Toledo was forced to call a timeout late in the second quarter after Tennessee sparked a 9-0 run. A Sara Puckett three started the run, and a Puckett three ended the run.
The performance was just the fourth time Puckett hit double digits this season.
“I still got it in me,” Puckett said. “It took a little minute, but I still got it in me.”
Jordan Horston came flying off the bench to meet Puckett at half-court. The forward didn’t even get a chance to return to her bench before the Lady Vols swarmed her in celebration.
“It was really fun,” Puckett said. “I was so happy to be out there. All of a sudden Jordan (Horston) comes and just smacks me. I don’t even know what happened, it was super fun.”
When a red-hot Belmont team upset their first-round opponent to draw Tennessee in the round of 32, it took a corner three by Sara Puckett to send the Lady Vols to the Sweet 16.
It took a 5-for-7 shooting performance from her on Monday against a red-hot Toledo team to send the Lady Vols to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
“I knew we were coming to play,” Puckett said. “We wanted to get back to the Sweet 16. We want to go farther this time. I was just really confident in myself.”
For much of this season, Puckett has been a shell of the player she was a season ago. On Monday in the round of 32, Puckett reminded everyone of her capabilities on Monday.
Heading into the Sweet 16, it’s a better time than ever for Puckett to get out of her sophomore slump and build momentum.
“Sara just steps up in big moments,” Horston said. “She’s a dog. For some reason, I knew she was going to go off tonight. Last year, she hit a big three for us to send us to the Sweet 16. I just knew Sara Puckett, she’s going to come out here with a chip on her shoulder.”
Puckett finished with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and an efficiency score of plus-21.
“I tried to get a bucket of water for her, I need to cool her down a little bit,” Jasmine Powell said. “She was on fire. When she gets in that mode, after seeing on go through, there’s no stopping her.”
All of Tennessee’s offense was in “that mode” against Toledo on Monday. The Lady Vols had five players score in double digits to push them to the Sweet 16.
One of the most important stats for Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper, 20 assists on 35 field goals.
“I think we’re playing our best when we’re sharing the basketball and getting contributions,” Harper said. “Obviously, the shots fell for us tonight… Obviously really good offensive night for us, both games.”
There is no better time for Tennessee to hit its stride on the offensive end. The Lady Vols head to Seattle to face off with No. 1 Virginia Tech.
Adding Puckett to the mix of the Lady Vols’ offensive weapons, Tennessee will show the Hokies a different team than in December.
“It just makes it even harder for a team to guard us,” Horston said of Puckett’s hot hand. “They got to guard us for the drive, a lot of teams sit in the paint. We can drive in and kick out to find the open shooter and knock it down.”
