Lady Vols basketball continued its undefeated run to open the season Saturday, defeating Liberty, 109-93.

A 33-point day from Talaysia Cooper led Tennessee (4-0) in the win over the Flames (2-2). Cooper cleared her career-high performance by halftime, scoring 20 first-half points.

Tennessee’s 4-0 start is its first since the 2021-22 season when the Lady Vols won their first nine contests.

Here’s how the Lady Vols beat the Lady Flames.

Talaysia Cooper scores 20 in dominant first half

As it has all season, Tennessee started hot both as a team and individually. For Cooper, it meant scoring 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, leading all scorers in the first half.

Ruby Whitehorn scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes, making five of seven field goals attempted. Six different Lady Vols made 3-pointers in the half as the team shot 7-for-18 from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Tennessee forced 12 Liberty turnovers, leading to 18 points. The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Lady Flames by three and assisted 13 of 27 made field goals.

Liberty closes gap in third quarter

Despite trailing by 23 at the break, Liberty didn’t give up. A 9-0 run early in the third quarter cut Tennessee’s lead to 12, prompting a timeout from head coach Kim Caldwell.

The Lady Vols opened the lead back up to 18 by the end of the quarter. Cooper led the frame with seven points to help against Bella Smuda’s 12 points for the Lady Flames.

Tennessee wasn’t troubled the rest of the way as its lead never dropped below 12 in the fourth quarter.

Lady Vols improve from deep

Nine different Lady Vols made a 3-pointer in the win, including post players Zee Spearman and Jillian Hollingshead. Hollingshead did not make a three all of last season.

Although Tennessee did not break its record for 3-point attempts again, it still shot plenty from deep. The Lady Vols took 38 attempts from beyond the arc, making 14 of them. Their 3-point percentage of 37% is the best of the season so far.