Horston Double-Double Seals UT Win Over Mississippi State, 80-69

Thursday, January 5

Knoxville, TN

6:30 P.M.

University of Tennessee

11-6,3-0SEC

Mississippi State

12-4,1-2SEC

Mississippi St.

Tennessee

Horston Double-Double Seals UT Win Over Mississippi State, 80-69

January 05, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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By: Kimberly Hood

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee improved to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play, taking an 80-69 win over Mississippi State in Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday night.

Senior guard Jordan Horston led UT (11-6, 3-0 SEC), setting new season highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds to post her fourth double-double of the 2022-23 campaign. She nearly carded a "D-D" in the fourth quarter alone, tallying 13 points and nine boards in the final frame. Fellow senior Rickea Jackson also had a hot hand with 18 points on the night, while junior Tess Darby finished with 13 points on four made 3-pointers.

The Lady Vols, who are receiving votes in the AP Poll this week, won their fourth straight contest and claimed victory for the ninth time in the past 11 outings.

Jessika Carter and Debreasha Powe were the top scorers for MSU (12-4, 1-2 SEC) with 21 apiece.

Darby put Tennessee on the board first, sinking a long-range three 18 seconds into the game. Back-to-back buckets by Mississippi State gave the Bulldogs a brief lead, but Horston and Darby combined for seven straight points to put the Lady Vols ahead 10-4 just over three minutes into play. MSU rallied back within one by the 3:49 mark, but UT closed out the quarter with a 10-4 run to lead 25-18 at the end of the first.

Mississippi State pulled within six on two occasions in the opening minutes of the second period, but with 7:59 left in the half, Sara Puckett drained a three and Jasmine Powell followed it up by drawing a foul on a fast-break layup to add another three points and extend UT's lead to 12. A minute and a half later, three straight baskets by the Bulldogs sliced that lead in half, but Horston responded with an eight-foot jumper with 3:46 to go to end the drought for Tennessee. Powe added five quick points for MSU, but Jackson closed out the half with six straight points to send UT in the break with a 41-32 lead.

The Bulldogs cut it back down to single digits on their first possession of the second half with a Powe 3-pointer. She followed it up with another trey on the next play, but Darby answered with a three of her own on the other end to move the score to 44-38 just over a minute into the third. A pair of free throws by Smith cut UT's lead back to four, and the teams traded buckets with each team scoring on its next three possessions before MSU pulled within two off an old-fashioned three-point play by Carter at the 6:32 mark. Jackson and Darby responded for the Lady Vols, combining for seven points over the span of 90 seconds to put the Big Orange on top by nine with 3:56 left in the third. The Lady Vols maintained a comfortable lead through the end of the period, taking a 61-54 lead into the fourth.

Tennessee opened its lead up to 66-56 with 7:25 left in the game, but the Bulldogs posted a 6-0 run to pull within four a minute and a half later. Jordan Walker ended the slump for UT with a trey at the 5:37 mark, but MSU was back within four 90 seconds later. The Lady Vols answered with a 7-0 run fueled by Horston, who scored nine of UT's final 11 points. The Bulldogs twice cut the deficit to single-digits but would get no closer as Tennessee closed out the game with an 11-point victory.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will hit the road but stay in the state, traveling to Nashville for a 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT matchup against Vanderbilt. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

TRIPLES BY TESS: With four 3-pointers against MSU, Tess Darby logged her ninth game of the season with multiple treys. It's the sixth time she's recorded three or more threes this season and the 17th time during her career.

BIG ON THE BOARDS: The Lady Vols pulled down 50 rebounds against MSU, 25 of which were on the offensive glass to tie their best offensive rebounding mark of the season. Tennessee out-rebounded the Bulldogs 50-31 to win the rebounding battle for the 13th time this season, including 11 of the last 12 outings and carded 50+ for the fourth time this season.

BIG BENCH POINTS: Tennessee's bench outscored Mississippi State, 31-3, marking the 13th time in 17 contests it has gotten the upper hand on foes. The Lady Vols are out-pointing their opponents, 31.8 to 16.5 for a margin of +15.

CONTINUED BALL SECURITY: Tennessee limited its turnovers to eight vs. the Bulldogs (who entered forcing 20.5 TOs per game via 11.5 steals per contest), marking the fourth time this season (fourth in the last seven games) the Big Orange had fewer than 10. UT is committing 11.0 miscues per game during that seven-contest span and has lowered its season average to 14.8.