KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Freshman Alexis Hornbuckle looked shaky early in her first start for ninth-ranked Tennessee.
The point guard regrouped in the second half and so did the Lady Vols.
Hornbuckle scored 15 points, reserve center Sybil Dosty had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Tennessee rallied from 15 points down for a 78-63 victory over No. 15 DePaul on Sunday.
The Lady Vols (5-2) trailed the entire first half didn't take the lead until 11:20 left in the game.
Hornbuckle struggled at first in replacing senior Loree Moore, who had her tonsils removed on Friday and could be out for a month.
``Alexis started the game on her heels and finished the game on her toes,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said.
``I thought she was able to turn it around in the course of the game. A lot of times in my career I've had players that couldn't do that. They had to wait until the next time to play.''
The Blue Demons (6-2) tied it twice after the Lady Vols finally took the lead but could not regain the momentum they had earlier.
DePaul was down by five with 2:35 remaining when the Lady Vols took control for good with a 9-0 run.
The Blue Demons, now 0-16 against Tennessee, pushed their lead in the second half to 11 twice, the last after Khara Smith's basket for a 44-33 lead.
Then the Lady Vols reeled off a 17-4 run to take a 50-48 lead with 11:20 left. Spencer, Hornbuckle and Dosty each converted three-point plays during the spurt.
Tennessee's Shyra Ely scored 11 of her 17 points after halftime while Brittany Jackson added 14 and Sidney Spencer had 11.
``We had to work really hard for this win. But the second half, a lot of players stepped up. Our play off the bench was key,'' Summitt said.
Smith led DePaul with 18 points before she fouled out with 1:01 remaining. Jenni Dant added 13 points while Allie Quigley had 11 and Jenna Rubino 10.
Hornbuckle said she was nervous in her first start.
``Coach said I grew up tonight. And I had to,'' Hornbuckle said. ``With Loree out, I had a position to fill and the team was looking at me.''
Dosty had a double-double while playing only 15 minutes.
``She was in the right place in the right time. She has been. She has been the most efficient player,'' Summitt said. ``We needed a presence inside.''
Lady Vols were trying to regroup after losing Dec. 2 to Duke, only the 14th loss for Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena since it opened in 1987.
And the Blue Demons looked on their way to handing Tennessee a second straight loss at home for the first time since December 1996.
But Tennessee used rebounding and defense to stymie DePaul.
``Tennessee made us ugly in the second half,'' DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. ``They did a great job in the second half.''
The Lady Vols had trouble scoring in the first half and made only two of their first 14 shots. They went four minutes without a basket at one point.
Tennessee scored the final six points of the half to cut the deficit to 40-31 at halftime.
Erin Carney grabbed 10 rebounds for DePaul before fouling out with 12:20 to go.
The Lady Vols were mired in a shooting slump, averaging 37 percent from the field in their first six games.
They shot just 32 percent in the first half (11-of-34) but had shots fall in the second to finish at 43 percent (27-of-62).
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