KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women's basketball bounced back from back-to-back losses and beat Missouri at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday night.
The 13th ranked Lady Vols jumped out to a 13-5 lead as a guard/forward Tess Darby knocked down a couple of three-pointers to help spark the team.
Missouri came back and it was tied at 17-17 at the end of the first quarter. Tennessee had nine turnovers in the first stanza, seven coming after they captured the 13-5 lead.
It was tied at 21-21 when the Lady Vols defense helped them jump out to a double-digit lead. Tennessee jumped out to a 32-22 lead where they didn't allow Missouri a field goal for nearly 6 minutes. The Tigers scored a few buckets right before halftime though, as the Lady Vols took a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
Tennessee went on another run to start the third quarter. Forward Alexus Dye played a huge part by rebounding and scoring, guard Jordan Horston contributed too and the team went on an 18-2 run to start the second half to make the score 50-29.
Tennessee outscored Missouri 26-6 in the third quarter.
Dye scored all 11 of her points in the third quarter. Horston secured a double-double just 25 seconds into the second half. She finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
Guard/forward Rae Burrell and Darby each had 11 points in the win.
Tennessee improves to 20-4 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
The Lady Vols play again on Sunday inside Thompson-Boling Arena against Vanderbilt.
