COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Lady Vols began a two-game road stretch with their first conference loss of the season against an impressive Texas A&M team on Sunday night. The team now sits at 3-1 in conference play after the 71-56 loss.
Tennessee's starting five included Rickea Jackson, Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin, Jasmine Powell and Jewel Spear.
Early on, both teams were tied up with eight points each five minutes into the game. The Aggies took the lead with a second chance layup to give them the two-point lead, 10-8.
At this point in the matchup, Texas A&M already accounted for six offensive boards, even with Rickea Jackson, Jillian Hollingshead, and Tamari Key simultaneously on the court.
Tennessee's offensive end needed more rhythm in the first quarter. The team went on a four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought until Hollingshead hit a jumper, and Key made a layup to cut into the Aggie's lead, 15-12.
Hollinghsead gave the Lady Vols a little more life with another jumper to end the quarter. Tennessee's decision-making and self-inflicted mistakes kept them down 18-14 ahead of the second quarter.
A Powell layup put Tennessee down by two, but she and Puckett turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions right after. The Aggies were leading 25-20 with 4:50 remaining in the half.
Texas A&M went on a 7-0 run to give them a double-digit lead, 32-22 — Tennessee's third straight game down by double-figures in the second quarter.
The Aggies ended the half on an 11-0 run, and Tennessee was down 36-22 heading into the locker room.
The Lady Vols totaled nine turnovers in the first half. Rickea Jackson led in scoring with eight points, and Powell and Hollinshead had four each, but from the field, the team was only shooting 32.3 percent.
Spear opened the second half scoring with a wide-open three, but Tennessee struggled to catch up with the Aggies, maintaining momentum on both ends. With five minutes left in the third, A&M remained in the lead, 42-31.
Jewel Spear missed a three, which led to a second chance A&M jumper to give it their largest lead at that point in the game, 48-31. That lead continued to build, and the Aggies went on a 4-0 run to end the quarter, 54-36.
Three Aggies had already scored in double-figures ahead of the fourth, while Tennessee had none. Rickea Jackson couldn't knock down a bucket in the third quarter, and at this point, a comeback felt out of reach with A&M's consistency on offense.
The Lady Vols shot 22-60 from the field, just 36.7 percent. The Aggies weren't much better, shooting 44.1 percent, but their defense was the primary reason for the outcome.
With the loss, Tennessee erased its SEC win streak and is now 3-1 in conference play. South Carolina is now the only undefeated team in the SEC.
Next up, the Lady Vols will stay on the road and head to Starkville, MS, to play Mississippi State on Jan. 18. The tip-off for that matchup is at 7 p.m.
