Lady Vols basketball began the stretch run of the season with a 99-61 win over Auburn.
It was a game where everyone got involved and the majority of the bench was emptied by the end of night.
“I love it when everyone scores,” Lady Vols head coach Kim Caldwell said. “Everyone can give us something, and I think it was the first half everyone had scored, so it was just something for us to build on in the second half.”
The leading scorer of the game was Jewel Spear. She contributed 17 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
At the half the Lady Vols held a solid 50-34 lead, and everyone was sharing the ball. The only four players during the first half to not touch the score sheet were the ones that didn’t touch the court.
Ruby Whitehorn led the team through the first two quarters with an impressive 5-for-6 line.
She was joined by Zee Spearman, who is on an impressive streak of games. When asked what was holding her back, Spearman reflected on her mental journey to Knoxville.
“I wouldn’t say I’m in a box anymore,” Spearman said. “Coach Kim is my best friend. She just lets me play freely because she has the confidence in me.”
The second half brought an even bigger energy to the Lady Vols offense. They outscored Auburn 49-27 over the final two quarters of play.
Kania Boyd joined in on the team fun. She contributed 11 points on 100% from the field. She also picked up three rebounds, three assists and a steal in her 21 minutes of action.
“You’re always gonna get that out of her,” Tennessee guard Jewel Spear said. “She sparks us on our press, just getting deflections and turning people over, and then you’ve also got to see her offensive side when she pushes in transition and other teams can’t stop her.”
The win came at an important time in the Lady Vols schedule, the team was fresh off a stretch where they played four top ten teams in a span of five games, the Lady Vols claimed just two wins over that stretch.
“Now we have just got to build on it,” Caldwell said. “We have got to get it every night.”
Even with the big win, the red flags of the performance can’t be ignored, including the turnover problem. Tennessee turned the ball over 14 times but did win the turnover battle by seven.
“I think we just get sloppy at times,” Caldwell said. “I think we play a little too fast. I also think we’re getting more possessions than we had, so that is a good thing, we want that number to be around 12.”
Tennessee earned back possessions with offensive rebounds, picking up 12 by the end of the game.
