After shooting a combined 0-for-7 in her last two games, Ariel Massengale seemed to be heading down a similar path on Sunday.

The senior was 0-of-3 from the field at halftime, with her only two points coming from a pair of free throws.

The second half, however, was a different story as Massengale scored 15 points, including two shots from behind the 3-point line, helping the No. 6 Lady Vols secure a 72-58 win and season sweep over No. 10 Kentucky in Thompson-Boling Arena.

“Every game is a new game, every day is a new day,” Massengale said. “I think as a basketball player you just live to play another day, and so tonight I had to go out there and not think about the past games and focus on today.”

With the loss of All-SEC forward Isabelle Harrison, who went down with an apparent knee injury just one minute into the second half, the re-emergence of Massengale came at a critical time for the Lady Vols.

Trailing by one with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game, Massengale knocked down a three from the wing, sparking a 16-5 second half run and allowing Tennessee (22-3, 12-0 SEC) to take control of the game.

The Wildcats (19-6, 8-4) out-rebounded the Lady Vols in the first meeting between the two teams, but it was Tennessee who controlled the boards on Sunday, despite the loss of their leading rebounder, Harrison, early in the second half.

The Lady Vols grabbed 46 total rebounds, with 16 of them coming on the offensive end of the floor, leading to 20 second chance points on the night.

“We talked about if you’re going to survive, you have to get down and fight and get your hands dirty,” head coach Holly Warlick said. “I am really proud of our players and how they competed and fought. It was a great win for us. Everyone contributed. I am really excited about the win.”

Without Harrison, the burden fell to Bashaara Graves and Cierra Burdick to step-up in the post, and the two veterans answered the call. Burdick fell just one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down nine boards, while Graves added 11 points of her own, grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out four assists for the game.

Jaime Nared became a much bigger factor than expected after Harrison’s injury, making the most of her career-high 28 minutes. The freshman forward was one of five Lady Vols in double figures, scoring 10 points in addition to three offensive rebounds on the night.

“Jaime had a phenomenal game,” Burdick said. “I don’t even know how many (offensive rebounds) she had, but she comes in and always gives us some productivity on that end of the floor so it’s just an energy booster, it really is.”

The win is the Lady Vols’ fifth against a top-10 opponent, with two of those coming against the Wildcats, and a strong second half without Harrison on the floor can serve as a confidence boost for this team going forward, Burdick said.

“I think we have faced adversity before in the season,” Burdick said. “We took some blows and we continue to get up. So we need to continue to get up together and come together as one and just play tough, play hard, play for our injured sisters and we will continue to work.

“Everybody goes through tough times during the season and you can let it break you or you can let it make you. So we just have to let it make us.”