Lady Vols basketball takes down Georgia at home for sixth straight SEC win

Maybe it was the iconic Summitt Blue jerseys. Maybe it was Lady Vols basketball legend Candace Parker sitting courtside. But Karoline Striplin felt the energy in Thompson-Boling Arena.

The sophomore forward pulled up from behind the arc without hesitation and drained it, making it the third 3-pointer in a row for the Lady Vols to start the third quarter against Georgia. Tennessee went into halftime with a 15-point lead, and it left no doubt starting the second half.

Tennessee took down Georgia 68-55 on Sunday to remain undefeated in conference play.

The Bulldogs (13-7, 2-4 SEC) made their runs and held Tennessee (14-6, 6-0) to 13 points in the fourth. But the Lady Vols matched Georgia's toughness down the stretch and held it to 16 points in the final quarter.

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Rickea Jackson, who is averaging 22.6 points in SEC play, led the team with 23 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Walker had another eight-assist game to go with eight points and four rebounds.

Parker was in attendance with her wife, Anna, her son, Airr, and sat with former Tennessee women's athletics communication director Debby Jennings courtside. Parker was honored with several women, including Jennings and Tennessee women's athletics director emeritus Joan Cronan, as Title IX trailblazers at halftime.

Tennessee gets off to hot start

The Lady Vols wasted no time establishing the pace of the game and enforcing their will on Georgia.

Tennessee led 21-8 after the first quarter and forced five turnovers, three of them steals. Walker had two steals and assisted Jordan Horston and Tess Darby in transition for easy buckets.

The Lady Vols were strong on defense, forcing the Bulldogs into tough shots and it showed. Georgia went 2-for-14 from the field in the first quarter.

Lady Vols respond defensively to UGA

Georgia stated the second quarter on a 6-0 run and Tennessee had four turnovers in that time.

But then the Lady Vols responded defensively, and the Bulldogs didn't score again until there was 59 seconds left in the half. Walker kept up her strong defensive showing by drawing back-to-back charges in the second quarter, and Jasmine Franklin drew a charge as well.

Tennessee stayed disciplined on the boards, outrebounding UGA 24-15 in the first half. It gave up six offensive rebounds, but the Bulldogs only scored six second-chance points. Tennessee also committed 11 turnovers, six of them UGA steals. But where the Lady Vols scored 17 points off turnovers, the Bulldogs only managed to score eight.

Georgia turned the tide in the second half to outrebound Tennessee 37-36 and score 18 points off 23 total UT turnovers.

Tennessee finds success with patience on offense

The Lady Vols outscored UGA in the first three quarters.

There were turnovers that stalled the scoring throughout the game, but Tennessee remained patient on offensive possessions. The Lady Vols moved the ball, didn't rush possessions and scored 24 points in the paint, against a tough Georgia defense. They couldn't keep the Bulldogs out of the paint in the second half, though, and they scored 32 points in the paint.

Tennessee stretched the floor to build its lead. It hit 8-for-21 from behind the arc, the most of any SEC game so far. The Lady Vols shot 38.1% from 3-point range, the second-highest percentage in SEC play.

Tess Darby led the team in 3-point shooting, knocking down 4 of 10 for 16 points.

Up next

Tennessee returns to Thompson-Boling Arena for a rematch against Florida (12-5, 1-3) on Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). The Lady Vols beat the Gators 77-67 on the first night of SEC play.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols out-tough Georgia at home for sixth straight SEC win