KNOXVILLE – Diamond DeShields scored 17 points and made numerous big plays down the stretch Monday as No. 4 Tennessee hung on for a 59-57 victory over Chattanooga after squandering most of a 23-point lead.
DeShields was coming off a scoreless performance in a victory over No. 23 Syracuse. She had four points, an assist and a steal during a 6-2 run after Chattanooga had cut Tennessee’s lead to 53-51 with less than two minutes left.
Mercedes Russell had 13 points and Bashaara Graves added 10 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee (4-0) earned its 26th straight home victory.
Queen Alford had 19 points to lead Chattanooga (3-2), which had beaten Tennessee two of the last three years.
Chattanooga beat Tennessee 67-63 last season and also knocked off the Lady Vols 80-75 in their 2012-13 season opener to spoil the head coaching debut of Holly Warlick.