Tennessee (10-5 | 3-0 SEC) at Texas A&M (13-3 | 1-2 SEC)
Sunday, January 14th, 2024 | 4:00pm CT/5:00pm ET)
College Station, TX | Reed Arena | TV: ESPN
College Station, TX – The Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team (10-5, 3-0 SEC) begins a two-game stretch of road contests, beginning with a Sunday afternoon showdown at Texas A&M (13-3, 1-2 SEC).
The Lady Vols and Aggies are set to rumble in Reed Arena at 4:02pm CT (5:02pm ET), with ESPN televising.
UT, one of only four schools in the league still undefeated in league play, takes a season-best six-game winning streak into College Station. Kellie Harper‘s squad came from 12 down to defeat Florida, 88-81, on Thursday night, marking the squad’s third straight win after overcoming a double-digit second-quarter deficit.
The Big Orange improved to 6-1 with Rickea Jackson in action and to 5-0 with its current starting lineup of Jackson, Karoline Striplin, Sara Puckett, Jewel Spear and Jasmine Powell.
Texas A&M dropped an 87-70 decision at LSU on Thursday night, with its defense yielding its most points in 2023-24. The Aggies have proven stout defensively, allowing just 51.3 ppg in all games and 61.7 vs. league opponents.
Broadcast Details
Eric Frede (PxP) and Christy Thomaskutty (Analyst) will serve as the announce crew for the ESPN broadcast, calling their third straight UT game.
All games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play. Jay Lifford is the studio host.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then select the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
Air time is 30 minutes before tip-off.
Season Reset
After playing without All-America and SEC Player of the Year candidate Rickea Jackson for eight games from November 13th to December 10th and posting a 4-4 record during her absence, Tennessee has hit its stride since she was cleared to play following a lower leg injury.
The UT Lady Vols are 5-0 since Jackson returned to action and have built a six-game winning streak heading into the Texas A&M game.
In addition to getting Jackson back, UT has been bolstered by the continued improvement of 6-foot-6 center Tamari Key. The school’s all-time leading shot blocker was sidelined after eight games a year ago due to blood clots in her lungs and understandably has needed time to reacclimate to the rigors of the game.
Tennessee also has had to absorb the loss of reserve point guard Destinee Wells, who suffered a lower leg injury just prior to the Wofford game and is out for the season. Fifth-year standout Jasmine Powell has impressively picked up more of the load, and junior Kaiya Wynn has stepped in and proven to be a dependable and versatile back-up on both ends of the floor.
With the players available for the past five contests accepting their roles, the Lady Vols have competed cohesively as a team, with different players stepping forward each game and providing valuable contributions in starring and support capacities.
Trending Topics
UT joins South Carolina, LSU, and Vandy as the only teams unbeaten in SEC play.
Tennessee’s schedule ranks No. 9 on the NCAA’s Toughest Schedule Report, factoring in cumulative opposition (past and future games this season).
The UT Lady Vols are scoring 85.0 ppg. over their past five games, shooting 46.3 pct. from the field and 79.7 pct. at the FT line.
Rickea Jackson continues to average a double-double in all games (20.7 ppg., 10.1 rpg.) in 2023-24.
Only one player in UT history (Trish Roberts, 1976-77, 29.9 ppg., 14.2 rpg.) has ever averaged a double-double for a complete season.
Jewel Spear has blossomed in SEC play, averaging 16.0 ppg., shooting 58.3 pct. from the field (14-24) and 90.5 pct. from the charity stripe (19-21), and dishing five assists with only one turnover.
The Lady Vols hit their most free throws of the season vs. Florida (26 of 30) and notched their highest percentage (86.7).
Cue The Comeback Montage Music
After erasing double-digit second-quarter deficits, Tennessee has won its opening three SEC games over Auburn, Kentucky, and Florida.
On Thursday, the Lady Vols found themselves down 12 to Florida in the second quarter before evening the score at the half at 43 and going on to win, 88-81.
UT had bounced back from 11 and 17 points down to Auburn and Kentucky, respectively.
The Lady Vols also came from 10-down to Oklahoma in the third quarter to defeat the then No. 22/20 Sooners.
For the season, UT has come from behind to win eight of 15 games. For more info., please see the “Deficits Overcome By Tennessee” note on pages 11-12.
