KNOXVILLE—The Lady Vols welcomed Missouri to the SEC with a superb performance and never trailed in the 84-39 victory. Not surprisingly, Holly Warlick’s squad dominated in every major statistical category. Missouri shot just 19.7% from the field, while the Lady Vols converted 40.5% of their attempts. Tennessee won the battle of the boards 57-49 and forced 22 Missouri turnovers. The Lady Vols were the clear aggressors, attempting 26 free throws to Missouri’s five.

In sharp contrast to their last two games, Tennessee jumped on the Tigers early en route to a 48-21 halftime lead.

Graves nearly finished with a double-double.
Photo by Reed Carringer

“We got the ball inside and we took good shots. I thought they would come out and run us 2-3, so we planned ahead for that. I thought we took really good looks and we moved the ball and we didn’t quick-shoot the basketball and we made them work on defense,” Warlick said. “I’m very pleased. We got the ball inside, and for us to get the ball inside, that’s big for us when we can get looks and get a little two-foot shot.”

Isabelle Harrison anchored the Lady Vols in the paint with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Bashaara Graves nearly collected a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Tennessee outscored Missouri in the paint 40-6. Coach Warlick was quick to praise the play of Graves and Harrison.

“We want to go inside and have a lot of confidence in those two. They’re kind of our rock inside. They play solid. They play hard. Not too often do they take bad shots. Now, they didn’t shoot 100 percent, but the looks they had, I want them to take because they do their work before the ball gets there and I have a lot of confidence in them and how they play inside.”

Meighan Simmons, who continues to play at a high level, led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points on 6-15 shooting. The guard is averaging 16.6 points on the year. Senior Taber Spani turned in another solid performance with 11 points on 4-8 shooting.

Warlick was pleased with her team’s offensive effort.

“I love us to have balanced scoring. I don’t want us to rely on just a Meighan Simmons. Or Bashaara (Graves). I want us to be able to score the basketball. That makes us difficult to defend. If somebody has an off night, we know somebody can step in and take up the slack. When you look down and see four people in double figures, that’s awesome for us.”

It’s exactly that kind of balance that’s given the Lady Vols a 6-2 record against ranked teams, and it’s that kind of balance which gives them the potential to play deep into March.

Up Next: Tennessee travels to Florida for a matchup with the Gators, 11:30 a.m. Sunday. TV: ESPNU.