KNOXVILLE — With orange and white streamers raining from the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena, Alex Fuller joined her teammates in an impromptu post-game celebration, waving her thanks to the crowd of 14,157 and high-fiving fans in the student section.

Fuller, UT’s lone senior, wanted to soak in the atmosphere one last time.

“I tried not to get emotional,” Fuller said. “But after (the game) it was bittersweet. I’ll never play a game in front of these fans again.”

Fuller made the most of it. She scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds — eight of which came in the second half — as the 18th-ranked Lady Vols surged past the 19th-ranked Commodores for a 75-66 women’s basketball victory Thursday in the regular season finale.

“I think it’ll end up being one of the most memorable games that I’ve ever had,” said Fuller, a member of Tennessee’s back-to-back national championship teams the past two years.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt agreed.

“I think it was probably her best all-around game,” said Summitt, whose Lady Vols (20-9, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) earned their first win against a ranked opponent since a 55-51 victory over then-No. 15 Rutgers on Jan. 3.

Tennessee will play in the opening round against Alabama on Thursday in the SEC Women’s Tournament following a 63-61 loss at unranked LSU last week.

“I’m going to enjoy this till tomorrow,” Summitt said. “Then tomorrow we have to get ready for Alabama.”

Four Tennessee starters including Fuller notched double figures. Freshman guard Shekinna Stricklen had a team-high 18 points. Angie Bjorklund added 16 and shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kelley Cain had 15 points.

Senior forward Christina Wirth led the Commodores (21-8, 10-4) with 20 points, followed by Merideth Marsh’s 13 and Tia Gibbs’ 12.

Vanderbilt (21-8, 10-4) beat Tennessee 74-58 in the teams’ last meeting on Jan. 11 in Nashville to snap a 16-game losing streak in the series, but UT muscled its way for this win to avoid the season sweep.

“The difference between Nashville and here was like night and day,” Summitt said. “(Vanderbilt) came out and scored on dribble penetration (in January). They didn’t have to run an offense that game.”

But unlike the previous meeting in which Vanderbilt out-rebounded UT by two, Tennessee benefited from its size under the basket and outscored the Commodores 30-16 in the paint to complement a 48-31 rebounding advantage.

“It really came down to rebounding,” said Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb, whose team will enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. “They really pounded the glass, and we just didn’t get the job done on the boards.”

In the first half, though, the Commodores relied on the perimeter shooting from Wirth and Gibbs to take a 34-31 lead at the break.

The Commodores grabbed a 46-43 lead with 12 minutes, 31 seconds to play in the second half with a jumper from Gibbs, but Fuller responded with one of her three 3-pointers to even the game at 46-46.

That triggered a 12-2 run by the Lady Vols that gave them a nine-point edge – their largest of the night -- with 9:30 left in regulation.

The Commodores whittled the deficit to 57-56 with Marsh’s third trey of the night with 6:59 to go, but they wouldn’t get any closer.

Stricklen contributed 15 points in the second half after being held to three before the break.

“In the first half, I was having trouble breathing, but coach (Summitt) was getting on me and told me that wasn’t an excuse and she told me I just had to play through it,” Stricklen said.

When Stricklen exhaled, she helped UT pull away and sent Fuller out with a win.

“That’s the least we could do,” Cain said. “She’s worked so hard and she deserved it.”