KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s Bashaara Graves says she never realized she had a perfect shooting night going.
She was too busy making sure the fourth-ranked Lady Vols avoided getting upset by pesky Penn State.
Graves matched a career high with 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in her season debut, as Tennessee outlasted Penn State 74-66 on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-2 senior shot 8 of 8 from the floor and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
“I definitely didn’t realize it,” Graves said. “My teammates were giving me great passes, and I was getting great looks off them. (When) we just play hard, you don’t notice that type of stuff.”
Never before had a Lady Vol attempted this many shots in a game without missing a field-goal attempt or free throw. The closest was Sheila Frost, who was 9 of 9 on field-goal attempts and 2 of 2 on free throws in a 1987 victory over Oregon State.