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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
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Lady Vols have work to do to reach NCAA tournament

Tennessee's Rennia Davis drives down the baseline and past Florida's Kiara Smith during Thursday night's game at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee won 67-50.
Tennessee's Rennia Davis drives down the baseline and past Florida's Kiara Smith during Thursday night's game at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee won 67-50. Tennessee's Rennia Davis drives down the baseline and past Florida's Kiara Smith during Thursday night's game at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Tennessee won 67-50.

By Gene Henley 3 min read

KNOXVILLE – For two and a half quarters, the Tennessee women’s basketball team found itself in a battle against sixth-ranked Mississippi State on Sunday in Starkville.

And in the blink of an eyelash, any hopes of winning were dashed.

The Lady Volunteers had the ball down 51-47 late in the third quarter after the Bulldogs missed a shot. But Rennia Davis turned the ball over and Mississippi State scored.

That began a 10-2 run to end the quarter, which put the home team up 61-49. Things only got worse for the Lady Vols in the final period, as a 13-0 Bulldogs surge opened the floodgates in an eventual 91-63 Southeastern Conference win.

The Lady Vols (15-8, 4-6) played the game without 6-foot sophomore point guard Evina Westbrook, who leads them in scoring (16.0) and assists (5.1). She was suspended for a violation of team rules but was on the bench with the team Sunday.