Postgame Notes: Tennessee 84, Oakland 50

Nov. 24, 2013

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Numbers of Interest

Here are a few numbers of interest:

» Tennessee led just 28-27 with 2:29 left before halftime before opening a 21-0 run that stretched into the second half.

» With 15 points and 11 rebounds, Bashaara Graves recorded the 12th double-double of her UT career.

» Tennessee scored 50 points in the second half, its most of the season. UT has scored over 40 points in the second half in every game this year.

» UT tallied 11 steals, tying for its most on the year. The Lady Vols previously had 11 steals against No. 12/11 UNC.

POSTGAME NOTES

THE SERIES

Tennessee and Oakland played each other for the first time ever on Sunday
The Lady Vols are 4-0 all-time against Horizon League opponents.
The win over the Golden Grizzlies marked the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Lady Vols have begun the season at 5-0.
Tennessee has now won 10 straight games at home, dating back to 77-67 loss on Jan. 28, 2013 to Notre Dame in Knoxville.
The same five starters this season, Massengale, Simmons, Burdick, Graves and Harrison have started all five games for the Lady Vols so far.

21-POINT SURGE

Tennessee led just 28-27 with 2:29 left before halftime before opening a 21-0 run that stretched into the second half.

DEFENSIVE FIRST HALF

At halftime, the Lady Vols had held the Golden Grizzlies to just 27 points - the fewest allowed in the first half yet this season.
Tennessee held Oakland to a .297 shooting percentage in the first half, as well as a .333 three-point shooting percentage.
The Lady Vols only committed four team fouls by halftime; Oakland had committed six and one player had acquired three fouls.
Tennessee forced nine turnovers by Oakland in the first half and scored 11 points off of those balls.

SECOND HALF DOMINANCE

Unsurprisingly, Tennessee came back from halftime and a seven point lead to begin the second half with a 21-2 run over the first seven minutes of the half.
It was the fifth time this season Tennessee scored more than its opponent in the second half, outscoring Oakland 50-23.
In the second half this season, Tennessee has outscored opponents, 227-148.
The Lady Vols shot 48.5 percent from the field in the second half, the best yet this season - they shot 46.4 percent in the second half against Middle Tennessee, 36.4 percent against North Carolina, 52.9 percent against Chattanooga and 42.1 percent against Georgia Tech.

MASSENGALE AGAIN

Following her SEC and NCAA Player of the Week honors, Massengale scored 13 points and dished out six assists..
All six of her assists came in the first half.
For the third time this season, Massengale hit multiple threes, connecting on three shots against Oakland. She also made multiple three-pointers against UNC (5) and Chattanooga (4).
She scored in double figures for the fourth time this season; her only single-digit scoring game was against Georgia Tech, where she scored nine.

THE TENNESSEE BENCH

Not to disappoint, the Tennessee bench outscored Oakland's bench, 23-13
The five-person bench has outscored its opponent's bench in every game this season.
The bench has outscored opponents' benches 131-80 over five games this season.

SIMMONS IS BACK

The preseason SEC Player of the Year, SEC First-Team and AP preseason All-American, to name a few of her 2014 presason honors is back on the court as a powerhouse.
Simmons led the team in scoring in the first half with 10 points and was the first Lady Vol to reach double figures today. She finished with 14 points
She also totaled three steals, two rebounds and one assist.

THE SMALL DETAILS

The Lady Vols recorded a season-high 23 team assists against Oakland.
In the first half alone, Tennessee outshot Oakland in the paint, 16-2.
Throughout the second half, the Lady Vols scored 24 points in the paint; Oakland only scored six.
Capitalizing off of Golden Grizzly mistakes, Tennessee had 21 points off Oakland turnovers.
Tennessee forced 20 Oakland turnovers.
With nine minutes remaining in the game, every Lady Vol had scored.

UP NEXT

The team take a Thanksgiving trip to the Junkanoo Jam in Freeport, Bahamas Nov. 28-29, facing Virginia and either Kansas State or SMU.
The Lady Vols won't play another home game until Dec. 8, hosting Texas at 1 p.m. ET on Fox Sports Southwest.

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