Looking Like A Second Half Team
The Lady Vols have outscored foes 136 to 85 (45.3 to 28.3) in the second half in three conference games.
For the season, Tennessee has out-pointed foes 623 to 527 (41.5 to 35.1) after halftime.
In SEC play, UT’s 69 third-quarter points (23.0) are substantially better than the 35 (11.7) of its opponents over the initial three contests.
You Have To Defend Them All
Tennessee features all five starters averaging double figures in scoring, including Rickea Jackson (20.7), Jewel Spear (12.0), Karoline Striplin (11.3), Sara Puckett (10.9) and Jasmine Powell (10.2).
In SEC play, the Lady Vols are averaging 83.3 points per game and shooting 48.6 percent from the field.
In 15 games, six different players have led UT in scoring. Karoline Striplin has done so five times, followed by Rickea Jackson (4), Sara Puckett and Jewel Spear (3), Jasmine Powell (2), and Destinee Wells (1).
Taking Advantage Of Charity (Stripe)
Tennessee is hitting free throws at a 74.4 percent clip overall, a mark that ranks No. 2 in the SEC this season and one that currently stands as the fourth-highest mark in school history.
In SEC play, UT has been even better, connecting at a rate of 81.2 percent, ranking third among SEC schools.
Jasmine Powell and Jewel Spear rank fifth in SEC play at 90.5 percent (19-21). Kaiya Wynn is 10th (81.8).
In all games, Spear hits 81.4, with Sara Puckett (81.0) and Rickea Jackson (78.8) hitting at the top rates.
Recapping The Last Game
Tennessee fended off a scrappy Florida team to extend its win streak to six games, taking an 88-81 victory over the Gators in Food City Center on Thursday.
For the third straight game in SEC play, the Lady Vols overcame a double-digit deficit to claim victory, this time overturning a 12-point UF advantage in the second quarter. The Lady Vols converted on 16 of 18 free-throw tries in the final frame to seal the victory.
Tennessee (10-5, 3-0 SEC) was led by senior Jewel Spear and junior Sara Puckett, who each fired in 20 points. Spear shot 50 percent from the field and 91 percent from the charity stripe on 10 made free throws, while Puckett went 4-of-5 from behind the arc for a season-best four treys. Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson was also a top producer with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Aliyah Matharu was the high scorer for Florida (9-6, 0-3 SEC) with 23 points. Leilani Correa was also in double digits with 12, and Alberte Rimdal and Zippy Broughton each finished with 11.
Postgame Notes vs. Florida
Comeback Kids
Tennessee has come from double digits down to win all three SEC games this season. The Lady Vols trailed Florida by 12, 35-23, with 5:53 remaining in the second quarter before rallying to a 43-all tie by halftime. The Lady Vols previously erased second-quarter deficits of 11 vs. Auburn and 17 vs. Kentucky to win those contests. This time, however, the Lady Vols made up the entire gap by intermission.
Sealing It At The Line
Tennessee made 26 of 30 free-throw attempts against Florida, the most the Lady Vols have completed from the charity stripe since last season’s contest at Mississippi State. UT went 37 of 44 vs. the Bulldogs in that contest on February 6th, 2023. Against the Gators Thursday night, the Big Orange closed out the game by hitting 16 of 18 tries in the fourth quarter and 21 of their 25 opportunities in the second half. UT’s 86.7-percent marksmanship also was a season best.
Big Night For Puckett
Sara Puckett co-led Tennessee with a personal SEC high of 20 points, ranking as the second-best scoring output of her career behind a career-topping 24 vs. Memphis on November 13th. The junior forward got off to a fast start, dropping a trio of three-pointers against the Gators in the first five minutes of the game that tied her season high of three-balls for an entire contest.
She finished with a career-best 4-of-5 night behind the arc and was eight of 12 from the field on the evening. She also matched Rickea Jackson as UT’s leader in rebounds with eight, equaling her season-best first recorded vs. Oklahoma on November 25th.
Spear Strong Again in SEC
Jewel Spear tallied 20 points to tie Sara Puckett as Tennessee’s scoring leader vs. UF, marking the first time she has produced back-to-back 20-point efforts as a Lady Vol. She had 21 vs. Kentucky in the previous game. Spear was five of 10 from the field and 10 of 11 from the charity stripe vs. Florida. She also grabbed six rebounds and tied her season high with three assists.
