The Lady Vols scored only 28 points in the first half against Florida. They went into halftime trailing the Gators 37-28 and were on the brink of losing to Florida in the Swamp. After a dominant second half, Tennessee beat Florida 86-78.
It was an ugly half of basketball where nothing went Tennessee's way. The Lady Vols committed 15 fouls to the Gators' five fouls. Florida scored off turnovers and on almost every fastbreak and second chance opportunity, while Tennessee's offense sputtered.
The good news for Tennessee was that it was probably the worst half of basketball they could have played, and they were still in the game. That was probably part of Coach Kim Caldwell's halftime messaging because the Lady Vols woke up in the second half.
Caldwell went into halftime and made adjustments, and the Lady Vols came out of the halftime break and fired on all cylinders. Tennessee scored 37 points in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead over the Gators.
The Lady Vols' fast-paced offense started clicking, and Tennessee finally started to put pressure on Florida on both ends of the court. Tennessee started getting to the free-throw line and made 7-of-9 free-throw shots in the third quarter.
Tennessee was able to force turnovers, score on fast-break opportunities, and look like the basketball team that beat UConn and Alabama.
Florida kept it close in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Vols were able to keep pace with the Gators, largely thanks to Talaysia Cooper's 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half.
Zee Spearman also scored when it mattered to help the Lady Vols overcome the pressuring Gators. Spearman finished the game with 15 points and four rebounds.
Two games remain in the Lady Vols' regular season. They will travel to Lexington to face Kentucky on Thursday before ending the season at home against Georgia next Sunday.
The top half of the SEC is loaded with talented rosters, so Tennessee needs to win every game remaining and hope the cards fall their way for SEC Tournament seeding.