Rutgers' Rachel Hollivay (1) blocks s a shot by Tennessee's Bashaara Graves (12) during their game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Piscataway, N.J.PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Isabelle Harrison scored all 11 of her points in the second half and No. 11 Tennessee used a late run to beat 17th-ranked Rutgers 55-45 on Sunday.
It was Harrison's first start since missing five games with a sprained right knee suffered in the opener against Penn. She had played in the last two contests coming off the bench.
Trailing 43-39 with 7:14 left in the game, the Lady Vols (7-2) scored 10 straight points, including the first four by Harrison to take control.
Betnijah Laney's layup with 1:31 left broke a 5:45 scoreless drought for the Scarlet Knights (8-2) and made it 49-45.
After forcing a shot-clock violation with 57 seconds left, Laney turned it over on the drive and Cierra Burdick had a basket with 30 seconds left to seal the win.
Tyler Scaife scored 22 to lead the Scarlet Knights (8-2), who have lost the last 10 in the series to the Lady Vols dating to 2004.
It wasn't an offense showcase by any stretch. Neither team could put the ball in the basket. Tennessee shot 28 from the field while Rutgers wasn't much better at 31 percent.
Rutgers led 14-8 with 8:40 left in the half before going into a scoring drought. Tennessee then scored 10 of the next 12 to take an 18-16 lead on Graves' free throw with 3:35 left. The Scarlet Knights then closed the half scoring seven of the final nine points to go up 23-20 going into the break.
The two teams combined to shoot 16 for 69 (23 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The teams traded the lead for most of the second half until Rutgers took a 39-35 lead on Syessence Davis' 3-pointer with 9 minutes left. The Scarlet Knights led 43-39 before the Lady Vols rallied.