Lady Vols cruise past Saint Louis in NCAA tourney

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Fourth-seeded Tennessee cruised to a decisive 45-point victory over 13th-seeded Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon, winning 95-50 in front of 6,871 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

With the win, Tennessee improved to 33-2 all-time in NCAA First Round games and a perfect 25-0 when opening round contests at home.

Senior Jordan Horston led UT (24-11, 13-3 SEC) with 21 points and eight rebounds. Senior Rickea Jackson was 18 days old, graduate Jordan Walker finished with 11 points, three assists and three steals, and Tess Darby had 10.

Brooke Flowers was the top scorer for the Billikens (17-18, 10-6 Atlantic 10) with 17 points. Camreé Clegg and Kyla McMakin were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Saint Louis got on the board first with a layup by Flowers a minute into the game, but Jackson responded with a trey on UT’s next possession. The score was quickly tied at four all before an 8-0 run put the Lady Vols on top 11-4 with 5:35 to play in the first half. Flowers ended the drought for the Billikens, and they pulled within five before Horston found Jackson on a fast break for a layup. Walker followed with a three to give the Lady Vols an 18-8 lead at the 1:40 mark. Saint Louis, however, outscored the Big Orange 7-2 to close the period with the home team on top, 20-15, at the end of one.

A pair of free throws by Flowers to start the second quarter whittled Tennessee’s lead down to three, but Walker responded with a driving layup and a steal on an inbounds play that resulted in another bucket by Horston to put UT back on top by seven. The Billikens rebounded with five quick points by Clegg to creep within two at 24-22, but a free throw by Tess Darby and a steal and a score by Horston stretched the Lady Vols’ lead to five by the 6:51 mark. Flowers missed a layup on the other end, but four Lady Vols combined to string together 21 straight points while holding SLU without a bucket for the rest of the half to lead 48-24 at the break.

Walker and Jackson combined for six straight points in the first 90 seconds of the second half, forcing an SLU timeout and giving the Lady Vols a 30-point lead. Jackson added another basket after a timeout before Flowers hit a jumper for the Billikens at the 7:56 mark. UT led by as many as 33 off back-to-back buckets from Jillian Hollingshead and Justine Pissott midway through the quarter, but SLU closed out the quarter with a 7-0 run to pull within 26 at 67-41.

Darby opened the scoring in the fourth quarter by draining his second trey of the game on UT’s first possession. He hit another two minutes later, driving a 12-1 run that put Tennessee on top 79-42 with just over seven minutes left in the game. The Lady Vols cleared the bench in the final minute but kept the pressure on, outscoring the Billikens 16-8 to win 95-50.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols advance to the NCAA Round of 32 and will face the winner of fifth-seeded Iowa State and 12th-seeded Toledo on Monday. Game times and broadcast information to be determined.

BIG-TIME RUN: Tennessee held SLU scoreless for eight minutes, 10 seconds, going on a 29-0 run from the 6:35 mark of the second quarter to the 7:56 mark of the third quarter. It was Tennessee’s longest scoring streak of the season and third 20+ scoring streak in 2022-23, after going 22-0 against Rutgers and Wofford.

T3SS CLIMBING CAREER LIST: Tess Darby hit three treys against SLU, marking the 22nd time this season she has hit multiple treys in a game and the 12th time she has hit three or more. Darby moved into a tie for ninth in three single seasons all-time at UT, tying Meighan Simmons and Shannon Bobbitt. He raised his career total to 125, moving within eight of Sidney Spencer’s trey catches to land among the top 10 career totals in program history.

JORDY RISING BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jordan Horston led Tennessee with four assists against Saint Louis, bringing her career total to 449. She is currently tied with Michelle Marciniak (1993-96) for 8th on the UT career list and is three behind head coach, Kellie (Jolly). ) Harper, who had 452 from 1995-99.

CALL 20: The Lady Vols scored 20+ points in three of four quarters vs. He has now scored 20 or more in 16 of his last 32 periods (8 games) and has done so in 61 of 140 frames this season. POINTS ALL AROUND: Every active Lady Vol came to the court against SLU, and all 14 players contributed at least two points to the victory.