Saturday, November 16
Knoxville, Tenn.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
93
at
109
Tennessee
Anna Badosa
Tennessee Holds Off Liberty in Shootout, 109-93
11/16/2024 3:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee used a fast start and a 33-point outing by Talaysia Cooper to defeat Liberty 109-93 in an offensive showcase, Saturday afternoon at the Food City Center.
Liberty falls to 2-2 despite a career high-equaling 27 points from Bella Smuda and a career-best 19 from freshman Avery Mills. The Lady Flames trimmed a 31-point deficit to 12 on two occasions in the second half but could not overcome 25 turnovers which led to 38 Lady Vol points.
Tennessee is now 4-0 both this season and all-time versus Liberty. The Lady Vols made 14 triples on their way to 109 points, the most scored against the Lady Flames since Nov. 24, 1989 (113-35 loss to Notre Dame). Tennessee has now reached the century mark all three times it has hosted Liberty in program history.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Smuda – 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks; Mills – 19 points, 3-5 3FG; Emma Hess – 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3-6 3FG; Emily Howard – 10 points, 4 rebounds.
Tennessee Individuals: Cooper – 33 points, 9 rebounds; Ruby Whitehorn – 13 points, 5 rebounds; Sara Puckett – 12 points; Jewel Spear – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (51.5 percent, 34-of-66), three-point range (50 percent, 11-of-22) and the foul line (73.7 percent, 14-of-19), while Tennessee finished at 47 percent (39-of-83) from the field, 36.8 percent (14-of-38) from beyond the arc and 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from the foul line. Tennessee edged Liberty on the boards (38-37), but the Lady Flames had the upper hand in second-chance points (15-12). Liberty enjoyed a slight advantage in assists (21-20) and bench points (40-39).
Turning Point
A Bella Smuda three-point play was all the offense Liberty could manage during the game's first 5:58 as Tennessee rushed out to a 19-3 lead.
Four different Lady Vols knocked down three-pointers during that game-opening burst, giving the home team a double-digit lead it never relinquished.
Game Summary
First Quarter
The Lady Flames will resume their three-game road swing on Nov. 24 with a visit to Towson (0-3). The contest will tip off at 1 p.m. inside TU Arena and will air on FloCollege.
Liberty falls to 2-2 despite a career high-equaling 27 points from Bella Smuda and a career-best 19 from freshman Avery Mills. The Lady Flames trimmed a 31-point deficit to 12 on two occasions in the second half but could not overcome 25 turnovers which led to 38 Lady Vol points.
Tennessee is now 4-0 both this season and all-time versus Liberty. The Lady Vols made 14 triples on their way to 109 points, the most scored against the Lady Flames since Nov. 24, 1989 (113-35 loss to Notre Dame). Tennessee has now reached the century mark all three times it has hosted Liberty in program history.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Smuda – 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks; Mills – 19 points, 3-5 3FG; Emma Hess – 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3-6 3FG; Emily Howard – 10 points, 4 rebounds.
Tennessee Individuals: Cooper – 33 points, 9 rebounds; Ruby Whitehorn – 13 points, 5 rebounds; Sara Puckett – 12 points; Jewel Spear – 10 points.
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot well from the field (51.5 percent, 34-of-66), three-point range (50 percent, 11-of-22) and the foul line (73.7 percent, 14-of-19), while Tennessee finished at 47 percent (39-of-83) from the field, 36.8 percent (14-of-38) from beyond the arc and 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from the foul line. Tennessee edged Liberty on the boards (38-37), but the Lady Flames had the upper hand in second-chance points (15-12). Liberty enjoyed a slight advantage in assists (21-20) and bench points (40-39).
Turning Point
A Bella Smuda three-point play was all the offense Liberty could manage during the game's first 5:58 as Tennessee rushed out to a 19-3 lead.
Four different Lady Vols knocked down three-pointers during that game-opening burst, giving the home team a double-digit lead it never relinquished.
Game Summary
First Quarter
- Tennessee dominated the opening 10 minutes, outscoring the Lady Flames by a 34-15 count. The Lady Vols made 66.7 percent (14-of-21) of their field goal attempts, including 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from long range.
- The Lady Vols pushed their lead out to 31 (60-29), 3:49 before halftime.
- But Mills connected on two triples and scored seven points to help Liberty get within 21 (64-43) at the intermission.
- Cooper finished with 20 first-half points for Tennessee.
- Smuda scored eight points during a 14-2 Liberty run early in the third period, including back-to-back layups which trimmed the deficit to 12 (69-57) at the 5:39 mark.
- The Lady Vols answered with 10 straight tallies of their own, and the hosts' lead stood at 18 (89-71) heading to the fourth.
- Smuda finished with a dozen points during Liberty's best shooting quarter of the afternoon (66.7 percent from both the field and three-point range).
- Bench players scored 16 of Liberty's 22 fourth-quarter points, including an Anna Badosa free throw with 1:54 left that pulled the Lady Flames within a dozen once again (105-93).
- However, that proved to be Liberty's final point of the day. Somewhat fittingly, Cooper closed out the scoring with four straight free throws for Tennessee.
- Smuda matched her career high of 27 points (also Feb. 3, 2024 vs. UTEP). She finished the contest with 1,205 career points and 801 career rebounds. Smuda is the 12th Lady Flame ever to score 1,200 points and the 12th Lady Flame to track down 800 boards.
- Mills' 19 points came after she had totaled only eight during her first three collegiate contests.
- Howard's 10 points came in 11 minutes played. It marked her season high and second career double-digit scoring effort.
- Badosa missed a fourth quarter free throw, snapping a string of 16 consecutive makes at the line dating back to last season at Franklin Pierce.
- Liberty's 93 points were the Flames' most since Feb. 24, 2018 (95-57 win at Charleston Southern) and the most the Lady Flames have ever scored in a loss.
- Playing nearby his hometown of Louisville, Tenn., Carey Green suffered just his sixth career loss when his team shoots 50 percent or better. Green's squads are now 155-6 in such contests.
- Liberty falls to 1-23 all-time against SEC opponents, including 0-21 under Green.
The Lady Flames will resume their three-game road swing on Nov. 24 with a visit to Towson (0-3). The contest will tip off at 1 p.m. inside TU Arena and will air on FloCollege.
Players Mentioned
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