WICHITA, Kan. — Tennessee women's basketball had their season come to an end on Saturday in the Sweet 16 with a 76-64 loss to Louisville.
The Lady Vols struggled in the first half with turnovers, which allowed the Cardinals to get out to a double-digit lead early in the second quarter. Tennessee had eight first-half turnovers, Louisville turned that into 9 points.
Tennessee shot just 29% from the field through the first two quarters, shooting just 1 of 12 from three-point range.
Louisville led by as many as 15 points, but Tennessee stormed back much like they've done all season when they found themselves down by a lot in games.
Lady Vols guard/forward Tess Darby got hot from three-point range in the third quarter, making three triples. Guard/forward Rae Burrell also hit a three-pointer right before the third quarter came to an end and all of a sudden Tennessee was down just five points going into the fourth quarter.
They got within two points to start the fourth quarter after two free throws. by Alexus Dye. Louisville surged a little bit after that rattling off eight straight points to get back up by 10 points at 63-53 with 6:38 to go. Cardinals Emily Engstler scored five of those points.
Burrell made a jumper and then scored on a layup after a Louisville turnover with 6:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee would get within five, but never closer than that. Louisville came up with the answers to stop the Lady Vols' momentum.
The Lady Vols finish the season with an overall record of 25-9. They made their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016.
