Tennesee’s Jasmine Jones strips the ball from Texas A&M’s Karla Gilbert during the first half of their game in College Station, Texas, on Sunday.COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 11 Tennessee took on an “all hands on deck” approach to playing without star point guard Ariel Massengale, and one shooting hand in particular stood out in the Lady Vols’ 76-55 whipping of No. 17 Texas A&M: That of senior guard Meighan Simmons, who scored a game-high 26 points in Massengale’s absence.
“I was out there playing for one of my teammates who couldn’t be here,” Simmons said. “Ariel has done so much for this team, and we all stepped up to the plate. When we play as a team, the game is more fun and we have a lot more energy.”
It appeared so on Sunday in UT’s first visit in history to Reed Arena, as the eight-time national champions whipped A&M in three facets: fast-break points (17-0), points in the paint (38-16) and bench points (12-5).
“Seventeen to zero on fast breaks? That’s never happened in my career,” A&M coach Gary Blair said. “And there’s no excuse for it.”
Massengale, whose 110 assists are more than double any other Lady Vol, didn’t travel to College Station after suffering a face injury on Thursday in the first half of Tennessee’s 89-69 home victory over Florida.