money Rickea Jackson leads Lady Vols basketball to gritty senior day win over Auburn
Kellie Harper called a timeout with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
Auburn had just taken a one-point lead over Lady Vols basketball. Tennessee wasn't getting good looks on offense and wasn't defending Auburn in transition. Rickea Jackson had just shot her first field goal of the third quarter and made it – then she made three in a row out of the timeout.
The message from Harper seemed to be get the 6-foot-3 forward the ball, and the 6-0 run from Jackson gave Tennessee a five-point lead. The run gave Tennessee control of a close, physical game on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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The Lady Vols battled the rest of the way to a 83-76 win against Auburn (14-12, 4-10), led by Jackson's 27 points on 12-for-15 shooting. Jordan Horston added 19 points and eight rebounds, and Jasmine Powell had eight assists and three rebounds.
Sunday was also senior day for Tennessee (20-9, 12-2 SEC) , which honored seven players before the game. Jordan Walker and Jasmine Franklin are the only two who have exhausted their eligibility, and Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper said decisions for the rest of the players will be made later.
Tess Darby turns around poor start for Lady Vols
Auburn pressed Tennessee high in the half court and ran a full-court press that gave the Lady Vols fits in the first half.
The Tigers led 24-20 after the first quarter due to six Tennessee turnovers. The Lady Vols weren't helped by the officiating, either, in a very physical game from the start. But Tess Darby was in rhythm from behind the arc in the first half, making four of her five attempts.
Her 12 first-half points led the Lady Vols and gave them a 39-34 lead at halftime. Both teams had 14 turnovers in the first half and scored 12 points off them.
Tennessee defense inconsistent
The Lady Vols defense stepped up in the second quarter after giving up 24 first-quarter points to Auburn.
It took the Tigers until 3:30 left in the second to score more than two points that quarter. Tennessee forced five turnovers, three of them steals, in that time to outscore Auburn 19-10 in the second.
Tennessee's defense was inconsistent, though, once again giving up more than 20 points in the third quarter. It didn't help that Auburn kept the Lady Vols off the offensive glass, and Tennessee was only winning the battle on the boards 24-22 after three quarters.
The Lady Vols dug deep in the fourth, but they couldn't keep Auburn under 20 points in the fourth quarter and only outscored it 23-20.
Up next
Tennessee has its last home game of the season against No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Thompson-Boling Arena.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rickea Jackson leads Lady Vols basketball to gritty win over Auburn
