Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | December 07, 2024
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Tennessee picked up its first ranked win of the season and improved to 7-0, knocking off No. 17/20 Iowa, 78-68, at the Barclays Center in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic on Saturday night.
The Lady Vols, who only shot 39 percent for the game, rode 53.3-percent fourth-quarter shooting to victory, including three-of-five marksmanship beyond the arc, to outscore the Hawkeyes (8-1), 23-16, in the closing period and hand them their first loss on the season. UT forced UI into seven of its 30 turnovers for the game in the final stanza, generating 12 of the Lady Vols’ 42 total points off those miscues in that period.
Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, who played less than five minutes and had only four points in the first half due to foul trouble, made up for it after halftime. She tallied 19 of her team-high 23 points to fuel the Tennessee attack over the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Ruby Whitehorn chipped in 16 points, while senior guard Samara Spencer and fifth-year guard/forward Tess Darby added 11 each, with Darby nailing two three-pointers in as many tries during the decisive quarter. Cooper and senior forward Jillian Hollingshead grabbed six rebounds each to pace UT, and Cooper added a team-high three assists and blocked shots as well.
Iowa was led by Lucy Olsen with 23 points, while Addison O’Grady produced a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Tennessee exploded to an 8-0 start, getting pairs of buckets by Cooper off Iowa turnovers. An Alyssa Latham steal and score for UT’s fifth made field goal in as many attempts boosted the lead to 10-2 with 7:23 to go, before the Hawkeyes reeled off eight straight to tie it up at 10-all by the 4:17 media timeout. The Lady Vols pushed back ahead four times the rest of the opening stanza, taking an 18-15 edge with 2:02 left on a Darby layup before UI put together a 7-0 run to close out the first frame.
Iowa extended its run to 10-0 and its lead to 25-18 after the quarter break, but Whitehorn stemmed the tide and cut the gap to 25-21 by nailing a trey with 9:15 to go. A layup and three by Spencer pulled the Lady Vols to within one, 27-26, with 7:50 remaining. A 7-2 Iowa burst, though, propelled the Hawkeyes into the 3:27 media timeout with a 34-28 advantage. Out of that break, Latham hit one of two free throws, and then Whitehorn put together a 6-0 personal run on a jumper and pair of layups to increase her point total to 13 and help her team forge a 35-all tie at the intermission.
Spencer hit a pair of free throws to put her team on the board first in the second half, 37-35, before Iowa equaled it at 37. A 5-0 Hawkeyes burst put them in front, 42-37, with 7:06 to go in the period, but the Lady Vols used threes by Sara Puckett and Darby to fight back to within one, 44-43, by the 4:59 media break. Cooper instigated a 12-8 burst by the Big Orange to close out the third, finishing with nine points in the frame. She gave the Lady Vols a 47-44 lead at the 3:56 mark on a layup and another three-point edge, 55-52, with 25 seconds left to close out the third with an old-fashioned three-point play.
After Iowa had taken a one-point lead in the final frame, a Darby three put Tennessee back on top, 58-56, with 8:29 remaining. Iowa moved ahead 62-59 on a 6-1 surge, though, forcing a UT timeout with 5:52 to go. After Whitehorn tied it up, the Hawkeyes moved in front, 66-62, with 4:38 left on a Kylie Feuerbach layup, but two Cooper jumpers sandwiching a layup by her pushed the Lady Vols in front, 68-67, with 3:04 on the clock. UT closed out the contest on a 10-1 blitz, getting a Darby three to make it 71-67 with 2:25 to go and a pair of Cooper scores to make it 75-68 with 39 ticks on the clock. A free throw by Spencer and two more by Zee Spearman in the final seconds accounted for the final result.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will be back in action at Food City Center next Saturday, as North Carolina Central pays a visit. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET, with the contest being broadcast on SECN+ and the Lady Vol Network via radio stations statewide and via live stream at UTSports.com.
SEVEN STRAIGHT WITH A NEW FIVE: Tennessee has started the season 7-0 with seven different starting lineups and eight different players appearing in the first five. Ruby Whitehorn, Samara Spencer, Zee Spearman, Alyssa Latham and Talaysia Cooper opened the contest on Saturday night against the Hawkeyes. The trio of Cooper, Spencer and Whitehorn lead the squad with six starts a piece. Latham earned her first start of the season, while Spearman tallied her third of the season.
SUCCESS AGAINST THE HAWKEYES: Tennessee improves its all-time series record to 3-1 against the Hawkeyes, boasting a 1-0 stint at a neutral site, including a 1-0 record at home and 1-1 on the road. Before Saturday’s 78-68 showdown, in the three previous games in this series, the winning team needed no more than 74 points to claim victory. The programs had not met since 1993. Tennessee is 110-29 all-time vs. programs who are currently members of the Big Ten Conference.
CAPITALIZING IN ALL AREAS: The Lady Vols forced Iowa to turn the ball over 30 times during Saturday’s win, posting a 42-4 advantage on points off turnovers. Five of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 20 miscues: Samford (37), Western Carolina (37), UT Martin (31), Liberty (25) and Iowa (30). Tennessee also collected 44 points from the paint, outscoring the Hawkeyes by ten points during Saturday’s victory. Additionally, the Lady Vols notched 17 points from fast breaks and 11 points from second-chance opportunities.
FIRST TOP-25 WIN FOR CALDWELL: Head coach Kim Caldwell earned her first NCAA Division I victory over a top-25 opponent in No. 17 Iowa. The Lady Vols moved to 496-244 when facing top-25 foes. Previously, Caldwell’s only encounter against a ranked DI team was in 2024, against No. 13/12 Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, ending in a 92-49 setback. The first-year head coach also has her second-best career start with a 7-0 record. Top honors go to her 2021-22 GSU squad that started 29-0 on its way to 35-1 and an NCAA DII national title.
FOUR STRAIGHT 20+ GAMES FOR COOP: Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper eclipsed her sixth double-digit season performance, including her fifth consecutive, tallying 23 points versus Iowa. The Turbeville, South Carolina, native’s other double-digit games came against MTSU (18), Samford (19), Western Carolina (20), Liberty (33) and Florida State (22), now giving her four consecutive games of 20+ scoring.
