Puckett has 17, Spear 16 and No. 18 Lady Vols roll past Tulsa 102-61, now 11-0
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- — Sara Puckett scored 17 points, Jewell Spear had 16 and No. 18 Tennessee rolled to a 102-61 win over Tulsa on Saturday in the West Palm Beach Classic.
The Lady Vols surpassed their nation-leading scoring average as well as their average of 12.5 3-pointers a game, going 14 of 32. They surpassed the century mark for the fifth time, tied for second in program history behind the seven of the 1987-88 team. The seventh game with at least 10 3s is also a record.
Zee Spearman had 12 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee (11-0), which won both its games in the tournament. Ruby Whitehorn and Talaysia Cooper both scored 13.
Delanie Crawford had 17 points for Tulsa (6-6), Mady Cartwright scored 12 and Jade Clack 10. The Golden Hurricanes shot 45%, went 5 of 29 from 3-point range and had 23 turnovers. Two players fouled out and three finished with four fouls.
Tulsa had a small lead a majority of the first quarter but Cooper's tip-in with a minute to go gave the Lady Vols a 22-20 lead.
Tennessee dominated the second quarter, scoring the first eight points and adding runs of nine and 10, outscoring the Golden Hurricanes 41-11 to lead 63-31 at the half. The Lady Vols hit 6 of 8 3-pointers and 15 of 22 shots overall while holding Tulsa to 4-of-12 shooting with eight turnovers. Puckett led the way with two 3s and 12 points.
Tennessee is home against Winthrop on Saturday before opening Southeastern Conference play at Texas A&M on Jan. 2.
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Game Information
- Referees:
- Michael McConnell
- Natasha Camy
- Metta Christensen
2024-25 American Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
UTSA | 13-1 | - | 22-3 |
South Florida | 12-2 | 1 | 19-8 |
North Texas | 11-3 | 2 | 19-7 |
Temple | 10-5 | 3.5 | 16-10 |
Tulane | 8-6 | 5 | 15-10 |
Tulsa | 7-7 | 6 | 13-13 |
UAB | 6-8 | 7 | 15-11 |
East Carolina | 6-8 | 7 | 14-12 |
Rice | 6-8 | 7 | 13-13 |
Memphis | 5-9 | 8 | 7-18 |
Charlotte | 3-11 | 10 | 8-17 |
Wichita State | 3-12 | 10.5 | 9-19 |
Florida Atlantic | 2-12 | 11 | 10-17 |