OXFORD, Miss — Editor's Note: This story's headline was updated to reflect that Ole Miss won the game, instead of the Lady Vols.
After a week between games, the Lady Vols traveled to Oxford for a competitive matchup against Ole Miss on Sunday.
Head coach Kellie Harper said earlier in the week that her team's defense needs to travel, and Tennessee's offense must be equally ready for a physical team on the road.
Tennessee's starting five included Rickea Jackson, Jasmine Powell, Karoline Striplin, Jewel Spear and Sara Puckett.
It was a back-and-forth game early between the two teams. Jackson and Spear scored Tennessee's first 14 points.
Spear went 2-2 from beyond the arc in just the first four minutes and 30 seconds of play. A Sara Puckett layup made it a 16-12 score before the first media timeout.
After the break, a personal foul called on Tamari Key sent Snudda Collins to the line. Collins made her shots and Ole Miss was down by two, 19-17.
Tess Darby knocked down a three and Jillian Hollingshead scored a layup to give the Lady Vols a six-point lead to end the first quarter, 27-21.
Tennessee went 4-6 from deep in the first quarter. Against the Rebels, the Lady Vols put up a stronger start than any other SEC game they played this season and scored a season-high 27 points in the first quarter.
In the second, Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run to tie up the game, 29-29. Ole Miss was scoring on its offensive boards. The Rebels accounted for nine with 4 minutes left in the first half.
Containing Kharyssa Richardson was a battle for Tennessee. She had 13 points on 6-7 shooting with 3:17 left in the half, and her performance played a significant part in the cut-ins to Tennessee's leads.
The Rebels went on another 6-0 run to take the lead, 39-37, but you can always rely on Jackson to make a bucket when needed. She hit a contested jumper to tie it back up at 39 with 48 seconds before the clock ran out.
At this point, Jackson was leading in points with 13. However, the Lady Vols didn't score a single three in the quarter and only shot 31.3% from the field.
Darby knocked down a three in the fourth quarter to keep Tennessee within one, 63-62. The Rebels went on a 6-0 run to keep them ahead, but another Spear three made it a four-point game, 69-64.
Tennessee could not contain Richarson; she soon hit a three of her own, but Jasmine Powell hit one too on the next possession to stay within four, 74-70.
On Tennessee's next possession, it was Jewel again hitting shots when they mattered most. She knocked down a jumper to make it a two-point game, 74-72.
In the last 26 seconds, Ole Miss was up five, and Tennessee could not score quickly. The Lady Vols turned over the ball for the 15th time and handed a win to the Rebels.
Ole Miss beat Tennessee for the first time since January of 2017.
Jewel Spear finished with a season-high 30 points, and Jackson scored 15 of her own.
Tennessee will look to get back in the win column against Georgia on Feb. 1. Tip-off starts at 7 p.m.
