AUBURN, Ala. — Talaysia Cooper scored a game-high 18 points as part of her solid all-around statistical showing, and Janiah Barker wasn’t far behind with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks to help the 23rd-ranked Tennessee women’s basketball team to a 73-56 victory at Auburn in a Southeastern Conference matchup Sunday.
Cooper, who shot 7-for-12 from the field, also had five rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Barker was 6-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line for the Lady Volunteers (10-3, 2-0), who have won three games in a row and five of their past six.
Khady Leye scored 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting for Auburn (11-5, 0-2); the rest of the Tigers were a combined 29% (15-of-51) from the field.
In the first quarter, Tennessee was 7-for-14 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and limited the Tigers to 16% (3-of-19) shooting to take a 22-9 lead into the second quarter. Mia Pauldo, Mya Pauldo and Cooper each hit a 3-pointer before Barker made two free throws to cap an 11-2 run to close the first quarter, and the Lady Vols scored 12 of the final 16 second-quarter points to make it 41-26 at halftime.
“It was huge for us,” Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said in a postgame news conference. “It really sparked us early, and I knew we weren’t going to hit them consistently, but it was big to see some go in in the first quarter.”