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Tennessee Lady Vols beat Auburn in SEC opener: 3 takeaways from win

By Caleb Calhoun

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Smokey, the mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers, performs during a time out in the second half against the Wright State Raiders in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols beat the Auburn Tigers 78-69 in their SEC opener. Here are three takeaways from the women’s basketball Volunteers’ victory.

It wasn’t easy, but the Tennessee Lady Vols were able to win their first SEC game of the year in a battle that took all four quarters. Holly Warlick’s team beat the Auburn Tigers 78-69 on the road Thursday night to improve to 12-1 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.

The teams went into halftime tied up, and Tennessee built an eight-point lead in the third quarter. But Auburn came back in the fourth and took the lead at one point with less than six minutes to go. In the final five and a half minutes, though, the Lady Vols outscored the Tigers 17-7.

This was certainly not a bad win. Auburn entered the game 12-1 with their only loss coming on the road to the Iowa State Cyclones, a Top 25 team in the AP Poll. Tennessee entered the game ranked No. 10, and provided they win Sunday at home against the Missouri Tigers, they’ll move up in the polls. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee Lady Vols’ win over Auburn.

1. Meme Jackson proved again she can shoulder the scoring load.

If things get tough, Meme Jackson can always find her shot. She did that in a huge win earlier this year over the Texas Longhorns, and it happened again in this game. Jackson scored 27 points and went 5-of-8 from the three-point line. It was her sixth straight game in double-figures since scoring 0 in a win over Stetson. Her play was a huge part of the Tennessee Lady Vols building a third quarter lead, as she had 12 points in that quarter alone.

2. Rennia Davis was the clutch performer.

Despite Meme Jackson doing her part to help the team build a lead in the third quarter, Rennia Davis became the clutch player in the fourth. She had a rough night with six turnovers, but after the team fell down 62-61 with under five and a half minutes left, she took over. Davis hit the shot to give the Tennessee Lady Vols the lead for good as they went up 63-62. She then hit another shot when they were clinging to a 65-64 lead. At the very end, when Auburn was fouling to get back in it, Davis made four straight free throws. She finished with a double-double, scoring 23 points and getting 14 rebounds.

3. The team kept its composure and maintained consistency.

With 23 turnovers and a back and forth game against a 12-1 conference opponent on the road, Tennessee had its most important test yet. But Holly Warlick’s team didn’t need to rely on any big runs to build a cushion to win this game. They simply maintained their consistent level of play throughout, which has been a hard thing for them to do recently. As a result, this team pulled out a crucial conference win, and it’s what they needed with Missouri coming up next followed by the Kentucky Wildcats and Georgia Bulldogs on the road.