Postgame Notes: Tennessee 66, Rutgers 47

Dec. 30, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery

Numbers of Interest

Here are a few numbers of interest:

» With Bashaara Graves' career-high 14 rebounds, it marks the third-straight game she has brought down 10 or more rebounds, and sixth time this year.

» The Lady Vols held the Scarlet Knights scoreless for nearly six minutes to begin the game as RU didn't make its first basket until the 14:19 mark.

» Isabelle Harrison's 18 points set a new career high.

1,200

» With the win over Rutgers, the Lady Vols have totaled 1,200 victories, upping the program's NCAA-best 1,200-268 (.817) record.

THE SERIES

• With the win over Rutgers, the Lady Vols own the series 19-3 and now hold a nine-game winning streak. For games at home, UT is 7-0 against the Scarlet Knights.
• The Scarlet Knights' 47 points were the second-fewest points in a game in the history of this series. The lowest was the 46 RU scored in the 2007 National Championship game.
• Tennessee is now 81-22 all-time against Big East foes.
• Today's attendance was 12,347.

FOR STARTERS

• Today's starters: sophomore Cierra Burdick, freshman Bashaara Graves, sophomore Isabelle Harrison, sophomore Ariel Massengale and junior Meighan Simmons.
• Simmons is the only Lady Vol to start every game this season.
• Harrison was the first to score for the Lady Vols with a lay-up. It was the third time this season that Harrison has made the first bucket for UT.
• Seniors Taber Spani and Kamiko Williams were the first off the bench for Tennessee.

A CASE OF DEJA VU

• At the half, UT held a 33-13 lead over the Scarlet Knights. In the great comeback of 2009 under Pat Summitt, the Lady Vols trailed Rutgers 33-13, rallying back and winning 55-51.

SPREADING THE OFFENSE

• Sophomore Isabelle Harrison the scoring effort with a career-high 18 points.
• Along with Harrison, Meighan Simmons (15) and Bashaara Graves (11) also hit double digits in scoring.
• The Lady Vols notched 30 points in the paint to Rutgers' 22, while scoring 11 points off the bench.
• UT enjoyed a 19-12 edge on fast-break points.

STEALING SCARLETS

• The Lady Vols snagged 16 steals from the Scarlet Knights, with sophomore Isabelle Harrison leading the way with six thefts.
• Harrison's six steals is a career high. She tied her previous career-high of four steals in the first half alone. Harrison is the first Lady Vol to tally six steals in a game since Alicia Manning had six swipes against ODU on Dec. 28, 2011.

PUTTING UP A (DE)FENCE

• The Lady Vols outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 42-34. It is the eighth time this season UT has grabbed more boards than its opponent.
• Tennessee forced 24 Rutgers turnovers while giving up 18. From those 24 Scarlet Knight turnovers, the Lady Vols scored 24 points.
• UT snagged 16 steals from RU, while only being stripped from the ball nine occasions.

GRAVES BURIES THE COMPETITION

• Graves grabbed a career-best 14 boards, marking her third-straight game of 10 or more rebounds. It is the sixth time this season she has hit double-digit boards.
• Graves now has six double-doubles on the season, tying her for the lead among SEC players.

SIMMONS SHINES IN RECORD BOOK

• With 15 points against Rutgers, Meighan Simmons surpassed Sidney Spencer on UT's all-time scoring list, as she now has 1,093, ranking her 34th.

AT THE HALF

• In the first 20 minutes of action, the Lady Vols held a 20-point lead over the Scarlet Knights, 33-13. The 13 points by the Scarlet Knights is the fewest Tennessee has allowed an opponent this season, and ties for ninth on UT's single-game records for fewest points allowed in the first half
• Meighan Simmons was the first to hit the double-digit mark in scoring as she racked up 11 points in the first 20 minutes of action. Cierra Burdick, Bashaara Graves and Isabelle Harrison each had six apiece.
• Graves led the way in rebounds as she brought down eight of the Lady Vols' 23 in the first half.
• Harrison tied her career high for steals with four in the first 20 minutes of action.
• The Lady Vols outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 23-17, while forcing 14 Rutgers turnovers. From those 14 turnovers, UT scored 15 points.
• The Big Orange held RU to a 22 percent shooting percentage in the first half, the sixth time this season UT has kept its opponent to shooting under 25 percent in the first 20 minutes of play.
• A total of 11 of Rutgers' 13 points in the first half came from the bench.
• UT held Rutgers scoreless for almost six minutes at the beginning of the game as the Scarlet Knights didn't make their first bucket until the 14:19 mark.

UP NEXT

• Tennessee begins the new year on the road as the team travels to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Jan. 3 at 9 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Fox SportsSouth.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Bashaara Graves

Alicia Manning

Taber Spani

Kamiko Williams

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