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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Lady Vols never trailed in their road win Thursday, defeating Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena, 87-67.
Seniors Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston each recorded double-doubles to lead Tennessee (19-9, 11-2 SEC). Jackson finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Horston had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Three other Lady Vols were in double figures with junior Tess Darby scoring 11 points, and seniors Jordan Walker and Jasmine Powell each had 10.
Erynn Barnum was the leading scorer for Arkansas (19-9, 6-7 SEC) with 25 points. Chrissy Carr and Samara Spencer also had strong games with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Horston and Walker combined for seven points to put the Lady Vols ahead 7-0 before Barnum got the Razorbacks on the board at 7:20. After a UA bucket, Jackson and Karoline Striplin combined for another 7-0 UT run that cut the Lady Vols’ lead to 12 in a 14-2 minute and a half. Makayla Daniels converted an old three-point game in Arkansas’ next possession to trim the deficit down to single digits, but Tennessee closed the period with an 11-4 run punctuated by three 3-pointers to lead 25-9 by the end of one.
Consecutive baskets by Jackson and Fayetteville native Jasmine Franklin blew the UT lead open to 20 points less than a minute into the second period. Arkansas pulled back within 17 by the 5:55 mark, but Darby drained a three on the next play that set up a 9-0 UT run that contributed to four different Lady Vols to give the Big Orange a 26-point lead with 2:31 left in the half. The Razorbacks responded with a trey by Chrissy Carr and a quick layup by Barnum to cut UT’s lead to 21 two minutes later. Franklin closed out the scoring for the half with a free throw, sending UT into the locker room with a 44-22 lead at the half.
Arkansas opened the third quarter with five straight points to pull within 17 before Jackson made a 3-pointer on the first of three straight possessions in which UT went on a three-pointer to take a 52-31 lead three and a half minutes into the half. Striplin stretched that lead to 23 before the Razorbacks strung together a 7-2 run to pull within 18 by the 4:47 mark. The rest of the period was back and forth with the teams trading buckets until UT took a 66-47 advantage into the final stanza.
Darby hit the third trey of the game 10 seconds into the fourth to put the Lady Vols ahead by 22. Barnum answered with layups on consecutive plays, but a 9-0 run had UT on top 80-51 with 7:41 left in the contest. The Razorbacks found some momentum with a 15-4 run fueled by three straight 3-pointers to pull within 18 with 2:32 to play, but that was as close as it would get as UT’s reserves closed out the game in an 87-67 victory. .
JP HITS 1K: With 10 points against the Razorbacks, Jasmine Powell surpassed 1,000 career points, now at 1,007. The senior joins Rickea Jackson (1,565), Jordan Walker (1,299), Jordan Horston (1,302) and Jasmine Franklin (1,257) as the fifth members of the current squad to hit 1K. That’s the most ever by one Tennessee team. The previous high was four in 2014-15.
BALANCED ATTACK: Five Lady Vols finished in double figures against Arkansas with Rickea Jackson (25), Jordan Horston (15), Tess Darby (11), Jasmine Powell (10) and Jordan Walker (10) all finding their way to double digits. It was just the second time this season that UT had five players score 10 or more points, with the previous occasion coming against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22, 2022, when Tennessee won 105-71.
STRONG FIRST HALF DEFENSE: UT held the Razorbacks to just nine points in the first quarter, marking the 16th time the Lady Vols have held a team to single-digit points in a stanza, sixth against an SEC opponent. The Lady Vols held Arkansas to just 27-percent shooting in the first half, including 9-of-34 from the floor and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.
ANOTHER 20 POINT GAME FOR RICKEA: With 25 points on the night, Rickea Jackson recorded her 11th 20-point game of the season, eighth in SEC play, and made it her 24th double-double effort in 2022-23, 12th against an SEC opponent.
DOUBLE GALORE: Jordan Horston and Rickea Jackson both posted doubles against the Razorbacks, marking the second time this season that more than one Lady Vol has recorded a double in the same game. The first came when Jillian Hollingshead and Jackson performed at Mississippi State (2/6/23). Jackson recorded 28 points and 11 rebounds for Starkville, while Hollingshead added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
START STRONG: Three Lady Vols contributed to five made threes in the first period as Tennessee shot 55.6 percent from behind the arc en route to 25 points. UT has scored only more points in the first quarter this season when it poured in 33 against EKU. It ties UT’s start against Mississippi State on January 5 as UT’s best start in SEC play.
DOUBLE DIGIT DARBY: Tess Darby drained three treys against Arkansas and finished with 11 points on the night. He has now scored in double figures in three straight games and in eight contests on the season with seven of those coming in SEC play. Over the last three outings, he’s averaging 11.7 ppg.
TRIPLES BY TESS: With three treys against UA, Darby has three or more long balls in nine contests this season. He has now made 53 3-pointers in the season and 109 in his career, pulling in 24 treys to catch Sidney Spencer (133) to enter among the 10 career totals in program history.
PUTTING UP 20 IN QUARTER: After posting three 20+ innings in their last game vs. Vanderbilt, Tennessee put together three more vs. Arkansas. UT raced out to a 25-9 lead after the first stanza and added 22 more in the third and 21 in the fourth. Tennessee has tallied 20 or more in 48 of 112 quarters.
JOJO takes another one: Jordan Walker stepped up and took the team lead for the 14th time of the season. UT has taken 29 charges through 28 games to surpass Kellie Harper’s previous high of 21 last year.
50 MORE REBOUND NIGHTS: Tennessee pulled down 59 rebounds against Arkansas, marking its second straight game and sixth time this season to surpass the half-century mark on the glass. UT collected 51 caroms on Saturday vs. Vanderbilt. UT was three shy of its season high of 62 registered vs. Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 27.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will return home to host Auburn in a noon ET contest on Sunday that will be televised on ESPN2. The game will be UT’s Senior Day, with seven players recognized.
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