Lady Vols basketball had a top-five win within its grasp, but couldn’t get the job done down the stretch against Texas.
No. 22 Tennessee rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game in the final two minutes. But with six seconds left, the Lady Vols (16-7, 8-3 SEC) were unable to get a shot off to send it to overtime or win the game. Talaysia Cooper attempted to drive into the paint for a shot, but turned the ball over and Tennessee fell 65-63 to the No. 4 Longhorns (24-3, 9-3) at Food City Center on Feb. 15.
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Cooper and Janiah Barker combined for 15 points in the fourth quarter before Barker fouled out on a questionable call with 19 seconds left in the game. Cooper fueled Tennessee’s offense with 29 points on 12-for-19 shooting, along with two assists, two steals and a rebound.
Tennessee ended up with 23 turnovers to Texas’ 17. But the Lady Vols barely outscored Texas in points off turnovers 20-17.
Lady Vols recover from early deficit
Tennessee has struggled to recover when it has fallen behind in ranked matchups this season, with the exception of UConn when Lady Vols were able to rally from a 16-point deficit in the first period.
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The Lady Vols trailed by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter, but they rallied with a 13-2 run to tie the game 34-34 at halftime.
Cooper fueled the comeback, scoring eight straight points on her own. The redshirt junior took over the game and swung the momentum in Tennessee’s favor. Texas had three turnovers during Tennessee’s run and didn’t score for the last 4:53 before halftime.
Cooper led all scorers with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting in the first half.
Tennessee’s turnovers, empty possessions make the difference
Tennessee’s turnovers piled up in the fourth quarter, all the way up until the final possession, which ended with Cooper’s ninth turnover of the game and the seventh of the quarter.
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Before the fourth quarter, the Lady Vols kept the turnovers down to 16. But too many careless or sloppy plays stifled the hopes of an upset. Texas won the turnover battle 23-17, but Tennessee managed to outscore it in points off turnovers 20-17.
The Lady Vols’ empty possessions down the stretch hurt them. They trailed by one point with 1:18 left in the game and then had a shot clock violation with 46 seconds left after Cooper’s desperation shot didn’t hit the rim. Then Nya Robertson turned the ball over after a steal with 22 seconds left right before Barker fouled out.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball doesn’t get final shot off in loss to Texas
