JUST IN:Lady Vols basketball earns signature win of season, defeats UConn………Read more 

 

 

Lady Vols basketball finally earned its first signature win of Kim Caldwell’s tenure by defeating UConn, 80-76.

No. 19 Tennessee (17-5) has come close against several ranked teams this season, losing by one to Oklahoma and two to LSU. Against the No. 5 Huskies (21-3), it was different.

With 12 seconds to go, Tennessee was able to get a clutch layup from Zee Spearman to go up four points. A stop sealed the win for the Lady Vols.

Here’s how the Lady Vols defeated the Huskies for the first time in 18 years.

Huskies take narrow lead to break

Connecticut led Tennessee, 39-37, at halftime. The Lady Vols had a slightly better shooting percentage than the Huskies but turned the ball over four more times. Both teams made three 3-pointers.

Tennessee took advantage of having nine different scorers in the first half, including seven points each from Jewel Spear and Spearman. Sarah Strong led UConn with 12 points and five rebounds.

The Lady Vols were unable to take advantage of Paige Bueckers taking two early personal fouls and sitting for the last half of the second quarter.

13-0 run puts Lady Vols ahead

Samara Spencer sparked the Lady Vols with a 6-0 run by herself, giving Tennessee the lead and forcing a timeout from Geno Auriemma. Tennessee extended that to a 13-0 run, going up by as many as nine.

When the dust settled at the end of the third quarter, Tennessee led by five. Spencer and Strong each had 14 points, leading the game. The Lady Vols had 10 minutes to prove Thursday’s game was going to be different than prior close losses.

Tennessee closes out win

With a big push in the fourth quarter, Connecticut cut Tennessee’s lead to two with under four minutes to play. The Huskies tied the game with two free throws, but Spear’s three but Tennessee back in front.

Bueckers made a three with over two minutes left to tie the game at 74, and Spearman put Tennessee back into the lead. The Lady Vols got the ball back with a forced turnover.

Two free throws from Cooper were matched by an inside layup from Strong. Tennessee needed a clean inbound with 30.1 seconds left to hold onto possession, and they got it. A layup from Spearman put the Lady Vols up four with 12 seconds left.

From there, Tennessee got a stop to defeat Connecticut for the first time since a 2007 win in Hartford.