No. 6 seed Tennessee played in its 42nd straight NCAA tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Vols defeated No. 11 seed Green Bay in the 92-63 win at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC.
Both teams were efficient from the start. Sara Puckett opened up scoring with a nice finish in the paint. Early on, Green Bay went 3-4 from three, keeping the game close at 17 a piece with about three minutes in the first.
Rickea Jackson found Karoline Striplin down below for a nice layup to take the lead, 19-17. Green Bay's Maddy Schreiber scored off two offensive boards on back-to-back possessions to tie back up the game.
With 57 seconds left in the first, Tess Darby drove to the basket, and it was a two-point game, 23-21.
The hot shooting continued in the second quarter, with an effortless three from Jewel Spear. Spear went 5-0 against the Phoenix with 8:24 left in the half, making it a five-point game, 28-23.
Spear continued to light up from beyond the arc. She sank another bucket from deep to push the lead to ten points, 38-28.
With 2:10 left in the half, Tennessee was shooting 68% from the field. The Lady Vols brought aggression to the defensive end and poise on offense. To end the half, Tennessee went on a 16-2 run and didn't allow Green Bay to score in the last 5:50 seconds. UT led by 16 at the half, 44-28.
Tennessee continued to cruise past Green Bay in the third. Rickea Jackson dropped in an and-one bucket to extend UT's run to 12-3. The score was 62-37 with 5:22 left in the quarter.
Tess Darby worked into double figures with a three off an offensive board, giving the Lady Vols a 24-point lead. Daby was perfect from deep at this point, with about a minute remaining in the third.
The score was 70-44 heading into the last quarter.
Jillian Hollingshead scored her first points of the day with a turnaround jumper, extending Tennessee's lead to 33.
Avery Strickland got a steal and score in her NCAA Tournament debut, and the bench lit up. Edie Darby entered the game for her sister Tess a few minutes later. Tennessee led big from then on.
Jackson led in scoring with 26 points, her 12th 20-point performance of the season. Tennessee had ten other scorers on the day, including double-figure performances from Puckett, Spear and Darby.
The impressive 92-63 win advances the Lady Vols to the round of 32. Tennessee will play NC State on Monday.
