The SEC injury report is out. So is Jaxson Robinson for UK basketball against Tennessee
UConn fades in second half as Tennessee wins for the first time in great rivalry since 2007, 80-76
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in nearly two decades, the UConn women’s basketball team was defeated by longtime rival Tennessee, 80-76, at Food City Center on Thursday night. The No. 5 Huskies fell behind by as many as nine points after allowing a 13-0 run out of halftime, and their fourth-quarter comeback effort fell short despite outscoring No. 19 Tennessee 22-21 in the final quarter. The Huskies got within two points in the final 30 seconds, but Zee Spearman sank a dagger layup for the Lady Vols that put UConn down two scores with 12 seconds to play. The loss was UConn’s first in the series since 2007, when legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was still leading the program. UConn superstar Paige Bueckers was underwhelming in the rivalry battle, scoring 14 points, shooting 5 for 16 from the field, though she added a team-high eight assists plus four rebounds and a steal. Freshman Sarah Strong powered the Huskies with 18 points and nine rebounds plus three assists, two blocks and two steals, but she also led the team in turnovers with five. Bueckers woke up in the fourth with seven points, shooting 3 for 7, but it wasn’t enough to push UConn back in front. The Huskies got outrebounded 46-34 by the Lady Vols and shot just 40% from field plus 5 for 20 on 3-pointers. Tennessee was equally inefficient from 3-point range, hitting 25%, but they made 46% from the field.
Bueckers opened the scoring for UConn with a 3-pointer after falling behind 4-0 early, but both teams struggled from beyond the arc in the first quarter. The Huskies were 0 for 5 on 3-pointers after Bueckers’s make, and the Lady Vols went 2 for 6. After trailing for the majority of the first, KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade checked in first off the bench and instantly gave UConn a spark. Arnold hit layups on back-to-back possessions to kick off a 6-0 run for the Huskies, and a stifling defensive effort from the sophomore guards helped hold the Lady Vols scoreless for nearly three minutes. Tennessee guard Jewel Spear ended the quarter on a steal-and-score to break the drought, keeping UConn’s lead to just two points at the end of the quarter.
The Huskies pulled ahead by as many as seven points in the second, but Bueckers was sidelined for most of the quarter after picking up her second foul. Azzi Fudd also had two fouls at halftime, though she finally got a corner 3-pointer to fall late in the second after an 0-for-4 start. Strong was up to 12 points, shooting 5 for 6 at halftime, followed by seven points from Arnold, but Tennessee made three straight field goals plus a trio of free throws to cut UConn’s lead to 39-37 at the half. Bueckers entered halftime with five points on 1-for-5 shootingfrom the field, and she only took one field-goal attempt in the second quarter. Sixth-year senior Aubrey Griffin, playing just her fifth game since returning from an ACL tear, started the second quarter and had her best performance to date with two points, two rebounds and an assist in five minutes on the court. Backup center Ice Brady was out with a shoulder
injury suffered in practice earlier this week, so freshman Morgan Cheli also saw increased minutes in the first half as UConn leaned on its small frontcourt lineups. Kaitlyn Chen scored her first points of the game to open the second half for the Huskies, giving the team nine scorers, but UConn’s offense quickly fell apart as Tennessee ramped up its full-court press. The Lady Vols scored six points off three forced turnovers to start the third quarter, holding the Huskies scoreless for more than four minutes on an 13-0 run that gave them their first two-possession lead of the game. UConn chipped away at the lead after Fudd sank her second 3-pointer of the game with three minutes left in the quarter but entered the fourth still trailing 59-54.
