KNOXVILLE—The No. 2 seed Lady Vols defeated No. 15 Oral Roberts 83-62 in first round NCAA Tournament action. Tennessee will play No. 10 Creighton Monday at 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN2). The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-5 lead before a Meighan Simmons layup tied the score at 7. A Simmons 3 less than a minute later put the Lady Vols in front at the 15:28 mark. Tennessee wouldn’t relinquish that lead on the way to a 44-31 halftime advantage. After the break, the Lady Vols turned up the heat and led by 20 with 15:50 to play. Oral Roberts never mounted a serious challenge to Tennessee’s advantage thereafter.

Massengale scored 13 points.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Offense: Four Lady Vols finished in double-figures in a game that saw Tennessee shoot 43.1%. Meighan Simmons led the way with 18 points (7-18 shooting), and recorded five rebounds and three steals. Simmons’ speed clearly bothered the Golden Eagle guards on both ends of the floor. Massengale  (13 points, 6 assists) spoke about that dimension after the win, “The speed that Meighan Simmons and I have, being able to put pressure on the other teams guards, is something we take pride in.”

Cierra Burdick recorded 13 points while Bashaara Graves scored 11 and pulled down seven rebounds. Ten Lady Vols played and scored in the game.

Defense: Oral Roberts finished the contest with three players in double-figures. Kevi Luper led all-scorers with 20 points, while Savanna Buck and Taylor Cooper each added 15 points. The Lady Vols held the Golden Eagles to 31.8% shooting and outrebounded the No. 15 seed by nine (48-39).

Isabelle Harrison returned to the court to provide a boost in the paint. Lady Vol head coach Holly Warlick offered her thoughts on Harrison’s play after the game, “She adds another dimension to our team. In all of our big games she’s not been available. It was good to see her get back on the floor. She made some good plays, had some good defensive stops, and rebounded the ball.”

Final Take: “It was a great win for us. Oral Roberts is a tough team, very well-coached…we’re excited to advance,” Warlick said in her post game comments. March is all about advancing, and Tennessee took care of business to ensure a round of 32 matchup with Creighton.