result in 9, 54-45, with 2:21 remaining. Jackson and Spear then mixed for 5 extra charity tosses to ship Tennessee into the fourth with a 60-49 lead.

The Girl Vols took management on the outset of the ultimate interval, shifting forward 66-49 with 6:41 to go courtesy of a six-point barrage by way of a jumper by Jackson, a driving layup by Spear and a turnaround jumper by Key. A layup by Kaiya Wynn and yet one more Jackson layup helped Tennessee construct its largest lead, 70-52, with 5:41 left. Texas A&M stored scrapping, nevertheless, reeling off 9 straight factors and trimming UT’s result in 70-61 on a Jones layup with 2:42 left on the clock. A Key free throw and layups by Jackson and Key, although, ballooned the Girl Vols’ lead again to 14 by the 1:36 mark. The Aggies continued to use stress down the stretch however might get no nearer than 9 the remainder of the best way.

UP NEXT: Tennessee closes out the common season on the street on Sunday, making its option to Columbia to face No. 1/1 South Carolina for the second time this season. The Girl Vols and Gamecocks will meet at midday at Colonial Life Area, simply two weeks after USC prevailed in Knoxville, 66-55, in a contest that featured 14 lead adjustments and 11 ties. Sunday’s sport can be televised by ESPN and carried on Girl Vol Community stations statewide and by way of dwell stream on UTSports.com.

TK HITS 1,000 – With 9 factors vs. Texas A&M, Tamari Key (1,004 pts.) eclipsed 1,000 profession factors, turning into the fiftieth Girl Vol all-time to attain that many for the Huge Orange. She additionally grew to become the fifth participant on this 12 months’s roster to personally attain 1,000 factors, whether or not all at UT or with one other program. That ties a program finest additionally set by final 12 months’s squad for many 1K scorers on the identical squad.

CAN’T STOP KEA: With 27 factors vs. the Aggies, Rickea Jackson notched her eighth 20+ level contest this season and twenty fourth in two seasons on Rocky Prime, surpassing Rennia Davis to take sole possession of fifth on Tennessee’s profession checklist for many 20-point video games.

JACKSON RISES ON UT’S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST: Rickea Jackson moved her profession level complete to 2,121 between her time at Mississippi State and Tennessee. With that sum, she moved previous Tamika Catchings (2,113, 1997-2001) into sixth place amongst all-time Girl Vols, together with transfers. Jackson stands 16 factors shy of catching fifth-place Candace Parker (2,137, 2005-08).

TESS MOVING UP: Hitting one three-pointer vs. the Aggies, Tess Darby is now tied for fifth place with Ariel Massengale on Tennessee’s profession three-pointers checklist with 164. The senior has led UT in three pointers in a sport on seven events in 2023-24, and he or she has hit a trey in 18 totally different video games this season.

JEWEL SHOWS OUT VS. THE AGGIES: Jewel Spear posted a stat-stuffing effort towards Texas A&M, recording 16 factors, 5 rebounds, three assists and a steal. Her 16 factors marked her seventeenth sport with double-digit scoring this season. She had a game-best two treys, notching her thirteenth contest main the Girl Vols from deep and now has a team-high 53 in 2023-24.

REBOUNDING SUCCESS CONTINUES: The Girl Vols posted a formidable efficiency on the glass, out-rebounding Texas A&M 44-28. Tennessee ranks No. 10 nationally and fourth within the SEC in rebounds per sport (43.62) via Feb. 26. UT is 16-1 in video games once they out-perform their foes on the boards.

GETTING JAZZY WITH IT: Jasmine Powell led all gamers with six assists on Thursday night time, upping her season complete to 111. In her third straight 12 months with greater than 100 dimes delivered, Powell is simply 5 away from tallying the perfect season complete in her profession. She is averaging 4.3 assists in all video games and 5.1 in SEC contests in 2023-24.

CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN, LADY VOL NATION: The Girl Vols completed with a season attendance common of 8,880 followers per sport, giving this system its highest quantity since averaging 9,184 in the course of the 2016-17 marketing campaign. Tennessee registered an 11-4 report at dwelling in the course of the 2023-24 common season, together with a 6-2 mark in convention play.