Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | November 07, 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee forced an opponent into 30+ turnovers for the second straight game and scored 48 points off those miscues on its way to a 90-50 victory over UT Martin on Thursday night at Food City Center.
The Lady Vols (2-0) were led by junior guard Ruby Whitehorn, who produced a double-double by halftime and finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds on the night. She had help on the scoring front from fifth-year guard Jewel Spear with 13, senior forward Sara Puckett with 11 and senior guard Samara Spencer with 10. Whitehorn’s work on the boards enabled the Big Orange to finish with a 54 to 28 advantage on the glass, including 33-7 on the offensive end and a 32-5 edge in second-chance points.
The Skyhawks (0-2), who were led by Kenley McCarn with 13 points, committed 31 turnovers on the night, with the Lady Vols posting a 48-11 margin in points off turnovers. Because of those miscues, UTM managed only 45 field goal attempts to Tennessee’s 84.
After UT Martin jumped on top early, 2-0, Tennessee countered and seized control. A Puckett jumper, a pair of Alyssa Latham free throws and a layup and three by Tess Darby propelled the Lady Vols to a 9-2 advantage by the 7:51 mark. After a Spear three-pointer just before the 4:56 media timeout and a Darby free throw immediately after it gave UT a 13-7 edge, the home team began to pull away. Puckett contributed six points to a 10-0 run to close the first frame, hitting a layup with 14 seconds remaining to send UT into the second quarter with a 23-9 lead.
Whitehorn came alive at the outset of the second period, tallying six points on a putback, jumper and layup, while Kaniya Boyd added a layup to send the Big Orange into the 4:48 media break with a 31-17 lead. Spear drained a three and then scored a layup on a heads-up pass from Talaysia Cooper to push the gap to 19, 36-17, with 3:41 to go. A Puckett layup and Cooper jumper extended the lead to 21, and Whitehorn’s putback with 57 seconds to go gave her a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double for the opening half and sent her squad into the locker with a 42-20 cushion.
Tennessee outscored UTM, 14-7, over the first 5:12 of the third stanza, with Spear and Avery Strickland knocking down three balls and Whitehorn hitting a layup before the 4:48 media timeout to build the Lady Vol lead to 59-27. A Samara Spencer three-pointer and a Whitehorn layup elevated the lead to 66-35 with 1:35 remaining, and free throws by Spencer and Zee Spearman sent the Big Orange into the final frame leading 69-37.
The Lady Vols scored the first five points of the final quarter, getting a pair of free throws from Whitehorn, another from Spencer and a trey from Boyd. Favor Ayodele scored off of a layup before UTM tallied prior to the 8:01 media break to make it 77-40. Tennessee out-dueled the Skyhawks 13-10 the rest of the way, with seven different Lady Vols adding points and Ayodele ending the evening with a tip-in to account for the final score.
NEXT UP: The Lady Vols will be back in action next Tuesday, as Middle Tennessee comes to Food City Center for a 6:30 p.m. contest. The matchup will be streamed live on SECN+.
PRESSURE COOKING: Tennessee’s pressure defense continued to cause opponents problems. The Lady Vols forced their second foe of the season into two ten-second backcourt violations, preventing UTM from getting across the timeline. The two penalties marked the third and fourth times the Lady Vols have forced that kind of turnover this season after only generating one such infraction a year ago.
BACK-TO-BACK 30+ TURNOVER NIGHTS: The Lady Vols have posted back-to-back games of forcing their opponents to turn the ball over thirty or more times. Tennessee caused UT Martin to turn the ball over 31 times in Thursday’s contest. The Skyhawks tossed it over seven times in the first quarter, 11 in the second, eight in the third and five in the fourth. UT’s foes have turned it over 37 (Samford) and now 31 times, marking the first back-to-back 30+ turnover games for Lady Vol opponents since the 2014-15 squad forced Winthrop into 34 and Tennessee State into 38 on Nov. 21, 2014, and Nov. 24, 2014.
RUB-A-DUB-DUB: Junior Ruby Whitehorn, whose nickname is “Rub Dub”, showcased her skills on both sides of the ball, nabbing her second career double-double in the game against UT Martin. The guard fired in 18 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to tie her career high on the boards. She finished with eight on the offensive end and six defensively. Whitehorn was eight for 14 on field goals while also adding three steals and a pair of assists. She also was perfect at the charity stripe, sinking both free throws that she attempted.
A TEAM AFFAIR: Every player that was available on head coach Kim Caldwell‘s squad got to see the court during tonight’s affair. Eleven players scored and a total of 13 players saw action, including a new starting combination of Sara Puckett, Zee Spearman, Jewel Spear, Kaniya Boyd and Talaysia Cooper. The fresh five featured a first-time collegiate starter in Boyd and a first-time Lady Vol starter in Spearman.
BETTER ON THE BOARDS: After grabbing 41 rebounds, including 21 of the offensive variety, vs. Samford on Tuesday, Tennessee was even stronger on Thursday night vs. UT Martin. The Lady Vols finished the night with 54 total rebounds and grabbed 33 on the offensive glass. Those were margins on +26 vs. the Skyhawks in both areas.
