BATON ROUGE, La. — The third-ranked LSU women's basketball team handed Tennessee its first SEC loss of the season behind a strong fourth quarter on Monday night in Baton Rouge.
Tennessee turned the ball over six times in just over four minutes in the final frame and the Tigers used it to go on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter on their way to a 76-68 victory.
The Lady Vols' defense did a nice job defending LSU star center Angel Reese in the first half and limited her to just four points and four rebounds, but senior guard Alexis Morris picked up the slack for 13 points at the break. Morris finished the contest with 31 points, and Reese turned it on in the second half for 18 points and 17 rebounds.
UT's offensive rebounding was a huge factor in their success in the first half. The Lady Vols had 12 offensive boards to LSU's three at the break, but the Lady Vols only managed two in the second half while the Tigers had 14 offensive rebounds.
Lady Vol guard Jordan Walker was a standout performer for Tennessee in the loss. Walker put up a season-high 19 points and added five rebounds and three assists. Rickea Jackson once again filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Tennessee fell to 16-8 this season and 8-1 in SEC play as the Lady Vols are still looking for their first victory against a ranked team this season. LSU improved to a still-perfect 9-0 in-conference and 21-0 this season.
The Lady Vols return home on Thursday, Feb. 2 to host Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
