Knoxville, TN – Scoring 73 points in the final three quarters, the No. 5/6 Tennessee women’s basketball team used a balanced offensive effort to down No. 19/20 Kentucky, 84-58, Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game marked the annual We Back Pat game, bringing awareness and recognition to the Pat Summitt Foundation in its fight against Alzheimer’s disease.
Rae Burrell and Keyen Green tied for the team lead in scoring, dropping 14 points apiece. Burrell was white-hot from beyond the arc, going 4-of-4 on 3-pointers in the game. It was a defining day for Green at Tennessee as she tied her UT high in points and rebounds, pulling down seven. She added three assists, her most since joining the Big Orange in 2020.
The balance showed in the stat sheet as Tennessee was 10-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols also outscored UK in the paint, 40-28. UT pulled down 21 offensive boards, its fifth game this season with more than 20. That translated to a 22-8 advantage in second-chance points. Led by Burrell and Green’s contributions, Tennessee recorded 39 bench points to Kentucky’s nine.
Tennessee and Kentucky traded baskets early, with neither team taking more than a two-point lead. The Lady Vol offense then went cold, but their defense kept them in the game. Tennessee went on a five-minute scoring drought, but as the buzzer sounded in the first quarter, UT only trailed by six, 17-11.
The Lady Vols came back with a complete second-quarter performance, outscoring the Wildcats, 27-10, in the period. UT opened the quarter on an 11-2 run as Burrell drained a pair of 3-pointers, Walker also made one from deep and Key laid one in from under the hoop. Burrell was on fire for the stanza, scoring 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the floor and made all four of their 3-point tries, taking a 38-27 lead into the break.
Tennessee epitomized offensive efficiency through the middle part of the third quarter, scoring on nine consecutive possessions. Horston and Green both posted seven points in the quarter, but Burrell drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer from way downtown to give the Lady Vols a 64-43 lead going to the fourth.
The fourth quarter saw more balance on the offensive end from Tennessee as six Lady Vols logged points and 12 different players checked into the contest. Puckett and Walker both scored five while Green pulled down two boards.
Next Up For UT Lady Vols Basketball
After the quick turnaround, the Tennessee women’s basketball team will have time to rest and recover, as they face No. 18/15 Georgia in Athens next Sunday, January 23rd.
Box Score
Kentucky 58, Tennessee 84
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| Kentucky | 17 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 58 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 27 | 26 | 20 | 84 |
Kentucky Stats
| # | Name | P | Pts | FG | 3P | FT | Rb | Ast | Stl | Bk | PF | TO | Min | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. BENTON | G | 0 | 0-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 18 | |
| 10 | R. HOWARD | G | 24 | 11-21 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 35 | |
| 12 | T. HUNT | G | 5 | 2-7 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 25 | |
| 3 | J. MASSENGILL | G | * | 13 | 6-11 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 35 |
| 44 | D. EDWARDS | F | 7 | 3-7 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 30 | |
| 00 | O. OWENS | C | * | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 11 | J. WALKER | G | * | 7 | 2-3 | 1-2 | 2-4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| 21 | N. LEVERETTER | F | * | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 34 | E. KING | G | * | 2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 58 | 25-57 | 4-18 | 4-8 | 29 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 17 | 19 | |||||
| 43.9 | 22.2 | 50.0 | ||||||||||||
Tennessee Stats
| # | Name | P | Pts | FG | 3P | FT | Rb | Ast | Stl | Bk | PF | TO | Min | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | A. DYE | F | 9 | 4-10 | 0-1 | 1-1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | |
| 20 | T. KEY | C | 6 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | |
| 21 | T. DARBY | G | 9 | 3-8 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |
| 25 | J. HORSTON | G | 11 | 5-13 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 29 | |
| 4 | J. WALKER | G | 10 | 3-8 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | |
| 0 | B. MILES | G | * | 2 | 1-4 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 16 |
| 1 | S. PUCKETT | F | 7 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| 10 | J. RENNIE | G | * | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | K. STRIPLIN | F | * | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | R. BURRELL | F | 14 | 5-8 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | |
| 13 | K. GREEN | F | 14 | 5-9 | 0-0 | 4-6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22 | |
| 31 | E. SAUNDERS | C | * | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | K. WYNN | G | * | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 84 | 32-74 | 10-20 | 10-12 | 50 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 18 | |||||
| 43.2 | 50.0 | 83.3 | ||||||||||||
Team Stats
| Kentucky | Tennessee | |
|---|---|---|
| Reb | 29 | 50 |
| OReb | 6 | 21 |
| DReb | 23 | 29 |
| Ast | 9 | 19 |
| TO | 19 | 18 |
| BnP | 9 | 39 |
| Blk | 2 | 2 |
| FbP | 19 | 12 |
| Stl | 10 | 9 |
| PoT | 14 | 14 |
| Paint | 28 | 40 |
| SCP | 8 | 22 |
| PF | 17 | 11 |
| TF | 0 | 0 |
| Pos | 0 | 0 |
