Vols T logoATLANTA – Tennessee’s second game without head coach Pat Summitt went a whole lot better than the first when the No. 20 Lady Volunteers muscled up and beat No. 22 Georgia Tech 71-54 Sunday to spoil the Yellow Jackets’ debut in their sparkling new arena.
The visitors showed up angry after falling flat 80-71 Friday night at Chattanooga in the first game since Summitt stepped down after announcing that she has early-onset dementia. Freshman Bashaara Graves scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lady Vols (1-1), and fellow forward Cierra Burdick added 16 points to give coach Holly Warlick her first win.
Summitt sat near the Tennessee bench in Chattanooga, but was not at Georgia Tech for the first women’s game in McCamish Pavilion.
Her former team returned to form Sunday. The Lady Vols charged to a 45-30 lead by halftime, weathered Georgia Tech’s 13-0 start in the second half and then ripped off an 18-0 streak to put the game away.
“Obviously, we played terrible against Chatt,” said Burdick, a sophomore who added six rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and a steal as one of Tennessee’s five new starters. “This was night and day … the biggest thing was energy.