By Allison Seaton
Photo Credit: Emma Corona/Tennessee Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Lady Vols (5-5) took on the Eastern
Kentucky University Colonels (8-2) on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols pulled away with a big fourth quarter, totaling the final score to 72-63. Such a close game, despite the win, doesn’t raise the confidence level between viewers. After three consecutive losses, Tennessee needed to find their way back into the win column.
Tennessee lost possession of the ball 22 times, compared to 18 turnovers from the Colonels.
Right out of the gate, the Lady Vols didn’t hesitate to get on the board. By the end of the first quarter, they were ahead of the Colonels (15-9).
Tennessee’s struggle with turnovers and shooting played a major role with their difficult first half. They had a total of 10 turnovers by halftime and shot 34.3% from the field.
“22 turnovers is too many,” said Head Coach, Kellie Harper, “I’m gonna live with turnovers
because we’re aggressive.”
Despite the total number of turnovers by Tennessee, they made up for them by scoring 21
points off of EKU’s 18.
Tennessee out rebounded the Colonels, which helped result in their second half victory. Their shooting also improved. Tennessee led with points from the paint (34-24).
“We didn’t settle in the paint and score, it took us a while,” said Harper, “We did not shoot it well during the first half from the perimeter. They passed up some shots in the second half to look at the paint.”
Tennessee’s senior guards, Jewel Spear and Tess Darby, started hitting 3-pointers during the second half. Fifth-year senior, Jasmine Powell, discussed how great it is when the guards have control of the ball, allowing the team to push the ball down the court.
Going into the fourth quarter, Tennessee was only ahead 55-51. Managing to score five more points than EKU during the fourth, 17-12, Powell gave the Lady Vols their final edge by adding a layup at the 1:22 mark. This allowed Tennessee to regain control of the of the ball for the rest of the game.
The Lady Vols will be at the Food City Center to host Wofford on Dec. 19. The game is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.