Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | February 20, 2025
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Fifth-year guard Jewel Spear led the way with 20 points, as No. 15/13 Tennessee claimed its 20th victory of the season with an 88-80 triumph over No. 18/19 Alabama on Thursday night in front of a crowd of 10,684 at Food City Center.
Spear hit four of six shots from the field and went 11 of 11 at the free-throw line to tally 20 or more points for the second straight game and for the fifth time this season. She helped the Lady Vols win their third consecutive contest and improve to 20-6 overall and 7-6 in SEC play with three games remaining.
Spear got scoring help from redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper and junior forward Zee Spearman, who tossed in 16 and 13, respectively, as the Big Orange scored the most points on UA all season. Texas is the only other team to break 80, doing so on Jan. 9 in an 84-40 win in Austin.
The Crimson Tide (21-6, 8-5), which saw its four-game winning streak snapped, had all five starters in double figures. Sarah Ashlee Barker led the way with 22, followed by Zaay Green with 16, Essence Cody and Aaliyah Nye with 13 each and Karly Weathers with 11.
Alabama grabbed an early 10-4 lead on 57-percent shooting over the opening three minutes, forcing a Tennessee timeout with 7:10 to go. The Lady Vols bounced back, getting a put-back from Alyssa Latham and a Cooper jumper to work within two, 10-8, with 5:42 remaining and then evening things up at 13 on a Latham three-pointer with 3:46 left. The Crimson Tide reeled off seven straight points, though, to grab a 20-13 margin with 2:13 to go before a Cooper steal and layup pulled the Big Orange back with five, 22-17, by the end of the first.
UT struck quickly to open the second stanza, scoring on a Ruby Whitehorn jumper and a Spear trey to even things up at 22 just 39 seconds in and force an Alabama timeout. The Tide quickly equaled its largest margin of the game, 29-22, but a 10-0 Big Orange run fueled by a Samara Spencer three, a Kaniya Boyd steal and score, a trio of Spear free throws and a Latham layup pushed the home team ahead, 32-29 with 4:59 remaining. The Tide would surge back in front by five, 37-32, with 3:54 to go, but the Lady Vols put together another 10-0 burst to end the half, getting a pair of threes from Tess Darby, two free throws from Spear and a layup from Spearman to carry a 42-37 advantage into the locker room.
Tennessee came out blazing after the intermission, building an eight-point lead, 47-39, on a Darby trey at the 8:54 mark. After an Alabama bucket by Weathers cut the deficit to 47-42, the Lady Vols went on a 11-0 blitz to seize a 58-42 lead, with a Sara Puckett three-ball capping things with 4:47 to go in the period. Alabama scored the next seven points after the break, trimming the gap to 58-49 before Tennessee distanced itself from its foe by 14, 65-51, by the end of the quarter on a Cooper layup and Spear old-fashioned three-point play.
The Crimson Tide got the lead down to 12 early in the fourth quarter, but UT pushed the margin back to 15, 70-55, on a Spearman and-one play with 8:10 remaining. Alabama kept the heat on, trimming the gap to 11, 70-59, before the 7:07 media break. Tennessee got five straight Spear free throws to lead 75-61 with 6:34 to go, but UA wouldn’t go away. The Tide scored seven straight to trim the margin to eight, 75-67, with 5:12 left and then used an 8-2 gush to make it a four-point game, 79-75, with 3:15 remaining. After a UT timeout, though, the Lady Vols got a free throw from Spencer, a Boyd layup and Spear put-back to restore the lead to nine, 84-75, with 1:34 on the clock and were able to salt the game away.
UP NEXT: Next on the schedule for the Lady Vols is a 1 p.m. ET Sunday matinee vs. Florida in Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The contest will be televised on SEC Network and also will be broadcast on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.
JEWEL KEEPS WRITING HISTORY: Jewel Spear tallied 20 points against the Tide to place her at 2,143 career points. Spear officially passed Candace Parker (2,137) for No. 7 on UT’s career scoring list (including transfers). The Colony, Texas, native posted five rebounds, two assists and a block to accompany her double-figure scoring performance. She has knocked down 20 or more points on five occasions this season and 36 in her career. Spear carded her fifth consecutive double-digit contest, dating back to the UConn game on Feb. 6. The guard logged a perfect free throw percentage, netting 11 of 11 free throws. Her perfect free throw percentage ties for fifth place in program history.
20-DUB SEASON: Tennessee’s victory against Alabama marked the 48th time in program history that a Lady Vol team has recorded 20 or more wins in a season. Since 1974, when Margaret Hutson led UT to a then program-best 25-2 record, the Lady Vols now have had 48 20-win campaigns over 52 years.
CALDWELL KEEPS THE WINS COMING: Kim Caldwell carded her eighth 20-win season as a head coach and first as leader of the Lady Vols. The only season she didn’t reach 20 was during a 12-4 2020-21 year at Glenville State when the schedule was limited to 16 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has reached 25 wins six times and had 30 or more on four occasions.
HOT FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE: Tennessee carded its best free throw percentage in SEC play and its second-best of the season versus Alabama. The Big Orange posted an 88.9 percentage, sinking 16 of 18 shots at the line. Four Lady Vols knocked down a free throw, with Jewel Spear leading the charge, making all 11 she attempted. Tennessee notched its highest free throw percentage of the season against Liberty on Nov. 16, 2024. The Lady Vols etched a 94.4 percentage, hitting 17 of 18 attempts.
SCORING ON THE BREAK: Tennessee tallied its highest total of the season in fast break points, carding a 38-22 advantage vs. the Crimson Tide. UT’s previous best came in game one vs. Samford, when it generated 36 in transition. The Lady Vols had only one other game with 30+, generating 34 vs. N.C. Central.
