17 minutes ago
Tennessee Athletics
Photo: Tennessee Athletics
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – #11/12 Tennessee overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to take a six-point lead in the second half, but No. 18/22 Florida State battled back and hit a last-second three-pointer to seize a 92-91 victory at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Thursday night.
Rickea Jackson, who finished with 31 points and 17 rebounds, put the Lady Vols (1-1) up, 91-88, with 1:10 to go on a second-chance bucket. With 52 ticks left on the clock, though, Amaya Bonner found the net with a three to tie it up at 91. FSU’s Alexis Tucker drew a foul with 24 seconds left, hitting one of two free throw attempts to put the Seminoles (2-0) back in front, 92-91. UT got a shot off with three seconds remaining, but it wouldn’t fall.
Jackson was joined in double figures by Jewel Spear with 18, followed by Sara Puckett with 15 and Tess Darby with 10.
Florida State had five players scoring in double figures, led by O’Mariah Gordon with 22 and Ta’Niya Latson with 20. Tucker added 17, while Makayla Timpson chipped in 10.
Spear got things started with a three to put the Lady Vols on top on their first possession. The teams exchanged baskets over the first five minutes, with Puckett draining a three, Jillian Hollingshead hitting a long jumper and Jackson adding a pair of buckets as Florida State took a 16-12 lead into the first media timeout.
An 11-4 run by the Seminoles pushed their lead to 27-16 after the media break and forced UT to call a timeout at the 2:42 mark. After FSU boosted the advantage to 15, 31-16, at the 1:02 mark, Darby and Puckett tallied buckets to trim the gap to 31-20. A Florida State trey before the buzzer gave the home team a 34-20 cushion after one.
UT and FSU swapped scores to open the second frame before the Lady Vols exploded on a 10-0 run to close the deficit to 36-32 with 6:54 remaining. Puckett started the Big Orange spree with a layup on a feed from Jackson and then Jackson added a pair of scores of her own around two free throws by Jasmine Powell in forcing an FSU timeout. After the break, the Seminoles pushed back ahead, 43-32, before back-to-back layups from Destinee Wells forced another timeout by the home team with UT cutting the gap to 43-36. It was back and forth the rest of the way, with Jackson’s 18 first-half points helping keep Florida State within striking distance at the half, 54-46.
Tennessee and Florida State continued their torrid shooting pace in the opening five minutes of the third quarter, with the Seminoles maintaining an eight-point edge, 66-58, at the 4:57 media break, as Jackson pushed her point total to 25. Over the rest of the period, however, Tennessee surged and outscored FSU 16-6 to close it out, with Darby nailing threes on consecutive trips down the court and getting a steal and fast break layup to boost her team in front, 74-68. The Seminoles would net the last four points of the period, but UT headed to the final 10 minutes with a 74-72 lead.
Tennessee carried its lead into the final media timeout at the 4:48 mark, thanks to a Spear two to make it 82-79. Spear added a three pointer and a free throw, and Jackson contributed a bucket to fuel UT offensively. Puckett sank a three ball to make it 85-81 with 4:33 to go, but FSU fought back, tying it at 86 with 3:22 left. A free throw by Powell and two more charity tosses by Spear down the stretch gave the Lady Vols a slim 89-88 lead with 1:22 remaining. Following a UT timeout, Jackson hit a layup to make it 91-88, but FSU countered with an Amaya Bonner three with :52 on the clock to tie it up at 91, followed by Tucker’s decisive free throw to seal the Seminole win.
NEXT UP: The Lady Vols return to action on Monday, Nov. 13, as the Memphis Tigers pay a visit to Food City Center for a 6:30 p.m. contest. SECN+ will stream the game live. UM is coached by LVFL Alex (Fuller) Simmons, who played at Tennessee from 2004-09.
ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT FOR JEWEL VS. FLORIDA STATE: Jewel Spear tallied 18 points in tonight’s contest, bringing her all-time points per game average against Florida State to 15.3. Spear faced the Noles six times during her three seasons at Wake Forest, where she averaged 14.8 points per game.
RICKEA’S 10TH CAREER DOUBLE DOUBLE: With 31 points and 17 rebounds, Jackson posted the 10th double-double of her career. Her 31 points marks her 17th 20-plus-point game as a Lady Vol, which ranks eighth in program history. Per ESPN statistician Jeff Muir, Jackson became the second player this season to produce a 30/15 game, joining Akron’s Reagan Bass, who had 33 and 16 vs. Oakland on Nov. 6, 2023.
RICKEA RACKING UP POINTS: Rickea Jackson dropped 31 points, the second-most points the forward has scored in a Lady Vol uniform. Her highest total came in the first round of the 2023 SEC Tournament, where she totaled 34 against Kentucky (3/3/23).
SARA BUCKETTS RETURNS: Sara Puckett knocked down three treys against the Seminoles, tying her career high for three pointers in a game. The senior forward last hit a trio of threes in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Toledo (3/20/23). She 6-foot-2 forward finished with 15 points tonight.
