TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — One big 3-pointer by Cierra Burdick got the No. 10 Tennessee women’s basketball team rolling and Alabama couldn’t find any way to slow it down.
Burdick hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left in the second half to give Tennessee its first lead since a minute and a half into the game. Meighan Simmons followed with another 3-pointer shortly after Burdick’s to give the Lady Vols a 45-39 lead that they turned into a 64-54 on Sunday.
“It was a momentum changer, and that was kind of the 1-2 punch that gave Alabama the heartache,” Burdick said. “We took their hope away in that segment, and that’s what we kept trying to do.”
Despite trailing 26-18 at halftime, Tennessee (18-4, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) was able to outscore the Crimson Tide 46-28 in the second half.
Simmons and Isabelle Harrison each added 11 points for Tennessee. Burdick and Harrison also had 11 rebounds each for a double-double. It was Burdick’s third double-double of the season and a career-high scoring night for her.
“She was very settling for us,” Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said of Burdick. “We went in a stretch where we weren’t making shots, we were missing layups, and we weren’t getting stops, and she held our team together. That’s stuff you don’t see in the stat sheet.
“She hit big shots for us, she got big rebounds, she had one turnover, she’s just been solid, and today she was huge for us.”
Daisha Simmons led Alabama (10-12, 3-6 SEC) with 18 points, and Shafontaye Myers added 11. The Tide came out strong to start the game and led by as many as 15, but went on a scoring drought with 5:13 left to let Tennessee back into the game.
n Florida 81, Ole Miss 60: At Oxford, Kayla Lewis had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead four players in double figures in the Gators’ victory against the Rebels at Tad Smith Coliseum.
Antoinette Bannister added 18 points off the bench, while Lily Svete had 12 off the bench to help Florida improve to 16-6 and 6-3. Ronni Williams (11 points) was the team’s other player in double figures.
Tia Faleru led Ole Miss (10-13, 1-8) with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Faleru has 11 double-doubles, which is the most for an Ole Miss player since the 2011-12 season. She had her seventh game of 20 or more this season, and her eighth career game with her 21 points. Diara Moore also had 13 points.
“We didn’t do very well offensively. There were a lot of things that went wrong in today’s game,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “We didn’t get out in transition. They were sending three back in transition to slow us down. Other teams have done that too and didn’t slow us down, but it worked today.”
Trailing by just two at the halftime break, Florida used a 27-9 run to open the half to take a 20-point lead and never looked back.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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