Burdick, No. 11 Lady Vols outlast Wichita State 54-51
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Cierra Burdick scored 10 points and pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds Tuesday as No. 11 Tennessee held off Wichita State 54-51 to earn its fourth straight victory.
Wichita State (6-3) rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit and cut Tennessee's lead to 52-51 on Kelsey Jacobs' 3-pointer with 23.3 seconds remaining. Ariel Massengale sank two free throws to make it 54-51 with 5.1 seconds left.
Tennessee's Isabelle Harrison stole the ensuing inbounds pass, but Wichita State's Jaleesa Chapel stole it back in the closing seconds. Chapel's desperation shot from about midcourt hit the right side of the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
Harrison had 14 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee (8-2). Alexa Middleton added 10 points.
Alex Harden scored 19 points and Alie Decker added 17 for Wichita State, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Tennessee guard Andraya Carter was helped off the floor in the final minute of the game after Harrison inadvertently collided with her. Lady Vols coach Holly Warlick said after the game that Carter had cut her lip but added that "I think she'll be fine."
It was the first meeting between these two programs and marked a reunion of sorts for Wichita State head coach Jody Adams and assistant Bridgette Gordon, who both played on national championship teams for Tennessee. Gordon remains the Lady Vols' second-leading career scorer, and her No. 30 jersey hangs from the Thompson-Boling Arena rafters.
Warlick, an assistant coach on Pat Summitt's staff when Adams and Gordon were at Tennessee, gave both of them a bouquet of orange roses in a pregame midcourt ceremony. Adams and Gordon then headed into the stands and embraced Summitt.
Adams' team proceeded to stay close throughout the first half by continually delivering from long range. The Shockers shot 6 of 12 from 3-point range in a first half that featured six lead changes, though Tennessee's late rally gave the Lady Vols a 31-28 edge at the intermission.
But the Shockers later cooled off considerably. Wichita State missed 12 of their first 13 shots in the second half as Tennessee built a 10-point advantage.
Wichita State answered with an 8-1 run to cut the deficit to 41-38 after a flurry of turnovers and missed free throws prevented the Lady Vols from putting the game away during the Shockers' drought. Tennessee committed 13 turnovers and shot 9 of 16 on free throws in the second half.
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TIP-INS
Wichita State: Decker had been averaging just 6.1 points per game before Tuesday. She shot 5 of 8 from 3-point range against Tennessee.
Tennessee: The Lady Vols used their seventh different starting lineup in 10 games this season. This combination included Burdick, Bashaara Graves and Harrison in the frontcourt with Jordan Reynolds and Carter in the backcourt.
UP NEXT
Wichita State: Hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Friday in the Shocker Winter Classic.
Tennessee: Hosts No. 7 Stanford on Saturday