2013 Women’s NCAA Tournament: Lady Vols Advance
By Zach Ragan
Mar 23, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers forward Jasmine Jones (2) moves the ball against Oral Roberts Golden Eagles forward Savanna Buck (13) in the first half during the first round of the 2013 NCAA womens tournament at Thompson Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The Lady Vols advanced past the first round of the 2013 Women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday with a 83-62 win over Oral Roberts.
Tennessee never looked back after taking the lead on a Meighan Simmons three-pointer with 15:31 to go in the first half. The Lady Vols went to the locker-room at halftime with a 44-31 lead.
The Lady Vols extended their lead in the second half, opening the half on a 9-0 run.
Simmons led the Lady Vols in scoring with 18 points. Ariel Massengale and Cierra Burdick each contributed 13 points for Tennessee.
Kevi Looper led Oral Roberts in scoring with 20 points.
The Lady Vol’s win was head coach Holly Warlick’s first NCAA tournament victory of her career.
The 2nd seeded Lady Vols will next take on the 10th seeded Creighton Blue Jays in the second round of the tournament on Monday night at 7:10 pm est in Knoxville. Creighton advanced by upsetting 7th seeded Syracuse on Saturday 61-56.
The win was the Creighton’s first NCAA tournament victory in 21 years. The Blue Jays found themselves down 10 points with 5 minutes to go against Syracuse on Saturday. Syracuse had a chance to tie the game with time running out, but saw a three-point attempt bounce off the side of the rim. The Blue Jay’s Sarah Nelson added two free-throws with under a second to go to secure the 5-point win for Creighton
Creighton and Tennessee will face off with identical 25-7 records.
Coverage of the game is TBA.