Thursday, January 27, 2011

No. 5 Tennessee beats Mississippi State 81-55

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Glory Johnson scored a career-high 22 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out seven assists as No. 5 Tennessee overcame first-half struggles to beat Mississippi State 81-55 on Thursday night.

The Lady Bulldogs have never beaten the Lady Volunteers (20-2, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) in 32 tries but held a 37-35 lead at halftime after shooting 46.9 percent from the field, including 7 of 12 from 3-point range. They entered the game averaging just 37 percent from the field and 28 percent from beyond the arc.

Meighan Simmons hit a 3 just 10 seconds after halftime for Tennessee, which pulled away after scoring 18 unanswered points to open the second half.

Taber Spani scored 18 points, Simmons added 12 and Kamiko Williams 10. Shekinna Stricklen had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Diamber Johnson led the Lady Bulldogs (8-11, 0-7) with 19 points.

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