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Lady Vols use 3-point success to beat Mississippi State

AP photo by John Munson / Tennessee's Ruby Whitehorn (2), Talaysia Cooper (55) and Kaniya Boyd (4) celebrate their win over Iowa on Dec. 7 in New York.
AP photo by John Munson / Tennessee's Ruby Whitehorn (2), Talaysia Cooper (55) and Kaniya Boyd (4) celebrate their win over Iowa on Dec. 7 in New York. AP photo by John Munson / Tennessee's Ruby Whitehorn (2), Talaysia Cooper (55) and Kaniya Boyd (4) celebrate their win over Iowa on Dec. 7 in New York.

By The Associated Press 3 min read

KNOXVILLE — Ruby Whitehorn scored 20 points, Talaysia Cooper had a double-double, and No. 15 Tennessee turned back Mississippi State, 86-73, in a Southeastern Conference women’s basketball matchup Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Samara Spencer scored 18 points and Jewel Spear added 13 for the Lady Vols (15-2, 3-2), with each hitting four 3-pointers. In her third career double-double, Cooper had 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals as the sophomore helped Tennessee to its second straight win after back-to-back home losses to top-10 opponents in league play.

This win came four days after the Lady Vols cruised to a 93-63 victory at Arkansas.

Jerkaila Jordan scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (15-3, 2-3), Debreasha Powe added 16, Destiney McPhaul had 11, and Madina Okot grabbed 11 rebounds.

The Lady Vols were held 10 points below their nation-leading scoring average but scored 23 more than the Bulldogs’ defensive average for points allowed.