Key Paint Production
Tamari Key tied her season high with nine points vs. Florida. Key went three for three in the first quarter and finished with six points by the end of the first half, already her second-highest scoring output of the campaign behind a nine-point effort vs. Ohio State on December 3rd. The 6-foot-6 redshirt senior wound up four of five from the field in 15 minutes of duty vs. the Gators.
UT-TAMU Series Notes
UT is 4-2 in Knoxville, 2-4 in College Station, and 4-1 at neutral sites vs. the Aggies.
The Big Orange women are 8-7 vs. A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC.
A&M is 2-0 in overtime games vs. UT, with both of those taking place in College Station.
In the initial meeting in Knoxville between these teams on February 28th, 2013, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give UT an SEC regular-season championship on the Lady Vols’ home court.
Kellie Harper is 2-3 all-time vs. the Aggies, including 2-2 as Tennessee’s head coach with victories in the last two meetings.
Junior Tamari Key blocked a career-best 11 shots against TAMU on January 6th, 2022, ranking second all-time in Lady Vol single-game records behind Kelley Cain’s 12 vs. LSU on February 22nd, 2010.
As a student-athlete at UT from 1995-99, Kellie (Jolly) Harper was 1-0 vs. the Aggies.
She had 14 points as the Lady Vols defeated Texas A&M, 105-81, in Anchorage, Alaska, on December 19th, 1997, during their second game at the Northern Lights Invitational.
About the Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M is 13-3 on the season, with notable wins over California (65-51) and Kansas (63-52).
A&M features four players scoring in double figures for the season, including Janiah Barker (12.3), Endyia Rogers (12.1), Aicha Coulibaly (12.0) and Lauren Ware (10.6.), with Barker setting the pace on the glass at 8.4 rebounds per contest.
The Aggies are allowing only 51.3 ppg. to their opponents and 32.4 percent shooting.
In SEC play, only Rogers (19.0) and Coulibaly (14.3) are averaging double figures in points.
Ware has emerged as TAMU’s leading rebounder in league games, pulling down 6.3, while Barker is second at 6.0.
About Texas A&M Head Coach Joni Taylor
Joni Taylor is in her second season as head coach at Texas A&M after serving as the skipper at Georgia from 2015-22.
Taylor was the 2021 SEC Coach of the Year at UGA.
A 2002 alum of Alabama, Joni (Crenshaw) Taylor’s playing career (1997-2001) intersected for two seasons with that of Tennessee’s Kellie (Jolly) Harper, who played at UT for Pat Summitt from 1995-99.
TAMU’S Most Recent Game
The Texas A&M women’s basketball team lost Thursday night’s game at No. 7 LSU, 87-70, inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Endyia Rogers came up just shy of a double-double in her first 20-point effort of the season. Rogers logged 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds and five assists.
Aicha Coulibaly chipped in with 16 points on a 7-of-11 effort from the field. She also hauled in five rebounds and three steals.
Lauren Ware added 13 points and nine rebounds.
Last UT-A&M Contest
Tennessee took a gritty 62-50 victory on the road at Texas A&M on January 12th, 2023, to claim its first win in Reed Arena since 2014 and stay unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play.
Senior Rickea Jackson led the UT Lady Vols (13-6, 5-0 SEC) with a game-high 22 points. Senior Jordan Horston turned in 12 points, while sophomore Tess Darby finished with 10 points and career highs of eight rebounds and four steals.
Sydney Bowles and Aaliyah Patty led the Aggies (5-10, 0-5 SEC) with 12 points each.
Next Four Foes Are Top 55 In Net
Tennessee’s next four games will allow the Lady Vols to enhance their place in the NET rankings.
UT will face four top-55 teams in the NET, including No. 27 Texas A&M, No. 36 Mississippi State, No. 45 Vanderbilt, and No. 54 Ole Miss. All but the game against Vandy are road games.
Tennessee checks in at No. 64 as of January 11th.
Next Up For UT Women’s Basketball
The Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team is back on the road on Thursday at Mississippi State, tipping at 6:00pm CT (7:00pm ET) on SEC Network.
