KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee women’s basketball team avoided an embarrassing home loss because its biggest weakness became a strength for at least one game.
The ninth-ranked Lady Volunteers made 13 straight free throws during a 22-0 run in the third quarter Wednesday as they rallied for a 65-55 victory over Stetson. Tennessee erased a 20-point deficit to produce the second-biggest comeback in school history.
Tennessee (7-0) ended up shooting 25-of-30 from the foul line. The Lady Vols had made just 58.9 percent of their free throws this season before Wednesday.
“What has been our Achilles’ heel was one of the best things we did today,” Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said.
Her team needed that accuracy from the line to survive a surprisingly strong challenge from Stetson, an Atlantic Sun program with just one win this season – against Webber International, an NAIA school.