KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Sunday, the Tennessee Lady Vols fell to No. 13 LSU in a hard-fought battle inside Food City Center.
The fight and aggressiveness were prominent from both teams early on. Sara Puckett came up with an offensive board and drained a three from the corner to give Tennessee an early 5-2 lead.
However, stopping Hailey Van Lith was a struggle. She sank a jumper to extend a 7-0 tiger run, and the Lady Vols were having trouble keeping up with LSU's offense.
Tess Darby drained her first three for Tennessee on an inbound play out of a timeout. Her shot was followed by a huge Jillian Hollingshead jumper to even up the score 14-14.
At the end of the first quarter, Puckett was called for a foul, and she turned to the ref and mouthed the word "flop." The call gave LSU back the ball, and Van Lith knocked down another three to give LSU the lead before the second half, 19-16.
In those next ten minutes, the Lady Vols struggled to knock down buckets and take advantage of their offensive boards. Tamari Key was important early on, and Tennessee needed to start getting her paint points to keep up with the Tigers.
LSU shot 4-9 from beyond the arc, while the Lady Vols made two of their 11 attempts from deep. Those missed opportunities cost Tennessee in the first half, and the team trailed 38-26.
Tennessee outscored LSU 10-7 to start the half, but the Tigers were still leading 36-45 with just under five minutes to go in the third quarter.
Tess Darby made some impactful plays to end the quarter, one of them being a deep three to make it a two-point game, 47-45.
LSU continued to make buckets, but the Lady Vols were not far behind. Tamari Key made a tough bucket in the paint to once again make it a two-point game with just over nine minutes left to play, 50-48.
At this point, it was a back-and-forth game. After Key and Puckett collected a combined five points, Van Lith hurried up and sank five in herself to give the Tigers some breathing room. It was a seven-point game, 62-55, with five minutes to go.
LSU went on a 9-0 run with 2:47 remaining. Tennessee's offensive decision-making in the fourth quarter made it challenging to catch up to a Tiger team led by Van Lith, who was heating up late in the game. She had 26 points to end the contest and shot 50% from the field.
Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols in points with 16 and rebounds with 9. Key was the only other Lady Vol to score in double figures. She had 10.
An aggressive LSU team gave Tennessee a hard time throughout. The team shot just 31.3% from the field, and only sank 3-18 from deep.
Next, the Lady Vols take on Texas A&M at home for a 7 p.m. tip on Feb. 29.
