KNOXVILLE— A season-high 14,716 people were on hand to watch the annual “Live Pink, Bleed Orange” game, played in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Though the Lady Vols struggled to put Vanderbilt away, the home crowd wasn’t disappointed as Tennessee picked up the 83-64 victory. The home team led 39-29 at the half, and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the final 20 minutes of action. For a slide show of images from today’s win, click here.

Simmons led the Lady Vols with 17 points.
Photo by Randy Sartin

Offense: Five Lady Vols scored in double-figures, with Jasmine Jones reaching that mark in the first half. She led Tennessee with 10 points on 5-6 shooting before the break, and finished the game with 12 points on just eight attempts. Her touch from midrange combined with her athleticism adds another dimension to this Lady Vol team.

“I thought she was huge today, she’s an x-factor for us. When we need a stop or a rebound, she seems to get it,” Warlick said.

Meighan Simmons paced the Lady Vols with 17 points, and came up with big shots whenever Vanderbilt made a run. She was 6-13 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc. Taber Spani had 12, Massengale added 14, and Graves scored 13.

The Lady Vols shot 55% from the field and 41% from 3-point range.

Defense: Tennessee had no answer for Vanderbilt’s Jasmine Lister. The 5-4 junior guard, who came into the contest averaging 11.4 points per game, led all scorers with 24 points. She repeatedly broke down the Lady Vol
defense with her dribble penetration, and showed a nice touch from 3 point range, where she was 5 for 10.

The Lady Vols bit on shot fakes multiple times, and the Commodores scored a multitude of points as Tennessee defenders went flying by. “Today was an example of us being undisciplined on the defensive end,” Warlick said.

Vanderbilt shot 44% from the field, including 33% from 3-point range.

Final Take: Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick offered the best summation of the contest as she opened her post-game press conference, “We got the job done, we had balanced scoring and that’s huge for us.”

The Lady Vols excelled offensively, and defended well enough to beat Vanderbilt. They got the job done, yes, but need to continue to show development on defense to make a deep run in March. With the victory, Tennessee remains tied atop the SEC standings with Texas A&M.

 Up Next: The Lady Vols host Auburn, Thursday at 7 p.m.