Six players reached double figures and No. 8 Tennessee defeated Carson-Newman 124-34 in an exhibition game Thursday night in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Sophomore Glory Johnson led the way with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and junior Angie Bjorklund scored 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting before making her exit midway through the second half.
At one point after halftime, Bjorklund had scored more points than Carson-Newman.
“We wanted to focus on what the team brought at both ends,” UT coach Pat Summitt said. “Last year, we would sometimes play down to the level of our competition. Tonight, we maintained our intensity. Last year, we’d get a lead and think the game was over. Tonight, we were thinking execution.”
Freshman guard Taber Spani started and scored 17 points in her first game as a Lady Vol. Alicia Manning added 18 points, and Kelley Cain had 16 points. Shekinna Stricklen chipped in 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half.
No other freshmen played until forward Kamiko Williams, who scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting, entered with about 6:21 remaining in the game. Faith Dupree did not play.
For the game, Tennessee hit 62 percent of its shots from the field, including a 45-percent clip from beyond the 3-point line. Bjorklund and Spani both hit a team-high three 3-pointers.
The Lady Vols opened the game on a 16-3 run and cruised to a 64-18 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to 18 first-half turnovers by Carson-Newman.
Tennessee scored 22 points off turnovers in the opening half and used their considerable size advantage inside to outscore the Lady Eagles 34-8 inside over the same span.
The Lady Vols defeated Carson-Newman 135-55 in an exhibition game last year and have now scored more than 100 points in five of their last six exhibition games against the Division II school.
“Overall, I was pleased,” Summitt said. “We played well together. Sometimes our defense was too tight. We weren’t perfect, but we’ve got some good film to look at.”
Tennessee returns to the court Monday for its final exhibition game against Delta State at 7 p.m. in Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Lady Vols open the regular season at home against No. 7 Baylor on Nov. 15 as part of the State Farm Classic.
Visit UTTix.com to purchase tickets.
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