No. 12 Lady Vols breeze past Auburn 79-52

Posted January 10, 2016 6:00 am

By STEVE MEGARGEE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Diamond DeShields had 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds Sunday as No. 12 Tennessee regained its shooting touch in a 79-52 blowout of Auburn.

Tennessee (11-4, 2-1 SEC) followed up its worst shooting performance of the season with its best of the year. After shooting 29.3 percent (24 of 82) in a 74-66 home loss to Florida, the Lady Volunteers shot 59.6 percent (34 of 57) on Sunday.

Bashaara Graves, who shot 2 of 13 against Florida, was 8 of 9 against Auburn and scored 18 points. Mercedes Russell had a double-double by halftime and finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Tra'Cee Tanner had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Auburn (11-5, 1-2). Brandy Montgomery had 11 points and Janiah McKay added 10.

Tennessee took control of the game by closing the first half on a 17-4 run, extending its lead from 24-22 to 41-26 by the intermission.

Tanner scored the first five points of the third quarter to bring Auburn within 10, but the Lady Vols quickly regained command and never looked back.

The Lady Vols didn't solve their season-long struggles from 3-point range, as they went 3 of 11 from beyond the arc. The Lady Vols entered the day shooting 23.1 percent from 3-point range to rank 334th out of 344 Division I teams.

But they addressed the issue by making sure to work the ball inside as much as possible. The Lady Vols made 67.4 percent of their attempts from inside the 3-point arc (31 of 46).

Tennessee beat Auburn for the ninth straight time. Auburn hasn't beaten Tennessee since a 78-58 decision in the 2009 SEC tournament.

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TIP-INS

Auburn: The Tigers are in the midst of playing five teams ranked 12th or higher in a six-game span. Auburn won 66-61 on Sunday over No. 10 Kentucky, which was ranked seventh at the time. The Tigers lost 60-45 to No. 7 Mississippi State on Thursday. They host unranked Alabama, visit Kentucky and host No. 2 South Carolina in their next three games.

Tennessee: Senior Nia Moore entered the game with 4:22 left for her first appearance since Nov. 23. The reserve center had missed Tennessee's last 10 games with a rib injury.

UP NEXT

Auburn: Hosts Alabama on Thursday.

Tennessee: At Arkansas on Thursday.

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