As the game turned: After a Tatum Burstrom 3-pointer cut the Tennessee lead to 34-32 late in the first half, Carson-Newman appeared to be within striking distance.
Nia Moore, however, had other ideas. The junior center jostled for position and was rewarded with a bounce pass from freshman Alexa Middleton. Moore turned and finished at the rim for two of her game-high 29 points.
“In practice, (Middleton) looks for me,” Moore said. “I guess it just transitions onto the basketball court in the game.”
After a defensive stop, Moore hit a mid-range jumper, followed by a long three from freshman Jamie Nared as the Lady Vols closed the half on a 7-2 run on their way to a 41-34 halftime lead.
Junior Bashaara Graves picked up where Moore left off, grabbing a rebound and finishing with the foul on the Lady Vols’ first second-half possession on her way to 14 points and eight rebounds in the second half.
“I definitely think there was a little nervousness in the first half,” Graves said. “At halftime, we got together and we talked about what we really needed to fix. We played a lot more aggressive in the second half, and that definitely helped us on offense.”
Tennessee used that aggressiveness to its advantage, as they dominated the second half on their way to a 90-57 win over the Lady Eagles in Sunday’s exhibition game.
Hot Topic: Senior forward Isabelle Harrison was dressed for Sunday’s game, but never saw the floor due to what head coach Holly Warlick referred to as an “illness.”
The preseason All-SEC forward is expected to play a big role for Tennessee this year, after averaging 13.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season.
“Izzy told me at the beginning of the game that she didn’t feel well,” Warlick said. “I didn’t want to push matters, and I thought it would give Nia a great opportunity to get some time. If (my players) come up and tell me that, I trust they don’t feel good.”
Moore stepped up in a big way in Harrison’s absence, scoring 29 points to go along with five rebounds and four blocks in 35 minutes.
Warlick said she expects the illness will not hold Harrison out of practice, and the Nashville, Tennessee, native will be available for Tennessee’s first regular season game Friday against Penn.
Spotlight: Sunday afternoon marked the first time Tennessee’s three highly-touted freshmen have seen the floor, and the trio did not disappoint in their debut.
Alexa Middleton started the game at guard, while Jamie Nared and Kortney Dunbar quickly entered the game off the Lady Vol bench.
“Overall, I thought our freshmen hung tough,” Warlick said. “I thought they did some things, and probably Middleton looked the most efficient and the most comfortable out there, but I thought that Jamie and Kortney had their moments.”
Nared played 21 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. Dunbar recorded 20 minutes of play, putting up seven points on 2-of-11 shooting. Though listed as guards, the 6-foot-2 Nared and the 6-foot-2 Dunbar made their presence felt on the boards. Nared pulled down five boards, while Dunbar grabbed six.
Middleton made the most of her Tennessee debut, logging 32 minutes of play, and scoring 15 points to go along with five steals. Besides scoring the ball, Middleton showed the ability to run the Tennessee offense and find open teammates, as she dished out four assists on the game.
“The upperclassmen have just done a great job talking me through things,” Middleton said. “So that helped me feel comfortable. I think it helped just being thrown into the fire the first game, that’s the best way to learn, I guess.”
The other guys: The sharpshooting Burstrom – a native of nearby Maryville, Tennessee – hit 4-of-7 3-point attempts on her way to 14 points in her homecoming.
“It was nice,” Burstrom said of returning home. “I usually come into exhibition games and struggle a little bit, but just to come in here and hit shots and have teammates hit shots is a really good feeling.”
Outside the box score: Moore’s career-high points total coming into Sunday’s matchup was 12 against Ole Miss in the 2012-13 season. She finished with 29 points against the Lady Eagles.
Say something: Warlick clearing up any confusion about the four suspended players: “I think there have been a lot of misunderstandings. Ariel Massengale missed a class. Jannah Tucker missed two classes. Andraya Carter missed curfew. Cierra Burdick missed curfew and was disrespectful. All four of these young ladies are in great academic standing. They’re kids, and they made a mistake. We have addressed it, and we’re gonna move on.”
By the numbers:
52: Tennessee scored 52 of its 90 points in the paint, compared to only 18 points in the paint from Carson-Newman.
13: After being out-rebounded 20-18 in the first half, the Lady Vols out-rebounded the Lady Eagles by 13 in the second half.
7: Due to Isabelle Harrison’s injury, and the four suspensions, only seven players saw the floor Sunday night for Tennessee.
