With an announced crowd of 9,613 looking on at Food City Center, the Big Orange tied for the second-highest exhibition game point total in program history. Standing first on the list is a 144-52 win over Dynamo Kiev on Nov. 5, 2000, and tonight’s output matched a 135-55 UT triumph over Carson-Newman on Nov 6, 2008. The only better production from Tennessee women’s basketball all-time came via a 136-26 regular-season blowout of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Nov. 29, 2002.
Junior guard Ruby Whitehorn was sensational in leading six Big Orange players in double figures, firing in 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Fifth-year guard Jewel Spear and junior forward Zee Spearman contributed 17 each, while redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, junior forward Sara Puckett and redshirt freshman Kaniya Boyd chipped in 16, 14 and 13, respectively. Spear finished five of 11 beyond the arc, while Whitehorn was four of six from deep.
Cooper also led Tennessee with eight steals, while Boyd was tops in rebounds with seven and senior guard Samara Spencer dished out eight assists with no turnovers in her debut. UT finished with 26 assists on 49 buckets, committing only nine turnovers on the night.
Carson-Newman, picked to win NCAA Division II’s South Atlantic Conference, was led by Jennifer Sullivan with 15 points.
Tennessee jumped out to a 6-0 lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Whitehorn and Spear and carried a 10-5 into the first-quarter media break, as the Lady Vol defense hurried the Lady Eagles into 2-for-12 shooting during the early going. UT bounced out of the timeout huddle with spring in its step, outscoring C-N the rest of the period with a 25-3 push that included 22 straight points at one point. Whitehorn finished 5 of 7 for 13 points in the frame.
The Lady Vols extended their lead to 47-19 by the second quarter media timeout at the 4:57 mark, with the home team shooting 70 percent from the field over that span. Tennessee forced Carson-Newman into six turnovers as it stretched its margin to 28. Over the final minutes of the first half, Tennessee outscored the Lady Eagles, 17-4, to take a 64-23 lead into the intermission. Cooper and Whitehorn tallied 10 and nine points in the period, respectively, and Cooper’s five…
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