TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The smallest player on the court had the biggest impact Sunday for the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Vols.
Shannon Bobbitt, a 5-foot-2 junior point guard, made six 3-pointers to lead the fourth-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols to an 80-51 victory over Alabama. She finished with 20 points.
"It was key and it was really good to see because Shannon has not been as aggressive in her play offensive and defensively," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "When she plays that way it brings good energy to our team."
Three of the Bobbitt's 3-pointers came in a four-minute span in the second half that saw Tennessee (19-2, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) go on a run to turn a four-point advantage into a 53-36 lead with 13 minutes to go. Alabama never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
All but one of Bobbitt's 3-pointers came on shots from the corner.
"I got a lot of good open shots because they were flooding on one side of the floor and they were leaving me open on the other side," Bobbitt said. "I just try to hide because a lot of people won't see me. My teammates saw me and gave me some good looks."
The game was Tennessee's third in the last seven days, coming on the heels of a close home loss to No. 1 Duke last Monday and a 10-point victory at No. 15 Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Tennessee All-America forward Candace Parker was held to just nine points, breaking a streak of 33 straight games in double figures that dated back to last season.
Alabama senior guard Navonda Moore scored 22 points to help keep the Crimson Tide (10-12, 0-7 SEC) in the contest through the first half and the early part of the second half. She was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
After trailing 32-23 at halftime, Alabama came out strong to start the second half and cut Tennessee's lead to 36-32 on a 17-foot turnaround jump shot by freshman center Talisha Chander with 16:45 left in the game.
"It was a feeling that can't be described," Moore said. "We knew they were going to come out with a vengeance and we just dropped a match. When I looked up at that scoreboard and saw we were that close, you knew it was real."
Sophomore Alex Fuller scored 12 points for Tennessee, with senior forward Sidney Spencer adding 10 points. Chandler scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Alabama.
Tennessee will host South Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 1.
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