KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Shyra Ely had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and fifth-ranked Tennessee withstood a late upset bid by No. 18 Georgia to win 77-70 Monday night.
The Lady Vols (16-3, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) were ahead by 11 points with 6:37 remaining when Georgia went on a 6-0 run over the next two minutes.
But Alexis Hornbuckle scored, and Shanna Zolman and Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood hit 3-pointers around a basket by Georgia's Tasha Humphrey to make it 71-60 with three minutes to go.
The Lady Vols had difficulty containing freshman Humphrey, who finished with 25 points for The Lady Bulldogs (16-6, 5-3) despite being in foul trouble for most of the game.
Tennessee overcame the loss of starting post players Nicky Anosike and Tye'sha Fluker, both of whom fouled out with nearly six minutes left. Then point guard Loree Moore went down after she was hit in the nose and was taken off the court in a wheelchair with four minutes remaining.
Fluker added 13 points and Zolman 11 for Tennessee, which extended its home winning streak over SEC opponents to 57 games. Georgia was the last league team to win in Knoxville — on Dec. 8, 1996.
Tennessee's overall SEC regular-season winning streak went to 40 games, but both streaks looked in doubt for most of the game.
Cori Chambers and Janese Hardrick added 12 points apiece for the Lady Bulldogs. Hardrick was 10-of-10 from the foul line.
Georgia was ahead 42-41 with 14:37 left, but Tennessee responded with an 18-5 run over the next 6 1/2 minutes. Moore had two baskets and Wiley-Gatewood scored twice off spinning moves. Ely's putback capped it and put Tennessee ahead 59-47.
During the spurt, the Lady Vols resorted to a smaller lineup with Ely and Sidney Spencer in charge of the post.
Georgia followed with its final run, but the Lady Vols looked inspired after watching Moore get hurt. After she was hit, Moore walked out of bounds and fell down.
Play was stopped for several minutes, and coach Pat Summitt went over to her. Georgia coach Andy Landers spoke to Moore before she was wheeled away.
Georgia led nearly the entire first half despite having 15 turnovers, 10 of which were steals by Tennessee. The Lady Vols had only three steals in the second half.
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